Spotlight On Music: Drumz of The South: The Dubstep Years

In the time leading up to her 40th birthday Streatham photographer Georgina Cook realised there was one project that she was determined to finish – a book of photos taken of the early years of dubstep in South London.

She said: “Approaching 40 really made me think about what my priorities are and it sounds really corny but I thought if I’m old and gray and I’ve never done this book, I’ll be really unhappy.”

The resulting book, Drumz of The South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007), features hundreds of Ms Cook’s photographs of the growth of dubstep from its South London beginnings.

The book includes hand drawn maps, samples of original blog posts and a foreword by the author of Make Some Space, Emma Warren.

While working at the South London Press in the early noughties, Ms Cook went to the now closed Black Sheep Bar in Croydon to review drum and bass DJ Groove Rider.

Enjoying the sound, she started going regularly, befriending the resident DJs including Mala – one half of the seminal dubstep duo Digital Mystikz.

She said: “I remember the first time he played me this music. It was one of his own tracks and it was called B.

“He told me some people were calling it dubstep. It was still kind of very new to the point where the name wasn’t even concrete.

“I really loved the sound. It sounded completely different to anything I’d heard but it was also quite familiar.

“It’s from the same lineage of music as garage and drum and bass and you could hear all of those influences.”

Ms Cook started producing a newsletter which quickly morphed into a blog, which she used to share her photos.

She said: “It was just so much easier and meant that I could reach a lot more people a lot more quickly.

“I would take loads of pictures. I’d get home at two or three in the morning or sometimes if it was an all-nighter then seven or eight o’clock and I’d usually process them straight away using photoshop.”

Photographing club nights including FWD>> at Plastic People in Shoreditch presented Ms Cook with technical challenges.

Digital cameras were in their infancy, and not suited to the almost pitch black conditions of the clubs.

She said: “I’d have to try to find something to focus on, something that the camera could see like someone’s lighter or the light behind the DJ booth.

“I’d light the room up with my flash but I’d try not to do that too often because it was quite disruptive to the vibe.

“I’ve got lots of pictures of people covering their faces because the flash has suddenly gone off in a dark room.

“Luckily everyone was really forgiving because I think they realised it was special and it needed to be documented.”

Ms Cook’s photos, which include wide shots of dancing, as well as close ups of drinks, clothes and even the DJ’s equipment have created a cultural archive as well as a personal visual diary.

She said: “I think I always had this idea in my head that in years to come I wanted people to see everything, to see what it was all about, what the venues looked like, what the people were wearing, how people were moving, what they were drinking, what trainers they were wearing – everything – as much as I could.

“I also wanted to make something for the original community – the people that made the sound, that made it, that put the nights on, the door staff, everyone that was part of it.

“I wanted to make something cohesive – like a gift in a way. Like ‘here you go, this is what we did, this is how amazing it was’, almost like a family photo album I suppose.”

Drumz of the South: The Dubstep Years is available to pre-order now from https://www.georginacook.net

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in Pic: FWD at Plastic People with DMZ, Wiley, Jammer, Skepta, Plastician, Chantelle fiddy, JME, Pokes, Loefah SLT Mob, Breezy, April 2005