Genre

Wave

Early-to-mid 2010s, online (SoundCloud, Tumblr); Klimeks began tagging tracks "wave" in 2013 and Plastician's Wavepool mixes spread the name from 2015; club scene grew in London from 2016, later in the US, Canada, Poland and Russia.

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About Wave

An emotive, bass-heavy electronic style built on trap-style drums with quick hi-hats, reverb-soaked snares, filtered Reese basslines and chopped, pitch-shifted vocal samples floating over atmospheric pads. It usually sits around 120-140 BPM and draws on hip-hop, grime, UK garage, dubstep and ambient music. The feeling is melancholic, dreamy and slightly sci-fi, often paired with computer-generated, cartoon and video-game visuals.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org, mixmag.net, ukf.com · Checked Oct 2026

Essential artists 11

  • Clams Casino · 2008–present · Nutley, New Jersey, US
    Producer for several cloud rap artists in the early 2010s, with witch house among his listed genres; early wave producers cite his rap-style instrumentation as a reference point.
  • Deadcrow · 2010s–present · Netherlands
    Described as a pillar of wave after an early BBC Radio 1 introduction in 2017; often blends hardstyle and dubstep into the sound.
  • Juche · 2017–present · France
    French producer whose album Future Love Story pushed wave toward trance and synthwave, with the Story Prologue EP leaning into hardwave's uplifting side.
  • Kareful · 2010s–present · London, England, UK
    Released Deluge (2016), described as the first full-length wave album, and co-founded the Liquid Ritual label and collective that promoted wave events.
  • Klasey Jones · 2010s–present · United Kingdom
    Early UK wave figure known for an ethereal, visual approach drawing on film and game soundtracks, grime and drum & bass.
  • Klimeks · 2013–present · United Kingdom
    Credited with starting wave by tagging his SoundCloud uploads "wave" in 2013, and founder of the Wavemob label and collective.
  • Noah B · 2016–present · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
    First wave artist featured on UKF, debuting on Plastician's Terrorhythm label in 2016 with a cinematic, space-themed sound.
  • Plastician · 1999–present · Croydon, London, England, UK
    Grime and dubstep pioneer whose Wavepool mixes and Terrorhythm label are seen as the main launch point for wave as a named genre.
  • Skeler · 2010s–present · Perth, Australia
    Credited with co-coining and popularising hardwave; his track "Tel Aviv" and Night Drive mix series made him one of wave's best-known names, with hundreds of millions of YouTube views.
  • Sorsari · 2010s–present · Canada
    Canadian producer active since wave's early days and noted for championing its classic sound, including the Burning EP.
  • Ytho · 2010s–present · Perth, Australia
    Perth producer credited with Skeler for bringing trance and hardstyle into wave from 2017 and coining the hardwave name.

Labels, collectives & more 28

Artists tagged Wave 230

The most connected 48. See them all on the scene map.

Related genres

HardwaveTrashwaveWitch houseDark electronic

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