Photographer Georgina Cook publishes her first photobook – Drumz of The South: The Dubstep Years

(2004-2007)

Drumz Of The South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007) is the first ever definitive book of Georgina Cook’s photographs of the early dubstep days in and around South London. Featuring over 150 photos as well as posts from the original Drumz Of The South blog and hand-drawn notes by Cook, this unique photobook is both a record of an extraordinary moment in contemporary music history and a personal story of community and creativity. The self-publication includes exclusive images of artists such as Skream, Loefah, Mala, Shackleton, Skepta and Burial, and nights like FWD>>, Skull Disco and DMZ. 

“When dubstep was beginning in tiny dark London basements armed only with rib crushing soundsystems & an abundance of creativity, Georgina was there – camera in hand. She is the photographer-of-record for the scene’s key inflection points.” – Blackdown LDN, Aug ’21

Seminal to the growth of dubstep from the spaced out expression of a handful of producers, to the global genre that it is today, Cook’s images have appeared in Vice, Dazed, XLR8R, Qvest, RA, DJ Mag, The Guardian and other media.

Cook’s photographs have also appeared on record sleeves such as Burial’s Untrue, Dubstep Allstars Vol.2 and Soul Jazz’s Steppa’s Delight as well as her 2018 installation “Who Wants A Rewind?” at Tate Modern. However, this is the first time her photos will be published cohesively in book form.

Nestled among the images of dark dancefloors and candid portraits Cook positions shots of South London’s urban landscape which root the sound to the place. Both a personal and a cultural document, the book is for lovers of rave, youth culture, contemporary music history, London at night, dub and sound-system culture, and of course dubstep. 

‘Drumz of the South…serves as an important documentation of a sound, culture and a place.’ – DJ Mag, August 2021

The book is art directed by Alfie Allen and is accompanied by a foreword from the author of Make Some Space, Emma Warren. 

Pre-order Drumz of the South: The Dubstep Years (2004-2007) here.