Modestep is an electronic music project led by Josh Friend, combining bass production with the physical sound of a rock band. Dubstep, electronic rock and drum and bass all form part of its recorded output, with Friend moving between those sounds rather than keeping the project at one tempo.
The debut album, Evolution Theory, brought programmed bass and live instruments together. Modestep's performances developed around that same combination, giving electronic recordings a band setting rather than simply reproducing a DJ set. Friend's own route into music was similarly varied: childhood keyboards led to pirate-radio listening, UK garage and drum and bass, followed by time in rock and indie bands.
In a 2023 interview with Toontrack, he described the arrival of dubstep as the point where those different interests could meet. Sound design became a means of making something as forceful as the bands he loved, with real instruments remaining part of the process. The project's authorised touring profile now identifies Friend as its sole leader, supported by a refreshed live band. That distinction matters when reading older descriptions of Modestep as a fixed group: the name has continued while its personnel and presentation have changed.
Speaking to UKF in 2023, Friend explained that he had been making drum and bass for more than two decades and that it had appeared on Modestep's albums. Returning to the UK after living in America renewed his enthusiasm for the melodic D&B he had enjoyed in the early 2010s. The single brb, released through UKF in July 2023, gives listeners a direct introduction to that strand. The 2024 collaboration Another World, with SOTA on Monstercat, continues the project's connection with contemporary bass music.
