Techstep is a subgenre of drum and bass that was popular in the late 1990s. It is characterized by a dark, sci-fi mood, near-exclusive use of synthesised or sampled sound sources, influences from industrial and techno music, and what some writers have described as a "clinical" sound. Although described as having a "techy" feel, techstep's relationship with techno should not be overstated. It shares the technique of creating a high-energy collage from abstract, synthetic noises, including samples, bleeps and squelches: it rarely uses instruments that have not been processed by effects. Similarly, quantized drum-machine kit and percussion sounds are favored over naturalistic human breakbeats.