There's been a lot of uproar from the 'heads' about SPIN's article 'Bass Cannon: 30 Greatest Dubstep Songs of All-Time'. While it is nearly impossible to condense 10+ years of a scene (and more importantly, a culture) into 30 tunes, and lists are always contentious, I thought I would try my hand at education. The tunes listed below are all hyperlinked to YouTube so you can listen to them at your convenience. I've included the label info on each tune for those who want to buy them and support the artists.
A few notes on how I compiled this list:
I broke up each sub-list into categories...
Before, which means from 1999-2003. These are tunes that influenced what we now know as 'dubstep'.
Golden Era, meaning from 2004-2007. These are widely considered 'classics' by all those into the sound, and are widely influential for one reason or another.
Current, meaning from 2008-present day. These are tunes that show where dubstep is headed. These tracks encorporate influences from UKG and grime, dubstep's predecessors, as well as jungle and other sounds inspirational to the sound and culture.
I had to represent Skream, Benga, and DMZ in their own categories.
The reason for this is because Skream and Benga are two of the most influential, iconic producers in the scene. Regardless of what you think of their current output, you cannot disagree that dubstep would sound completely different if it wasn't for their early productions. DMZ, as a crew, are an institution and to me represent what dubstep culture is about. Their productions, much like Skream and Benga's, shaped what dubstep has become and without their music (or the dances they host) our scene would be something different altogether.
I refrained from commentary on the tunes.
I want the music to speak for itself. I want people to listen to each of these tunes, if you haven't heard them before, and try to see how they've been influential. Often I find that when people try to explain to me why a certain piece of music is important, it doesn't resonate - I just have to hear it for myself.
This is in no way representative of 'dubstep' as a whole.
Obviously, these are some of my favorite tunes and it is all my opinion (hence why it's on my blog). Feel free to debate, disagree, or ask me why I chose a particular tune for the list.
Horsepower Productions - Sholay - Tempa
Horsepower Productions - Gorgon Sound - Tempa
El-B - Buck & Bury (feat. Juice Man) - Ghost
Zed Bias - Neighbourhood - Locked On
Darqwan - As We Enta - Soulja
Musical Mob - Pulse X - Musical Mob Royale
Rebound X - Rhythm N Gash (Sir Spyro Remix) - ?
Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U - XL Recordings
Wiley - Ice Rink - Wiley Kat Records
Plasticman - Cha - Terrorhythm
Kode9, Benny Ill, & Culprit - Fat Larry's Skank (Kode9 Remix) - Tempa
The Bug - Jah War (Loefah Remix) - Ninja Tune
Cyrus / Random Trio - Bounty - Tectonic
D1 - Steam Roller - Soulja
Rusko - Jahova - Sub Soldiers
Plastician - Intensive Snare (Feat. Skepta) - Terrorhythm
Distance - Fallen (Vex'd Remix) - Planet Mu
Pinch - Qawwali - Planet Mu
Kromestar - Kalawanji - Deep Medi Musik
Matty G - 50,000 Watts - Argon
Benga - Skank - Big Apple Records
Benga & Skream - The Judgement - Big Apple Records
Skream - Midnight Request Line - Tempa
Benga & Coki - Night - Tempa
Skream - Dutch Flowerz - Tempa
DMZ - Anti War Dub (feat. Spen G) - DMZ
Loefah - The Goat Stare - DMZ
DMZ - Conference - Soul Jazz
DMZ - Misty Winter - Soul Jazz
DMZ - Earth A Run Red - Soul Jazz
Kryptic Minds - Badman - Swamp 81
J Kenzo - The Roteks - Tempa
Jakes - Rock The Bells - HENCH
V.IV.E.K - Feel It - Deep Medi Musik
LD vs Cluekid - Jay's Reese - Ringo
Joker & Ginz - Purple City - Kapsize
Emalkay - When I Look At You - Dub Police
Killawatt - Sidewinder (Ipman Remix) - Black Box
Seven - Came To Play (feat. Alys Be) - Black Box
Razor Rekta - Development - Chestplate
