Dubstep Wars

image courtesy of Radio 1 Breezeblock team.

Big love to Mary-Anne Hobbs and the Breezeblock show who on Tuesday provided the history books with one of the most beautiful moments in dubstep and let me come along for the ride.

At first it felt a little weird being in a darkened studio full of mic's and equipment (especially for one as clumsy as myself) but Mala, Kode9 & Space Ape, Skream, Hatcha & Crazy D, Vex'd, Loefah & Sgt Pokes and Distance
plus an entourage that included Coki, Benga, Chef and The Bug soon made themselves comfortable.

Each DJ was allocated 15 minutes during which time each of them quite literally tore up the radio waves in their own unique way. The mixing was ridiculous, the tunes were big and bad, and the vibe, well, even my Mum said she could feel the excitement through the airwaves.

What was so good about the show was the selection of DJ's. Mala with his deep, meditative beats, Kode9's soundscapes, Space Ape's words and wisdom, Skream's pure energy, Hatcha and Crazy D's funtime, the edgey but beautiful sounds of Vex'd, Loefah's psychologically devastating half-step minimalism with Poke's on mic and the heavy metal sounds of Distance. The interviews gave that extra bit of education. If you didn't know about dubstep before, this show was one helluva introduction.

In fact, somebody in the studio even whispered that if the place was set on fire, dubstep would be wiped out. They weren't far from the truth. Speaking of fire, I wonder if Steve Lamacq who walked into the smokers room when nuff dubstep man dem were fogging it up had the faintest idea of what was going on.

Go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/dance/breezeblock Listen again, and whilst you're there, take a peek at their fantastic photos (you might even spot me in the back!) and exclusive signed vinyl competition (great question!). More of their photos can be seen at www.dubstep.blogspot.com and my own will hopefully be online a little later.


Tracklist:
D1 - Untitled (white)
Mala (Digital Mystikz)
Digital Mystikz - '10 Dread Commandments VIP' (white)
Digital Mystikz - 'Haunted' (white)
Digital Mystikz - 'Left Leg Out' (white)
Skream - 'Request Line' Mala remix (white)
Digital Mystikz - 'All Of A Sudden' (white)
Digital Mystikz - 'Anti-War Dub' (white)
Skream
Skream - 'Midnight Request Line' (Tempa)
Skream - 'Tapped' (Tempa)
Sunship and Warrior Queen - 'Almighty Father' Skream remix (white)
Skream - 'Glamma' (Tempa)
Skream - 'Deep Concentration' (Tempa)
Skream - 'Rottan' (Tempa)
Digital Mystikz - 'Ancient Memories' Skream remix (white)
Horsepower - 'Egypt' (Skream remix) (white)
Skream - 'Music 2 Make Us Stagga' (white)
Kode 9 and Space Ape
Benny Ill, Kode9 & the Culprit - 'Fat Larry Skank' Kode 9 remix (white)
Kode 9 and Space Ape - '9 Samurai' (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 and Space Ape - 'Backward' (Hyperdub)
Kode 9 and Space Ape - 'Kingston Dub' (Hyperdub)
Burial and Space Ape - 'Space Ape' (White)
Vex'd
Vex'd - 'Saturn' (white)
Vex'd - '3rd Choice' (white)
Vex'd - 'Wavescape Remix' (white)
Vex'd - 'Killing Floor' (white)
Hatcha and Crazy D
Benga - Untitled (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Coki - Untitled (white)
Coki - Untitled (white)
Coki - Untitled (white)
Skream - 'Request Line' Remix (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Benga - Untitled (white)
Digital Mystikz - 'Ancient Memories' Skream remix (white)
Loefah and Sgt. Pokes
Loefah - 'Mud' (white)
Loefah - 'Ruffage' (white)
Loefah - 'Sukkah' (white)
Loefah - 'System' (white)
Loefah - 'Root' (DMZ)
Distance
Distance - 'My Demons' (white)
Distance - 'Fallen' (white)
Distance - 'Tuning' (white)
Distance - 'Cella' (white)
Distance - 'Cyclops' (white)
Distance - 'Night Vision' (white)
Distance - 'Traffic' (white)
DJ Pinch - 'Qawwali' (white)