so I wrote this article for MTV

[Sharmaji]

MTV Iggy, rather, on dubstep-- they're doing a top-10s of the decade bit and asked me to write about the top 10 dubstep tunes of the decade.

fitting, since we've only got, what-- 7 years in existence? at most?

regardless, it's always fun explaining what it is that we've got to an outside audience, and since dubstep is such a broad sound and MTV iggy's meant for a global audience-- seemed to fit.

and thus, without further adieu:

http://blog.mtviggy.com/2009/12/16/shar ... he-decade/

i *SO wanted to devolve into a dub-vs-bro-step paragraph...

[bandshell]

Enjoyed that. Good to see '2 Bad' in there, I don't think it gets enough praise. Way ahead of it's time. Both sides of that 12" should be in there tbh.

[rinseballs21]

great list!!!!


to be honest i think goblin should have been on that list instead of spongebob

[wrecked]

Good write up overall.

As much as I like what Skream did with it, it puzzles me when "Burning Up" gets lipservice
without mentioning Cloud 9 - You Got Me Burning Up. It's basically just a remix / reinvention of that tune.

Although the original 'Burning Up' sample come from Loleatta Holloway - Love Sensation

[Sharmaji]

"Burnin Up" is a great party tune-- definitely not groundbreaking (even skream did "Lightning" before), but it's got all the elements that fit. Skream absolutely HAD to be on that list, the only problem was which one-- by making it his most current release, it gets me out of that hole.

I also didn't want it to read as a list of big singles from 2006-- if it's forward-moving music, the focus has to be on the here and now, and the future-- which is why midnight request line, sadly, just got a bit of lip servce.

TBH I really like "Goblin," which surprises me. the motherfuckin' Gaslamp Killer ran it in Seattle when we played together, and it wound up being a smiles-all-around moment. Spongebob is the more important tune tho, in a sense of history. Back when we weren't sure if it was called "Spongebob" or or "mental" or whatever.

Bad/2Bad and Traumatic Times/Woodblock haven't left my bag for all of 2009. Even when we switched over to ableton for the sub swara sets, they still had space. LD is the dark horse superstar of the year--fantastic, fantastic music.

[antipode]

Sounding like Fela Kuti’s rhythm section on a bad acid trip

Surprised at the lack of DMZ007 though.

[cyrusfx]

Good article man, that was an interesting read... Living so far from the epicenter there's aspects to the scene that I'm always missing out on so its always good to get a little more history.

TBH I really like "Goblin," which surprises me.

Yeah, that might be my favorite track I've heard in the past few months (didnt actually hear it until September). the "bass" takes up so many different frequencies that its kind of a bass, lead and backdrop all at the same time. i played it downtown once and pretty much everybody walked into the back, besides the hardcore heads, who all moved to the front.

In any case, thanks for posting this.

[Sharmaji]

Sounding like Fela Kuti’s rhythm section on a bad acid trip

Surprised at the lack of DMZ007 though.

as much as i love AWD-- i play "left leg out" a whole lot more.

[RealityHz]

I can agree with a few of these, so mission accomplished. A few points of contention...

1. Left Leg Out, while one of my favorite tunes, should have been Lean Forward. Honestly both of them could be on this list. If it's one or the other Lean Forward is the one for me. However almost every mix I've ever in the last few years has Left Leg Out in it lol.

2. Burnin Up, it came out like... 2 months ago. Too soon to gauge the impact of the tune. Skream tunes like Dutch Flowers, Request Line, Glamma, etc all come to mind. Of these I only really like Dutch Flowers myself but in terms of impact undeniable.

3. Don't like Night if for no other reason than it's been rinsed to death. However given that fact it probably belongs on the list.

4. Damn right. I prefer the flip myself, but that is a baaaaaaaad release.

5. Yep.

6. Not a fan of this release. I don't get the hype here. Apparently it's deserving of the station because everyone else loves it.

7. This tune and anyone who plays it should be shot dead. Immediately. It's over, let it go.

8. It's a damn shame El-B comes in at 8. Brings to mind Horsepower Productions, who should also be on this list. How about in place of Spongebob?

9. eh, there are a couple of tunes on that release I like. Not earth shattering imo. at least not my earth.

10. No argument here.

Good list there and I think it could cause a fair amount of debate and discussion amongst the Dubstep heads. And a good primer for the uninitiated, which MTV definitely qualifies as.

One last thing though: NO ANTI WAR DUB??? BAN!!!

[ST100]

[steshine]

great list!!!!


to be honest i think goblin should have been on that list instead of spongebob

Nah i think this is a fine selection... Spongebob was one of the first to have that aggy sound of Coki's so it's apt that that should be in there rather than Goblin.

Glad Untold got a mention.... that guy is really pushing things a million miles further than most right now.

Big up on this article... certain people need educating.

[joe muggs]

I think you've done really well with an impossible task! Nobody can sum up dubstep in 10 records - I guess if I was doing it I might've chosen 'Bury The Bwoy' as it's a personal obsession, maybe something from the crossover with Berlin techno (Scuba, Appleblim, someone like that) and I'd have liked to see a vocal tune in there too - something like 'Get Up', 'Reminissin' or Skream's Bat For Lashes remix - but that might've confused matters too much... Anyway I'm not doing it, you are!

You've managed to get in garage roots, half-step, noisy wobble, funky crossover and the anything-goes approach of Untold and 'Burnin Up' AND managed to get most of the key names in there, I genuinely think it gives a sense of what dubstep has been and is today. Great work!

[borrowed]

Really? These are the best? They're boring at best. Throw some Joker in there. Some Coki, or even some Hatcha.

[morro_e]

I think you've done really well with an impossible task! Nobody can sum up dubstep in 10 records - I guess if I was doing it I might've chosen 'Bury The Bwoy' as it's a personal obsession, maybe something from the crossover with Berlin techno (Scuba, Appleblim, someone like that) and I'd have liked to see a vocal tune in there too - something like 'Get Up', 'Reminissin' or Skream's Bat For Lashes remix - but that might've confused matters too much... Anyway I'm not doing it, you are!

You've managed to get in garage roots, half-step, noisy wobble, funky crossover and the anything-goes approach of Untold and 'Burnin Up' AND managed to get most of the key names in there, I genuinely think it gives a sense of what dubstep has been and is today. Great work!

totally agree, thats a nice pick there!

if someone ever asks why not only dirty bassline halfstep considered dubstep we have a proof ready

[esfandyar]

that is a great list, if I was to throw anyone in the mix who was not mentioned, it would have been Vex'd but you did a great job none the less.

[TRNSPLNT]

Really? These are the best? They're boring at best. Throw some Joker in there. Some Coki, or even some Hatcha.

joker? you serious, top 10 tunnes, with all due respect, he doesn't come close.

im not so keen on the skream contribution. man has done much much bigger tunes.

[NilsFG]

2. Burnin Up, it came out like... 2 months ago. Too soon to gauge the impact of the tune. Skream tunes like Dutch Flowers, Request Line, Glamma, etc all come to mind. Of these I only really like Dutch Flowers myself but in terms of impact undeniable.

Ever since Skream started playing Burnin' Up (which is, I think, almost a year if not more ago) more and more dubstep producers started making their jungle tunes so it definitely had an impact.

3. Don't like Night if for no other reason than it's been rinsed to death. However given that fact it probably belongs on the list.

It's the (one of the) first dubstep tune that got very popular outside the dubstep scene. BBC even started playing it in the daytime schedule on the radio, so it was an important tune.
And it was a sick collab too

6. Not a fan of this release. I don't get the hype here. Apparently it's deserving of the station because everyone else loves it.

Haha this, Untold can make sick things but personally I can't stand the majority of his work.

7. This tune and anyone who plays it should be shot dead. Immediately. It's over, let it go.

You mad?

One last thing though: NO ANTI WAR DUB??? BAN!!!

Haha this.

I don't think any dubstep top 10 will ever be fulfilling! A top 50 would be better.

[Sharmaji]

^ yup, exactly. Joe thanks for the note too. I'd wanted to get Killing Floor or Lion VIP in there, but again-- the more stuff from 2005/6, the less from more recent years, and the more this'd look like a static list-- which to me is antithetical of the ethos of dubstep.

it's tough to decide which is "the" most influential DMZ release-- the bossa-nova kick drum pattern in bury the bwoy has since become so common that the orig tune almost gets lost in the mix. Anti-War Dub and Haunted are absolute classics and really, really evocative of a very specific time and place to me.

I think Joker's doing great things-- just didn't have space.

[barry]

fwd isnt a club

"he was spinning at clubs like FWD", other than that i liked it makig a top 10 is a loose loose imho never going to please everyone

[Pada]

Mine would be, in order of release;
Loefah - Root
Mala - Neverland
Digital Mystikz - Anti-War Dub
Digital Mystikz - Ancient Memories
Loefah - Ruffage
Mala - Left Leg Out
Mala - Blue Notez
Mala - Hunter
Mala - Lean Forward
Coki - Spongebob