| Title, Format | Label | Cat# | Country | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midnight Request Line / I (2xFile, MP3, 320) | Tempa | TEMPA 014 | UK | |||
| Late Night Request Line / I (12", W/Lbl, Promo) | Tempa | TEMPA 014 | UK | 2005 | ||
| The Zinc Remixes (12") | Bingo Beats | BINGO 055 | UK | 2006 | ||
| Midnight Request Line Remixes (CDr, Single, Promo) | Tempa | TEMPA 035 | UK | 2008 | ||
| Midnight Request Line Remixes (12", Ltd) | Tempa | TEMPA 035 | UK | 2008 |
Dubstep. This was my introduction. It was my equivalent of the moment when dancers first heard House in Chicago, or those who heard the first Jungle beats coming from the UK. It was something different. A sound with which people didn’t know how to react. A sound which created a new way of dancing; the two-step dance with a head-nod.
If I wanted to explain to somebody the Dubstep sound in 2005, I played them Skream’s "Midnight Request Line”. The movement had already begun two years before with releases from Kode 9, Hatcha, Loefah and co. but hadn’t quite found an anthem.
This for me was (and still is) the defining Dubstep tune. Ominous melody accompanied by gunshots. A synchronised beat which leaves enough space to put you on edge. He even throws in a key change halfway through the song to add to the tension. It’s a sound from London; dark, lonely and gloomy. But also a sound that brought together people who didn’t know each other. Like all good music, Dubstep united people, and continues to due so now. This tune brought Dubstep into the mainstream, so should be celebrated but then again will be criticised as Dubstep is a genre that needs to remain in the Dark, and catchy tunes like these aren’t going to help.