Mary Anne Hobbs' Seminal "Dubstep Warz" Program Turns Seven

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Mary Anne Hobbs has been one of the biggest champions of future music. She spent fourteen years providing electronic and experimental music for BBC Radio 1 via her Breezeblock program, has compiled projects for Planet Mu, and has even mentored students at the University of Sheffield Union of Students. Her sharp ear for quality producers and genres have made her one of the most important figures within the dance music spectrum, and she's toured the world providing these beats to hungry club kids and EDM lovers.

On January 10, 2006, Mary Anne Hobbs presented "Dubstep Warz", a special edition of the Breezeblock show that featured a number of talented producers and DJs introducing the world at large to the sound known as dubstep. While the birth of dubstep precedes this show by a few years (or more, depending on where you place the flag), "Dubstep Warz" was the most important showcase for the scene at that time. The show consisted of seven sets from producers that would become legends to the dubstep lovers, including Mala from Digital Mystikz, Skream, DJ Distance, DJ Hatcha, Loefah (with Sgt. Pokes), Vex'd, and Kode 9 (with Space Ape), each with their own definitive style, shedding light on this genre's different vibes.

To celebrate the seventh anniversary of this groundbreaking program, Mary Anne posted a stream of the show via her blog, with the following comments on it's impact:

"The ripples of pure energy pushing out from the tiny epicentre of this incredible scene have contributed to a landscape which has never looked more diverse and beautiful.

If you want to hear why I fell in love with dubstep.. one primary piece of evidence is right here. This radio show was considered the global Tipping Point for the sound.. a show that changed history."

In all of its glory, here are two of the most critically-acclaimed hours within the dubstep canon.


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 (Tempa)

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' (kode9 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)

Vex'd - 'Knowledge Remix' (white)

Hatcha

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 (Tempa)

Loefah and Sgt. Pokes

Loefah - 'Mud' (white)

Loefah - 'Ruffage' (white)

Loefah - 'Sukkah' (white)

Loefah - 'System' (white)

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)

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