We had to highlight this fantastic piece from Lauren Martin and Vice magazine, an extensive and entrancing journey through the development of the Dubstep scene, touching on Grime and the twilight years of UK Garage...
Relayed through the eyes, ears and dubplates of many of the core architects of the movement, and dotted with embeds of a few of the heftiest tracks that underpinned the scene, this engrossing and epic piece of journalism offers up an amazing insight into the formation, progression and collapse of a particularly interesting and freely-creative period in UK music.
Taking in thoughts, recollections and observations from key collectives, crews, producers and label players of the time, the pulsing underground scene is gloriously reconstructed into one cohesive, revealing time-line. It's an impressive document, picking out the many threads that made up the complex, intertwined culture of the era, united by a passion for 1210s, vinyl and bass-loaded rhythms.
As well as recounted tales from the names you might expect, it also triumphantly highlights the influence and impact that those behind the scene can have, engineers like Jason Goz, crucially instrumental in the direction of the sound and held in the highest esteem by producers reaching for that certain quality of frequencies.
Gripping and remarkable, the 14 chapter piece is unashamedly lengthy, and regardless of your experience or feelings towards 'Dubstep', it's a brilliant and intimate survey, presenting first-hand accounts of the fertile street-level scene; from amazingly productive vacuum to eventual implosion.
Very highly recommended.
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/an-oral-history-of-dubstep-vice-lauren-martin-610