2008: dubstep, grime, career-bests and Jay-Z at Glastonbury

Wiley - Wearing My Rolex

Much like the rest of the noughties, 2008 had no defining genre that formed the spine for listening trends and consumer interest; we were instead provided with a rather messy collage of beats, breaks and riffs left to our own devices to sift through the good, the bad and the ugly.

One memorable yet disheartening sensation was the rise of Grime, which swiftly moved from dingy pirate radio studios to the speakers of cheese clubs up and down the country. Most notable of all was Wiley’s ‘Wearing My Rolex’, which opened up a new avenue of electro-house anthems.

Skepta replied with ‘Rolex Sweep’, and everyone from Chipmunk to Lethal Bizzle dipped their hand in it as well. Dizzee Rascal also achieved his biggest success to date, with the Calvin Harris-produced No. 1 ‘Come Dance With Me’. These were exciting times for the scene, but the sharp wit and lyricism of yore largely gave way to slick production and tacky dance moves. Artists such as Trim, JME and Wretch 32 were still flying the flag for the underground.

Dubstep thankfully showed no signs of abating, with the scenes forefathers pounding out the same bone crushing beats and a slew of new, exciting producers keeping everything fresh, Big tunes included Pangaea – ‘Router’, Mala – ‘Miracles’ and Martyn’s remix of TRG’s ‘Broken Heart’. Hyperdub had yet another outstanding year, with releases by Ikonika, Darkstar, Samiyam, King Midas Sound and Kode9 himself. Reclusive starlet Zomby was the pick of the bunch, unleashing a unique blend of crunk, rave, garage and dubstep. Both the ‘Zomby EP’ and ‘Mu5h/Spliff Dub (Rustie Remix)’ were highlights as was his debut LP Where Were You In ’92, a surprising curveball of jungle, rave and hardcore nostalgia.

No producer made his presence felt more strongly than Joker, whose g-funk and grime combination hit the clubs hard, particularly ‘Holly Brook Park’ and ‘Gully Brook Lane’.

Outside of Dubstep’s usual trajectory, Kevin Smith’s third album under his ‘The Bug’ moniker cemented his status as one the most forward thinking producers in electronic music today. Marrying grime, dancehall and reggae, London Zoo was a seismic clash of fired up Ragga MCs and deep, uncompromising beats. New musical phenomenon “Wonky” also made strides in both quality and stature. Leader of the pack was Steven Ellison aka Flying Lotus, whose stunning second album Los Angeles represented the marker upon which all future releases will be set against. Other notable artists in the scene included Hudson Mohawke, Samiyam, Rustie and Ras G.

2008 was also the year for artists breaking out and making a name for themselves with career-best albums. Among those included Deerhunter, TV On The Radio, M83, No Age and Gang Gang Dance. Equally, several new musicians hit the ground running with material far beyond their limited experience. Fleet Foxes’ self-titled album and Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago were widely acclaimed, and perhaps highlighted the widening gulf between the US and the UK in quality bands and solo artists.

Other highlights for me included the triumphant return of post-rock kings Mogwai with The Hawk Is Howling and the release of Nah Und Fern, a collection of Wolfgang Voigt’s work under the alias Gas.

In a year of generally mediocre festival line-ups, the inclusion of Jay-Z at Glastonbury was a breath of fresh air, and a real talking point of the summer. We all know what happened there, and no doubt it will be regarded in hindsight as a watershed moment for festivals; it was evident in the largely more ambitious line ups of 2009 that the success of Jigga has had a profound effect on their endeavours to create diverse, interesting line ups. Perhaps this will spread to music in general?

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