2009: A Look Back

2009 has been a massive year of British music of all kinds. Dubstep has blown up beyond anyone's imagination (whether you think that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you) and British producers have been in demand all round the world, both for their production skills and to play out in exotic places all over the globe. Every day there seems to be a new producer to watch out for and the tag "the next..." is exchanged almost daily. 2009 has been a HUGE year for underground music and I'd just like to say a massive thank you to any artist who I've seen play out or who has released music this year (whether you're on this list or not), you've made 2009 what it is. So here it is our rundown of what's what in 2009:

TOP 5 PRODUCERS

I've been thinking quite a lot lately about who has really made a massive impact this year with their releases and production skills, as well as what they are like to go and see play out. I've managed to narrow down the options to a top 5 situation so have a read about why I've chosen these guys, what they have coming up next year and why you should be excited about it:

Joker

He has to be on the list doesn't he? I was contemplating leaving him off but having had a listen to the tunes he's put out in just these past 12 months it would have been a crime! No other producer has made an impact in the scene as big as he has this year. No one has been as consistent as he has. No one has been as much of a badman as he is. Joker is the one! With tunes like 'Purple City', 'Re-Up', 'Tron' and 'My Trance Girl still getting pull up now, and with massive remixes for the likes of Adam Freeland, Basement Jaxx, The Heavy and Turboweekend gaining massive popularity, Joker has claimed 2009 as his year. And he's not stopping there with another massive release dropping before the year is out ('City Hopper' b/w 'Output 1, 2') and his debut album slated for release next year, 2010 is gonna be just as big!

Instra:mental

The Autonomic boys have taken things to a new level this year. Their production skills are unparalleled with tunes like 'Watching You', 'Tramma' and 'Forbidden' becoming instant classics. Their label NonPlus+ is definitely one of the hottest labels about. The Autonomic Podcasts have developed a cult like following with downloads of Layer:09 topping 30,000! On top of this, they've been given the honour of being on the buttons for the FabricLive 50 mix CD, along with Autonomic collaborator dBridge, and now have a Club Autonomic residency at the club. So yeah 2009 has been alright for these boys! Keep your eyes peeled for more releases from Instra:mental in 2010 and maybe an album too ;)

Hudson Mohawke

The Glasweigan beat wizard is the hottest thing going in electronic music right now. He's just released his debut LP on seminal label Warp Records to massive critical acclaim, and with only a handful of releases under is belt the hype around Hud Mo is unbelievable. He's one of the pioneers, along with long time friend Rustie, of hip-hop or glitch-hop or trip-hop or aquacrunk or whatever(I'm not gonna try and describe his sound because it's impossible, but if you've heard it you know what I mean). Hud Mo is certainly not gonna go away in 2010 so stay locked on him as well! His people have been in talks with Rihanna and several other high profile names so expect Hud Mo to be producing some tracks for some big name performers.

Breakage

What can you say about this dude? Everything he touches turns to gold. He's responsible for some of the biggest tunes of the past 12 months with 'Together', 'Hard', 'Higher' and more recently 'Justify' gaining massive popularity, and his remixes of DJ Madd, Zarif and even David Guetta have been just as sick. His production is tight as hell and he even has the ability to turn an already incredible track, 'Together', into an even sicker track, 'Hard'! His album is due on Digital Soundboy in early 2010 so hol tight for that one cos it's gonna be BIGGGG! Largin up man like Breakage, easily one of my favourite producers about at the moment.

Skream

2009 has been a massive year for Skream. He was responsible for the biggest crossover dubstep track of the year with his remix of La Roux's 'In For The Kill', as well as having a string of releases on respected labels such as NonPlus+, Southside Dubstars and Deep Medi Musik. He has also really shown his versatility this year and his ability to produce big tunes in various styles. He's produced some massive tearout tunes this year, whilst producing tunes that have featured on the Autonomic Podcasts! He hasn't got a style and can produce pretty much anything. 2010 is gonna be even bigger for Skream. He's got an album on the horizon which is gonna be large, featuring tracks like 'Fields Of Emotion' and 'Give You Everything', so watch out for more to come from Croydon's most famour export! Also look our for releases on dBridge's massive Exit Records as well. I'm very excited to hear that.

BIGGEST TUNES

Here is our (pretty long) list of the biggest tunes of 2009. Now there are obviously gonna be tunes that we forgot so don't hold it against us, but here we go:

Hudson Mohawke - FUSE
Mala - Eyez

Untold - Stop What You're Doing (James Blake Remix)

Darkstar - Aidy's Girl's A Computer

Breakage ft. Newham Generals - Hard

Joker, Ginz - Purple City / Re-Up

Joker - Tron

Kito ft. Reija Lee- LFO

Vaccine - Fever (Kito Remix)

Tempa T - Next Hype (Most Mixes)

Emalkay - When I Look At You

Noah D - Seeeeeeeeerious / VIP

ASC - Porcelain

Consequence - Pseudo Echo

Consequence ft. ASC - From A Distance

Benga - Descending

Alix Perez ft. Spectrasoul - Forsaken

dBridge - Inner Disbelief

Jakes - Rhythm

Spectrasoul ft. Mike Knight- Melodies

Guido - Beautiful Complication

Breakage - Higher

Gemmy - Supligen

dBridge - The Dim Light

Pangaea - Memories

Alix Perez - Contradictions

Instra:mental ft. dBridge- Watching You

Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo

James Blake - Air & Lack Thereof

BD1982 - Space Boots (Slugabed Remix)

Headhunter - Prototype (Modeselektor's Broken Handbrake Remix)

Hudson Mohawke - Zoo00000m

Gemmy - Grime Baby

Untold - Gonna Work Out Fine

Headhunter - Experience

Von D ft. Phephe - Show Me

Consequence ft. Instra:mental - Reflex Reactions

Kryptic Minds - Badman

2562 - Like A Dream

Martin Kemp - No Charisma

Ikonika ft. Erik Johannson - We Could Be Ikons

Spectrasoul - Guardian / 4 Points

Mr. Lager - Tell Me / Tell Me (Distance Remix)

Mala - Level Nine

Untold - Don't Know. Don't Care

Burial & Four Tet - Moth
Mount Kimbie - Sketches On Glass
Silkie - Planet X
Zomby - Godzilla

Instra:mental - No Future

dBridge - Wonder Where
Pinch ft Yolanda - Get Up (Jack Sparrow Remix)
Kryptic Minds - Code 46
Synkro - Tell Me

ONES TO WATCH IN 2010

ASC - Expect big things from this dude in 2010. He's got an album coming on NonPlus+, which is looking set to be large so get excited about that.

Kito - Had her Disfigured Dubz double pack been released this year, this girl would have been knocking on the door of top 5 producers! She's seriously talented and he Disfigured EP is gonna be one of the big releases of 2010!

Joy Orbison - Responsible for one of the biggest tunes of this year with Hyph Mngo, this dude is definitely one to watch in 2010. Expect a lot more bookings and a lot more releases.

James Blake - Only had 2 releases on Untold's Hemlock imprint, but both were massive so expect a lot more from this young producer!

Numan - Had his first release on Subdepth a few weeks back, and with more releases on the horizon, including one on Starkey's label, this Mancunian producer is destined for big tings next year.

LABELS TO WATCH IN 2010

NonPlus+ - Instra:mental's label will definitely be an early contender for label of the year come January. They're got releases lined up from Actress, ASC, Vaccine, Consequence and more so look out for the Autonomic boys making big moves next year.

Hemlock - Untold's label is going from strength to strength at the moment, with releases from Untold himself, Pangaea and James Blake, and expect a lot more to come from the Hemlock camp.

Exit Records - One of the biggest labels about and it's gonna get even bigger next year! dBridge has releases lined up from himself, Skream and more so look out for this one too.

Disfigured Dubz - Disfigured's turnaround is pretty poor but they've got some big releases forthcoming from Kito and Von D, so hopefully 2010 will see more releases from this label.

L2S Recordings - Quite a surprising inclusion this one, buuuut I'm fucking loving the stuff that they're putting out at the moment. Future garage is definitely gaining a lot of popularity so expect a lot more releases from this label. On the same tip, check out Smokin' Sessions too.

Finally just want to say a big thank you to anyone who has supported us this year! We've only been going 3 months but with your support things have picked up quickly. Expect a lot more in 2010 including some massive mixes and interviews....as well as the Disrupt:on nights starting in Leeds and Bristol early in 2010!

Big ups!