:: Various Artists - Ministry Of Sound: Sound Of Dubstep

Various Artists

In the late 90’s a new style of dance music started creeping out of the clubs of South London. It’s taken a while for the strange form of electronica to take hold but now in 2011 we see it dominating the charts, so much so that Ministry Of Sound had decided to dedicate a two CD pack to it… the only problem I can see is that Israeli DJ Borgore may not have been the ideal person to mix CD 1 if Ministry Of Sound are hoping that this album may attract more people to becoming a fan of Dubstep. Borgore’s heavy style of music certainly won’t win people over to the genre as it doesn’t showcase it in the real light. While his mixes of tracks like Document Ones’ ‘Closer’ and his own ‘Love’ work wonderfully well but tracks like ‘Ho! Riddim’ sound like you have fallen into an intergalactic war rather than listening to a CD, while ‘Brace For Impact’, ‘Sunsets’, ‘Squid Attack’ and ‘Foes’ sounds like they may have been recorded by Transformers rather than a DJ. The graphic sexual nature of ‘Afro Blue’ and ‘Spaceship’ could be really off-putting for some female listeners as well. However it is Disc Two that saves this compilation. Mixed by the legendary Will Styles he manages to create a Dubstep disc that you feel will appeal to the masses, and win over a few new fans for the genre. Classics such as Itch-E & Scratch-E’s ‘Sweetness & Light’ sound brilliant remixed while popular tracks like The Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Dispostion’ and Dead Prez’s ‘Bigger Than Hip Hop’ are well worth a listen. Styles certainly knows how to put together a compilation and adds variety with everything covered from the popesque ‘Animale’, old style jungle beats with ‘Badman Riddim’, reggae with ‘Slew Dem’ and anthems such as ‘Me & You’. All up, The Sounds Of Dubstep is a worthy addition to your collection but you may find yourself skipping over Disc One and giving Disc Two more of a workout.