Skream - Midnight Request Line

Skream, "Midnight Request Line (album version)" (YSI link)

Skream, "Midnight Request Line (DJ Zinc remix)" (YSI link)

Skream, "Midnight Request Line (Digital Mystikz remix)" (YSI link)

Skream, "Midnight Request Line (Switch remix)" (YSI link)

As promised, we're gonna try to jump in to the dubstep pool, starting off in the shallow end with one of, if not the, most famous track to come out of the genre so far, "Midnight Request Line." Skream actually put this out in 2005 on the Tempa label, changing the game immensely by crossing over into the mainstream (or as mainstream as this stuff gets). What struck me first is much slower and deliberate the tempo is than I ever expected. I think that I had in mind the uptempo sounds of UK Garage or even drum and bass in mind, the complete opposite really of what's going on here. Skream has basically made a track at half speed that still bounces, that still has a monstrous bass that gets you moving despite its relatively glacial pace for dance music. On top of that you also get some gorgeous synth melodies that any electro pop band would be glad to come up with, these sounds stick in your head for days, for real. Also, make sure to pay attention to the gunshot/bomb/snare percussion throughout, lending the song a brutal, almost buried edge. I've upped the album version, which is a minute shorter than the original 12" single.

The remixes come from a who's who of the UK, I would say. First, you get fellow dubstepper Digital Mystikz, a.k.a. Mala and Cofi, who keep things in a similar vein as the original. They speed things up a touch More interesting is the Zinc remix, as the junglist is still doing his thing all of these years after "Super Star Shooter." The first 2 minutes or so have more of a , but then bang bang come the drums and you've got a whole new tempo and step, classic Bingo Beats drums, plus some extra bass down low, turn this one into a great new look for the original. It's predictable, but the Switch remix is my favorite. What can I say, those jackin' beats and fuzzy, mutating bass make my life better and more happy? This one is a rager, for real, the only one to totally flip the script and rework the original completely. Thanks to Diplo's Mad Decent blog for upping this one a month ago.