Going on something like 5 years now the UK Dubstep scene seems to not only be in the throws of its popularity and height of its press recognition, but has reached a state where many of the major producers in the genre have released their finest, most well-formulated and solid work. If you're going to trust any label to give you the lowdown on the UK Dubstep and Grime cultures it's probably going to be have to be Soul Jazz. Here the good people from the most knowledgeable urban arts and music institution in the UK compile a forward looking retrospective that fills the gaps between the Tempa label's "Dubstep Allstars" comp and Soul Jazz' own current running "Box of Dub" series.

Complete with the now Soul Jazz standard booklet giving an informative and eye opening account for each artist included, this is an indispensable guide for those who've had their interest piqued by the recent storm of press coverage in the likes of The Wire and internet exposure that has pushed the scene into the glaring limelight. The selections here are pretty much impeccable, running from solid established bass anthems like Kode 9's '9 Samurai', to unreleased gems from Plastician, Joker, and Skull Disco's own Gatekeeper, and a wealth of recent classics from Shackleton, Martyn, Peverelist, Ikonika and TRG that would cost you 5 times the price of admission alone to pick up individually as disparate 12"s. If there's any one document that brings together all the varying players and sounds in this burgeoning new scene and genre, this one comp would be it. Not only diverse, but incisive and highly qualitative in its selections, Soul Jazz is at the top of their game with this one and both new initiates to the sound and seasoned 'Steppers' will relish the possibility of future volumes in the series. Would that qualify as Bass anticipation?