Happy New Year

So that’s it. The noughties and 09’ are over.  Dubstep hit daytime airwaves, Diplo and Switch swapped Camden for Kingston and certain arms of the music press hailed the disco revival (Although Todd Tejre, Greg Wilson and any DJ worth their pay check have been playing and re-editing disco since erm…disco)

It’s been a steep learning curve for all involved in Push Music and we wouldn’t have had it any other way.  In 12 months we’ve played at over 15 different venues playing tracks that made you dance and scratch your head in equal measure. Thanks to friends, friends of friends, podcast listeners and klub kids that have made it through the doors into a Push Music party. As a heartfelt thank you we’ll keep dropping 60 minutes podcasts throughout 2010. Please keep the feedback coming, it’s good that people appreciate something different.

Back to the music. 2009 became the year the dance borderlines where crossed. House DJ’s played Dubstep (Skream’s stripped down amen loving re-fix of in for the Kill dominating sets)  Drum and Bass had a definitive year in the overground and underground with stand out albums for Sub Focus, Alex Perez and Danny Byrd.

Fidget became a dirty word as UK Funky took over London’s urban scene with a few stand out tracks but ultimately becoming a grooveless sub hybrid of UK garage. On the subject of UKG, Joy Orbison took major influence from the atmospheric dubbier tracks of the 90’s (think Zed Bias & Groove Chronicles) and injected some soul into the dubstep sound with ‘Hyph Mngo’,  Orbison’s eerie stomper sitting high as the tune of the year for most critics.  After inventing the genre the Yanks tried as hard as they could to destroy house (With the help of the French) let’s get this straight, charts or no charts, there’s no need to put Akon or the Black Eyed Peas on house records. Guetta, Larry Levan is turning in his grave.

Stand out tracks for myself this year have been Major Lazor’s ‘Pon the Floor’ for the WTF! screwface expressions at dancehall nonsense at house speed, Fake Blood’s ‘I think I like it’ for the sheer cut and paste funk and string section and Grum’s 80’s electronic winner ‘Heatbeats’.

The Push Music best of 09 is currently on a crashed hard drive (Merry f*cking Chrimbo Dell) but once it’s recovered it will be up to kick off 2010 in style.

Happy New Year.

Bill