various: tempa100

Tempa presents its landmark 100th release, a double-pack of essential classics to mark the occasion. Limited to 500 copies. Founded in London in 2000, Tempa swiftly evolved to become one of the most vital and influential labels in UK dance music. At the epicenter of dubstep as it evolved from a mutant offshoot of garage into its own unique scene and sound, Tempa has fostered many of the genre's best-known names and some of its most powerful. For its 100th release, it marks that legacy by casting an ear back into its rich archives. Two 12"s with represses of a selection of pivotal tracks from Horsepower, Skream, Digital Mystikz, Benga & Coki, DJ Abstract, High Plains Drifter, and SP:MC, which, together, chart the history of dubstep's emergence. Tempa100's first disc gathers together the heady, dark, percussive sounds of the genre's early years, rich in smoky atmosphere. It opens with a track from the very first Tempa 12", the slinkily-robotic freakout of Horsepower Productions' "When You Hold Me," before drifting through DJ Abstract's humid and romantic "Touch," High Plains Drifter's "Sholay (feat. Goldspot Productions) (Epic Mix)," and Digital Mystikz's ultra-stripped-back early roller "Give Jah Glory." The second plate ups the ante with a clutch of dubstep's most iconic dancefloor bruisers -- Skream's seminal "Midnight Request Line," Benga & Coki's anthemic "Night," the cybernetic halfstep of SP:MC's "Trust Nobody," and the dub disorientation of Coki's "Tortured." Just as powerful as when they were first released, the tracks on Tempa100 are both a celebration and a reminder of the label's ten-tons-heavy contribution to UK music history. Designed by long-time collaborator and art director Give Up Art, the packaging contains two unique printed inner sleeves, and includes previously-unpublished photos from the archives of photographer Shaun Bloodworth.