EC2A head honcho Dr Dubplate selects us 10Trax that reflect a poignant period of his life musically and as someone trying to make it in the industry.

‘Eastern Jam’ by Chase & Status

Not going to lie, this is a pure nostalgic guilty pleasure. It gives me flashbacks of 16+ parties we used to go to at Ministry Of Sound, Club Colosseum, Matter, SE One, Cable, The Den & Centro and so many more - which are all clubs excluding ministry that don’t even exist anymore! I’m so grateful to have these memories.

‘Anti War Dub’ by Mala

This track needs no introduction. An absolute classic from DMZ here. Whenever I ask myself what my favourite dubstep track of all time is? This is that track; it’s always number one on my list. 

‘Round The World Girls [Tes La Rok Remix]’ by Uncle Sam

This record was mind-blowing when I first discovered it on YouTube, the algorithm these days was unmatched and one of my biggest regrets is losing access to the accounts that had all my playlist from that era, as there’s so much gold. It’s funny because it recently came back to me when I was preparing my playlists for a forthcoming Boomtown b2b with Mia Koden and Jossy. I was thinking of sick tunes for a Boomtown set and that specific b2b and this was one of the first tunes that came to mind, as a bit of classic/gem/throwback.

‘Battle For Middle You’ by Julio Bashmore

It’s mad when I listen to this track because it means so much to me. This track came out the year I went to university in 2011! It was literally just after the riots which is crazy considering where we find ourselves today. But anyway, I had never heard anything like this before and it completely blew my mind! This also marks when I started DJing so hold tight Harri Pepper because I remember him letting me use his decks that he had in his room at our uni halls. Harri and Liam Butler taught me a lot of the basics!

‘Percy’ by Kahn & Neek

This is a Bristol heritage anthem in my opinion. Kahn & Neek deserve an award for their contribution to that prime grime/dubstep 2013/14 era of Bristol and UK bass music. You just had to be there. I can’t even describe it, honestly, the energy at some of these events in Bristol was silly. Bare gassed, bare wheel ups! I think of 51 27 - if you know, you know! When I listen back to their productions, I'm always in awe of the sound design and general production value. I feel they've truly stood the test of time and I'm gutted I don’t own a lot of their records from then. 

‘Gabriel’ by Roy Davis Jr & Peven Everett

Without a doubt one of the best US garage tracks! We booked Roy Davis in like 2012/13 to play at a venue called Timbuk2 and sold it out on a Wednesday. It brings back great memories and it was such a blessing to be able to hear the man himself play this track in Bristol; he even came back to the afters! What a legend…

‘It’s You (Ron Basejam remix)’ by The White Lamp

I could never get bored of this track, it’s one of those that you could play time and time again and still makes you feel amazing. It just makes me want to be in a field in the sun with no cares in the world.  This track got me into the deeper side of house! Shout out to Dave Harvey, the first person who ran a record label, parties and was a sick DJ. This opened my eyes because I previously held the idea that you had to just be a producer/DJ.

‘What They Say’ by Maya Jane Coles

Maya Jane Coles has got bangers for days I cannot lie. I love how the layering on the tracks and the versatility of her discography. ‘What They Say’ is a proper banger. The lead melody is crazy catchy and again this was a tune that was getting played every time you’d go out. It reminds me of the early days of Motion Bristol at a night called Just Jack. These events taught me a lot about real quality house music.

‘Lime & Pink’ by Kris Wadsworth

I’ve been hearing this tune making a bit of a comeback recently and it’s not without reason! I remember when I first heard it; my mate Ross at the time showed me when we were out here burning CDs to do a DJ set, and I was like, ‘Nah, I need to up my game.’ It’s just that one wobbly bassline throughout but that's all you need. I always find it fascinating how much slower the BPMs were in productions these days.

‘Critical Distance Pt.2’ by Tom Demac

This is another one that is such a throwback for me! This tune stands out a lot as I remember being fascinated by the different influences on the track. The sound design from a more dubstep-leaning track but in a more 4x4 context, crazy! When Tom Demac dropped it I remember it went crazy at Uni. Every DJ had it on their CDs. They were another person we had the pleasure of booking for a night at Timbuk2, which was so much fun! These were foundational moments for me!

“I had to pop these in as honourable mentions. I was very close to picking them and really wanted to big them up as the whole idea was to capture 10trax in a period of my life that massively opened my eyes both musically and as a young land trying to find a path in music. I Hope you enjoy!”
‘Untitled’ by Pearson Sound
‘It’s Only (DJ Koze Remix)’ by Herbert
‘What I Might Do’ by Ben Pearce
‘The Grid’ by My Nu Leng
& many many more