2008: thank you and good night

Well, 2008 is nearly over. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you all! So I thought a little present might be seasonal, scroll down for more.

Looking back it's been a pretty amazing year for me and Dusk. "Margins Music" got finished and came out as the same time as a 12 page booklet and 6 minute video and I didn't quite have a total mental breakdown. I dont think I have ever put so much of my heart and soul into any one thing before, so thanks massively to Baked Goods (distribution), Transition (mastering), Charles Nomad (PR), Stu Give Up Art (art), Shaun Bloodworth (cover shots) and Jonathan Howells (video). Thanks to everyone who put it in their end of year charts (Simon Reynolds, Starkey, The Observer, The Wire, Time Out Chicago, T++, Boomkat, Melissa Bradshaw and more).

DJ-wise it's been amazing too. Highlights were definitely the album launch at FWD>> and any time we played for them at Plastic People. Joining Rinse was a total honour: having Trim show up unexpectedly was a total buzz. Playing DMZ and Dub War in New York were both pretty incredible. Clashing on Mary Anne Hobbs' Radio 1 show was a lot (audio here and here). Emptying the room after Ghetto's Dirty Canvas album launch was remarkable. Going out onto the main stage of The Big Chill was hillarious for that "what are we doing here?" vibe. Hold tight Fabric, The End, Scala, Ministry, Herbal, Bristol, Belgium, 93 Ft East and Plan B.

So what does 2009 hold? Onwards and upwards I think. More blogging: if there's stuff I'm inspired enough by to want to share I'll give it coverage here. More Rinse shows, trying to maintain the standard of the beats we select. More Keysound releases, of that there is no doubt. Starkey ft. Durrty Goodz EP is next. More comps: Roots of El-B is done, expect samplers v soon. Musically I want to keep pushing at the edges, in multiple different directions and styles be they 2steppy, percussive, beatless, funky, wonky, grimey, instrumental, vocal, MC-lead, masculine and/or feminine but mostly bassy. 2009 should be a make or break year for dubstep: it's time to ride on through, or indeed past, the darkness. Let's roll.



So yeah, a little present, as tis the season. I recently scanned in my 2004 Deuce magazine interview with Digital Mystikz and my more in depth piece featuring Loefah from Dummy in 2007. I'm pretty sure the Deuce piece is the first ever DMZ interview, commissioned when "Pathwayz," their breakthrough track, was on dub. You can either download them all here or check them on Flickr. They're upped as hi res, just click on the image and "all sizes" for the largest version. Enjoy.

• Download them all here or check them on Flickr

Merry Christmas. See you on the other side.

Martin