# The Waxonia Desk: The Night It Went National

Five records from the January 2006 broadcast usually credited with taking dubstep national, and from the months either side of it. A few hundred people in a Brixton basement were given two hours of national radio.

- **Picks:** 5
- **Genre:** Dubstep
- **Years:** 2004–2008
- **Curator:** The Waxonia Desk
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Curator's page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-dubstep-goes-national/

## The picks

Selected, not ranked — the order is the curator’s, and carries no claim about which is best.

### [Digital Mystikz](https://waxonia.com/artist/digital-mystikz/) — [Anti-War Dub](https://waxonia.com/track/digital-mystikz--anti-war-dub/)

*2006 · DMZ*

Mala's case for space over impact, made on national radio. The restraint was the hardest part of the argument to get across at the time, and it is the part of it that lasted.

Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Digital%20Mystikz%20Anti-War%20Dub) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=nhyOzIiBv-o)

### [Skream](https://waxonia.com/artist/skream/) — [Midnight Request Line](https://waxonia.com/track/skream--midnight-request-line/)

*2005 · Tempa*

The tune that converted people who had no idea what they were listening to. A scene needs one record everybody can hum before anything else it does is allowed to travel.

Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/), [Bass Weight](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-desk-bass-weight/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Skream%20Midnight%20Request%20Line) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=lcMAbnZy8l8)

### [Kode9 & The Spaceape](https://waxonia.com/artist/kode9-and-the-spaceape/) — [Sine of the Dub](https://waxonia.com/track/kode9-and-the-spaceape--sine-of-the-dub/)

*2004 · Hyperdub*

A Prince cover reduced to a sine wave and a recitation, broadcast to a national audience. Nothing about that was a safe choice, and it is why the show is remembered as an argument rather than a playlist.

Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Kode9%20%26%20The%20Spaceape%20Sine%20of%20the%20Dub) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=xATku5_RL9U)

### [Burial](https://waxonia.com/artist/burial/) — [Archangel](https://waxonia.com/track/burial--archangel/)

*2007 · Hyperdub*

From just after the broadcast, and the record that took the sound to people who would never go to DMZ. What a scene gains in reach it loses in the room, and this is the trade being made.

Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/), [The Waxonia Desk — Ghosts](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-ghosts/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Burial%20Archangel) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=E2qLD9c3Gq4)

### [Benga & Coki](https://waxonia.com/artist/benga-and-coki/) — [Night](https://waxonia.com/track/benga-and-coki--night/)

*2008 · Tempa*

The other direction entirely — a bassline built to break a room. Everything people came to love and to hate about the next five years of dubstep is already audible in it.

Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Benga%20%26%20Coki%20Night) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucr6nPQ3aYQ)

## About the curator

The people who write the rankings on this site. We keep the lists honest, we argue about the order, and we get asked the same question more than any other: where should someone actually start. These are our answers.

Elsewhere: https://waxonia.com/

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.