# Bass Weight One line, five records, forty years: Kingston to Croydon by way of every British rave that treated the sub-bass as the point rather than the foundation. - **Picks:** 5 - **Drawn from:** 4 rankings - **Years:** 1976–2007 - **Curator:** The Waxonia Desk - **Updated:** 2026-08-29 - **Curator's page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/ - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/theme/the-desk-bass-weight/ ## What gets in, and what does not The sub-bass has to be the subject of the record, not its foundation. A track with an enormous low end that would survive being played on a small speaker does not belong here. Every record here is already in one of our rankings — a theme re-cuts what the site has vouched for, and vouches for nothing new. Drawn from: [Drum and Bass](https://waxonia.com/genre/drum-and-bass/), [Dub](https://waxonia.com/genre/dub/), [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/), [UK Garage](https://waxonia.com/genre/uk-garage/). ## The records Selected, not ranked — the order carries no claim about which is best. ### [The Revolutionaries](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-revolutionaries/) — [Kunta Kinte Dub](https://waxonia.com/track/the-revolutionaries--kunta-kinte-dub/) *1976 · Well Charge* A Kingston rhythm that would not stay in its decade. Sped up and cut into jungle plates twenty years later, it is the physical evidence that British bass music imported more than an attitude. Also on: [Dub](https://waxonia.com/genre/dub/), [1976](https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-seventy-six/), [The Waxonia Desk — Ghosts](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-ghosts/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Revolutionaries%20Kunta%20Kinte%20Dub) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=K6XDIje4vJU) ### [Shy FX & UK Apache](https://waxonia.com/artist/shy-fx-and-uk-apache/) — [Original Nuttah](https://waxonia.com/track/shy-fx-and-uk-apache--original-nuttah/) *1994 · SOUR* The sound system and the sampler stop being separate traditions. A ragga vocal over an Amen break at 170 BPM, and nobody involved thought the combination needed explaining. Also on: [Drum and Bass](https://waxonia.com/genre/drum-and-bass/), [1994](https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-ninety-four/), [The Waxonia Desk — 160](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-160/), [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/Shy%20FX%20%26%20UK%20Apache%20Original%20Nuttah) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sxbekgL4w7w) ### [Double 99](https://waxonia.com/artist/double-99/) — [RIP Groove](https://waxonia.com/track/double-99--rip-groove/) *1997 · Ice Cream* Jungle's tempo halved and its aggression kept. Garage is usually filed as the friendly one, and this is the record that shows how thin that description always was. Also on: [UK Garage](https://waxonia.com/genre/uk-garage/), [The Waxonia Desk — Garage on the Mix](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-garage-on-the-mix/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Double%2099%20RIP%20Groove) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=uR3Vw8J8vUo) ### [Skream](https://waxonia.com/artist/skream/) — [Midnight Request Line](https://waxonia.com/track/skream--midnight-request-line/) *2005 · Tempa* The same 140 BPM grid with the kicks taken out and the low end left to do the work alone. The record that made dubstep legible to people who had never stood in front of a proper rig. Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Night It Went National](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-dubstep-goes-national/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Skream%20Midnight%20Request%20Line) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=lcMAbnZy8l8) ### [The Bug featuring Killa P & Flowdan](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-bug-featuring-killa-p-and-flowdan/) — [Skeng](https://waxonia.com/track/the-bug-featuring-killa-p-and-flowdan--skeng/) *2007 · Ninja Tune* The line closes. A dancehall vocal over a corroded synth bass, thirty years and five thousand miles from where it started, and it still sounds like the same argument. Also on: [Dubstep](https://waxonia.com/genre/dubstep/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Bug%20featuring%20Killa%20P%20%26%20Flowdan%20Skeng) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=zwmUOJR-GwA) ## Who made this 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/ --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.