5: five years of hyperdub – various artists (2009)

The early years of one of Britain’s most important electronic music labels marked a sonic shift from the tectonic bass of dubstep. Kode9 and his connectors emphasised wiry glitches, massacring samples and testing sounds in a way that upended what electronic music could be. It no longer necessarily orbited around dance or a summit of bass and was free to align materially with the nature of electronics itself: the blown fuses, exposed wiring, technical failures. This compilation collates classic and unreleased tracks that each, whether through strangely collaged rhythms or off key motions, embodies the frayed technological world that had arrived and was gathering momentum.

27/30

A favourite: ‘Aidy’s Girl’s A Computer’ – Darkstar