Kurupt FM’s Steve Stamp Picks Out Some UK Garage Killers

10 stone cold classics from the UKG frontline...

Kurupt FM may well be comedy gold, but beneath all that lies an abiding love for music.

Sure, the pirate crew may have a neat line in one liners, but they're also deadly serious crate-diggers, whose enthusiasm for UK garage can't be faked.

Steve Stamp – co-creator of Kurupt FM – is also a DJ in his own right, and hits Brighton venue Patterns on January 31st, an end of month special from the south coast club.

It'll be wall to wall UKG, with the DJ covering all shades of this quintessential British sound – from R&B leaning edits through to darkside wobble.

Here's Steve Stamp with his top 10 essential UK garage cuts.

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Hobsons Choice – 'Hobsons Choice'

One of those darkside ones that has stood the test of time. The bassline on this one is absolute filth. If any garage tune could make someone shit themselves it’s this one.

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Youngstar – 'Pulse X'

A stripped back classic which paved the way for garage’s transformation into grime music. This track is built for MCs and reloads. Still goes off every time and if you do get bored then there’s about 4000000 other versions of it that have appeared over the years so take your pick.

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Sticky – 'Triplets'

Sticky made a lot of bangers but for me this is the one that most encapsulates his style. It’s a perfectly crafted little bubbler. He’s also one of the nicest guys in the music scene.

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Groove Chronicles – 'Hold On'

The production on this is so good it’s like a story unfolding. The Aaliyah and jazz samples take you on a little journey for the first half of the track, then suddenly everything makes way for this deep, intense bassline. Like a really fucked up plot twist that makes you question everything. But also makes you dance.

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Wookie – 'Scrappy'

Another legend of the genre, it’s hard to pick which Wookie tune I like best but this one is definitely up there. His drum patterns give his tunes the maddest energy and he builds his tracks with scientific precision.

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Heartless Crew – 'Heartless Theme'

These boys are icons in the garage scene and this tune captures not only their essence but that of the whole garage scene at it’s best. The energy is infectious. Reload every time, even if I’m on my own.

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DJ Zinc – '138 Trek'

This is an obvious one but I can’t leave it out. I remember having this on vinyl back in the day and the little dum-da-dududuhs made it so fun to mix. He also does a classic Zinc thing of switching it up half way through just when you were getting comfortable.

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Roy Davis Jr. – 'Gabriel'

The undisputed most swagged out garage vocal of all time. Absolute perfection.

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So Solid Crew – 'Dilemma'

Another one of those stripped down tracks that paved the way for grime music. So Solid obviously made a lot of hits but for me this Oxide beat was one of the most influential things they did.

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MJ Cole – 'Sincere'

This is one of the most emotional garage tracks but also has a bounce to it that gets the whole rave dancing. Little bit of trivia, MJ Cole is actually related to ex Manchester United striker Andy Cole. Nah I just made that up. Imagine though.

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Catch Steve Stamp at Patterns, Brighton on January 31st – ticket LINK.

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