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i dont consider Hessle a dubstep label tbh.
DMZ is 3 guys putting out tunes, well 2 now. While theyre good, theyre the same style its one sound. Some are classics, but I feel if they'd pressed 5k of em, they wouldn't be raved over that much.
Apple Pips is an amazing label but not a dubstep label again.
Punch Drunk is a great label with a quality vibe, although their later stuff isnt dubstep.
Skull disco was awesome, amazing label and ended before it got stale, but it is one sound.
Deep Medi wins for quantity and quality. Sure not everything is amazing but you can't have over 80 releases and every one be amazing for everyone. Their back catalogue is unrivalled.

This is about the best 'Dubstep' label so I don't count hyperdub really. They have a few amazing dubstep tunes but most of their stuff isnt dubstep imo.
Tempa was phenomenal, now its a snoozefest.

Deep medi for me. The consistency and variation they've achieved while mostly sticking to the fairly rigid template of 'classic' dubstep is quite a feat.

that would make this the medi vs tempa vs tectonic thread ffs

as for medi being unrivaled, please... the a/t/o/s album is the best thing the label released and it's not even dubstep

whaaaat? you really think that the atos is the best thing medi has released? you really surprise me with some of your opinions ultraspecial

yup

don't get me wrong, it's a good label, but there's so many releases that i still don't remember how they sound like after a lot of plays

ultraspatial wrote:that would make this the medi vs tempa vs tectonic thread ffs

as for medi being unrivaled, please... the a/t/o/s album is the best thing the label released and it's not even dubstep

hahaha no chance, not by a long shot.

Deep Medi have released some boring stuff (mainly recently). What with Compa and that Roni Size remix being particularly notable but obviously still have a place as releasing quite a lot of important stuff. DMZ doesn't really count as it's just artists self releasing.Same with Skull Disco

Tectonic, Punch Drunk and Hessle definitely have places.

don't really get this 'dmz is not a record label, just 3 guys that make music, master it, make physical copies and distribute it'

wtf does a record label do in that case...

and I don't get gassed off haunted because it's rare (I feel this argument has come before), one of the first tunes I liked and I'm still hyped about it even though I own it

it's like putting your own tunes out on bandcamp and calling it a label

idk like people bought them even if we are gonna call it a vanity label

rockonin wrote:I voted Punch Drink because that's the only label i know because of Kahn. I don't bother following labels.

Wed Mar 19, 2014 12:24 pm

rockonin wrote:Never heard of these guys before, but they have some decent tracks. Just listening to Kahn's 'Like We Used To'. Dat Sub.

Because when you're considering a "greatest label" you'd think of labels that have actually gone out and pushed multiple artists forwards. Self releasing music isn't really doing most of the things that a label does. DMZ isn't the one that's breaking loads of artists or building up a brand that's recognized because of the label's activities. You follow the artists on DMZ and DMZ is just the delivery method. It's not like following a label and not knowing who is gonna have a release next.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's fair to call DMZ a label, technically, cuz that's still what it is, but you can't compare its operations to those of Hessle or Deep Medi. The label is a tool for a number of friends to self-release their shared vision of a musical style to the rest of the world.

Compare that to Hessle that is an operation in the businsess of signing musicians and developing artists for a profit, with a much wider range of styles/musicians, that isn't limited to a particular aesthetic even nearly as much.

Fair play if you like DMZ's output more than Hessle, but is it really fair to compare each's output given how vastly different they operate? In a way it's like comparing a single collective's (or even a single artist's) work with that of Planet Mu or Warp. I personally wouldn't bring up DMZ in a discussion about the best labels for that reason. They stack up better against Ghost or Skull Disco.

Although I get the difference between DMZ & Hessle, I don't agree you still can't compare. Greatest label depends on what you define a great label as, if its based on the quality of music.. of course you can compare DMZ & Hessle. If your idea of a great label includes pushing new artists forward obviously you can't compare them. If your idea of a great label is the relevance and importance it had in a scene, again you can compare.

Theres no official criteria on what is or isn't a label.

DMZ hasn't done anything new in the last 8 years. Hessle has been constantly evolving since day dot without ever losing its identity.

yeah but we are talking of the dubstep period

Yeah but it's still stuff worth considering when classing something as the greatest label.

(greatest dubstep label)

yeah I obviously meant in the context of this thread. Not gonna be putting a dubstep label as the best ever.