That decade be gone...

Hush House aims to bring you the freshest beats from many a varied underground genre, with a focus predominantly on dubstep - back in December we felt that there was a lack of somewhere providing what we wanted. We started out sourcing the best tracks, not necessarily the newest. We decided to share them with our friends and the best way to do that was the blog. From there the growth has been organic, but no doubt what brought you to be reading this is good music. We’ve had a bumpy ride but have learnt huge amounts from our mistakes and as we grow with the scene we now have strong views on music piracy. Many argue that piracy is good for whatever reason but over the coming months we aim to stamp into the pirates that buying music is good for the soul. We will still provide you with the music which we hope tickles your fancy, most of which as you know from the site is free.

Here at Hush House HQ we’ve had a busy and very exciting year. Having only really been running since last January we’re very honored to be nominated for ‘Best Website’ in the dubstepforum awards alongside the likes of GetDarker, FACT Magazine and the wonderful Sonic Router. We will let you know when voting commences but in the mean time – spread the word and support your favourite website.

In other news our first tees went on sale in September, medium and larges selling out in just a few days so we thought we’d get a few more of those sizes for any who missed out. We decided to get some darker ones as well this time, in Charcoal. Also jumpers, after such a big response, have arrived and will be up for sale in the next few days. The perfect way to spend that Christmas money. Everyone likes to look fresh at the start of the decade.

Another topic is quality – perhaps you don’t like every tune that is posted but no two people are the same. We try our hardest to make sure that the quality of production, mixdown and bit rate is as high as possible. Listening to music should be as it was in the producer’s monitors. We don’t post vinyl or YouTube rips and near enough always have permission from the artist. It’s their music, not ours. You should have a pair of decent speakers/headphones on your "to buy" list if you’re still listening on computer/laptop speakers or iPod earphones. It’s all about the quality of speakers, and playing it as loud as possible!

Those who have sent tracks in, keep sending them - we love hearing your stuff. We try and give feedback as much as possible but we're sorry if there's no reply sometimes. The inbox flows pretty quick and time is mostly of the essence.

So where will we be in another years time?

We’ve got lots of ideas cooking in the Hush House oven, some will be revealed, some may need a little more time and will have to bake a bit longer. Rest assured we’re excited and hope you will be when we tell you about them.

Finally, a big thanks to everyone who has joined us on our musical departure. It’s been enjoyable to watch the download numbers going through the roof; especially the mix series, (which takes a lot more effort than it might appear). The response that it’s had is nice and reassures us that it’s all worth while. Suggestions for future artists are welcome, we always note feedback and advice – we endeavor to find everything good but occasionally miss some things... occasionally!

To back that up here’s our highlights – we’re not going to give you lists and tables because for one, they’re too difficult; but also there’s been way too many tracks and remixes which we’ve loved this year... but as a current overview:

Producer – Breakage

New Producer – Synkro

Best Mixes – Phaeleh, Faib, Kryptic Minds, Silkie

Most Overlooked – Rob Sparx

Our top three (four, I forgot someone!) introducing posts:

Engima

Jayou

Boogaloo Crew

Tek-One

Now we said no lists but this is what you lot have chosen as the best (free) tunes of 2009.

1. Hide & Seek (Enigma Remix) – Imogen Heap
2. Pearl’s Dream (Skream Remix) – Bat For Lashes
3. Hide & Seek (Autopilot Remix) – Imogen Heap
4. When I Look At You (Sduk Remix) – Emalkay
5. Nuttah – 501
6. Renegade Snares (Afghan Headspin Remix) – Omni Trio
7. 2NAQ (Dub Fiend Remix) – Rusko
8. Obvious – Excision

Happy New Year from The Hush Family!