Sub Focus

In 2003, the British broadsheet newspaper The Guardian famously declared that ‘dance music was in terminal decline’. Citing the greed of superstar DJs and unimaginative, uninspired music as the reason fans were leaving the genre, it seemed at the time to be the lowest point for dance. Yet out of these ashes rose some of the most seminal dance record labels of today. 2003 was the year in which Toolroom, Size, Cadenza, Ed Banger, Refune, Armada and Buzzin Fly were born. Despite emerging in the toughest year for the music industry, these labels survived and were eventually flourishing in 2013, ten years later. This documentary tells the story of this explosive decade.

BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) is a British music festival run by BBC Radio 1. It is held once a year, in a different location within the United Kingdom each time. It was the biggest free-ticketed music event in Europe, until a fee for tickets was introduced in 2018, and always includes a host of new artists.