Albums of 2011 # 9: Kode9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun

Dubstep continues to attract a lot of attention and spark debate. Its 2011 form is, in all reality, light years removed from its 2006/Burial-led incarnation, and in some forms, is almost completely unrecognisable. In 2011 we saw the genre enjoy its most high profile year yet as it continued its evolution from being a closet suburban UK “thing” to its present level of popularity at clubs – and festivals – across the globe. It has been a remarkable rise, and the multitude of sub-genres spawned in its wake is testimony to the fact that it isn’t going to go away in a hurry.

Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) has been right at the heart of these developments, not only in his role as the head honcho of the renowned Hyperdub label, but as a producer and DJ wearing his Kode9 hat. Goodman’s 2006 collaboration with a growler voiced MC going by the name of The Spaceape produced one of that year’s more pivotal album releases – Memories of the Future – and the pair successfully reconvened in 2011 right about where they left off. While Black Sun doesn’t exactly move the genre forward at any great rate, it pretty much works as a dark state-of-the-art declaration of where mankind finds itself teetering a full decade into the third millennium.

The Spaceape’s deep vocal really is a thing of wonder in parts, while Goodman takes care of the rest, and as you’d expect, production is top notch. Moody, glitchy, and more than a touch post-apocalyptic in nature, Black Sun is certainly not for the faint of heart, but it is a lurker, a grower, and best absorbed on repeat … if you dare.

Download: ‘Am I’ and ‘Love Is The Drug’ (video link below).