The final instalment of
the Hyperdub '10' series is an expansive 2-disc 28-track set that merely
confirms what most of us already knew: when it comes to innovation and state-of-the-art
bass music, the Hyperdub label pretty much leads the way - in terms of output
and longevity.
The fourth release
presents some new material, along with what amounts to a collection of the
label's "greatest hits", and it includes a previously unreleased
Burial track called 'Lambeth', which opens proceedings. It then goes on to
cover all of the requisite bases and sub-genre types, with highlights coming
from the usual suspects - four tracks from Cooly G, including some lovely
retro-style housey goodness (see clip below), four from relative latecomer DVA, another classic
from the Burial archives ('Street Halo'), and the obligatory but no less
essential contribution from label guru Kode9 (with two tracks).
If you're reading this, I'm
just as likely preaching to the already converted, so I'll leave it there.
Suffice to say the Hyperdub '10' series has been one of the genuine highlights
of my music-listening year in 2014 … here's to another ten years.
Having said all of that,
it would be remiss of me not to reflect on the fact that, despite those
birthday celebrations, the year hasn't necessarily been a particularly upbeat
or an easy one for the label, or for those directly connected with it, with the
sad loss of two of its key conspirators ...
Hyperdub 10.3 is the
third chapter in the series of 2014 compilation albums released to celebrate
the Hyperdub label's tenth birthday in 2014. I looked at the previous couple here
and here.
Again the tracklisting
reads like a virtual who's who of the label's roster, with all of the main
players being present and accounted for - see Burial, Kode9, Ikonika, and Darkstar
to name only the most obvious. This time though, the focus is placed firmly on
music residing at the more ambient end of the label's output.
A generous 23 tracks are
showcased, and the most striking thing - aside from the ethereal and atmospheric
nature of the music - is the almost complete absence of orthodox vocals. For
example, we wait until track 12 - Cooly G's 'Mind' - before there's anything
resembling a fully decipherable non-chopped up or sampled vocal.
Which is all well and
good, but the effect can be a little disorientating, and there's perhaps a
tendency for a lot of the tracks to blend together, forming an almost
borderless sonic mash. Which means that although it remains an enjoyable enough
listen - mostly mellow and downbeat, but not always - it's difficult not to get
a little lost in it.
The two Burial tracks,
the eerie 'In McDonald's', and the slightly spookier 'Night Bus', are welcome
additions, but each one feels like a snapshot of what might be, and there's
disappointment that neither track really goes anywhere. Having said that, I do
appreciate that sometimes less is more, and even half-formed Burial ideas can
take innovation to a level more conventional artists can only ever dream about.
Overall 10.3 offers yet
more impressive evidence that music released by Hyperdub is practically
impossible to categorise (as much as I’ve repeatedly tried to do exactly that
over the course of three reviews!). If the '10' series is proving anything at
all, it's that the label actually transcends orthodox genre descriptions, and
surely that’s got to be a good thing.
I've just listened to a
copy of the very expansive 2-disc series finale, Hyperdub 10.4 … so watch this
space for a final review to complete the full set.
Regular readers
of everythingsgonegreen will be aware of the blog’s fascination with all things
Hyperdub, and it was sad this week to read about the death of The Spaceape (aka
Stephen Samuel Gordon), who died on Thursday after a five-year battle with a
rare form of cancer.
As a Hyperdub
original (since 2004), The Spaceape has long been one of my favourite vocalists,
and his work with label founder Kode9 is right up there with the very best
Hyperdub output. In fact, it ranks alongside the best any-label “bass music” produced
in the past decade.
The 2011
collaboration between Kode9 and The Spaceape, Black Sun, was one of this blog’s
most loved albums of its year, and I’m still very much looking forward to the arrival of
the pair’s latest effort, The Killing Season EP, which is due for release later
this month.
R.I.P. The Spaceape …
here’s ‘The Devil Is A Liar’ from that forthcoming EP:
And from a few
years back, a spooky version of The Specials’ Ghost Town ….
Hyperdub
10.2 is the second release in the Hyperdub label’s series
of 10th birthday celebration releases. We can expect two more in this series, and everythingsgonegreen cast a beady eye over 10.1 a little earlier in 2014.
Like
10.1, the second album is another sampler collection seeking to
showcase a few of the label’s more prominent artists and acts, and label
luminaries like Burial, Ikonika, DJ Rashad, Cooly G, and Kode9 feature once again.
But with
just 14 tracks on offer this time around, compared to the extended double disc
package we got on the first retrospective, 10.2 feels somewhat abbreviated and perhaps
even a little lightweight. Not only in terms of the album’s length but also stylistically.
Where 10.1 was quite edgy and very club-orientated, 10.2 reflects on some of
the label’s more commercial R&B moments. As a result it falls a little
short of my (admittedly very high) expectations.
I completely
understand what label guru Steve Goodman is trying to achieve by offering a
wider overview of the label’s output, but however else I see it, R&B just
ain’t my bag, and a lot of this is just too sugar-coated for my own taste; I
think there’s an over reliance on chopped up vocals, and/or additional vocal
FX, and I definitely prefer my Hyperdub sounds with much more of a focus on the
“bass” side of the spectrum.
Highlights
are a bit thin on the ground with this one, the Burial track ‘Shell of Light’
is probably the best thing here, but if I’m being kind, the contributions of
Morgan Zarate and Jessy Lanza – two tracks each – are not too bad either. If I
wasn’t such an anal collector of Hyperdub compilations I’d probably be tempted
to discard 10.2 (but I won’t) …
Glasgow-born Steve Goodman has crammed a huge amount of
living into his 40-odd years on the planet. He’s a DJ/producer (aka Kode9), a
label founder/owner (Hyperdub), an author, and a noted academic – he has a PhD
in philosophy, no less.
He’s been a busy guy, and while he’s probably best known at
present for his work under the Kode9 moniker, it’s a fairly good bet that in
years to come the now London-based Goodman will be best recalled for what he’s
achieved with the Hyperdub label.
Hyperdub was of course one of the first independent labels
to unleash what’s become known as dubstep upon an unsuspecting world when
Burial’s much acclaimed self-titled debut was released on the fledgling imprint
back in 2006. That album is widely credited with kick-starting the genre, and a
year later Burial followed it up with his masterpiece Untrue, which cemented
Hyperdub’s status as a leading player in what might loosely be called club or “dance
music” circles.
In truth, Hyperdub is about so much more than just dubstep,
and across its ten-year existence it has released a diverse range of music –
from techno to grime to drum’n’bass to electro to Hip hop and multiple
sub-genres in between.
It seems like only yesterday I found myself salivating over
the release of Hyperdub 5, a compilation release celebrating the first five
years of the label's life. But that was as long ago as 2009, and here we are, a
full five years on, looking at tenth birthday celebrations and the release of
10.1. Apparently 10.1 is merely the first of four birthday or anniversary
releases we'll see this year, and just like 5, it's a two disc set with new or
recent tracks on disc one, and a collection of back catalogue releases on disc
two.
Kode9
In fact 10.1 almost feels like a companion release to 5
given that the archive disc only goes back about five years, effectively
picking up where 5’s archive content left off. And 10.1 stands as testimony to
the label’s diversity – where artists like Burial, Darkstar, Joker, and Zomby delivered
the highlights on 5, the best moments on 10.1 are offered by the likes of Mala
(‘Expected’), Flowdan (‘Ambush’), the recently deceased DJ Rashad (‘Acid Life’
with Gant-Man), and Kode9 himself, who again does his best work alongside the
imposing growl of The Spaceape (on ‘Chasing A Beast’).
The aforementioned tracks all feature on disc one – as new or
recent content – but perhaps disc two offers a better perspective of what
Hyperdub is all about, where it’s been, and where it’s headed. Highlights among
the archives being tracks by Burial (‘Spaceape’ featuring The Spaceape), Cooly
G (‘It’s Serious’), DVA (‘Natty’), Ikonika (‘Idiot’), a couple more from Kode9,
and a couple from grime merchant Terror Danjah.
Overall this is great value – the 36 tracks here (including
three “bonus” tracks on my version) provide a superb overview of a hugely
important and influential state-of-the-art label that shows no sign of slowing
down or dipping in the quality of its output. Something worth celebrating after
ten years. I eagerly await the three follow-up releases we’ve been promised in
2014. Thanks Hyperdub.
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).
The final instalment of
the Hyperdub '10' series is an expansive 2-disc 28-track set that merely
confirms what most of us already knew: when it comes to innovation and state-of-the-art
bass music, the Hyperdub label pretty much leads the way - in terms of output
and longevity. 
