5: Five Years of Hyperdub
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Label: Hyperdub
Year: 2009
Format: 2CD
As pioneers of each genre, a handful of labels will stake out the course for the rest and be at the very fore-front of the game and release new challengers each step they take. Ever since dubstep broke into the mainstream from its little niche, Hyperdub has been one of its main caretakers and innovators since its inception back in 2004 by Glaswegian Steve Goodman (aka. Kode9). Dubstep came through from the exhausted ranks of UK garage dating back to turn of the millenium and distances itself from that genre through a melodic and bass-laden fusion of 2-step rhythms with dub and quite often subliminal vocals or spoken samples. Early purveyors included Kode9, Digital Mystikz, Loefah, Hatcha, Skream, Benga, Distance, and many more on the underground scenes and pirate radios. Since then, the results are there to see, and dubstep has possibly now by far reached its peak and from here on it will be interesting to see if the genre manages to sustain its momentum and continue innovate itself or whether it will lapse into the sphere of commodity and lose its edge as has happened to many of these underground scenes (drum & bass, garage, etc.) once the novelty wears off.
Anyhow, since its launch in 2004, Hyperdub has reached its 5th year and deservedly mark their accomplishment with a celebratory double-pack of single cuts, one side of new tracks from their latest array of tens and twelves, and one side with b-sides from earlier releases. A brief peek at the track listing does not disappoint, however, here you find new tracks from Darkstar, Burial, Kode9 & The Spaceape, Ikonika and Flying Lotus to name a few, and upon listening through, the selection turns out to be quite brilliant and goes a long way to dispel any fears dubstep may be losing its edge. The double-cd compilation is preceded by a five-edition series of 12“s which has been gracing vinyl shop fronts and best-seller lists in the past months, giving acetateophiles a head-start on the rest of us perusing many of the exclusive new tracks. However, Darkstar’s minimal and vocoder-laden melodic roller “Aidy’s Girl’s a Computer” and the long-awaited return of Burial with “Fostercare” have been reserved for the CD release – and rightly so to force the vinyl heads to grab their copy of the CD too because these two tracks are some of the highlights on offer here.
Add to that some tracks from the limited vinyl run, in particular Flying Lotus’ “Disco Balls” which may well be the highlight of this 5-year anniversary, and also “Tarantula” by Zomby. The latter is a stringy piece with a shrill whistle lead set over a tough, broken bassline, whereas Flying Lotus’ contribution simply kicks arse (pardon the expression). After a subtle start of horns, a sexy and chunky beat full of grit starts its sauntering, city walking pace. Not sure I feel the disco vibes here, but Flying Lotus is definitely on point with this tune. Other features are Martyn‘s “Mega Drive Generation” which is fast-paced and feels like a hyperactive trip through a gaming arcade. Luckily then things slow down into the deeper dubby rhythms of LV‘s “Turn Away” in which computerized buzzes skim the surface echoeing away to the smooth, reverbed vocals of Dandelion – another highlight!
In conclusion, this double pack is a fine testament of what Hyperdub has been about and will be about in the coming future, and it’s definitely one of optimism for this music which sometimes strikes me as the soundtrack of London’s dark suburban streets. So, wrapping it all up, here’s an interesting interview with Kode9 namely on the changes in and way forward for dubstep, sourced from XLR8RTV.
Web Resources:
Hyperdub official website
Hyperdub on myspace
Hyperdub blog
