AA.VV.
5 Years Of Hyperdub

London was the school of Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) during the '90s, building within him a background of drum & bass and ragga jungle that permeates every composition he created. After being an active part in the more reggae branch of the UK garage at the turn of the millennium, Steve sensed that new life blood was on the horizon for London's nightlife. The evolution in question, which would be named dubstep, began with DJ producers like Lewis Beadle (El-B) and Dave Jones (Zed Bias) who mixed both sounds and dub attitudes with that UK garage, showcasing the right dimension of Jamaican influence on English electronic music.

With these premises, Kode9 founded the Hyperdub label in 2004.

What the protégés of the label have communicated in these five years describes the heart, the soul of London nights, and the noises you hear in the background while your ears are ringing and you're heading home on the 5:30 am bus. The compilation is a double album consisting of thirty-two tracks in total, with the first disc including unreleased pieces from the most representative composers of the label, while the second is a collection of classics that have made its history.

Among the unreleased tracks, we begin with "Meltdown" by King Midas Sound; it hurts the heart, as if keeping you in a state of half-sleep, opens doors, welcomes you (reciting "It seems like a heavy pot meltdown") and haunts; its intimacy contrasts with the subsequent "Time Patrol" by the guide Kode9 with Spaceape, more dubstep in the strict sense (also in structure), danceable, violent, and sensual. The Californian Flying Lotus also participates in the gathering, and his "Disco Balls" is one of the highlights of the work, a melodic and haunting bass groove. The standout gem is undoubtedly "Fostercare" by Burial, a track that rides the wave of his latest LP Untrue, conveying darkness, warmth, it's an abyss, a well from which echoes of an androgenous voice calling you to itself can be heard. "Tarantula" (written by Zomby) seems an homage to the early Aphex Twin from Selected Ambient Works 85-92, albeit rougher and edgier in its beats. Among other most deserving exclusive tracks are highlighted the six minutes of rhythmic outburst by LD, "Shake It", and the 8-bit dub revival by Quarta330, "Bleeps From Outer Space".

The second disc takes us to a deeper environment, shuffles the cards of the past and reorganizes them into a perfect emotional order. For those who have never heard of Hyperdub, it is recommended to start here to get an idea of the work; it could serve as a source for new listens, a bridge for rediscovery of gems, perhaps overlooked, such as (just to name a few) Burial's debut, the epochal "9 Samurai" by Kode9, and the looping vortex "Need You" by Darkstar. Instead, those familiar with said sounds will have both the opportunity to reorder all the ideas generated by these five years and to immediately enjoy the sixteen new compositions that close the circle as best as possible.

CD1

1: King Midas Sound - "Meltdown"

2: Kode9 & Spaceape feat. Cha Cha - "Time Patrol"

3: Darkstar - "Aidys Girl's a Computer"

4: Samiyam - "Roller Skates"

5: Flying Lotus - "Disco Balls"

6: Black Chow - "Purple Smoke"

7: Burial - "Fostercare"

8: Cooly G - "Weekend Fly"

9: Zomby - "Tarantula"

10: Martyn - "Mega Drive Generation"

11: LV feat. Dandelion - "Turn Away"

12: Mala - "Level Nine"

13: LD - "Shake It"

14: Quarta330 - "Bleeps from Outer Space"

15: Ironika - "Sahara Michael"

16: Joker & Ginz - "Stash"

CD2

1: Kode9 - "9 Samurai" (2006)

2: Burial - "South London Boroughs" (2006)

3: Kode9 vs. LD - "Bad" (2009)

4: The Bug feat. Warrior Queen - "Money Honey (remix)" (2005)

5: LV feat. Erol Bellot - "Globetrotting" (2007)

6: Burial - "Distant Lights" (2006)

7: Kode9 & Spaceape - "Ghost Town" (2005)

8: Kode9 & Spaceape - "Fukkaz" (2005)

9: Samiyam - "Return" (2008)

10: Darkstar - "Need You" (2008)

11: Zomby - "Spliff Dub (Rustie remix)" (2008)

12: Ikonika - "Please" (2008)

13: Zomby - "Kaliko" (2008)

14: 2000F & J Kamata - "You Don't Know What Love Is" (2009)

15: Joker - "Digidesign" (2009)

16: Kode9 - "9 Samurai (Quarta330 remix)" (2007)