The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features

Kode9 and the Spaceape | Black Sun

Hyperdub (2011)
By MICHAEL C. WALSH  |  May 6, 2011
3.5 3.5 Stars

K9 main

Kode9 is the most important electronic artist of the past five years. Debatable, sure, but there's only so many times you can be so far ahead of the curve before you have to be promoted from bandwagonaire to outright curator. His label's 2009 compilation, 5 Years of Hyperdub, showcased the unmatched breadth and pure tastemaking abilities of this London producer, and Black Sun maintains the momentum. The drums are unapologetic, pummeling as they maneuver over spiraling synth floods. At times, the album draws more from drum and bass than from UK funky or any other bass music du jour. I could fill the rest of this space upholding the apocalyptic cadences, but I'd be remiss to not mention Kode's partner-in-grime. Half freestyling, casting spells all the way, the Spaceape rides the dexterous riddims with ominous threats. The tracks without him are less devastating, but only in the sense that a Tomahawk air raid is less devastating than full-on nuclear detonation. Songstress Cha Cha coos threats of strangulation on "Love Is the Drug," and on "Black Sun (Partial Eclipse Mix)" a monotoned operator warns against the dangers of radiation. Is deadstep a thing yet?
Related: Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears | Scandalous, Yelle | Safari Disco Club, The Sounds | Something To Die For, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, New Music, reviews,  More more >
| More
Add Comment
HTML Prohibited

 Friends' Activity   Popular   Most Viewed 
ARTICLES BY MICHAEL C. WALSH
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: YELLOWBRICKROAD  |  June 02, 2011
    Directors Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton appear to be trying to avoid the stereotypical standard horror-movie schlocker and do something more ambitious.
  •   REVIEW: A BEAUTIFUL LIFE  |  May 19, 2011
    Talk about a literal movie title.
  •   REVIEW: THERE BE DRAGONS  |  May 06, 2011
    There be no dragons in this film. Still, that didn't stop me from wishing that a fire-breathing creature would drop in and lop off the heads of every actor in Roland Joffé's overwrought Spanish Civil War epic.
  •   KODE9 AND THE SPACEAPE | BLACK SUN  |  May 06, 2011
    Kode9 is the most important electronic artist of the past five years.
  •   REVIEW: THE DOUBLE HOUR  |  April 27, 2011
    Giuseppe Capotondi's unrelenting Italian thriller opens with a suicide witnessed only by meager hotel maid Sonia (Ksenia Rappoport).

 See all articles by: MICHAEL C. WALSH

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2011 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group