The Spaceape At Juno Download

Review: The Hyperdub head honcho hooks up with The Spaceape, five years after their debut album Memories Of The Future, for another eloquently crafted and superbly narrated journey through bass music's ever-shifting landscape. With its milestones of dub, techno, house, dubstep and 2-step, the pair's sound has unsurprisingly evolved into something fresh and new. From the dread riddim "Black Smoke" which starts the LP, through the pacing, King Cannibal-esque "Am I" to the hissing, mellifluous sounds of "Black Sun (Partial Eclipse)" and the more maudlin, synth-drenched "Green Sun", it's very much an album of now and makes for essential listening.

Review: Much lauded Hyperdub label boss and author of esoteric electronic music literature Kode9 teams up with long term collaborator Spaceape in "Otherman", which as the title indicates, is as much an exploration into the notion of "otherness" as it is a somnambulant journey into a jungle-tinged dubbed out sonic landscape. It is one characterised by crackling atmospherics, muttered lyrics reminiscent of a tribal MC Kemo and a delicious synth haze that washes over all. "Love Is The Drug" (feat. Chinese singer Cha Cha) pairs chopped up vocals with a driving beat and pervasive sense of melancholia. It's a fantastic snapshot of what we can expect from Kode9's forthcoming album Black Sun, out later this month!