Hyperdub 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!

Review: Detroit meet dubstep: dubstep, meet Detroit. Kyle Hall knocks down barriers on this release, bringing his free-flowing, insouciant production style to the UK bass music scene. After dropping a remix of Darkstar's "Aidy's Girl Is A Computer" in 2009, Hyperdub boss Kode9 called on Hall's precocious talents for a solo release on the imprint.

His brief production career has so far encompassed house, techno, jazz and now dubstep, although such parameters are fairly meaningless to a young producer for whom the internet, analogue equipment, high tech kit and software programming are all part of one wonderful, disjointed bundle for making and consuming music.

"Kaychunk" features soft melodic synths floating over the top of a schizophrenic drum pattern, while vocal snippets help give the track some structure. B-side "You Know What I Feel" is very much in the Floating Points school of dubstep, meandering gently along with no obvious destination - but of course the destination hardly matters, because the ride itself is so damn fun.

Make no mistake, Hall is a prodigious talent and with releases slated for labels as diverse and forward-thinking as Carl Craig's Planet E, Sheffield's iconic Warp and Instra:mental?s Non Plus, it's already obvious that the serious players are taking notice.

Review: After making sizable impressions with her initial EPs and King Felix side project, Laurel Halo slides over to Hyperdub with a stark debut album that positions her as a strong and unique voice among leftfield electronic producers. The most notable progression is in Halo's vocals, crystal clear in the mix while all around her ducks fervently from clarity. There's an incredible wall of sound feeling to the music she crafts, as bold layers of synths and treated samples blur into one another with a fuzzed-out psychedelia that whirls incessantly around in wistful fractals of melody. Through all of this, there's no forgetting who is behind the music as her powerful vocal delivery pins the wayward music down.

Review: Hyperdub brings together two of their label locals for two collaborative tracks on what is the thirty fourth release on Kode9's famed imprint. here we see LV & Quarta 330 combine for the original production of "Hylo" and a remix of Dong?s "Suzuran". Legend has it that this collaboration was forged the day after the label's 5th anniversary party last November. The alliance works a balanced level between the two producers by merging their different sounds, with Quarta 330's 8-bit abstraction and melodic tendencies contrasting perfectly with the lush figures and shuffling rhythms of LV.

"Hylo" sees 8-bit melodies made from rebuilt gameboys and sonic bleeps weaved into the crunchy snap of a reverse drum beat and warm chords. The harmonic and beautiful breakdown takes us into peaceful territory courtesy of a simple motif before the pace picks back up and we continue on our stepping journey with more splattered drums. It is an energetic mix of brittle and lush sounds which seems to sum up how the pair complement each other so well.

Next up, they work together on a remix of Quarta's own remix of Japanese producer, Dong's "Suzuran". LV reconstructs the slurring space pop of the Japanese vocoder vocal melody into a remix that is constructed from syncopated drums and off key patterns of beep and bleeps. It creates a catchy but obscure sound as sweet melodies clash with shuffling beats.

This unlikely but attractive pairing has provided each other with a platform to successfully exchange relatively alien ideas and sounds. The unrestrained rawness of their work together both complements each others' talent and provides yet another go-to release from Hyperdub.

Review: Another slick, on point release from Hyperdub which gets 2011 off to a very strong start for Kode 9's zeitgeisty imprint. Morgan Zarate (who you may recognise as a member of electronica band Spacek) blends a synth-laden, sugar coated, psychadelia a la Rustie with a squelchy bass heavy element in first track "Hookid". He delves deeper into a Dilla influenced "dubstep" sensibility in next cut, "Buy Bye", which is all forward thinking, fidgety edits and glitchy hiccups. "SP", the final track on the EP, pairs clicking beats with sweeping atmospherics, horn tremors and an abundant sense of understated euphoria. Sublime.

Review: Prodigious UK house producer Ossie follows up his excellent debut for Lightworks with a three track EP for Hyperdub. While the title track from the Lightworks release - "Tarantula" - had a gorgeous ravey sheen, "Set The Tone" pairs vocodered vocals and insouciant child-like cries of "ahhhh" - both of which float above a tough, percussive arrangement. Up next, "Power Of Love" takes on a more garage-esque hue, while the excellent "Moves" rounds off the release with a heady combination of neon-tinged HudMo style synths and panpot percussion. Big release from a big talent.

Review: Ever the wild card, Scratcha DVA flips the script once again as he returns to Hyperdub with soulful crooner Vikter Duplaix in tow. "Madness" bursts into action on a bright and goofy, rising and falling arpeggio, while the beat splutters in a syncopated manner. It makes for an odd foil to the smooth tones of Duplaix, but the end result is something of a wonderfully futuristic pop track. "Polyphonic Dreams" is just about more straight up, riding a funky beat and a more direct synth line, but still Scratcha manages to twist things up with some maverick sampling.

Review: The mighty and ever-talented Terror Danjah steps up with a two-track release on Kode 9's revered Hyperdub imprint. Bringing in the syrupy sweet vocal prowess of Meleka in "You Make Me Feel", vocals caress beats in a sumptuous swathe of sound in the title track. Strong R&B influences are paired with twinkling sweeps, crisp beats, clapping atmospherics and distinctly UK bass orientated soundscape. "Morph2" (feat. DOK) starts with a flurry of dramatic strings and incessant, pattering beats and develops into a low-slung booty rinse out reminiscent of Redlight with chopped up vocal element, pounding bass and squelchy SFX. Highly recommended.

Review: On his Hyperdub debut last year, youngster Walton made a real impression on the Juno review ears, and we've been eager for more ever since. Once again surfacing on Kode 9's imperious label, the All Night EP finds Walton on equally impressive form, replicating the course of his debut with the title track being the most immediate production. "All The Night" is luridly colourful in the thick 8 bit textures that spill out over hyperactive vocal edits and buccaneering drum chops. Up next, "Mallet" does more with steel pans in the opening bars than Jammy xx ever did, before veering off into an eminently satisfying bleep heavy UKF flex, whilst "Kush" drops the tempo down to a heavily saturated, downtrodden shoulder lean.