Dubstep continues to grow and evolve and this essential mix CD from the seminal Tempa label offers a compelling entry point for newcomers, as well as sating the desire of enthusiasts with a huge range of unreleased dubplates. Other than the impeccable (28) track selection, what makes Kode9’s mix so engaging is the presence of his collaborator and MC, Space Ape. Space Ape adds biting social commentary in his deep, slow growling voice to otherwise atmospheric, but outside of a club, sparse tracks – making this as listenable on the bus as on a big PA. Space Ape’s vocals, combined with Kode9’s mixing, emphasise the double tempos present in the various strains of dubstep with beats rolling along at 130-140bpm, Space Ape’s slow Jamaican drawl, like fellow dub poets Linton Kwesi Johnson (or perhaps, closer, Benjamin Zephaniah), at half that; and the basslines wavering between the two. As one of the grandfathers of the scene, Kode9 whose background is as much in music as critical theory – he is completing a book on warfare metaphors and music, and was part of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit alongside Kodwo Eshun and Sadie Plant – has filled his mix with some of the best newcomers. D1, Skream and Digital Mysitkz are well represented but so are featured tracks from DJ Krave, Random Trio, Blackdown, Geiom and recent Hyperdub signing Burial. Rewind!
Sebastian Chan
