Published author, DJ, producer, and record label owner Kode9 is both a teacher and a student of sound. With his Hyperdub label being one of the most celebrated imprints in recent memory, he steps up for his DJ-Kicks contribution as if it were another night of rocking the crowd.
What may surprise people is that this isn‘t an all dubstep affair, as evidenced by the bright-eyed techno of Lone and the percussive workout from Aardvarck leading into Kode9’s original productions. “You Don’t Wash,” his DJ-Kicks exclusive track, combines stuttering snares and occasional air horn blasts with tropical bass lines and Latin accents. Ill Blu’s “Bellion” builds off that excitement with tribal rhythms acting as the trampoline for bellhop rings to bounce on.
Kode9 maneuvers the mix through 2-step, U.K. funky house, and broken beat selections before things free-fall into the head-cracking soul of Morgan Zarate and SA-RA collaborator Rozzi Daime. t is only after the twisted pop of J*Davey’s “Mr. Mister” that the set descends into the subwoofer-splitting sounds that some were expecting all along. Once the diabolical rhythm structures of Terror Danjah and Digital Mystikz invade the atmosphere, there’s no turning back.
While it is certainly gratifying to hear Kode9 conclude by bringing the ruckus, he did us all a favor by presenting the full range of present-day dance music from the U.K. If this DJ-Kicks release proves anything, it validates the notion that dubstep is concerned with far more than just itself.
