5: Five Years of Hyperdub- Album Review
Hyperdub is without a doubt the front runner in releasing dubstep. While I tend to prefer the more off genre elements of dubstep after giving this album (mixtape?) a listen I have become am even a bigger fan of dubstep in its truest form.
The influences are clear, the electro elements are strikingly similar to those of todays electro hits, just slowed to the pace of a snail, and the urban feel of old school hip hop reads through loudly. To be honest I haven’t heard of all the artists on Hyperdubs roster other than the Kode9 and Burial and probably wouldn’t have if not for this mixtape. Which really didn’t matter because the stylings of each artist made the mixtape more enjoyable as I find most mixtapes these days get redundant quick.
Dubstep is moody, menacing, and makes me think of the evil army in lord of the rings slow grinding each other. So much going on there but this music is unlike anything I have heard and that is always appreciated. I’ve heard that dubstep grew largely out of the rave scene, which makes no sense because when I think of raves I think of happy fast paced music, so maybe dubstep is antirave? None the less dubstep is awesome to listen too, but would probably be one of the last things behind children story book songs that I would put on if I wanted to get people dancing, maybe at a satanic gathering, but assuming none of you are satanic DJs, dubstep isn’t your best bet.
While listening to the album I picked a few stand out songs and noticted that for the most part they all sounded like video games and were the more, fast paced danceable songs. Speaks something to my taste in music, but really not one song on this album is bad, which would make sense seeing as it it the best of the leading label in dubstep. Burial for me is the real standout artist on the label, he manages to take the moody elements of dubstep and make them different from his fellow debstep artists. His music really tells a story and includes vocals which adds another element to the music that makes it more interesting.
Hyperdub has put out some amazing releases over the past five years and this mixtape was the best way of celebrating the music. While dubstep may not be for everyone, give it a try, cuz like every other genre it takes a bit getting used to, the music will really grow on you the more you listen to it, I promise.
Disco Balls- White Lotus
Sumurai (Quatra 330 rmx)- kode9
South London Boroughs- Burial
