I’ve had a hard time wrapping my head around dubstep. At its best, it is alien and spooky. At its worst, it’s an unholy alliance between mid-nineties jungle and eighties Miami bass. Hearing Kode 9 spin on a good system Saturday night, I can finally understand the primal appeal.
After a heavy opening set by Chris Widman and Phaded, Kode 9, in a tracksuit jacket, flipped through a stack of records, cutting off tracks with backspins and spin-downs. Things got progressively louder and faster with less vocal samples. The crowd was a weird mix of crazy dancers, glow-stick wavers, and geeks (me included). The bass was enough to vibrate my whole body, and could undoubtedly be heard a block or two away. The man was definitely pushing Sonotheque’s system to the limit. It’s always exciting to witness the birth of a new style.
Kode 9 at Sonotheque, photo by Sea Monkey
I was at this show too. Awesome set. He played all of those new Hyperdub 12″‘s and what sounded like a lot of unreleased stuff. I can’t believe he did a mashup of Ikonika and Souljah Boy.
HYPE + DUB = BOLLOCKS