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Hyper-Dubbed

Rosh HaNikra | Washington, DC | 11/30/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"And so it happens that Hyperdub, the premier purveyors of dubstep (and indeed, one of the most groundbreaking labels in all of electronic music over the second half of the '00s) closes the decade with an epic collection of tunes that illustrate why this genre is worth paying attention to in the first place. The London-based label, made into something of a household name by artists such as Burial and Zomby, has issued here a 2xCD release comprised of 32 tracks, 16 new and 16 previously released. And with all due respect to the "oldies" on the second disc, it is the new songs on disc one that make this compilation truly special. The disc starts out with a trio of absolute stunners--King Midas Sound's mind-melting slow-jam "Meltdown", Kode9 and Spaceape's "Time Patrol", and, arguably the finest cut on the entire collection, Darkstar's "Aidys Girl's a Computer". These three songs brilliantly encapsulate the diversity of music being put out by Hyperdub--everything from Massive Attack-infused bass-heavy spliff tunes to hyper-glitchy techno to hip hop-esque beatmaking. From there the first disc continues on in much of the same fashion, featuring heavy-hitters from the likes of Flying Lotus, Burial (whose much hyped track, "Fostercare", plays on his most atmospheric and ethereal tendencies), and Joker.



Many people who have payed attention to new underground music since 2004 will be familiar with much of the material on the second disc, which is not a comment on the quality of these selections--they are almost uniformly excellent. But there's simply less reason to get excited about these tracks than those on the first one. Anchored by two of Burial's most well known songs, "South London Boroughs" and "Distant Lights", the second disc also covers an enormous amount of stylistic ground. If one is looking for an easy definition of "dubstep" it is not going to be gleaned from here--and that is indeed one of the most impressive aspects of this collection. Hypderdub 5's immense scope may not make it the best introduction to the label (that would probably be Burial's amazing second LP, "Untrue"), but it does provide a definitive argument for why this is one of the most influential labels going forward into the new decade. This album may take a while to fully digest, but as the old saying goes, it is not about the destination, but rather the journey. Here's hoping for another five years of satisfying wandering."

Essential

danmmr | Bay Area, United States | 11/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally a retrospective of this seminal label. Many of us probably already own some these tracks but it is great to have them collected in one place. Simply Amazing.



Ignore the other "dubb out" review. The reviewer didn't even buy the CD (got a burn from a friend) and has not much knowledge of dubstep."