Is Anyone on Hyperdub's Level? Their 10th Anniversary Tour Suggests Not

The UK based label, which grew from a website and online magazine that Steve Goodman aka Kode9 started in 2000, is currently celebrating ten years in the game, with four excellent compilation albums and a North American tour that hit Verboten in New York on September 18. Both the compilation albums and the tour highlight what a great ten years Hyperdub has enjoyed whilst also demonstrating how they're going to stay fresh and relevant in the future.

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Is anyone on Hyperdub's level right now?

The UK based label, which grew from a website and online magazine that Steve Goodman aka Kode9 started in 2000, is currently celebrating ten years in the game, with four excellent compilation albums and a North American tour that hit Verboten in New York on September 18. Both the compilation albums and the tour highlight what a great ten years Hyperdub has enjoyed whilst also demonstrating how they're going to stay fresh and relevant in the future.

The four themed compilations (10.1 focusing on the label's dancefloor dimension, 10.2 on various mutations of R&B, 10.3 on ambient/experimental production, and 10.4 on straight house, techno, and garage) each consist of previously released highlights alongside totally new tracks from core label artists like Burial, Ikonika, Terror Danjah, Cooly G, and Kode9 himself, not to mention newer additions to the roster like the various Teklife artists (DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, DJ Earl, Taso) and singer Jessy Lanza.

The tour itself brought together a club-crushing collection of innovators from different genres who have, at various times over the past ten years, each been at the very forefront of innovation. Their September 18 gig at Verboten, which had the best lineup of the tour, Kode9 was joined by dubstep don and DMZ co-founder Mala, Rinse FM OG and grime expert Scratcha DVA, endlessly inventive house, garage, and dubstep producer Ikonika, and footwork maestros DJ Spinn and Taso.

Where else would you see Mala, gunfingers in the air and dreads flying, raving to footwork as hard as any of the large contingent of people in Teklife tees? Where else would a DJ open his set with a his own remix of "Skeng," a classic tune that he released on his own label? Where else would you hear an unholy mix of HudMo's "Cbat" into a footwork version of "Jack" by Breach only 15 minutes after hearing Ikonika drop SOPHIE's "Lemonade"?

The answer is nowhere else, so here's to another ten years!

Be sure to check Verboten's schedule to make sure you don't miss any other brilliant events like this. Head to Hyperdub's website to take a look at their latest releases, including the first tenth anniversary compilations—10.4 (which features a previously unreleased Burial track) drops November 3.

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