eMusic Guide to Hyperdub Records

Hyperdub is a label that came very gradually into being. Existing first as a blog, then purely as an outlet for Kode 9's fearsome reductions of dubstep and grime to their barest essentials, its output was sparse until the emergence of mystery producer Burial propelled it into the wider public eye. Since then it has grown exponentially, taking on a motley crew of artists orbiting — but never quite exactly part of — the U.K. underground sounds of the 2000s: dubstep, grime and funky. Just six years into its existence, it has now developed one of the clearest and most instantly recognisable aesthetics of any modern label, the cubist geometries and colours of its artwork perfectly reflecting the new refractions of electronic dance music that whirl out of the speakers when the tracks play. United only by love of enveloping bass and a sense of sonic exploration, the Hyperdub family feel like a rag-tag gang of space explorers launching out into the unknown, and throwing the occasional excellent party as they go.