Steve Goodman, known as Kode9 (born 1973) is a Scottish
electronic music
Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...
artist,
DJ, and founder of the
Hyperdub
__NOTOC__
Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label hav ...
record label. He was one of the founding members of the early
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...
scene with his late collaborator
The Spaceape. He has released four full-length albums: 2006's ''
Memories of the Future'' and 2011's ''Black Sun'' (both with
The Spaceape), ''Nothing'' (2015), ''Escapology'' and ''Astro-Darien'' (2022).
As owner of Hyperdub, Goodman has signed artists such as
Burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
,
DJ Rashad,
Zomby
Zomby is a British electronic musician who began releasing music in 2007. He has released music on several labels, including Hyperdub, Werk Discs, and 4AD. Zomby's influences include oldschool jungle music and Wiley's eskibeat sound.
Career ...
, and
Fatima Al Qadiri
Fatima Al Qadiri ( ar, فاطمة القديري; born July 1981) is a Senegalese-born Kuwaiti musician and conceptual artist.
Biography
Fatima Al Qadiri is the daughter of Mohammed Al Qadiri, a former Kuwaiti diplomat and writer, and Thuraya ...
. Goodman has a PhD in
philosophy from the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (202 ...
and has published a book, ''Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear'', in 2009.
Early career
Initially inspired by what he calls the "
hardcore continuum" of British dance music, Kode9 was formatively influenced by styles such as
jungle
A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...
,
drum and bass
Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
and
2-step garage
2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage.''A transcription of this article is availablhere as a PDF file.'' One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to d ...
; he has mentioned his first encounter with jungle, in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, as being "the most important musical event of my life".
[''Invisible Jukebox'', ]The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...
no. 269, July 2006 Other genres that are common influences in his work include
dub,
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Ro ...
(such as toasting), and
Indian music
Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk ( Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ov ...
. A move to
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...
and collaboration with the
Cybernetic Culture Research Unit
The Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) was an experimental cultural theorist collective formed in late 1995 at Warwick University, England and gradually separated from academia until it dissolved in 2003. It garnered reputation for its idiosy ...
at
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (202 ...
studying
rave culture,
cybernetics,
postmodernism and
afrofuturism
Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultur ...
later led to a
memetic
Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...
philosophy regarding music, which he has spoken about at length in interviews. In the late nineties, Kode9 moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and established a name as a
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
at clubnights such as ''FWD>>''.
Current work
In 2004, Kode9 appeared on the second grime compilation on
Rephlex records.
[Derek Walmsley, "Dubstep", ''The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music'', ed. Rob Young, London: Verso, 2009, p. 89.] That same year, Kode9 founded
Hyperdub
__NOTOC__
Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label hav ...
records; the first release was ''Sine of the Dub'', a collaboration between Kode9 and
Daddy Gee, which was a
minimal, loose
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
of
Prince
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...
's "
Sign "O" the Times
''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 30, 1987 as a double album by Paisley Pa ...
". Kode9 treated the vocals to fit his idea of their delivery by "a man on his deathbed". Subsequent releases established the label as an important and influential label within the dubstep genre. Hyperdub have since released records such as
Burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
's
self-titled
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
debut album, which ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2, ...
'' magazine named their number one album of 2006.
[''Rewind 2006'', The Wire no. 275, January 2007.]
Goodman has a PhD in philosophy
from the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (202 ...
and has also worked in academia.
As of 2006 he was working at the
University of East London
, mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows
, established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
as a lecturer in media production, and course tutor for a master's program in sonic culture
In December 2009, his ''Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear'', a book exploring the uses of acoustic force and how it affects whole populations was published by
MIT Press
The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962.
History
The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publ ...
.
The book also explores how sound can be deployed to set moods of dread and fear, how sound can be used as torture, as a weapon and as a threat.
Discography
Studio albums
*''
Memories of the Future'' - Hyperdub, 2006 (with
The Spaceape)
*''Black Sun'' - Hyperdub, 2011 (with
The Spaceape)
*''Nothing'' - Hyperdub, 2015
*''Escapology'' - Hyperdub, 2022
*''Astro-Darien'' - Hyperdub, 2022
DJ mixes
*''DJ Kicks'' - Hyperdub, 2010
*''Rinse:22'' - Rinse, 2013
*''Fabriclive 100'' (with
Burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
) - Fabric London, 2018
See also
*
Hyperdub
__NOTOC__
Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label hav ...
References
External links
Hyperdub recordsKode9's Official Artist FacebookKode9's DJ-Kicks micrositeDiscographyat
Discogs.com
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
{{Authority control
Alumni of the University of Warwick
Academics of the University of East London
Scottish electronic musicians
Dubstep musicians
Post-dubstep musicians
Electronic dance music DJs
1973 births
Living people
Hyperdub artists