Stephen Samuel Gordon (17 June 1970Melissa Bradshaw
"The Spaceape obituary"
''The Guardian'', 24 October 2014. – 2 October 2014), known as The Spaceape, was a British poet and MC. He is known for his work on the electronic music label

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British electronic music record label and former webzine based in London, founded by Kode9, 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 l ...

, and in particular for his frequent collaborations with labelmate

Kode9 Steve Goodman, known as Kode9 (born 1973) is a Scottish electronic music artist, DJ, and founder of the Hyperdub record label. He was one of the founding members of the early dubstep scene with his late collaborator The Spaceape. He has releas ...

. He was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as "a pioneering Hyperdub artist," while

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

stated that "if first-wave UK

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 ...

had a voice, it belonged to Stephen Gordon."Pitchfork – Kode9 & the Spaceape: Killing Season
/ref> Gordon died on 2 October 2014 at the age of 44, following a battle with a rare form of cancer.

Career

Gordon was involved with much of the earliest music released by pioneering

label

, run by friend and frequent collaborator Steve Goodman a.k.a.

. Throughout his career, he also collaborated 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 ...

, The Bug, Martyn, Redshape, Dub Gabriel, the Echologist,

Jerry Dammers Jeremy David Hounsell Dammers GCOT (born 22 May 1955) is a British musician who was a founder, keyboard player and primary songwriter of the Coventry-based ska band the Specials (also known as the Special A.K.A.) and later the Spatial AKA Orch ...

, Spatial AKA Orchestra, and

Junior Boys Junior Boys are a Canadian electronic pop group, founded in 1999 in Hamilton, Ontario by Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark. Dark left the project shortly after, and was replaced by engineer Matt Didemus. The duo initially gained critical praise ...

. According to

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

, " heSpaceape lent his ten-ton doomsayer croak to dozens of definitive works of music and was positioned as the

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson Order of Distinction, OD (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poetry, dub poet and activist. In 2002, he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in th ...

of the post- 7/7, surveillance-state UK."

Personal life

Gordon was married with one daughter. He died on 2 October 2014 from a rare form of cancer.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

Memories of the Future ''Memories of the Future'' is the first collaborative studio album by electronic musicians kode9 and Spaceape. A review in ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' described it as "an important release in dubstep's development." A circumspect review in ''Resident Adv ...

'' (with Kode9) (

, 2006) *'' Black Sun'' (with Kode9) (Hyperdub, 2011)

Singles & EPs

*''Is This Insanity?'' (with Martyn) (Alpha Pup, 2009) *''Love & Machines'' (with Martyn) (Brainfeeder, 2011) *''Xorcism'' (

, 2012) *''Killing Season'' (with Kode9) (Hyperdub, 2014)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spaceape, The 1970 births Hyperdub artists 2014 deaths Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom Black British male rappers British male rappers British electronic musicians British dubstep musicians