Kode9 is pretty understated for a Scotsman. Not that I expected the Dubstep pioneer and minor celebrity to hit me over the head with a Kronenberg when I approached him after he spun at Love and Cielo on back-to-back nights. Well, maybe I kinda did, but instead we shot the shit for a little bit and he threw me his contacts on the other side of the Atlantic. Widely recognized as the most creative producer in the genre, and the head of it's most respected label, Kode9 is the axis upon which much of Dubstep has turned. From his seminal work with the MC Spaceape to his forays into grime to his steel trap live set, the man is as intense behind the wheels as he is relaxed and soft-spoken offstage.


What is your musical backgound?
Jungle 93-97 was key for me as it brought together aspects of every music I had ever liked from reggae to dancehall, hip hop to techno, house to electro, funk to jazz, psychedelic rock to film soundtracks and weird modern classical music, on top of intense, bouncy sub-bass and twisted rhythms.

How did you get into Jungle? Was it through any specfic acts or scenes or people?
Mixtapes and jungle compilation albums from 93 and 94. I think my first one was DJ Hype from 93, just as hardcore was becoming jungle, with loads of scratching on it.

How did you and Spaceape start working together? Describe how that relationship began and has evolved.
We've been friends for years. One day we just decided to sit down and make his first track. I asked him what one of his favourite tunes was, and he pulled out Prince's 'Sign of the Times'. . .I thrown down a quick bassline with some fx and he read out the lyrics mutating them into Jamaican patois as he read. That was that. A couple of years later, that became the first Hyperdub release 'Sine of the Dub'. Since then he has gone from strength to strength, writing his own ambiguous lyrics and adding such an amazing energy to our live sets.

When and how did Hyperdub start, what's your goal with the label?
Haha. It started when Kevin Martin (The Bug) heard 'Sine of the Dub' and didn't stop nagging me until I started a label to release it. The goal of the label is, irrelevant of genre, to keep releasing music that excites me. Simple.

When it is all said and done, as one of the genre's pioneers and innovators, what did you bring to Dubstep? What is your legacy?
That sounds like I'm writing my own obituary. OK. I try to keep giving dubstep that which it has told itself it is not, if you know what I mean. For example, tracks without beats e.g. 'Sine of the Dub, an album full of vocals (Memories of the Future), an overlap with grime (forthcoming release on Hyperdub with vocalist from the Roll Deep crew, Flow Dan) and a producer such as Burial whose bass is the least interesting thing about his music. Hopefully this irritates everyone with a tidy idea of what dubstep should be.

How much has the scene grown since you started and how has that affected where you are going musically, if it has at all. Is the rapid growth of dubstep part of why you want to play the contrarian and push against conventions?
Well although the core of the scene is pretty tight, there is certainly a insurgence of people that I feel no musical or intellectual affinity too. I'm not particularly interested in playing the contrarian or reacting against conventions. I would rather just do my thing. It's just a position I've ended up in by default because a small part of the new wave of dubstep audience, with their false impression that because they express their every spasm on an internet forum, think they're pushing the scene forward, can sometimes put me off the scene as a whole. While I'm still involved in this music, they can fuck off. [laughs]

If you could only keep one piece of equipment (and not for financial reasons) which would it be?
I would keep a computer, as I could pretty much do everything I need to do on that, if pushed.

What is your favorite venue to play? Why?
Hmm. I really enjoyed playing at the first Dubwar at Love in NYC. The sound in the booth was incredible, very intense. . .there was subs under the main dancefloor, and they had a strange tripped out chill out room, all warped glass and beds covered in fur that smelt a bit funky. Cool place.

Who do you listen to and admire that you think is overlooked or failing that perhaps you think would suprise people?
I don't think they are over looked because they always seem to be hyping themselves, and I don't think it will surprise people cos I've talked about it before, but I've enjoyed a lot of Sa-Ra Creative Partners in the last few years. Their recent album was a little bit disappointing but they do have a magic touch sometimes.

Sa-Ra huh? Any other albums you are eagerly anticipating outside of your own genre?
New Flying Lotus album on Warp.