Customer Reviews

Memories of the Future

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Electronic/ Dubstep

I gave this album a few tries before I decided that this is pretty damn good. Listen to The Spaceape. Obviously it is his bass voice and strange Jamaican accent with ominous and domineering phrasing, which is scary and chilling. Unlike one may think from his hypnotizing voice (er..Ah! Devil's music!..die!) Spaceape mostly talks about social justice and human rights. The music is dark and monotonous as if it were part of a future underground movement (hence the album name). "Glass" and "Curious" are "dread-pop that ease you into a false sense of insecurity." Too much listening can be unstable, but this music relaxes your blood and bones.

Recommend: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, 14 (All are good, play randomly.)

Minimalist and ethereal but interesting dubstep. There are several artists in this genre who are moving beyond what to some looks like regular dub records.Interesting vocals mixed into the music I agree with others that the effect is eerie.

I only enjoy Kode9's stuff in very limited doses, it seems. While a lot of the dubstep artists I've been listening to lately seem to layer things heavily on top of one another, Kode9's stuff on this album has an almost minimalist feel to it. I'm not a huge fan of minimalism, frankly. The elements are there, but they often lack some crucial element that makes them all stick. The technique works on some songs, but even then, the ones I enjoy most are the ones that are more complicated and integrated.

Spaceape's vocals are interesting and a bit unsettling. The lyrics themselves are an interesting counterpoint to the backing beats; with most electronic music, I couldn't care less about the lyrical content and instead listen for the beats, but this album is more an exercise in deciphering Spaceape's growly, whispery lyrics over the less-interesting droning tones in the background.

Ultimately, I don't regret buying this, but it isn't something that's going into my frequent-listening file.

As much as I liked Burial's S/T..

This album by label founder kode 9 is on par, or possibly even better.

It's certainly more balanced track-wise with nothing particularly weak, and Kode9's style is incredibly distinctive.., which would make sense as he's been producing for longer than Burial.

Its a haunting, affecting listen.. perfect for late nights.

This album really goes beyond the current definition of Dubstep into another realm (called "Bass Poetry"by 9).

I bought this one on the strength of the remix on Burials album.

I found Kode 9s beats to be disappointing (plastic sounding boring toy) and Space Ape to be underwhelming (same boring lyrics repeated on repetitious boring subjects - not bringing anything new to played out technophic genre).

If you dont have Linton Kwesi Johnsons best of album, and the Last Poets "This is Madness" buy those first before you pass judgement on my review of space ape.

There are dozens of obvious dubstep CDs that should illustrate how Kode 9 lames out on this one. Ive heard some great stuff by him on comps and podcasts - but this isnt it.