After Hyperdub's first compilation of 10th anniversary dancefloor heaters, ‘Hyperdub 10.2’ features some of the label's best songs of the last five years or so. Hyperdub is often associated with dark and brooding instrumental music, however, this mid-summer collection sheds some sunlight over that dread filled reputation, showcasing an underrated cast of talented songwriters, vocalists and producers.
The album is laced with brand new cuts from Kode9, Cooly G, Morgan Zarate feauring. Eska and Ghostface Killah, Jessy Lanza, Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland, and DVA featuring Zaki Ibrahim. Ranging from melancholy R&B, garage, funk, footwork and icy pop, ‘10.2’ covers this overlooked side of the label's back catalogue.
The album opens with Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland’s grime lullaby ‘Signal 2012’, one of their final collaborations, moving into Burial's dubbed-out R&B on ‘Shell Of Light’ from his seminal album ‘Untrue’, and Jessy Lanza's stand-out cut ‘5785021’, before sliding into the digi dub meets R & B slow jam of South London's Cooly G with ‘Obsessed’. King Britt features next, with his Fhloston Paradigm project, on the deeply emotive ‘Never Defeated’ featuring Rachel Claudio. After their collaboration on his 'Pretty Ugly’ album, DVA is joined again by South African singer Zaki Ibrahim with their brand new summery mutant garage track ‘Solid’. Dam Funk jumps on Ikonika's funk bomb ‘Mr. Cake’, adding a fun, party vocal. Continuing the ‘80s funk vibe is Morgan Zarate and Roses Gabor's ice cold Prince-influenced ‘Pusher Taker’, the lead track from his 2013 EP. Jessy Lanza contributes some more sparkling R&B with the brand new ‘You and Me’, followed by another track from Morgan Zarate, a lost dub featuring the soulful Eska and Wu Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah. The tempo raises in the final stretch of the album with DVA's and Fatima's collaboration ‘Just Vybe’, Terror Danjah & Meleka's shimmering R&G cut ‘You Make Me Feel’ and the 160 bpm soul of the late DJ Rashad's ‘Only One’ from his acclaimed ‘Double Cup’ album. The CD closes with the lo-fi, bashy mutation of Kode9 & copeland's ‘Lies Lies’.
10.2 calls on Hyperdub's sirens to balance the moody energy of 10.1 with fourteen slices of hyper soul. Let them lead you astray.