tue 19/03/2024

CD: Kode9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun | reviews, news & interviews

CD: Kode9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun

CD: Kode9 & The Spaceape - Black Sun

Can deep electronica and politicised dub poetry escape worthiness?

Kode9 & The Spaceape's 'Black Sun': 'An endlessly listenable and quite timeless album'

There's something about this album that feels as if it's already existed for a long time. Full of post-apocalyptic images of smoke, dust, decay and weakness, and themes of struggling individuals and implacable political forces, it thematically fits with the works of a long line of acts who positioned themselves against the fear of nuclear armageddon and the seemingly immovable Conservative government in the 1980s. Its mix of Caribbean-influenced soundsystem culture and dub poetry with an edgy alternative experimentalism, too, harks back to the post-punk genre collision of Dennis Bovell, On-U Sound, Renegade Soundwave and the like, 25 or more years ago.

There's something about this album that feels as if it's already existed for a long time. Full of post-apocalyptic images of smoke, dust, decay and weakness, and themes of struggling individuals and implacable political forces, it thematically fits with the works of a long line of acts who positioned themselves against the fear of nuclear armageddon and the seemingly immovable Conservative government in the 1980s. Its mix of Caribbean-influenced soundsystem culture and dub poetry with an edgy alternative experimentalism, too, harks back to the post-punk genre collision of Dennis Bovell, On-U Sound, Renegade Soundwave and the like, 25 or more years ago.

Words that could sound adolescent or preachy from lesser vocalists are placed elegantly in the wider audio picture to subtly powerful effect

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