Steve Goodman, known as Kode9 (born 1973) is a Scottish

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

artist, DJ, and founder of the

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by 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 label hav ...

record label. He was one of the founding members of the early

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 be ...

scene with his late collaborator

The Spaceape 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 ...

. He has released four full-length albums: 2006's ''

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 Ad ...

'' and 2011's ''Black Sun'' (both with

), ''Nothing'' (2015), ''Escapology'' and ''Astro-Darien'' (2022). As owner of Hyperdub, Goodman has signed artists such as

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 ...

DJ Rashad Rashad Harden (October 9, 1979 – April 26, 2014), known as DJ Rashad, was a Chicago-based electronic musician, producer and DJ known as a pioneer in the footwork genre and founder of the Teklife crew. He released his debut studio album '' ...

Zomby Zomby is a British electronic musician who began releasing music in 2007. He has released music on several labels, including Hyperdub, Werk Discs, and 4AD. Zomby's influences include oldschool jungle music and Wiley's eskibeat sound. Career ...

, and

Fatima Al Qadiri Fatima Al Qadiri ( ar, فاطمة القديري; born July 1981) is a Senegalese-born Kuwaiti musician and conceptual artist. Biography Fatima Al Qadiri is the daughter of Mohammed Al Qadiri, a former Kuwaiti diplomat and writer, and Thuray ...

. Goodman has a PhD in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

and has published a book, ''Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear'', in 2009.

Early career

Initially inspired by what he calls the "

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

continuum" of British dance music, Kode9 was formatively influenced by styles such as

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

and

2-step garage 2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage.''A transcription of this article is availablhere as a PDF file.'' One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to de ...

; he has mentioned his first encounter with jungle, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, as being "the most important musical event of my life".''Invisible Jukebox'',

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

no. 269, July 2006 Other genres that are common influences in his work include dub,

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

(such as toasting), and

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...

. A move to

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

and collaboration with the

Cybernetic Culture Research Unit The Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) was an experimental cultural theorist collective formed in late 1995 at Warwick University, England and gradually separated from academia until it dissolved in 2003. It garnered reputation for its idiosyn ...

studying

rave culture A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

cybernetics Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson m ...

postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

and

afrofuturism Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocu ...

later led to a

memetic Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...

philosophy regarding music, which he has spoken about at length in interviews. In the late nineties, Kode9 moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and established a name as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

at clubnights such as ''FWD>>''.

Current work

In 2004, Kode9 appeared on the second grime compilation on Rephlex records.Derek Walmsley, "Dubstep", ''The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music'', ed. Rob Young, London: Verso, 2009, p. 89. That same year, Kode9 founded

records; the first release was ''Sine of the Dub'', a collaboration between Kode9 and Daddy Gee, which was a minimal, loose

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

's "

Sign "O" the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 30, 1987 as a double album by Paisley Park ...

". Kode9 treated the vocals to fit his idea of their delivery by "a man on his deathbed". Subsequent releases established the label as an important and influential label within the dubstep genre. Hyperdub have since released records such as

self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album, which ''

'' magazine named their number one album of 2006.''Rewind 2006'', The Wire no. 275, January 2007. Goodman has a PhD in philosophy from the

and has also worked in academia. As of 2006 he was working at the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

as a lecturer in media production, and course tutor for a master's program in sonic culture In December 2009, his ''Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear'', a book exploring the uses of acoustic force and how it affects whole populations was published by

MIT Press The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962. History The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...

. The book also explores how sound can be deployed to set moods of dread and fear, how sound can be used as torture, as a weapon and as a threat.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' - Hyperdub, 2006 (with

) *''Black Sun'' - Hyperdub, 2011 (with

) *''Nothing'' - Hyperdub, 2015 *''Escapology'' - Hyperdub, 2022 *''Astro-Darien'' - Hyperdub, 2022

DJ mixes

*''DJ Kicks'' - Hyperdub, 2010 *''Rinse:22'' - Rinse, 2013 *''Fabriclive 100'' (with

) - Fabric London, 2018

References

External links

Hyperdub recordsKode9's Official Artist FacebookKode9's DJ-Kicks micrositeDiscography
at

Discogs.com Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...

{{Authority control Alumni of the University of Warwick Academics of the University of East London Scottish electronic musicians Dubstep musicians Post-dubstep musicians Electronic dance music DJs 1973 births Living people Hyperdub artists