RINSE 22: KODE 9 ALBUM LAUNCH
Hidden, London | May 24th
Know what’s impressive? When you plan a night to be at Autumn Street Studios in Hackney Wick, but due to unforeseen factors have a last minute venue change to Hidden in Vauxhall – and still pull off a wholly successful album launch. This evening was fine introduction to the fusion of vibes featured in Rinse FM’s new 37-track album, compiled by Kode 9.
As it turns out, Hidden was a strong venue choice; the system was more than ample for the one room of the club in which the event was contained, and the perfect delivery system for molecular shifting basslines. Morgan Sarate for the first two hours delivered thumping house beats, garage-like rhythms, glitchy grime and hip-hop elements; from DJ Rashad’s Rollin through an interesting SBTRKT remix, he set the eclectic tone that was to continue through the night.
Inga Copland delivered her lush and haunting vocals, utilising reverb in a way not dissimilar to The Knife. Her DJ supplied swelling deep bass and flowing melodies with industrial undertones. Cooly G took up the baton with a jump-up vibe, dropping house bangers with 90s-style vocals, and then more of that upbeat garage.
The ever-inventive Hyperdub honcho and main attraction for the evening Kode 9 gave a fair sample of what to expect from his Rinse: 22 compilation, maintaining the revamped 90s garage vibe with an eclectic twist and mixing seamlessly but rapidly between styles and tones. He dropped stunning remixes of Double99 – RIP Groove, garage classic N’n’G feat Kallaghan’s Right Before My Eyes, and for a moment a touch of Prince. These unexpected but hugely welcome selections were intertwined with more of the grime and footwork featured on the album, while Kode 9 worked in his new material like Xingfu Lu and older tracks like 9 Samurai. He even worked in a hip-hop megamix featuring Fantasy by Ludacris amongst other bass heavy beats of that ilk.
Into the last stretch, up stepped Scratcher vs Ikonika. Scratcher kicked things off with some heavy bass swells, bringing in a techno element without slowing the night’s momentum. Ikonika followed with an extremely strong set, paying homage by dropping Kode 9’s own Black Sun, as well as a heavy Miss Dynamite and even a Destiny’s Child remix, crunking up into some booming, glitchy hip-hop beats.
TD vs. Champion for the close, they toned things down a touch, but saw things out with a solid funky element. 80s and 90s hip-hop and pop brought the evening towards its end on a lighter note, the likes of De La Soul’s Me, Myself and I bringing a grin to every face. On a night which celebrated open-mindedness and the collective joy of music, it was a pretty appropriate close.
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Words: Claude Barbé-Brown
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