NEWS
EVENTS
Hyperdub and Teklife at the Hydra may just have been their best night so far
Drum and Bass | Wednesday 5th November 2014 | Cristina
After two years of searching for a venue to call home, the Hydra settled on Studio Spaces earlier this year, which they celebrated at the launch of their 2014 autumn series in August. They’ve been full steam ahead ever since and on Saturday 11th October, the Hydra invited Hyperdub, London’s premiere leftfield bass imprint, and Teklife, what could be described as its American equivalent, to host their Saturday night party.
Hyperdub darling Cooly G opened the event at 10, her blend of UK Funky and bassy garage making for perfect warm-up material to a crowd who’d come to see electronic music pushed as far out into the wilderness of innovation as it goes. The venue was rammed by the time Addison Groove and Plastician took the stage, bashing out a fast-paced mix of acid basslines and classic grime cuts.
The moment I’d been looking forward to most came when Ikonika went back to back with former Rinse FM breakfast show host Scratcha DVA, creating a unique set which veered from starkly experimental to hands-in-the-air, always upbeat and soul-tinged. ‘Lights are Forever’, one of the poppiest cuts from Ikonika’s recent Aerotropolis, was a euphoric moment. DJ Spinn, representing Teklife, took to the decks at 3.30 and raised hell with the most trapstep set of the night. Also on Teklife’s team, DJ Taye stood out as a strong voice in future-facing beats, with IDM a notable presence in his sound.
When it was announced on the week that Oneman would be co-headlining the event in his b2b set with Kode9, a lineup that already seemed perfect became that bit more so. They were a headline double act to persuade any weaker members of the crowd to push on until the 6am closing time. When the time finally came for the two to take to the decks, the screams that rose from the crowd bordered on hysterical.
5am is the point at every Hydra where the heat and resultant smell of drug sweat has reached its apex, a heady maelstrom of delirium somewhere between worrying and triumphant. The crowd pay no heed to the assault on their senses, which ranges from the acrid smell which hits occasionally to the sticky alcohol flying everywhere, to the sweat dripping from pores and walls and the hallucinations undoubtedly echoing through their minds.
These are the words of a Hydra acolyte - of one who understands that the Hydra represents dance music as it should be, in all its quirks and less photogenic moments. It’s only in these environments of creative license – these art-friendly spaces - that musical inhibitions are abandoned, and hope for electronic music's future can be affirmed.
Oneman and Kode9 were a formidable duo, launching into a set which spanned the two’s varied repertoire of personal productions and favoured beats, ranging from experimental garage to dark bass. Kode9, owner of Hyperdub, saw to it that dubstep wasn’t underrepresented on the night, dropping little-known gems that showed where the genre had arrived at today - straddling sparse, hip-hop tinged beats, atmospheric pads and glassy vocal samples.
His frequent collaborator Spaceape’s distinctive tones drifted into focus between Oneman’s livelier cuts, keeping the crowd on their toes. By the end of the night, it couldn’t be more obvious that both Hyperdub and Teklife maintain their hold on electronic music, each in their respective countries. Leading the genre into strange new territory, they are still located firmly at the frontier of bass.
If one hundredth of the world’s nightlife was as good as the Hydra, the general standard of dance music would raise perceptibly. As is, the Hydra, throughout their weekly autumn series, stands as a leading representative of underground dance music in the UK and beyond, and those interested in the knife edge of electronic music will have to fly to London and Uber to Pennington Street to meet kindred spirits.
Keep updated with the Hydra on their Twitter, Facebook and website. Check in with Hyperdub on their website and Teklife on theirs.
