Troughout dubstep’s evolution and mutation into ever new subgenres and futurhythms, Hyperdub remains a constant source of innovative, mind-bending music. 2009 brings a new batch of releases: first a flurry of 12s, then a series of albums to follow. New work from Kode9 + the Spaceape, debut albums from Ikonika, Darkstar and King Midas Sound, plus a third LP from Burial. Supplementing these is a bumper, “filler-free” boxset commemorating five years of Hyperdub as a record label.

To date, Hyperdub have released three albums: Kode9 and the Spaceape’s Memories Of The Future, chronologically sandwiched between Burial’s self-titled debut and 2008’s Untrue. Rooted in the evolution of UK garage and 2step, these momentous works immortalize a state of modern gloom amongst the double-deckers, parks and chicken shops of south London. Forthcoming longplayers are set to explore similar ground, each work with their own take on the closed-circuit, post-industrial cityscape.

“Darkstar’s album will probably be first and I’m particularly excited about it,” confirms Kode9, the man behind the Hyperdub label. “They have an uncanny ability to write great songs but keep their sound really synthetic. The anniversary compilation is also shaping up nicely… alongside the label artists, there are going to be some guests on there who are some of my favourite producers. The King Midas album will maintain that undercurrent of sweet dread that has been a foundation for the label since it began. Ikonika really has a quite deliriously unique thing going on with her synths. And Burial’s album will speak for itself.”

As for his own new album, Kode9’s partnership with the Spaceape continues apace –a modern breed of the south-west London bass poetry linage cultivated by Linton Kwesi Johnson and Dennis Bovell. On the subject of his album, he expands, “It’s more awake than the first one – that’s all I can say right now. There is a Werner Herzog film Heart of Glass where all the actors were in a trance, were hypnotized into this kind of glazed state. When I listen back to that first album, I don’t know how we did it – it sounds like we were in a trance or a dub coma.”

Recent tracks to emerge by Kode9 –‘Black Sun’, ‘Too Far Gone’ and a remix of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s ‘Yellow Tongue’ – have a soca-tinged, funky feel, and lean towards those new house sounds that are getting rinsed on the radio. It’s a sound that’s made to dance to, something that’s key to the spirit of Hyperdub.

“When I think back to intense musical memories, they have always involved being taken over rhythmically by something, where an agency in the music possesses or infects you and makes you move. There is nothing more of a turn off than being surrounded by really awkward dancing. But I do resist the crude idea which some journalists and DJs have about what is and isn’t dance music, and the way this definition usually defaults to being bludgeoned into moving.”

The sound of Burial is a case in point. With his third LP in the pipeline, the hype machine has begun to rev up once more. Despite the juvenile behaviour of tabloid employees to unveil his identity, Burial has stayed true to his principles: avoiding exposure, encouraging people to focus on the music, not the man.

Anonymity is not limited to Burial, either. The label’s second-most hype act, Zomby, is also only recognisable by his music. Zomby’s EP for Hyperdub provided more of his unique scherzos, complimenting his excursions in hardcore on Where Were U In ’92? For Werk Discs.

“If an artist on Hyperdub wishes to maintain a distance between their music and their image then I support that totally,” says Kode9. “Humans have this tiresome and cynical desire to facialise what are often impersonal processes – it’s like a text is needed before people can actually listen to music in itself. If there is some kind of text or image that precedes a piece of music, I’d rather it was one that multiplied the affect of the music, rather than pinning it down.”

The Hyperdub blueprint tries not to limit itself to one sound or style, Kode9 has gathered a band of producers, from south London talent Cooly G through to Tokyo’s Quarta330 whose music spans a broad range of beats and bass-driven styles, often around 140bpm. Is it dubstep? Does it matter? Hyperdub suck up influences up like a sonovac; whether it’s dub, grime, soca or, of course, UKG.

Of the 2009 releases so far, Joker’s ‘Digidesign’ is the most lauded, and understandably so. This Bristol-based producer is doing his unique, ridiculously-good thing, plus the ‘Digidesign’ 12” is backed by the lusciously vocoderized “You Don’t Know What Love Is’ by Danish duo 2000F/ J Kamata.

Kode9’s decision to add Samiyam to the label’s roster last year confounded those sceptics looking to pigeonhole the label, with the L.A. beatmaker throwing down some boom-bap drum patterns. The beats scene has gone on to forge strong links with dubstep, thanks in no small part to Kode9’s influence.

“I met Flying Lotus on a roof in Melbourne, Australia about three years ago. We got on. He has a really psychedelic orientation in his music that is really refreshing. He’s also a great performer.” Sharing a transatlantic appreciation for progressive sounds, FlyLo and Kode9 united a seminal Rinse FM show in November 2007 and subsequent Brainfeeder events. “I’m touring with him in the US – we’re playing together in New York, San Francisco, LA and at the Coachella Festival.” Along with Dabrye, FlyLo also entered the Hyperdub catalogue with a remix for King Midas Sound.

“There were no expectations or hopes when I started the label. It was purely to release some of our music without the requirement of persuading someone else to like it, or DJs to play it.” Kode9 reveals. “Since then it has just evolved step by step without any long term plans. I have quite militant gut responses to music, so I just try to trust that response, and follow it wherever it leads.” That militant gut, along with an exceptional ear, has led to supreme A&R activities, with Kode9 astutely cherry-picking from the mass of artists who send their work to him, including Ikonika who sent tracks to numerous labels yet only received positive interest from one.

Emotionally-charged sounds –including most of Burial’s releases, Zomby’s ‘Test Me For A Reason’ and Darkstar’s sometime shanty-like jewels – elevate the label beyond others. Roger Robinson, one half of King Midas Sound alongside the Bug, knows from experience that Hyperdub is a label that cares deeply about music and musicians: “It’s about progressive music and progressive artists, so it’s really good for us to be on the label. There were other offers to sign for more money, but we wanted a musicians label. We wanted a label manager that loves music and thinks business, and that’s what Steve had. Big thinking (said in the style of Jay Z’s Big Pimpin’).”

Is there any grand plan behind Hyperdub any method to its madness? “I don’t think Hyperdub means to do what it does,” surmises Ikonika. “I don’t think there is any special or mysterious marketing going on. Hyperdub just likes to surprise people.”