Kode9 at EMPAC: Recap

Last night at EMPAC, Kode9 showcased that he is a humble performer. The iconic DJ and producer has been influencing the electronic music scene since the early 90s, and it was a truly special occasion that he was able to share his sounds with us on the absolute best sound system in upstate New York.

Kode9, known for founding the record label Hyperdub, started the evening off with a series of experimental works and slowly built into his signature styles. Throughout the night, a heavy fog filtered through the dance floor and at times even reached the knees of those in the audience, completely burying the floor and what lies beneath, providing a cool atmosphere to get lost in the music.

With such mastery of the lower, deeper end bass frequencies, Kode9 proved that he is more than worthy of having control over EMPAC’s epic sound system. Any other venue would have been a sub-par system for what Kode9’s sounds are capable of. Normally, one would have to travel three hours to a major city to be able to experience bass music that you can feel from your feet all the way up to your nose hairs, so needless to say it was a blessing to have this opportunity locally.

Kode9’s sound ranged from experimental soundscapes to jungle to footwork, including a footwork edit of “On Sight from Kanye’s Yeezus and Biggie’s track “Dead Wrong, among many other DJ Rashad tunes. Kode9 is an intelligent performer and kept control over the audience with seeming ease for a full two and a half hours. No gimmicks, no yelling into a microphone, no visuals – just pure, unfiltered sound that forced even the hesitant ones to dance. Needless to say, it was absolutely fantastic.

If you have never been to an event at EMPAC, simply go to the next one that your schedule will allow, regardless of if you have heard of the performer or not. For example, this Friday, EMPAC will host Laurel Halo, also from the Hyperdub family, as part of celebrating the label’s 10th year.