Yesterday (Thursday October 2nd) Stephen Samuel Gordon, otherwise known as The Spaceape passed away. He had been fighting against a rare form of cancer for the better part of 5 years. Gordon was a poet and a musician but mostly he was a performer. He is most well known for the collaborative work he did with Kode9, one of the originators of dubstep and founder of the wildly successful Hyperdub label. Together the duo produced two albums: Memories of the Future and Black Sun. Gordon’s ominous, abstract lyrics, mixed with his heavy, sinister vocal tones Kode9’s deep, dub infused production created a sound unlike any other. Their single Sine of the Dub remains a mainstay of music-lovers the world over even now, 8 years after it was released.
Beyond that he collaborated with numerous other notable electronic musicians including The Bug, Martyn and Hyperdub’s very own Burial. He brought something to bass music that elevated it, laced it with atmosphere and made it so much more significant than something that just blasted out of a bloated soundsystem. Nowadays dozens of dubstep producers and collaborating MCs work to create similarly eerie, cryptic creations and they owe a huge debt to Gordon for that. People will be pondering over the meaning of his lyrics and poems for years to come.
Two years ago he released his first and last solo EP, Xorcism for free online. It’s an enthralling spiritual journey that’s rooted in Haitian culture (all the audio samples come from traditional Haitian music) and explores Gordon’s struggle with the cancer that ultimately brought his life to such a tragically abrupt conclusion. His final work though, fittingly, was another collaborative EP with Kode9 entitled Killing Season. It was released last Monday along with a video for the track Devil is a Liar, featuring the man himself.
Gordon brought something unique and utterly incredible to a music scene that’s risen to staggering heights in the past decade. He brought mystique, majesty and richness which helped to map the early emergence of dubstep music and he will be sorely missed. He is survived by his wife Luciana and his 6-year-old daughter, Cleo.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
