About

In 2017, Kode9's Hyperdub released a compilation highlighting Japanese video game music from the '80s and 90s. Last year, Kode9, AKA Steve Goodman, toured a live set based on that music, with visuals from the animator Kōji Morimoto. For those live sets, Kode9 made his own versions of these video game soundtracks.

Goodman's distinctive style of drum programming, which leaps between hip-hop tempo and frantic, footwork-style speeds, could make anything sound exciting. Yuzo Koshiro's "Temple," a nervy orchestral track from the game ActRaiser, is dynamite in Goodman's hands. His rattling percussion makes Koshiro's synths feel even more foreboding. The same goes for Koichi Ishibashi's "Bad Data," where athletic UK garage-style patterns come and go. – Resident Advisor