Kode9 / Burial - Infirmary / Unknown Summer

Available on 140 gram limited edition clear 12" wax split Five years after Hyperdub boss Kode9 and label mainstay Burial mixed the 100th and final edition of the Fabriclive mix series, the two visionaries shared a split single on the London club's Fabric Originals imprint. Kode9's "Infirmary" seems to continue in the direction of his brilliant 2021 single "The Jackpot," a tense, intricately detailed mutation of footwork, trap, and U.K. bass. "Infirmary" similarly plays with tension and release, looping and reversing reflective pianos and vocal fragments over a stuttering rhythm before filtering in jazz samples and Amen breakbeats. A few different basslines boom out of the speakers, including some that seem inspired by amapiano log drums. Any time the track feels like it's relaxing into a groove, it switches up and gets more exciting. Burial's "Unknown Summer," in comparison, lacks the adrenaline of Kode9's track, but it's just as stunning in its own way. While the elusive artist has sa