Deep diving, broad ranging and impeccably crafted, this film about the late Stevie Hyper D, an MC from west London whose music and performances in the 1990s helped to create and shape drum’n’bass, is simply terrific. Not least because it manages to introduce the genre in such a way that even viewers entirely unfamiliar with the junglist sound will feel invited in, educated and ultimately won over to its mesmeric power, especially as practised by the charismatic subject himself.
Carved from a mountain of footage and audio recorded on VHS, cassettes, early digital formats and the like (supplemented by recently shot interviews with friends and family), director Jamie Ross-Hulme scrolls through the brief timeline of Stevie’s life. Literally, in fact given the graphics look much like the timelines on editing software across which the camera pans back and forth as the narrative jumps around to key moments in his life, including a triumphant New Year’s Eve performance in Ilford, Essex just before his death in 1998. That emphasis on the means of production fits with the way the documentary lays out how integral making, collaboration, the nature of sound systems and so on were to the rise of Stevie’s sound. Onscreen text defining terms is also especially welcome for newbies who might not know exactly what the difference and/or relationship is between jungle and drum’n’bass.
The film builds up a layered portrait of Stevie as an artist, a member of a community, a friend and a collaborator – and isn’t afraid to note he could be a bit tricky and difficult, and was a serial philanderer. But his vibrancy shines through in the clips of him performing, especially when pulling off his virtuoso displays of double-time styling and working the crowd into a frenzy. Ageing scenesters who were there will feel nostalgic, while the youth of today will feel cheated they missed a wondrous time to be young, alive and capable of getting into the right gigs.
• Hyper: The Stevie Hyper D Story is in UK and Irish cinemas from 15 November.
