It has become more and more difficult to avoid the debate over a singular “grime revival”, but it’s an undeniable fact that producers are extrapolating the genre’s aesthetic building blocks with unprecedented enthusiasm.
With Boxed and Butterz leading the way in London, grime as a club music form has taken a key role in the capital, and its influence is undeniable. And while much of the material coming from the Boxed massive and beyond is only tangentially related to the genre’s original, garage-derived form, the label of grime has proven useful as a means of arranging disparate sounds.
It’s also undeniable, even from afar, that the aforementioned labels/club nights play an important role grouping a collection of artists, from Loom to Finn and on through Dullah Beatz, that might otherwise be left disorganized and implacable. Like Low End Theory and the beat scene here in Los Angeles, Boxed, and Butterz to a lesser extent, are both the physical and aesthetic centers of their respective corners of the grime world. And as Low End Theory doesn’t purport to represent hip hop as a whole, those nights aren’t positioned as the embodiment of grime as a whole. What they have achieved is a renewed focus on sonic experimentation in club music and a desire to not only make the average club-goer dance, but to fuck up their expectations of what they’ll be dancing to.
This month’s For Club Use Only selection is heavy on grime and its various offshoots, so it’s only right to shine some light on a few mixes recorded outside of London. Victoria Kim’s volume for our series has a bootleg-filled track list and is as high energy as a recorded mix can be, while Mexican Jihad chose to highlight Caribbean rhythms and plenty of Spanish-speaking vocalists in his mix for i-D. Meanwhile, Swim Team, Glacial Sound and Georgia Girls all took over respective slots on Radar Radio, a station we’ll soon be joining with a bimonthly slot. And as always, you can find plenty more club material at our blog and weekly mix series.
Silk Road Assassins
‘Shaded’
As Silk Road Assassins, Chemist, Tom E. Vercetti and Lovedr0id have developed an addictive aesthetic nestled in-between Southern rap and grime. With Mssingno, Mr. Mitch and Visionist as contemporary reference points, the trio has released several one-offs and a brilliant T-Pain reduction on Gobstopper’s recent Peace Edits EP. ‘Shaded’ might be their most definitive original to date, a twisting melodic grime tune that morphs into a thrusting percussive monster midway through. And while each respective producer’s original work is well worth checking out, their collective effort on ‘Shade’ surpasses anything each has turned out to date.
https://soundcloud.com/mythproductions/mythciara-lonely-backseat-love-rabit-mix
Myth x Ciara
‘Lonely Backseat Love’ (Rabit Mix)
While a recent EP for Tri Angle and breathtaking DJ sets have established Rabit as a favorite of the industrial fringe, it’s important to remember that some of his best work comes in the R&B arena, often with his UK counterpart/partner in crime Myth. From his Kelly Rowland rework to an “ambient” reinterpretation of Rihanna, Rabit’s devotion to R&B’s megastars is readily apparent and his latest effort, another collaboration with Myth, tackles Ciara’s criminally underrated ‘Backseat Love’.
Treble Clef
‘Ghetto Kyote’ (Polonis Refix)
Getting repeat play from Spooky on Deju FM, Glaswegian producer Polonis’ refix of Treble Clef’s ‘Ghetto Kyote’ is already making waves. With a collection of refixes (‘Jedi’, ‘Together’, ‘Creeper’), it’s clear that Polonis has done his homework and ‘Ghetto Kyote’ is his first attempt to really hit on a non-derivative level, chopping up those timeless chords into halting delirium.
https://soundcloud.com/samibaha/maverick-1-totalfreedom-on-the-rinse
Sami Baha
‘Mavericks 1’ (TF Rip)
After tearing up his Astral Plane mix, Turkish producer Sami Baha has been on high burn, garnering attention from across the club music spectrum and getting support from Total Freedom. ‘Mavericks 1’ was premiered by Total Freedom on Rinse a few weeks ago and has been on repeat here ever since, showing off an impressive sense of harmony and a keen focus on the low end.
Samrai & Platt
‘Bad Riddim’
‘One Step/Bad Riddim’ is only the second release for Manchester-based crew/club night/label Swing Ting, and two residents from the night come through with a definitive statement. ‘Bad Riddim’ is a fully-fledged stomper that should grace dancefloors on both sides of the Atlantic for months; it’s a rare grime tune that recalls classic two-step and its dissolution in the contemporary arena, both in terms of negative space and sound palette. If Mumdance gave more time to dancehall, this might just be the result.
DJ Carbon Fiber
‘Blade Track’ (Santa Muerte Remix)
While he’s taken a break from the Sines moniker, Houston-based producer Leroy Bella has worked up some of his best material to date as Santa Muerte, a collaborative effort with fellow Texan Panchitron. Across a series of bootlegs and mixes (including a contribution to our series), the duo have staked out a unique ground between reggaeton, DJ Mustard-styled ratchet and hybrid club music, often utilizing Spanish vocals on snare-filled grime productions or splaying LA anthems across dembow’s characteristic crack. Their latest bootleg falls into the latter category, arranging TeeFlii’s 2 Chainz-assisted ’24 Hours’ across the syncopated flow of the dembow loop and adding their own melodious flair.
Victoria Kim
‘#VKBHMM’
Already a favorite among Vine users and ballroom DJs, Rihanna’s succinct ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ gets the remix treatment from Sydney’s finest. And while Riri’s comeback single might not carry the same weight as her past work, Kim’s two minute edit should make it into plenty of sets, driven by call-and-response vocals and the duo’s sparse, percussive production template.
SHALT
‘Callisto’
Out earlier this month on Origami Sound imprint Clubwerks, SHALT’s Jovian EP is one of March’s most incisive 4×4 releases, a series of grime-techno hybrids in the mould of Livity Sound. While the British-born, Bordeaux-based producer is a relative newcomer, his tracks – particularly ‘Callisto’ – are mature beyond their years, extracting plenty from a monochromatic color palette. SHALT’s bootlegs of Lotic and Neana & Ra’s Al are also ferocious and not to be missed.
Dinamarca
‘Zorna’ (Kablam Remix)
Released last December on STAYCORE, Dinamarca’s No Hay Break EP has been a quiet success, pushing a polychromatic take on the Lisbon-based sounds of kizomba, kuduro and tarraxhina. Now, we’ve got a remix package featuring an all-star team of Al T4riq, Endgame, Kablam, Imaabs, Drippin and Mobilegirl and while it’s hard to go wrong with any of the tracks, Janus’s Kablam wins out with her ‘Zorna’ remix.
