Grandmixxer‘s productions are laced with the weirdness that made those early grime instrumentals so great. They are hard hitting, but sound genuinely progressive. We loved the stuff that he put out last year, the ‘Socially Awkward‘ EP being a highlight. For 2020, the Lambeth based producer brings us ‘Siberia’ a seven minute sound system excursion that’s as frosty as the title suggests.
‘Siberia’ takes the long route, yet still starts out tough as distorted bass stabs poke through the track. They are backed up by faint motifs of melody that work their magic in the background, until bruising percussion drives the track forward. It’s an exercise in layering, as a new element gradually enters at a different stage. Take the square wave riff that makes its presence heard two minutes or so into the instrumental: it colours the track and rises in pitch, before morphing into another melody line after a short amount of time.
For all the building, there isn’t a drop. But that doesn’t matter because the power of the track comes from all the moving parts. It’s a grime instrumental, but Grandmixxer takes the approach of say, someone who might make ambient or techno music. Experimental music done right, without the overarching concepts that often weigh it down.
Buy/Stream
The Art of Grime 