Welcome back to The Art of Grime.
It’s been nearly six months since I’ve written or published anything grime related. Vocal grime hadn’t been moving me the way it normally does, and I also got a new job towards the end of 2022. Going from part-time work to a full-blown, 9-5 job is a bit of a steep curve. So, I put my energy into that and took a bit of a break.
I don’t expect anyone to really care about this, and future posts won’t feature this kind of update, but I thought it was worth mentioning for context. Hopefully, these monthly posts will be a regular thing.
Still with me? Scroll down for the instrumentals, projects, sets and interviews I’ve been feeling in May.
Tracks
Shayu x Slick – Collision
First up, ‘Collision’, a collaboration between producers Shayu and Slick. If you’re not familiar, here’s a quick primer: Slick makes dark, atmospheric grime and drill hybrids, which I’ve covered in the past and really loved. Shayu, on the other hand, is a beatmaker with an ear for icy melodies, landing a couple of EPs on Coyote Records over the past few years. Here, the two — excuse the pun — collide on a self-released single, mixing sturdy rhythms, moody bass stabs and dreamy vocals. Even though it clocks in at 150 bpm, there’s a rolling, perma-screwface feel throughout, with the echo on those bass hits packing a serious punch. Looking for a club-ready heater that combines grime, trap and sci-fi sonics? This one’s for you.
GYRO! – Jailbreak
Next up: ‘Jailbreak’ by GYRO!, which I came across when browsing Instagram earlier in the week. The concept here is simple: instrumental grime designed to pack a punch. The punch comes from a searing, distorted lead line, which stretches out and mangles the brain, joined intermittently by what I can only describe as a bass line which has the same rhythm as a hazard alarm. If that wasn’t enough, gunshot samples ring out every so often, too. The result? Foreboding, eight-bar grime which takes absolutely no prisoners. Think Waifer with a bit more melody, and you’re halfway there.
Top Dolla – Rampage
Speaking of Waifer, his fellow Slew Dem alumni Top Dolla released ‘Rampage’ on Bandcamp this month. The tune’s been knocking about for a while, first on a free download site, then SoundCloud, but now it’s available for purchase worldwide. What I like about ‘Rampage’ is the arrangement. You’ve got breakbeats, brass riffs and rib-shaking bass packaged neatly into a brash club banger, sounding like quintessential grime without getting tied up in nostalgia. Top Dolla’s been pretty active on SoundCloud this year, freeing up a range of tunes, so hopefully ‘Rampage’ is a return to regular releases.
Projects
Sir Spyro – TEKKERZ 002
When talking about Sir Spyro, I’ll borrow a line from Ghetts and say: “There’s no introduction needed”. He’s back this May with the second release on his label, the first of which dropped back in 2021 and unleashed classics from the vaults. ‘Have Manners’ gets the release treatment for “TEKKERZ 002”, so it seems like the plan is to slowly release all of the coveted tunes on his hard drive. That’s fine with me. So many classics don’t get a release, and there aren’t enough labels in grime as it is. Anyway, on to the tunes. Everyone and their dog has probably heard ‘Have Manners’ at this point, so we’ll focus on Filthy Gears’ remix, which chops up the bass lines of the original. All in all, the record is top-notch, and there’s an exclusive called ‘Blacked Out’ if you grab the vinyl version.
Lewi B – No Rain No Flowers
Lewi B’s been pretty busy this month. Production credits on Manga Saint Hilare and Blay Vision’s “Save Yourself”, a joint EP with Mystry, a single on Greezy Rekords and the solo release “No Rain No Flowers”, which we’ll look at today. Lewi mainly uses gliding square sounds across the ten tracks, and we get the full range of emotion. ‘Greatness’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Perfect Future’, for example, have a real spring in their step, while ‘Nerves’ and ‘No One’ are good, old-fashioned bass-heavy juggernauts. Honourable mention to the sequencing of the tape, too. There’s a constant energy from start to finish here, something you don’t always get from self-released material from producers. Overall, “No Rain No Flowers” is a fun listen with a great mix of melody and moodiness.
Skelecta – Falling / 2084
Producer and DJ Skelecta drops a two-track EP on his label Skelective Hearing this month. ‘Falling’ comes loaded with heavy-set basslines and rude synth stabs, while ‘2084’ features smooth and winding low-end riffs. Tying the two tracks together is the percussion. They’re tight, snappy and make you want to move. I can see both doing damage on a big system.
Radio and Interviews
DJ Argue w/Slimzee & Dread D
DJ Argue’s interviews have spanned Radar Radio, Rinse FM and SB:TV, with the subject often around grime’s history. In the past, he’s spoken to Danny Weed, D Power, Flirta D, A Plus and more, names that the mainstream music press probably wouldn’t pay any attention to. He’s back this month on London’s Subtle Radio, kicking off a new series with Slimzee and Dread D. There are a ton of gems in this, including how Dread D got started, the Black Ops days, the thrill of pirate radio and the politics of refixing tunes. Grime doesn’t have enough long-form interviews, so I’m excited to see what guests Argue’s got in store.
Medley P B2B Silas w/ M.I.C, Snowy & Rawza
More radio next. Leicester’s Lowertone is the arena for this link-up, a community radio station born during the pandemic. Here, we’ve got a loose B2B between Medley P and Silas, with M.I.C, Snowy and Rawza on mic duties, working well as an hour of music and a primer on current-day, quality grime. The fun the guys are having in the studio is transmitted through the headphones, with grime emceeing over bassline riddims, M.I.C’s radical lyrics and a great round of rapid-fire spitting toward the end of the show. Whack this on if you’ve got a spare hour.
Dr. Alex De Lacey on Music Journalism Insider
Music Journalism Insider is a newsletter compiled by music writer and editor Todd. L Burns. There’s news, job listings and interviews from journalists and authors, and this month caught my eye thanks to Todd’s interview with the lecturer, Mode resident and Over The Edge DJ Alex De Lacey. Here, Alex talks about his brand new book ‘Level Up: Live Performance and Creative Process in Grime Music’, which is a welcome study into the ingenuity of what the emcees we love do when they pick up the mic. Alex also recommends some other key grime texts later on in the interview, but it’s definitely worth reading fully if you’re interested in the book and grime music. Read it here.
The Official Neo Grime Playlist
Neo grime has been bubbling on the internet for a while now, making its way into IRL spaces through radio shows and live events. It’s a cool sound, and the best way I can describe it is like a continuation of the work producers like Silk Road Assassins, Last Japan and more were doing a few years ago. That’s not to say it’s derivative, though. There’s an open feel to the tunes, with producers pooling in influences from the U.K. and USA. This playlist compiles some of the subgenre’s best tunes, so turn it up loud and get lost in all that squarewave goodness.
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