Life At 140 #1

The month in Grime...

Forthcoming LPs from Terror Danjah and Royal-T (both out in September), Bloom’s incredible ‘Quartz’ single, Champion’s ‘Crystal Meth’ and the renaissance of Slew Dem producers Waifer and Top Dolla have all provided the world of grime with an intriguing backdrop so far this summer. Newcomers Trends and K1 also deserve mentions, with the former causing quite a stir on the underground airwaves over the last few months, whilst the brilliantly consistent Moony has continued to put out some incredible stuff, most notably his recent ‘Pluck Off’ EP.

On the MC circuit, a feature on the aforementioned Royal-T album and recent single ‘Eff Tizzy’ see Merky Ace continuing to make serious waves whilst Big Narstie’s ‘Pain is Love’ mixtape has also proved a surefire hit. Wiley’s first ever number 1 has also been a revelation, a feat even more impressive considering he’d put out 15 volumes of self-titled ‘Steps’ freestyles in between times and a rejuvenated Trim has continued to impress.

Events wise, the wait for the next installment of Butterz vs Hardrive at Cable is down to 3 months (November 10th can’t come quick enough)! There are however, a series of upcoming Butterz dates across the UK to appease the wait – you can check them out their Twitter / Facebook pages. The Alibi has proved a more than capable deputy too with ‘Maybach’ playing host to a 100% Slew Dem set from Spooky recently as well as a notable set from Preditah. Faze Miyake also made his FWD debut alongside scene heavyweights Marcus Nasty and Plastician whilst Elijah and Skilliam are to represent the year of 2011 at FWD’s 18th birthday event at Plastic People.

Top 5 Tracks of the Month:

Bloom – Quartz
Heralded by FACT as grime’s instrumental of the year so far, ‘Quartz’ has been a major hit for Belfast-based producer Bloom (pictured). It manages to capture the essence of grime circa 2004 whilst still sounding like nothing I’ve ever heard before – an absolute monster of a track. It’s out now on Gobstopper Records with accompanying remixes from Slackk and Starkey.

Walter Ego feat Trim – Set Off
Having collaborated with Last Japan on both ‘Blood Diamon’ and ‘East’ over the last year, it is no surprise to see Trim team up with Sheffield’s Walter Ego on ‘Set Off’. The instrumental is a crisp, bubbly affair that shares similarities with Wiley’s ‘Ice Rink’ and Trim does it more than justice, supplying a catchy hook and signature flow. Heavily backed by Toddla T, it is to be released on August 19th via Girls Music.

Royal T and Roska – Work Your Body
Forthcoming on his debut Rinse presents album, the meeting of Royal-T and Roska on ‘Work Your Body’ is a real triumph. It results in something neither grime nor garage but a track beautifully balanced between the two with Roska’s polish adding a touch of unheralded class. The perfect summer anthem.

Preditah – Red Bull
A monstrous instrumental taken from Preditah’s recent ‘Red Bull EP’ that does untold damage to dancefloors everywhere. An MC favourite to boot, ‘Red Bull’ is grime in all its stripped back glory with the key to its success lying in a colossal looping bass line – yet more quality work from grime’s most accomplished young hit-maker.

Spooky – Gladiator 2012
Having developed quite the reputation for refixes, Spooky’s rework of Alias’ classic ‘Gladiator’ is probably his best yet. A big favourite on his Deja Vu show, Gladiator 2012 is grime at it’s relentless, face-crunching best – it does the original no harm either. A surefire reload favourite in the dance too.

Words by Tomas Fraser

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