Grime in a pincer movement.

Woebot

Woebot

Well-known member
OK I fully understand that this may be a deeply unpopular opinion, possibly even a purist's one (if defending impurity counts as purism!), but I'm a bit concerned about Grime being "encroached upon" by the twin forces of Grimm and UK Hip Hop.

****OK whoah! Everyone calm down!******

Its probably cos I'm not a fan of either of the two that i find it a problem. It just strikes me that the likes of Sway on the one hand and FWD on the other are sidling into Grime, just as Grime artists seem to be becoming less differantiatable from their colleagues in these adjoining fields. It seems that a load of Grime artists (from Duurty Goodz downwards) are quite comfortable with the contraction.

It seems what is a heart of this to me is an abandonment of the Ardkore "Guttah" element of the music. Both UK Hip Hop and the FWD sound are "classy", "professional" and "polished", and to be frank what I've liked about Grime is its ugliness, noisiness and rankly amateur qualities. Terrible to admit!

Despite a few recent tunes , the Statik LP, the PJam "Compass" EP (didnt know he was behind "Anger Management") and the latest Ruff Sqwad tune (though for a first time i preferred the instrumental on this) which i've liked. I wonder if this is the end of Grime as I knew it?

Also it seems like post-Grime, artists like Sov, are what are being tipped as the way forward? Me, I dunno.
 
N

nine

variable spray
av some of that!

i might even agree with you, but I'm not sure anyone that has actually been to fwd has come out reciting the words - "classy", "professional" and "polished"
 
M

mms

sometimes
WOEBOT said:
OK I fully understand that this may be a deeply unpopular opinion, possibly even a purist's one (if defending impurity counts as purism!), but I'm a bit concerned about Grime being "encroached upon" by the twin forces of Grimm and UK Hip Hop.

****OK whoah! Everyone calm down!******

Its probably cos I'm not a fan of either of the two that i find it a problem. It just strikes me that the likes of Sway on the one hand and FWD on the other are sidling into Grime, just as Grime artists seem to be becoming less differantiatable from their colleagues in these adjoining fields. It seems that a load of Grime artists (from Duurty Goodz downwards) are quite comfortable with the contraction.

It seems what is a heart of this to me is an abandonment of the Ardkore "Guttah" element of the music. Both UK Hip Hop and the FWD sound are "classy", "professional" and "polished", and to be frank what I've liked about Grime is its ugliness, noisiness and rankly amateur qualities. Terrible to admit!

Despite a few recent tunes , the Statik LP, the PJam "Compass" EP (didnt know he was behind "Anger Management") and the latest Ruff Sqwad tune (though for a first time i preferred the instrumental on this) which i've liked. I wonder if this is the end of Grime as I knew it?

Also it seems like post-Grime, artists like Sov, are what are being tipped as the way forward? Me, I dunno.
Click to expand...


what's grimm ?
 
K

Keith P

draw for the drumstick
I don't really see that. Grime still seems pretty raw to me. Don't forget there's still an underground movement that carries on aside from album releases.
AS for UKHH I don't mind so much. Big fan of manuva, skinnyman etc.
 
hint

hint

party record with a siren
Well, I'm from the camp that didn't find all these various styles to be totally unconnected in the first place, so it seems natural to me that the lines are being blurred.

I'm certainly not from the camp that is excited by ideas of "amateur qualities" or "rawness". That's smoke and mirrors stuff, as far as I'm concerned - surface reflections.

As far as club nights go, I imagine that it's a case of trying to appeal to as many people as possible, since club nights are suffering from low numbers in general at the moment.
 
Last edited:
N

nine

variable spray
definition of gutta

sounds like gutter's gutter is different from woebot's gutta, git mi?
 
D

DJL

i'm joking
This is from Plasticmans blog regarding a forthcoming event he's playing at:

"Here's a round up of the bookings over the next month or so. Some big ones so no excuses. Standard representation is compulsory.
August 12th :: Brussels, Belgium :: Le Gazon @ Le Parc de Bruxelles (commonly called Parc Royal)
Catch Plasticman, Mark One, DMZ and Logan alongside JSD (Virus Syndicate), Jammer and Skepta (Skepta tbc). A true spectrum of the grime sound with a line up which puts most London events to shame.
Entry is FREE!!!!!! www.legazon.be for more info"

I think its essential that boundaries are not formed and the above event sounds amazing if a little too far away for me :(. Its just underground dance music in my eyes and all the names are only required for descriptive purposes - nothing more. The hardcore raves back in the late 80s and early 90s had it spot on - just call it all hardcore and play whatever you want from piano house to minimal techno and everything in between. Ever since then in my eyes dance music has slowly diluted due to different genres being invented to class every individual sound. Perhaps this represents a general mentality during the bulk of the '90s and half way through the next decade but I feel that that road is now over and we need to move in the opposite direction.

I recently bought 3 hours worth of unedited DVD footage from Fantazia's Second Site event at Westpoint Exhibition Centre in 1992 from www.fantazia.org.uk for £15. Well worth it - the vids have original sound and the atmosphere is completely electric in many parts. They show how the clubbing scene has changed since then in dramatic fashion.
 
nomos

nomos

Administrator
nine said:
i might even agree with you, but I'm not sure anyone that has actually been to fwd has come out reciting the words - "classy", "professional" and "polished"
Click to expand...
I was going to say, those aren't the first words that came to mind when I dropped in. "Sonic brutalism," maybe. Nothing pretty about the way it pummels the body and senses. It was a light year away from Bukem-style DnB gentrification.

Then again, have you noticed that a lot dubstep 12"s come in those classy black cardboard sleeves while grime records tend come in flimsy paper ones? ;)
 
G

gumdrops

Well-known member
i think grime is pulling itself into a more hip-hop (which cos its british, makes it 'uk hip hop' by default) mode all on its lonesome. i wouldnt mind if more tunes were produced better a la say, a youngstar or wonder. doesnt mean they have to be industrial-clinical pummelling like most dubstep though. i dont see it going that way anyway. im less concerned about the production values - guys like wiley have always had great production values anyway - than the actual content of the tunes. a lot of it really COULD fit into a broader uk hip hop spectrum. not all ukhh is of the trad old school description anyway, so much grime could slot in quite easily. it would obviously sound somewhat distinct in its own right, but it would still fit a lot easier than i ever hoped it would.
 
Last edited:
G

greeneyes

Bit Mangler
Are there any grime artists out there pushing a more dance-able take on the music? The best moments for me are always those when the mc is blazing away and the beat makes me want to move. This seems to be happening less often these days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top