NEWS
EVENTS
Grixis
Other | Tuesday 7th May 2013 | Shachi
Think back to simpler times, when finding new music was as easy as watching a newly-released video on television and then rushing to your computer’s P2P-sharing software to download all the tracks you can find by the artist you just watched. Then came YouTube, Soundcloud, Mixcloud and all the other online music platforms, the entire online-music scene exploded so much so that now it’s impossible to keep up not only with all the emerging genres and sub-genres of music but also with all the new artists and producers that put up their mixes on the interweb. However, every now and then, you chance upon something that blows your mind completely and you can’t get the tunes out of your head. This happened to me a few weeks ago when I found Grixis’ ‘The Night Sky’ EP, a beautiful, melodic, crisp four-track playlist of a fusion of liquid drum’n’bass and dubstep.
James Sharman aka Grixis, a 21-year old student of music and technology at the University of East Anglia, has generated a lot of online attention with over 100,000 YouTube views. A 12-minute EP with each track of exactly 3-minute length, The Night Sky is released online by DOOH! Records, “an indie record label concentrated on sounds that uplift peoples’ emotions”, and oozes quality, sophistication and classiness. Featuring a very fluid, peaceful and soulful vibe, Grixis demonstrates his mastery with slick, clean, tight production and tracks that blend into each other yet stand out. Although he categorises himself as a producer of dubstep, his music bears softer beats and tunes that are tune-ier, and can be described as a downtempo version of the brand of dubstep that you find when you go clubbing; one with a greater emphasis on melody rather than mind-pummelling rhythms.
The Night Sky EP opens with a ‘Stars’, a melodic, uplifting track with major soothing vibes and then segues into ‘White Noise’, another track featuring a calming and comforting lull. The track titled ‘The Night Sky’ starts off a little spacey, with ambient conversations and a melancholic mood but picks up a slow yet slightly steppy glitch feel. ‘Cold’, the closing track of the EP, carries an inherent energy right from the start and after the drop is easily the boss track of the album.
Grixis lists a range of personal influences – a range of dubsteps, Mogwai, Hammock, Sigur Ros, Madeon and “everything I hear and love”, he writes. His music carries echoes of post-rock melancholia in its mood and theme, and the striking, clean drum beats resonate with a dubstep feel.
Apart from The Night Sky EP, Grixis has uploaded a bunch of different mixes on his SoundCloud page – among others, ‘Feel So’, a deeply emotional, heart-warming track, ‘Blinding Light’, a slightly more high energy, head-bobbing, foot-tapping tune and ‘Cosmonauts’, my personal favourite and easily the most versatile and complex of his creations.
With less focus on teeth-rattling bass drops and more on texture, space and melody, Grixis is perfect for that post-rave comedown when you want some soothing vibes and easy yet intelligent listening. With his EP, he makes a strong impression on the listener and is definitely worth remembering. Dooh! Records aims to “bring out rough diamonds”, and in Grixis, I think they’ve found a truly valuable gem.
Listen to The Night Sky EP here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_IE4mGOLeM&list=PLAE7B389945317528
Grixis' SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/grixis
