- Grime has shattered into shrapnel, and a new generation of artists is picking up the pieces. That's not to say grime's foundations are at risk—just look at the success of scene leader Skepta, who won the adoration of US hip-hop audiences with his anthem "Shutdown." But the sound has gone fractal, rearing its head in challenging new forms.
There's the so-called "weightless" sound pioneered by Logos and Mumdance, the further deconstructed styles from Visionist, and the more peaceful ambiance of producers like Mr. Mitch. The collaborative Systems EP by Copout & Halp, two artists associated with New York label Purple Tape Pedigree, points to another mutant offshoot, one that finds new ideas without re-inventing the wheel.
All three tracks defy expectations. Sometimes, you'll get a clap on the two when you're expecting it on the three. Drum patterns will shift without warning from one measure to the next. The melodies are written with bent synth patches in dissonant, modified minor scales. These tricks engender a thrilling sense of suspense because they never resolve simplistically, even as the tracks give the dance floor its basic needs; "System 1" and "System 3" are anchored by deep, weighty basslines.
Copout & Halp work in plenty of jarring eccentricities through Systems, and with a mature restraint that keeps the EP coherent. "System 3," in particular, contains whispers of decade-old grime experiments, albeit with a host of new techniques that drag it into the SoundCloud age. Systems is a reminder that you needn't always throw the baby out with the bath water.
Tracklist01. System 1
02. System 2
03. System 3