Sharp Veins is part of a stable of American producers — including new Tri-Angle signee Rabit — that has fully embraced the formerly London-centric grime sound. And, just like Rabit, he is a sonic breath of fresh air, injecting hip-hop and IDM-leaning experimental tendencies and techniques into a genre that’s often held hostage by its own genre tropes. It’s therefore not surprising to find out, when listening to his new Inbox Island EP for Irish label Glacial Sound, that his influences range from Tim Hecker to GAS to Actress to William Basinski, with cheeky portions of Aphex Twin and Autechre thrown in for good measure.
The music, although touching base with grime’s sonic memes — distorted bass drums, clicky beats, and enveloping square waves — is not beholden to them. In fact, it is the combination of diverse, extramarital influences and genre-defiant sounds, alongside these grime signifiers, as well as an uncanny ability to work outside of dancefloor-based expectations that really set his music apart from his peers at Boxed, Local Action, Coyote, and the like.
The tunes on Inbox Island are imbued with an otherworldly character that’s more usually associated with outsider techno or the L.A. beat scene, lending the record a sense of gravitas and seriousness that could very well lend it the crossover appeal grime needs to continue its globalized ascent toward wider recognition and acclaim.
In short, it’s that good shit, ya dun kno.
Check out our premiere of “2 Bad So Sad” below.
Inbox Island is out digitally on May 11, with a limited 12-inch coming shortly after.
• Sharp Veins: https://soundcloud.com/sharpveins
• Glacial Sound: http://glacialsound.com