From room-two staple to warehouse-filler, Bristol’s blossoming grime scene neatly reflects the genre’s encroachment of the UK mainstream. In the late 2000’s it took a mix of ingenious programming and innovative promotion to bring grime to Bristol’s larger venues; Sh*t The Bed broke down the boundaries between traditional dance music snobbery and introduced a whole new generation of ravers to grime and urban dance music. Just a few years later Bodynod would proceed to host some of the biggest grime events Bristol will ever see, with past guests including Wiley, EZ, Skepta and JME. While Sh*t The Bed may be no longer, The Blast’s excellent curation continues with grime/crossover bookings including Stormzy, Oneman and Plastician
Homegrown grime productions are also on the rise. Under the direction of long-standing Bristol MC, Koast’s Durkle Disco imprint pushes Bristol grime and UK garage. Kahn and Neek are Bristol’s current success story with recent releases on local experimental label Young Echo.
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Our recent grime recommendations
Imminent spooky squiggles coming outta the Blumitsu research facility, where they’ve been R&Ding special alien technologies to unleash on the club: arrays of disembodied vocals sitting above cyber-tech tools and Drexciya-coded electro/bass hybrids. Co-conspirator wonk-fiend Berwick operates a heaving table of insidious hardware too, while foot soldiers spin weird, wobbly sonic weaponry.
StepTwice: BLUMITSU , Berwick, YSL, Jay Carter, Rozi at Strange Brew.
Sell out warning! AnExperience descends on the Boxing Gym with their own righteous take on amen culture, taking us back to 92-96 with an all-vinyl crew running pure junglist/hardcore/breakbeat euphoria through Scotland Yard’s ‘so loud it’s psychedelic’ soundsystem. 100% deconstructed-rave free zone across 5 arenas, it doesn’t get much bigger than this!
AnExperience presents ~ A proper jungle night at The Boxing Gym.
Sell out warning! Somatic meditations and sensual club selections with Shameless Hussies and queer culture icons Wildblood & Queenie, keeping things seductive with their patented mix of dirty disco and decadent house.
SOFT BUTCH with Wildblood & Queenie at Lost Horizon.
Sell out warning! Still reeling from his 3 hour devastation of Strange Brew, Cirrina invites a titanic pillar of 21st century junglism to ditch his amen stripes and school us on cutting edge techno / 140 mutations. This is a new kinda Reaper, rocking the shit outta The Island with AM's dubby conquerer i-sha + Casino Flats & Fez the Kid's opening downtempo hypnotics.
Cirrina Sessions w/ Tim Reaper , i-sha & residents at The Island.
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What our editors say
“Goth-Trad has been pushing the boundaries of bass music and experimental sound since the late 1990s. His music draws from dub, dubstep, jungle, grime, techno, rave, noise, industrial, and experimental music, constantly evolving into his own unique sound as one of dubstep’s leading artists. Alongside producing and touring, Goth-Trad still runs Japan’s most famous bass driven club night, Back To Chill. Appearing at numerous leading international festivals he remains one of the key figures connecting Japan’s underground sound with the global bass music community.”
From: It's Okay
“Leading the charge is Douvelle19, the Welsh DJ and producer known for effortlessly bridging underground club music with vocal-led songwriting. Drawing from garage, grime, breaks, bass and electronic music, his genre-fluid approach has earned support across the UK underground and beyond, alongside releases through RCA Records and appearances on Rinse FM.”
From: Clock Factory Presents: Douvelle19 B2B Sam Girling B2B Prozak
“❉ Proc Fiskal Edinburgh's Proc Fiskal has carved out his own hyperactive strain of grime, twisting breakneck rhythms, video game melodies and chopped-up samples into intricate, technicolour club music. His productions for Hyperdub have increasingly folded in influences from Scottish folk and classical music, most recently on his Exchequer EP, where lush strings collide with the restless energy of his earlier work. Playful, unpredictable and frequently operating at full throttle.”
From: PTS ϟ Foodman, Proc Fiskal & k means
“⛤ iced lattina Kiosk Radio resident and curator of Brussels’ unruly ZaZa parties, Iced Lattina digs through the scuzziest corners of rap’s online underground, pulling from plugg, drill, grime, hexd and a litany of other microgenres. A syncretic selector with a taste for the deep-fried, blown-out and hyper-online, she makes her Bristol debut with us this Halloween.”
From: PTS Halloween ϟ Pearson Sound, Shannen SP ++
“A boundary-defining MC from North London, Capo Lee stands among the UK’s most respected grime artists. Known for his unmistakable delivery and explosive live energy, he’s built a global following with over 50 million streams, sold-out shows worldwide, and appearances at major festivals including Glastonbury, Parklife and Outlook. Constantly pushing beyond genre limits, Capo continues to represent UK culture at the highest level.”
From: Capocalypse: Capo Lee + Reek0 & Support