Liquid DnB-like Ambient Grime 2

Format: Handstamped 12" Vinyl
Catalogue No.: SNKR048
Release Date: 16 Feb 2024
Genre: Bass / Grime / Experimental

a1. Liquid DnB-like Ambient Grime 2 ('02 Garage Mix)
a2. Liquid DnB-like Ambient Grime 2 ('06 Dubstep Mix)
b1. Liquid DnB-like Ambient Grime 2 (2011 Techno Mix)
b2. Liquid DnB-like Ambient Grime 2 ('22 Grime Mix)

Out of Luke J Murray’s murky folds of sonic intrigue comes a new project — Liquid DnB-Like Ambient Grime 2. Don’t let the irreverent name throw you off the scent, as Murray distills his many bold ideas and lifelong soundsystem obsessions into four maverick club jigsaws that rank among his most incisive productions to date.

Murray has been leaving a breadcrumb trail of projects around respected corners of the actual underground, donning masks and crossing swords in the likes of Grimescapes, 1-800-ICEMAN, Roadman DSP, NONEXISTENT, Stonecirclesampler and Superior London Pulp. Whether solo or in collaboration, Murray takes a sideways look at rave legacies through the prism of ambient, noise and street level avant-garde — it’s no wonder his work gets released by the likes of YOUTH, Industrial Coast, NoCorner and Downwards.

On Liquid DnB-Like Ambient Grime 2, you won’t hear any liquid DnB-like ambient grime, but that doesn’t mean those genre touchstones didn’t factor into the creative process. As Murray himself writes:

“This new alias and project/track titles are massively inspired by my teenage years onwards buying drum & bass (Equinox, Autonomic, Exit Records, Soul:R, Sublogic reissues), dubstep (Hyperdub, Vex’d, Hotflush, Tempa, Skull Disco, Tectonic), techno (Ostgut Ton, Frozen Border, Sandwell District, Downwards, anything from Hard Wax or Veto) and drone/post-punk gear (Blackest Ever Black, Mordant Music, Preserved Instincts) from Eastern Bloc, and working for Finders Keepers Records while flyering all over the city. Massive shout out to all of the 00s MCR crews, DJs, promoters and pals all pushing the underground sounds that influenced this record, and to the memories of this time spent charging around with my best pal Zach ‘Tropical’ Altass — this record is dedicated to you.”

Traversing the murky terrain Murray maps out on this 12”, you can make out those reference points through the mud-splattered windscreen. The track titles are as indicative as they can be in the circumstances, but don’t expect faithful genre studies when you listen to ’02 Garage Mix’, ’06 Dubstep Mix’, ‘2011 Techno Mix’ or ’22 Grime Mix’. For every slab of sub-tooled low-end there’s an errant blast of noise-caked breaks, a creeping backdrop of ambient malaise or strangely incidental speech snatches. Holding on to the cavalier attitude which defined the fringes of these genres when they were fresh out of the lab, this is a love letter to the persistent innovations that have taken place wherever Jamaican soundsystem tradition has collided with technology-driven developments in dance music.

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