Can someone please explain Grim?

[thinking]

i think it's useful because there are lots of people post-Rephlex comps mixing electronica/breakcore/experimental ideas with grime and dubstep production ideas, that have few direct ties to either of the existing dubstep or grime communities. Grimm is useful to describe these new movements.

I don't disagree that names/genres/pigeon holes are useful, otherwise we'd all be discussing 140bpm post-UKG music with predominantly swung rhythms and shedloads of bass.

I think this is more relevant though:

didn't Reynolds coin it? my advice is to stay away from coining genre names, artists only end up resenting you (i witnessed Ministry mag try to invent 'disco-hop' once on the basis of one Deadly Avenger 12". doh!).

That's what I'm trying to say, there's only been 4 or 5 Grim dubs, and AFAIK there wasn't anyone trying to 'name' this kind of music until the Werk releases came along. I think this Grim title is almost irrelevant and mostly counter-productive.

Not having a go at anyone in particular here, just think it's a little odd to have an apparently new genre named after a few short-run releases on one label. If I'm wrong and there's acres of Grim which I have yet to discover, I stand corrected.

[dubmugga]

...shame kode9's "hyperdub" never took off

I reckon it encapsulates a lot of what dubstep is about...

...hyped up dub influenced electronica

breakstep was always what i called the more steppy road, rat, hardcore beats, cyberfunk sound which was sorta pioneered by zed bias and oris jay and different to reece and hoover bassline influenced nu skool...

...I don't know what we make as HELL SCIENCE DEPT as far as genre but it's not easy listening and can make you quite uncomfortable, even to the point of giving you nasty thoughts

I listen to this in the van and just want to run people over...

http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3OJ5 ... U5FMJRSSIR

[ufo over easy]

didn't Reynolds coin it?

... along with every other sub genre name. Ever.

[casino addict]

Been checking the forum over the past week - just got around to registering... So first off, props to Dubway for initiating such a great resource.

A view on Grim... Grim is basically a joke genre spawned by the guys from Werkdiscs - a London label/club night that doesn't take things too seriously (if you check out their forthcoming 'Wack' night you'll get the picture). As has been pointed out, Simon Reynolds coined the term Grimm a few years back - though he was referring more to the output appearing on the Rephlex Grime comps than some kind of IDM-infused grime/dubstep variant, as people seem to be associating with the 'Grim' tag. As far as I know, Werkdiscs weren't even aware of Reynolds' comments - they simply planned the series as a silly aside to their other releases. Promos of the first Grim Dubs were mailed with a press release parodying the Rephlex 'statement of intent' that accompanied the Grime comps, saying Werkdiscs would 'ride the bandwagon all the way to town, with cans of Special Brew clutched to their breasts' (or summat like that). Some people within grime/dubstep circles took offence to the eps because - a) Rephlex had given important profile to the scene (despite the Grime comps being much more dubstep orientated than grime), and b) because people felt Werkdiscs were trying to flog records off the back of the grime/dubstep scene by creating an affiliate genre. While I can kind of understand people being offended by the angle and sheer irreverance of the press release, I'm both bemused and bewildered that anyone took Werk seriously as purveyors of some new genre given the inane drivel theyÂ’d written on the press sheet (though I guess if people didnÂ’t see it thatÂ’s a different matter). But clearly they have, encouraged by some people who think the name actually fits (Mr Gutterbreakz you have a lot to answer for!) for certain tracks/artists.

In his excellent interview on Gutterbreakz, Boxcutter mentions that the idea of IDM-ing up more straight-up dance styles is nothing new - which is isnÂ’t. Indeed, the more people that gain access to dubstep and grime, the more complex, impure variants weÂ’re going to hear. It goes against the grain of the originators of the sound, but itÂ’s still a valid music form. If the name Grim sticks to it then I guess Werkdiscs will come in for a lot more flack in the future for their tongue-in-cheek approach to bangwagoneering.

[7 below]

mmm interesting!

Hi Ali

[amnesia]

its grim up north

[descent]

to be quite honest, i don't care what particular genre or whatever a tune "arguably" comes from, and less what fancy new catchy name it has, everything has to have a name. the music is progressing, evolving, which means it's all just getting better, and that is good for everyone involved.

quite frankly, if its good and gives me that feeling, you know the one, the one that you just can't put a name on, i'm gonna play the shit out of that track and others are going feel it too.

call it what you will, it's all pretty fuckin good and I'm buyin ... and sellin

[Forensics]

Me & Dub Boy are whoring the Grim thing
with our Ruffnek Diskotek nights, we loves
it! Catch AtKi2 in December (alongside Mr
Distance), and MonkeySteak doing an EP
launch set for us early in the new year

[bunzer0]

mmm interesting!

indeed

[alex bk-bk]

this whole thing is long. puts me right off some potentially great beats. schticks are GAAAY

[unlikely]

I did like grim 1 esp. dropped with gunman for ott action

there's a certain arrogance to the whole thing though, and some of it is Swag

[dub boy]

Yea this Grim thing is getting out of hand. I know of at least one or two people who enjoy the dubstep and/or grime sound and have got very confused about some 'new genre' called Grim(m).

It's about 4 or 5 records on one label that are slightly derivative of the sublow sound. That's it. End of.

Yeah true. There're several people to blame for this:

Werk Discs (obviously)

Sam Atki2 and Dubway for using the term 'Grim' on their Ruffnek Discotek flyers.

Me for encouraging them all.

A-aa
not me
Dub Boy maybe

confusion on confusion LOL

heh heh, yeah guilty as charged. I've been using Grim on the Ruffnek diskotek flyers. Well, it's how Atki2 describes his music hence why it goes on the flyer. It's all the same thing though really. It's all sublow