Review: Merky ACE - All Or Nothing [NHNH1006CD]

Merky ACE's first CD was, back in 2011, a statement-maker: unrelenting, aggressive flows and smart-arse wordplay over brand new beats from a select bunch of producers, including the likes of Faze Miyake, Royal-T and Splurt Diablo, who were also beginning to make inroads into the grime scene. And despite the close-knit feel of the release, with other MC features being strictly Family Tree-related, the variation to be found on the CD was what made it so strong; this wasn't just a bunch of skits and half-cooked freestyles over the scene's current buzz-beats, and perhaps most importantly it felt genuine and honest in its boundary-pushing. By the time Jammer was deciding to introduce Waka Flocka Flame to grime by playing trap and Fekky, Merky and his team had been testing the borders between the dank lean of Dirty South hip hop and skippy double-time grime flows for years. 'All Or Nothing' is a follow-up full-length in the truest sense as we see how the young South Londoner's music grows as he does.

'You Think You Know Me', which featured on the stop-gap 'Catch Up EP', saw Merky taking on deeper, more personal material and 'All Or Nothing' sees him expand on this tone, positively diversifying his style. The reflective hook line on 'Intro' sets a casual pace from the off, stripped of the need to shout loudest in order to be heard. This sense of feeling comfortable within his own style, as though he's not having to try too hard to sound original is one of the most inviting aspects of Merky's approach and means that chorus-led tunes - so often standout casualties on a grime mixtape - don't sound overwrought or drenched in concept. As previously, though, and as should arguably be the case for any decent grime MC, when he's at his best is spraying 16s and bouncing flows back and forth with other crew members; these direct impact set-pieces (see 'Wack', 'R.I.P' or the title track, 'All Or Nothing') serve as constant and regular reminders as to why Merky and his fellow FT members have had the whole scene hot on their heels. Keeping with the team aesthetic, most of the producers who feature - including Faze, Splurt, Rude Kid, Zdot and Teddy Music/Silencer - also had offerings on 'Blue Battlefield' and the diversity shows again, with each beatsmith giving Merky different spaces to tangle his flows in.

'All Or Nothing' completes what 'Blue Battlefield' started, and as the first of a two-part collaboration with No Hats No Hoods sets up an exciting prospect for what can come next from the young talents on show here.

Merky ACE - All Or Nothing will be released by No Hats No Hoods Records on May 27th 2013 and is available to pre-order in physical format from the NHNH store now.

W.

Exclusive: Goli & Ashburner - DEM / Faze 2 / Hedmuk Zip #1

Having put their formative imprint, For The Win, on hiatus for the past few months, Goli & Ashburner return with their latest project in the form of DEM Recordings. Backed by both Manchester-based agency Faze 2 and us here at Hedmuk, DEM is aimed at bridging the seemingly small, yet apparently huge, gap between grime and dubstep. Since taking on their own individual growth-spurts from the UK garage scene, the two have often been set in opposition with each other despite many of their obvious structural similarities. There have been attempts to draw the two together in the past, but with a somewhat inconsistent rate of success which has arguably and, at least in part, been down to the lack of a label aiming simply to bind the two together for a positive result: the hugely competitive market created by digital releases has meant that many labels are left trying to establish themselves as consistent houses for dubstep or grime, alongside a minority who are still willing to push the envelope to varying degrees of success.

Goli & Ashburner - Bullet by DEM Recordings

Thus DEM taps into an area that has perhaps been wrongly disregarded by labels in the past, not wanting to appear inconsistent in their brand development. With the simple goal, in their own words, of looking 'to bring a bit of bassweight to grime and experiment with how the two genres can work together', the duos approach is suitable to the task at hand; not wanting to try and define or mark something out before it has been created, the label presents an intriguing prospect and one which the many fans of both dubstep and grime have no doubt been waiting for. Dedication to the cross-pollination of the genres is the key here, and is something that DEM seeks to provide from the off.

M.I.K - Duppy & Leave (Goli & Ashburner Remix) by DEM Recordings

To celebrate the launch of DEM, we are collaborating with Faze 2 and Goli & Ashburner to release the first in a series of free Zip files and mixes exclusively through Hedmuk. Featured in the Zip is a free EP featuring tunes from the duo alongside the likes of Merky ACE and MIK aswell as an exclusive thirty-minute showcase mix among other things.


Dowload: Goli & Ashburner - DEM / Faze 2 / Hedmuk Zip #1


DEM Mix 001 Tracklist:

Core - 3rd Chamber (dub)
Lurka - The Forgotten Ones (dub)
Killawatt - Rolling Dunes (dub)
J:Kenzo & Mosaic - Alone In The Darkness (New State Music)
Biome - Swirls (M.U.D)
Matt U - Voids (Black Box)
Benny Page - Take You Back (Subway)
Silkie - Sela Nova (Deep Medi)
Sunship (feat. Warrior Queen) - Almighty Father (Badness)
Subreachers - Machine (dub)
J:Kenzo - Engage (dub)
Mz Bratt - Selecta (label)
Quantize - Alkaline (Forthcoming MIMM)
Ashburner - Creeper Refix (dub)
Royal T - RIP Hot Ones (Free)
Taz - Arterial Girl (dub)
Goli & Ashburner - Do It ft. M.I.K. (forthcoming DEM)


Linking up for the label's first release with one of the most exciting talents in the grime scene at the moment, Goli & Ashburner and Elementz' remixes of MIK of Family Tree's grime anthem 'Do It' is to join the first free Zip file as a serious statement of intent. Keep an eye out for the official release date, announced soon.


.Preacha.