- One of the most exciting aspects of the recent grime explosion is its new geography. No longer confined to the backstreets of London, grime's distinct aesthetics have fanned out in various mutations across the world. Inkke represents the Glaswegian contingent. On his debut EP, Faded Wit Da Kittens, the young producer smudges the genre's sharp edges with autumnal colours, splicing trap DNA into its rhythms.
Faded Wit Da Kittens is stoner music with the same groggy haze you get from smoking a bowl in the morning and trudging on with your day. This pace is augmented by a heavy Southern rap influence that manifests itself in both the syrupy-slow trap beats and the chopped-and-screwed vocal phrases that hound "Blunt In My Jaws" and "Tryna Pull Hoe." Inkke uses the same devices as American EDM, constructing whole songs around gimmicky rap samples, but his woozy synth leads and eerie organs waft like ephemeral vapours.
From the tubular bells of "Blue Velvet" through to the circus tent vibes of "Untitled 36," Inkke's music is unrepentantly demented and enthralling. He's also not afraid to get violent—the stunning "Slippin" compresses its energies into pulverizing thumps of distortion—but the dazed wash can grow tiresome, too, like persistent sleep you just can't wipe from your eyes.
Most distinctive of all, though, is how Inkke avoids nostalgia for grime's glory days—instead, Faded With Da Kittens is informed by a larger grasp of urban music, as the mongrel hip-hop of "Empty UR Pockets" will attest. Only "Drum Hunt," with its distinct stutter, really hints at anything recognizably classic. For the rest of it, we're listening to someone not trying to recreate the music of their youth, but rather shaping those deeply rooted influences into something personal.
Tracklist01. Got My Click
02. 36 Untitled
03. Empty UR Pockets
04. Faded feat. DePTHS
05. Bumpin' In Da Birdcage
06. Tryna Pull Hoe
07. Slippin'
08. Blue Velvet
09. Blunt In My Jaws
10. Drum Hunt
11. French Willow