MP3s from it have been floating about for a week or so, but we just got our promos of Statik's Grindie mixtape in the post, and have been jamming it all morning. It's a 64-track collection of new UK rock, grime, and Statik's own remixes that smash the two together (hence the title: grime + indie). Some of it is genuinely amazing, some of it sounds good on paper yet doesn't quite take off, but the whole thing ends up as one of the coolest mix projects we've heard in a minute - and certainly the only one with Pete Doherty doing drops for the intro. Check for the mix online or at your favorite import emporiums, and read our interview with Statik from FADER 35 after the jump.
Changes
Statik is your everyday rock-loving grime hero
By Nick Barat
“The DJ’s reaction was like—what the fuck?!” says London MC and producer Statik. Statik is recalling a guest appearance on Richie “Vibe” Vee’s Radio 1Xtra grime show during which he dropped “Boa Vs Python” by thrashing UK trio Test-Icicles in the middle of his set. “People think that rock is just riffs,” he says. “But good music is a perfect balance of black, white, everything.”
As a producer, Statik earned his stripes making “garridge” tracks for So Solid contemporaries Heartless Crew, but found that his material was always slightly darker and different from most hits in the scene. Fortunately, laughs Statik, “the music changed at just the right time.” Before the group could release their long-in-the-making LP, garage’s jumpy dance rhythms began morphing into what would become grime, and he was there to take advantage of it. His single “Charge” set the standard for grime posse cuts (“Everyone was doing long versions before then, more of a ragga thing,” says Statik. “Fuck that! I held everyone to eight bars each.”) which paved the way for genre breakthroughs like Lethal B’s teamwork-driven “Pow! (Forward Rhythm).” With his full-length Connected, Statik struck an even bigger blow for the scene, not only by bringing together longtime rivals and beefing crews on the same record, but by releasing it independently. “Everyone works hard on their music, but people are scared to do it on their own, and wait around to be signed,” he says. “They’re influenced by the hip-hop scene in the US, but don’t realize that people didn’t just start getting deals there, they did it themselves.”
Yet Statik sees his future in expansion, not just entrepreneurship. With his reputation solidified on road, he’s branched out into the indie world with grime remixes for Bloc Party and the Rakes, and upcoming projects include the collaborative Broadband EP featuring Wiley, the Test-Icicles, and Robbie from the Stone Roses, along with a rock-meets-grime mixtape—a sound the producer dubs “Grindie.” Somewhat predictably, fan reaction has leaned towards the what the fuck?! side of things, but Statik is confident in punching forward. “Grime is grime,” he says, “and I’m not trying to say I understand rock and roll. You either get it or you don’t. But if you give kids a chance to listen, they won’t stop.”