Upfront 035 / September 14, 2015

Gobstopper Records

An exhilarating jaunt through grime at its most potent and experimental. Mr. Mitch lunges deep into the vault of unheard, Gobstopper Records-related gems and doesn't hold back.

About this mix

This mix is a snapshot of my world right now, after running Gobstopper for 5 years it has got to the point where I pretty much only listen to the music from my artists and it’s always inspiring. In this mix, there’s forthcoming Gobstopper music to hear from Loom, Odeko and Iglew plus other forthcoming material from some friends and friends labels. I got a bit nostalgic towards the end and played a couple tunes made by a 15 year old me, these will never see the light of day but will always have a special place in my heart.

Mr. Mitch

Boiler Room says...

Anyone that has stepped foot inside Boxed will know about Mr. Mitch's credentials. Along with the likes of JT The Goon, Logos and Slackk, the man is a mainstay in every sense; a resident and full-bodied advocate of everything that the night promotes: slowly, but surely bullying grime out of its comfort zone and into more experimental territory.

The Gobstopper Records discography — Mitch's five year old imprint — has played out like a guidebook of that development. Traipse back through the 15-odd releases and you can accurately tack the scene's sonic evolution since 2010. Initially, it stood as a key enforcer of the chintzy neon sound transfixed on robotnik percussion and Transformer-esque timbre. During 2010-2012, when the masses incorrectly claimed that the genre had lost its way, Gobstopper were still present and experimenting. The efforts of Moony, Bloom and Mitch himself were perfect examples of grime’s ability to really stretch its limbs beyond the tried-and-tested formula. Bloom's "Quartz", in particular, was a strong contender for track of 2k12: the coupling of unsettling square-wave whirrs and erratic gunfire SFX made GOB005 an essential mid-tracklist hype-inducer.

Then when whispers of 're-emergence' began to materialise in 2014, gobs were left firmly opened by the mastery of Parallel Memories. Bold and explorative by nature, it mingled with outright innocence ("Intense Faces") just as much as sublow's familiar gutsiness ("Bullion"). Grime at its most metrosexual perhaps. And although finding a home on Planet Mu, it was undoubtedly the result of endless tweaking and refinement learned on his own outlet. By that time, the London producer had developed a wonderful melodic sense that harked just outside of grime’s council flat surroundings as much as it did in: twinkly IDM, Darkstar-style synth-pop and '80s ambient noodlings.

Here, the grime connoisseur lunges deep into the vault of unheard Gobstopper Records-related gems for 52 minutes, no less. You'll find Iglew bootlegs splicing new Murlo and fresh Odeko tidbits. Heck, he even transports us back to a crack version FL Studio-loving, 15 year old version of himself towards the tail end.

As far as going full circle with his development, it doesn’t get any better.

Andwot

Andwot

Andwot juggles head of editorial and hosting/programming duties for Boiler Room.

Tracklisting

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