As grime continues to get weirder by the day, there’s a crop of new artists taking cues from the now-classic sound and melting it down into an altogether different mold. One such name is Filter Dread. More child of bedroom Nintendo marathons than Eskimo Dance, the Birmingham-based producer feels like a stylistic companion to Glasgow’s Inkke; a kid who grew up loving grime, but at a remove from the grassroots scene. Duly, the effect is of am aesthetic trickle-down, through mixtapes, grainy videos and second-hand tales from friends and forums alike.
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Much in the way Inkke pulls from Memphis rap in his recent Faded With Da Kittens, Filter Dread’s beat tape Space Loops—on Bristolian cassette outlet No Corner last August—was a pleasingly raw collection of grime, jungle, rave and dubstep-inspired loops. The overall effect was of driving a car through London estates without rhyme or reason, just about catching multiple pirate radio signals at once.
Now, Filter Dread’s latest offering is the MIDI Space EP, due out on June 23rd on RAMP Recordings. The EP sees Filter Dread stay raw, but be a little more playful that his previous work. There’s a hefty slab of bass in “Stolen Dub”—which we’re pleased to premiere right here—that harks to that dubstep love, but there’s smatterings of 90s rave, grime and jungle over a basic template of what seems to be a lifelong love of his—computer games.
To mark the release, we asked him to talk us through his favourite computer game sounds.
Tetris (for Game Boy)
My mates used to say that Tetris “looked like curry running down the screen,” thanks to the strange green tint that everything had on the original Game Boy. It kind of did, but I was really excited when I got the big electronic brick one Xmas. The game that did come with the Game Boy was Tetris. The music in this game was incredibly catchy, and was my first introduction to 8-bit sounds.
Doom (for Mac/PC)
If dark, 97 tech-step drum ‘n’ bass was a computer game, this would be it. Futuristic and apocalyptic. This game had all sorts of awesome stuff: giant robotic spiders known as “arachnadroids”, demonic, futuristic architecture, and weapons including shot guns and chainsaws. It also comes with some of the best sound effects I think I have ever heard in a game. Big chunky blasts from weapons, twisted warping noises from electronic doors. Grime has a trend of using sound effects within the drum patterns, and Doom almost sounded like a grime track (with no particular rhythm) when you played it.
Star Fox (for Super Nintendo)
This was a futuristic shooter on the Super Nintendo. The soundtrack is very synthetic, and uses a lot of really interesting synth patterns and shaping. It shows off the kind of frantic energy that I try to incorporate into my tracks. The story line is also completely hilarious: following a team of animals as they fight towards the final boss, who is in fact a large, shape-shifting monkey.
The graphics of the Super Nintendo version really visualised the style of the music, which was synthetic and angular. Although all the tracks on this game are great, I like the simple but effective mood and structure in this track. It reminds me of grime in a strange way; how simple, effective techniques are repeated for maximum carnage.
Donkey Kong Country (for Super Nintendo)
Hyper-colour sunsets of oranges, blending into pinks and blues, sit behind deep jungle foliage that is ever changing. The mood and the depth in this was incredible, and was way ahead of its time when it was released in the mid 90’s. It got me into creating bright sounds and melodies that have a neon quality to them.
The game also features very well programmed ambience in the musical score, with brilliant, atmospheric tracks that combine warm synth pads and arpeggiating melodies. This clip reminds me of a breakdown to a jungle track.
Prince Of Persia (for Mac/PC)
This was probably one of the first video games that I got completely immersed in. The music was simple, messy, but extremely effective. The sounds are loose and confusing, springing out of nowhere and disappear again, but this is what helped to make the game so enticing. The level design was also awesome. It opened the doors to a selection of very sinister trap designs, as well as the terrifying ticking clock noises that symbolized gates closing on you.
Metroid Fusion (for Game Boy Advance)
I use to play this on my Game Boy in between music making sessions in the early days, and it would scare the hell out of me. The graphics were sick, but the story line is what gives it that edge. The main character is stuck on a space ship looking for life, but soon finds out that there is an evil replica of themselves lurking somewhere onboard. The music in the game effectively captures that dark loneliness that you might feel if you were on a space ship, floating through space and trapped in this sort of existential crisis.
James Pond 2 (for Amiga)
I loved this game for the bright rainbow colour schemes that it had, as well as the weird psychedelic patterns that cropped up in the background. I was always really rubbish and I never got anywhere but the graphical impact of the game always had a big effect on me and the bright and intense styles that I wanted to develop. The music was pretty lame but the sound effects and the graphics made up for it.
Pilotwings (for Super Nintendo)
Pilot wings was one of the games that me and my friends played a lot when we were younger. The music in this level use to crack us up and we used to always sing it. However, It works very well with the content of the level, which was a rocket belt stage. It showed me how different elements from things which aren’t necessarily music can be used to recreate things within the music. In this track the piano melody in the background could be the blue sky. The drums could be the rocket pack blasting away, and the weird voice melody could be the character singing as he or she rocket belts their way through the level.
Street Fighter 2 (for Super Nintendo)
The music in this game is very catchy and epic, and the Guile stage is probably one of the best. The track resonates strongly with the sample pack software culture that producers are using to make tracks with now, with the synthetic horns that are extended over twinkling piano melodies. The game was also filled with intricate atmospherical graphics that drew the player in. each time you played it there was always something new that you noticed, and these sort of techniques inspired me to create that same idea in my music.
Myst (for Mac/PC)
This was an interesting game as it came at a time when three dimensional graphics were still in their early stages. A lot of the graphics in this game look like efforts from early rave flyers and the music was also similar in some ways. The intro music sounds like the intro atmospherics to an early drum and bass track. The game was popular when it was released in the mid 90’s but was quickly forgotten about when games began to develop dramatically.
Filter Dread – MIDI Space EP is out on RAMP Recordings on June 23rd.
