The power of music compels me* to renounce my bid to make CTW the world's first bi-annual blog. Curses. The wielder of the musical taser is one Nit GriT who, from his San Andreas Fault-defying temple in San Jose, jolts the world with, er, jolts of righteous dubstep. "Oh, not dubstep," I hear the internet cry, "Wubs are past their sell-bwy date." Fear not, speech-impedimented planet: Nit GriT doesn't really make dubstep - he makes music. There's quite a difference.
Listen to just about any of the many free tracks that Nit Grit has magnanimously and shrewdly made free to download, and you'll find that he's not interested in making the world's most twisted bassline or the most disembowelling drop. (You can have that last image free of charge.) Rather, he uses the genre's tropes, e.g. a snare on the third beat, two-step shuffles, wobbling basslines and huge bass drops, to support his musical ideas. The bowel-shattering stuff is just an added bonus, although I might think differently were someone to play this at me on Boxing Day afternoon.
The eight free EPs on Nit GriT's website, most of which contain just two or three tracks and thus allow the listener quickly to decide whether the 21st century is to his/her liking, are collectively a delight for fans of down-tempo, twisted electronica. Heavy Machinery is probably the most aggressive grouping, so I'm going to recommend the three track EP, Synthetic Heaven, as the best introduction to the NiTtY GriTtY world. (My laptop's shift key now hates me.) The first track is a phial of medicinal audio:
NiT GriT - Synthetic Heaven - 01 Dimethyltryptamine
I've no idea why Soundcloud no longer lets me embed its player, so you'll just have put up with the clunky thing above this sentence. Still, don't let that put you off the music. If you need further proof that NiT GriT is worth hearing, try his fabulous remix of an already good track by Eastern European world music ensemble Stellamara:
Nit Grit - Prituri Se Planinita by Stellamara (NiT GriT remix)
It's beyond me why advertising mavens haven't thrown chequebooks at Stellamara and Nit GriT for those six minutes of euphoria.
I'm not going to write about the various albums in my usual detail because I hate computers and I'd rather tie a knot in my unmentionables than wrestle with Typepad any longer than I have to. Suffice it to say that NiT GriT hasn't forgotten the dub element of Dubstep and that if you compile a playlist of all the free tracks he offers on his website, you'll soon be dubstepping through more GriT than the Mars Rover Curiosity. Yes, I just said that. You can't expect good free music tips AND humour.
Judging from his Soundcloud statistics, I'm the last person on the net (apart from you, of course, my trusty reader) to have heard NiT GriT's music. But his increasing popularity doesn't mean that he lives on fresh air. If you like the sounds, please think about visiting his website and - in no particular order - sending an appreciative message; leaving a donation via Payal; or buying a spiffing t-shirt.
Nit Grit - Synthetic Heaven EP (link to zipped album)
Nit Grit website and Soundcloud.
*whispers* If you look closely at the Soundcloud tracks, you might find a top-notch remix of a soul classic - but I can't recommend it because I doubt it has been cleared. Search at your own risk...
*Max Von Sydow wakes up at night screaming at this album cover. Kids, ask your grandparents.
