GROVE

from The Bristol Germ (Chapter IV: 'The Vision Realised!!')

by The Bristol Germ

CHAPTER IV ENDS

EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCER & MC

EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCER & MC GROVE

Illustration: Sophia Jowett

Members: Grove

Illustration: Sophia Jowett

These are questions that I had been mulling over for my whole life, never arriving at a fixed answer, and remaining in a liminal space. Upon reaching an age where I had the freedom and social confidence to explore the answers, I was becoming increasingly empowered by communities I came across, through reading black-written autobiographies and unpicking colonial historical narratives. This self-work had been going on for a while, and the Colston Statue being ripped down was a tinder strike to light the gasoline-soaked rag that was my brain.

An important element of your music is its experimentation with the conventions of dancehall What can you tell me about your interest in this genre, and your subversion of elements of it?

G: When I was young and didn’t know what dancehall/ bashment really was, I was always drawn to the drum rhythms of it. They featured heavily in my 16year-old pop era, and as new tools were learned, so were new ways to fuck with them It seems like a genre ripe to be totally mashed, and hearing people like Doctor Jeep, Ehua, TSVI, Equiknoxx and others do that in their own way was fuel to the previously mentioned gasoline-soaked brain rag. This time, it was soaked in anger at the prevalence of “murder music”: a whole subsect of dancehall music that incites violence against gay people, specifically gay men.

SPICE is book-ended by two different approaches to sexuality: the bold, brash ‘Skin2Skin’, and the tender, romantic ‘Soft Cheeks’. What can you tell me about your approach to sexuality in your music, and how do you see it as relating to the political themes you explore alongside this?

G: I think my approach to sexuality in music represents my approach in life. I can be very cheeky, playful, imaginative, intense and sincere, as I know we all can be. I enjoy celebrating all of it. With SPICE , conceptually I was exploring my relationship with love, lust and my partner, EJ:AKIN, through the medium of (incredibly warped) dancehall. The intention was to queer up and bastardise the heterosexuality of the genre, which I feel to be a political statement carrying on from Queer+Black I called the EP that due to a homophobic comment from a figure I respected, saying “you have to choose what you are first… black or gay ” The response is that I am both: at the same time and all of the time.

SPICEsees your sound move into darker, dubfacing territory, propelling itself more on rubbery acid synths and sizzling industrial than the drum sounds shaping Queer + Black What inspired this development in your sound, and how do you think it influenced SPICElyrically?

G: The sonic developments would be thanks to the killer production of Robin Stewart and YOKEL, linked up through the inimitable Bokeh Versions. The slower tempos and oozing synths inspired sensuality to come to the forefront, and Bokeh Versions was the perfect label to embrace the music whole-heartedly.

Your work explores weighty subject matter, but always in the context of music that seems concerned with movement. How do you think the ‘danceability’ of your music serves its social and political reflections?

G: I think it’s got the potential to be a sobering reminder of intention and various social struggles (specifically with ‘Fuck Ur Landlord’ and other unreleased politically focussed tunes) in an otherwise less-intentioned nightlife space. There’s also the potential for people to just enjoy how it sounds and have a good dance. The latter is okay still, but I’ve always found that whilst moving is also the perfect time to be contemplating and processing energy stored up in the mind.

The transfer of energy between body and mind is an important one for us to really foster, as so often we disconnect the two. I think through energising a space, we’re reminded of collective intention, and collective power through our physical form colliding with our emotional reactions. A huge emphasis is also on what we do when not in that space together. Joining tenants’ unions & workers unions is something I advocate for, and have leaflets on the merch stand promoting.

Since the release of Queer + Black , you have established yourself as one of the city’s major recent breakthroughs: building support from national radio stations and publications, as well as performing at festivals including Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds. What are your aspirations for the project going forward?

G: For now, to keep integrity, to serve community and to make good music; hopefully enough to make a living in the process.

However, I often think about whether being a touring musician is the end-game? There’s a huge element of it that serves to feed ego, and the very nature of it can detach your worldview

Whatever lies in the future, I want it to be meaningful.