Death Grips entered my consciousness a few years ago; various passing mentions in the media caught my attention and I investigated them further. Instantly I was a fan. There is something in their sound that fuses just the right amount of attitude and arrogance (something missing in so much electronic music) with an aural assault that nods to everything from techno to Public Enemy’s sonic riots. Their tracks twist and turn relentlessly, throwing whatever they can lay their hands on into the mix. Compared to the constrained, restrictive parameters that most electronic music producers work within this hyperactive, anything goes attitude is like a breath of fresh air.
From their major label-baiting tricks, their artwork choices, their website and their live appearances and non-appearances they seem so real to me when most other music is overly considered, market focused and sales led. Dropping the Government Plates album out of nowhere with no hype in November energized my musical enjoyment this year and it is up there with 2011’s Exmillitary as my favorite Death Grips release. The album balances electronic, acoustic and vocal elements perfectly and an increased number of references to the U.S.A. places their music geographically and politically to one place, something that always appealed to me in music.
Perc will release his eagerly anticipated second album—’The Power & The Glory’, featuring appearances by members of Factory Floor and Dethscalator—on February 17th through his own Perc Trax imprint. Check out some of the producer’s previous material below, along with a full video stream of ‘Government Plates’…
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