Setting the tone with a contextual spoken word introduction of “It was great fun, synthesisers didn’t exist, so we had… what you they call them? wobulator, that’s right, there was the wobulator, it was a thing that went wob….”, serving as a reference point for the wider concept, GMG opens WOBULATOR with historic depth and intrigue.
The opus naturally expands with a wobbly synthscape, tapping into an intricate fusion of electronica and analogue detailing. We are hypnotized by the ancient-futurism that manifests, the vocal samples that take us around the world, the astral bell tones, the cerebral crescendo riffs and the overarching industrial textures that manifest.
There is a drum and bass adjacency, but it feels highly fluid like breakbeat too – genre expansion at its finest. The composition taps into notions of the past, whilst bringing to life a contemporary edge – particularly in the mix. We appreciate the cosmic ebbs and flows and the attention to detail. The reverse record scratches add dynamism to the already boundless and high octane piece.
GMG confesses, “As a standalone artist, I am inspired by the feelings of nausea and lethargy felt in the dense urban soundscapes of London and Birmingham. My upcoming album, DARK FOREST CONSPIRACY, deals with themes of loneliness in this context, and parallels the feeling of isolation in a contemporary music industry which is, in essence, a zero-sum game built on self- interest.”
The visionary and philosophical artist continues, “Sonically, the album will be moving away from the traditional instrumental hip-hop stylings of Madlib, Dilla and DJ Shadow. I still have nothing but appreciation and reverence for those names, but for DFC i’m looking more towards sound collage and building on the techniques first demonstrated at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Some names that spring to mind in this regard are Amon Tobin, Squarepusher, Hideki Naganuma and Oneohtrix Point Never.”
We appreciate the passionate depth that transpires both sonically and historically with what GMG is creating. His universe is uniquely his own, but fostered via a deep appreciation and knowledge of music as a whole. With reference to WOBULATOR, he tells us, “Most samples are chopped up beyond recognition but they come from a variety of sources: Toastmasters and sound clashes, Grandmaster Flash-style scratching and Jersey Beat kick patterns.”
Needless to say, we are in awe of what GMG delivers and look forward to experiencing the entirety of DARK FOREST CONSPIRACY. His sound would go down well at a set at FOLD or UNFOLD in London. In the meantime, we have added WOBULATOR to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we also stream GMG‘s single, STREET FIGHT.