Live Review: Dark0 'Fate' EP

The Fate EP – out on Gobstopper Records – is the latest from UK producer Dark0 and is demonstrative of the rapid changes taking place across the Grime scene, itself undergoing somewhat of a renaissance in 2013.

Originating from London, that initial, well, ‘grimey’ sound has been subjected to a multitude of permutations in recent times. Last year we were introduced to the  bright, icy world of Houston talent Rabit on Double Dragon, and earlier this year to the oriental manner of Fatima Al Qadiri's Asiatisch.

The sound here on Fate is mellifluous, with Dark0 displaying a remarkable ability to engineer a synth-heavy, harmonious and layered melody. Far from those deep wells of sound heard in long-established Grime, tracks like ‘Gaia’ soar, suggesting something like the expanse of mountains and valleys, and ‘2lips’ has all the airy vastness and twinkle of outer space. Still, Dark0 isn’t afraid of getting mean at times, turning it up on opener ‘Amethyst’ while monster tune ‘Mako March’ really should be the soundtrack for the final level in most video games.

The EP not only delivers that future noise Grime enthusiasts have come to expect, but each track is imbued with it’s own fantastical character and ambience to the point where the sound is almost tactile. Hypnotic, harmonic and at times downright eccentric, Fate is a testament to the flexibility of a genre that is only becoming more and more widely listened to.

Fate is released through Gobstopper Records August 22

Words by Sebastian Henry-Jones

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