Link to our Facebook
Link to our Instagram
Link to our TikTok

Live Review: FOLD's 'Marimba Echoes' is stripped bare by Mall Grab

7 June 2018 | 10:51 am | Holly O'Neill

From funky house banger to sparse cold club cut, MALL GRAB works his not so usual magic on an unexpected flip of FOLD's 'Marimba Echoes'

By now, Australian success story MALL GRAB needs no introduction. The young producer has just moved from Newcastle to London to be closer to European crowds clamouring for his unique selections in DJ sets and driving housey basslines. He's made some friends in the local scene including fellow house head FOLD, who's just enlisted Mall Grab for a remix featured on his new EP Aegan Sea. His track, 'Marimba Echoes', puts the fun in funk house but Mall Grab's interpretation strips the warmth of the original bare, leaving a darker interpretation of those breezy marimbas.

His remix pulls the namesake of the funky original and ups the intensity, incorporating a broken beat and unrelenting synth lead. The crown prince of lo fi steers well away from his usual sidechained kick and chugging 4 to the floor beat, opting instead for more syncopated percussion alongside the synth stabs. Its unexpectedness feels more clubby, with the lead wubs pattern unclear and the skittering percussion working off the playfulness and syncopation of the marimbas.

For the first remix we've heard from Mall Grab in a while, he sure has made a statement. His rework of 'Marimba Echoes' proves that the producer can't ever be boxed in or pinned down. The echoing repetition and retro nostalgia of his original releases is replaced with a stark clarity, creating a sparse, cold and far more laid back Mall Grab than we're used to - but definitely not unwelcome.

Plug into the latest music with our FREE weekly newsletter

Fold's Aegan Sea EP featuring a remix of 'Marimba Echoes' by Mall Grab is available for pre order now through Aus Music.

SEE ALSO