Wen-

Signals (Keysound Recordings, 2014)

It’s often tempting to separate the the recent innovations in grime music
spearheaded by producers such as Wen, Logos, and Visionist and labels such as Keysound
Recordings from the more “traditional” grime one might hear reverberating from car
stereos on London council estates. However, to do so does a disservice to both sides of the
aisle, and the sonic experimentalism inherent in them. Signals, Wen’s hotly-anticipated
record on Keysound, seems particularly intent on refuting this line of thinking by crafting
an album that works as both a spacey headphone excursion and a club-ready neck snapper,
easily mixed in between the latest from more “street” artists such as Meridian Dan and
Wiley. Opener “Family” uses sampled pirate radio MC chatter (a hallmark of Wen’s
productions) to cement the album’s place in the grime scene as a whole, stating “Big up my
family” over tense, icy pads, then defiantly claiming “It’s real, it’s real, it’s UK, it’s REAL” as a
stuttering garage beat drops in, accompanied by dizzying sub bass pulses. “Family”
functions a statement of purpose for the album, a promise to position itself not just as an
marginally interesting work of grime deconstructionism mostly consumed by outsiders to
the scene, but as the latest installment in the storied and complex history of UK
soundsystem culture.
The rest of the album’s first half largely eschews the vocal samples for purely
instrumental tracks with cosmic titles like “Lunar” and Galactic”, then slowly descending
through a haze of faraway vocal garage (“You Know”) and middle eastern echoes
(“Persian”), finally hitting the ground running with album centerpiece “Swingin’ (LDN
Mix)”, an energetic 2-step roller. From there the album leads the listener through a
succession of tracks that admittedly can sound formulaic- pirate radio sample, underwater
bass stab, 2-step drums, rinse, repeat- but retain a glowing, downcast energy, like neon
signs seen through the rain. These propel the album forward until the astounding one-two
punch of “Nightcrawler (Devils Mix)” and album closer “Play Your Corner”. Its’ title a nod to
Wiley’s beatless mixes of his productions, “Nightcrawler” infuses a recording of two MCs
battling with a demonic, psychedelic atmosphere, escalating the tension until the track cuts
out with a frenzied cry of “BEHAVE MAN!” and catapults into the doom-laden strings of
“Play Your Corner”, featuring ragga-infused MC Riko Dan, which takes the menace hinted at
in the rest of the album and gives it a full voice, ending Signals on a note of joyful fury
reminiscent of the glory days of grime pirate radio.
While many up-and-coming grime producers have embraced a more universal
sound indebted to Jersey club music and the overwhelming, colorful releases of labels like
Fade to Mind, Wen keeps his dark, swinging music rooted in the sounds of his native
London. Though its lack of sonic diversity leads the album to feel claustrophobic at times,
and listeners who are tired of the recent trend of references to UK pirate radio (as seen in
recent records by Four Tet and Special Request, among others) may question Signals’
ability to add to this conversation, the album’s ambiance should prove instantly appealing
to fans of classic dubstep, garage, or grime. Signals is a confident, sincere debut from a
producer with a great deal of talent and much to say, and a welcome addition to Keysound’s
extremely strong discography.