GARAGEM // Artists & DJs // Gridlok

Gridlok
Porject 51, Violence, Virus, Ram Records ~ USA

As one of America’s hardest working producers and DJs, Gridlok has charted a steady, methodical path into the vanguard of drum and bass. His tracks enjoy the support of drum and bass’ finest, from Andy C to Bailey. His work ethic and tireless efforts to advance the sonic breadth of the music have yielded tremendous dividends for drum and bass fans worldwide. Recent tracks such as “Heatwave” on Violence have become staples of countless major league DJs worldwide, and they are huge crowd favorites.

Raised in sunny Florida and trained as a classical violinist, Gridlok soon found himself edging away from the constraints of a traditional musical education. He began picking up other instruments, familiarizing himself with methods and techniques outside of the cloistered world of classical music. In his early teens, he began his first experiments with primitive recording gear, using a four track tape recorder, a drum machine and a Radio Shack microphone. Taken in by the possibility of being able to theoretically translate any musical idea into a recording, he found himself drifting further away from traditional music and further into the seemingly limitless possibilities of electronic music production.

Cutting his teeth as a DJ in Florida, he began to work with other local producers and DJs, founding Technorganic Recordings, which proved a vital outlet for his creative work beyond simply DJing. With the name and experience he began to develop, signings on well established labels soon followed, including “Nosebleed” on Zero-G, and “The Search” and “Horizon” on Audio Blueprint, a release which raised Gridlok’s profile considerably. Like fellow Violence Recordings artist Echo, Gridlok ultimately responded to the concentrated energy of San Francisco, finding the vibe of the city more conducive to his artistic temperament. Since his move, his career has accelerated exponentially. The close proximity to a host of other leading producers and DJs spurred his work to new levels of virtuosity. His rapidly expanding discography includes monstrous anthems such as “Heatwave”—his third release for Violence—and the “Relic” remix as well as more nuanced tracks like “Warhol” on Nerve Records.

His aesthetic firmly cemented to the dance floor, Gridlok has been successful at carving out a sound that manages to incorporate fragmentary echoes of his musical interests outside of drum and bass while maintaining the hard, shining surface of drum and bass at its most technologically advanced edge. He’s been a fearless exponent of new technologies, most clearly in DJing. He was among the first to embrace Stanton’s Final Scratch system, and has positioned himself on the leading edge of studio-based technology, something easily discerned in this technophile’s carefully crafted and utterly contemporary sounding tracks.

Belying the notion that he can only write dance floor-oriented tunes, Gridlok has also completed a full length album, “Turning Pages,” which afforded him the chance to stretch out into more subtle, deeper grooves, mining a rich streak of inspiration.

He’s also established Project 51 Recordings, his new label, and of course he continues to DJ with a vengeance, traversing North America and visiting spots overseas, bringing his intensely condensed and energetic sets to drum and bass fans everywhere. With a series of forthcoming releases lined up for Violence, Virus, and other labels, and no slowing down in his DJ schedule, look for Gridlok to continue his ascendance into the highest echelons of drum and bass in 2004.

One of the world’s top drum and bass dj/producers, Gridlok has left a legacy of releases on many of the most regarded labels in the scene. His work ethic and tireless efforts to advance the sonic breadth of the music have yielded tremendous dividends for drum and bass fans worldwide.

After an extended stay in San Francisco, Gridlok is now in Los Angeles pushing his label Project Fifty-One Recordings full throttle. With him and AK1200’s forthcoming album entitled “AUTOPSY” right on the horizon, we can expect this prolific producer’s legendary track record to continue.