Ahead of his second appearance at Fabric tonight as part of Boxed's Room 3 residency, I caught up with Oil Gang for Hyponik on instrumental grime's resurgence, staying ahead of the curve and his label's first full length transmission..
From attending studio sessions with him back in 2008 to interviewing him for Uncle Albert back in 2011, Sketchman has remained a firm advocate of the blog but more importantly, a great MC.
After a near two-year hiatus, he spent much of 2013 promoting his new material, having taken up the guitar to blend his gritty, grime heritage with a new found penchant for acoustics and spoken word. With a slew of performances at smaller venues across London and new album 'Nothing Is Enough' in the pipeline, he's hoping to make real waves in 2014 and establish himself as one of the capital's brightest up-and-coming lyricists.
You can update yourself on what he's been up to by checking out his YouTube channel hereand via his website here. Regularly updated with gig footage and exclusive new content, including an iconic bus freestyle with Raheim of Grand Master Flash & The Furious 5 on a recent trip to New York, both provide a unique and candid insight into Sketchman's life as an artist.
In my latest 'Life at 140' column for Clash Music, I looked back at grime throughout December and selected my top 5 tracks of the month. Going forward, it'll be the last I write in this format - from next month, I'll be taking an in-depth look at individual releases weekly!
I was given the task of picking my first Track of the Day of 2014 over at Clash Music and opted for Massappeals' bold, 808-laden rework of Artificial Intelligence & Kathy Brown's new single, 'Somebody To Love'.
As a follow up of sorts to last years 'Vs' mix with Kahn, MIK has enlisted another of Bristol's rising stars in OH91 to proceed the ammunition for a second instalment, and I was lucky enough to grab the exclusive audio for Clash Music.
Uncle Albert will be entering it's fourth year in 2014 and although it's become more of a home for my writing elsewhere, I'll still be posting regularly and keeping things updated with some exclusive content here and there. Thanks to all who regularly visit the site and keep up to speed with what I'm doing - here's to another great year for grime and moreover, music generally.
