Live Review: Murlo 'Deep Breath' ft. Gemma Dunleavy

The genre of grime first developed  in the early noughties with the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Lethal Bizzle combining drum and bass, dancehall and hip hop. It was a eclectic mix, but one that certainly embodied the zeitgeist of the UK during that time.

Whilst grime in the UK seems to have more an underground presence these days - with more ambient, r'n'b tinged electronica taking precedence - its still a viable force. And on Murlo's 'Deep Breath', he proves this, with also indicating its capabilities  to cross over into the pop world.

Murlo is the moniker of Chris Pell, a London based producer and Dj that has steadily been making a name for himself as one of Grime's golden boys. But lately his music has taken a more progressive turn, he's modernising the genre - adding a lot more synths sounds and orchestral percussions to his work.

This was exemplified  on last year's EP  'Into Mist', a glossy grime record, visually accompanied by stunning 3d computer generated images and videos that Murlo himself created. It was ambitious as ever, and showed that Murlo wasn't happy standing still - he wanted to take his music to another level.

He goes even further on latest track 'Deep Breath' that appears to have more in common with pop and r'n'b than it does with grime. Whilst his work with vocalists is few and far between, for 'Deep Breath' he assigns vocal duties to upstart Gemma Dunleavy, and the song better off because of it.Gemma's confident r'n'b swagger is the perfect accompanied to Murlos beats, which swing from dancehall jives and r'n'b popism during the track's duration.

Murlo is widening his vision, and showcasing he's capabilities to find real crossover success.

Words by Isabella Trimboli

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