Context MC making mental music

By Sam Hill
BBC Norfolk

Context MC has created a third genre-bending EP

Context is the latest star on the Norwich urban music scene, embodying something different from the slew of indie and guitar-oriented bands.

His innovative take on hip-hop fused with dub-step ('dub-hop') is an open-ended alternative evolution of the scene that introduced grime artists to the charts.

With national airplay under his belt and a large local following spreading around Britain, it looks like Context can quickly do the same.

So how does Mental Breakdown Music shape a unique sound and ultimately, where does Norfolk come into it?

"This is the most honest and well crafted piece of work from me yet," said Context.

"This my third EP and it really illustrates what I'm about. There's the right blend of darkness and light. Plus, the beats on there are crazy," he added.

Mental Breakdown

With a title such as Mental Breakdown, the music is not for the faint-hearted.

"You can listen [to my music] and hear Caravaggio as an influence… but I also appreciate Crazy Flow," he said.

"I love 'darkness' in music. The greatest album for me is The Infamous by Mobb Deep.

"While my music shares a lot in common with grime, I often feel grime is more of a mind state and I don't know that it is 100% me to be honest."

Context's sound is unique and varied, but with a distinct style and presence.

I often hear people from other genres who I would like to link with. Locally, doing a tune with The Kabeedies or something would be sick! Context MC

"I feel like people craft images and ideals of themselves as they go along. Take Tim Burton films for example - that's his 'look'," he said.

"In many ways I feel like my truest sound would be like an audible Tim Burton - the kind of bleak, dark tunes I make," he added.

With this in mind, Context feels he's got the right crew around the new record.

"I gotta give major respect to the guys I work with in getting this sound right," he said.

"Vermin - I mean, this guy is a really talented producer and I feel like the tunes he makes really gel with what's in my head."

BBC Radio One

The first single from Mental Breakdown Music, As The Sun Goes Down, is a radio-friendly club tune that has received radio airplay on both BBC Radio One and BBC 1Xtra.

It's a little different from the Context sounds familiar to listeners of his earlier, bass-heavy Dialectics EP.

"As The Sun Goes Down kind of grew out of a bootleg I put out a while back called Take Me Away (Clubstep)," he said.

"It was an old trance vocal spliced over a grimey, dub-step tune by Bar 9. I loved the juxtaposition and got kinda hooked into the trance-step idea.

"I then heard this tune by a producer called InContext which had a great sample, he flipped a remix of the beat for me and it came from there."

Norwich niche

Context is really fleshing out his niche in Norwich.

"To be honest I won't claim to know what hip-hop is like in Norfolk, because I don't feel part of nor completely representative of a hip-hop scene. I feel I'm more part of a club scene," he said.

Context MC is making waves with his 'mental' music

"If you ask me what dub-step is like in Norfolk, then we are moving! The nights are just rolling in and that's wicked to see. I mean, you've got Get Low, Damage, POW, Dance Club and all the stuff at Mustard Lounge.

"Optic's line-up until Christmas is wicked and that's just me thinking of dub nights off the top of my head.

"And all those nights are run by DJs playing the tunes you won't hear in other clubs. So that's where it's at for me."

The future for Context MC?

"Kinda like now, I'm thinking of trying to set up a set alongside Well Red which would be like Context MC 'unplugged' i.e. acoustic versions of my songs," he said.

"See, then I can take my sound to indie band nights and to people who might not have otherwise heard my stuff.

"I often hear people from other genres who I would like to link with. Locally, doing a tune with The Kabeedies or something would be sick!"