AGAINST THE GRAIN
THE CONCEPT
"Against The Grain" is a concept thought out by Criminal Mayhem, which is evolving around the idea of appreciation of the rawness of sound. This means, the exploration of grainyness and the texture of sounds and noise. This concept includes a more experimental approach to music production and sound design which featuring artificial and organic "destruction" of sounds through analog gear such as tape machines or analog signal processors. In the end, those "enriched" sounds are the fundament of the music to be produced.
But "Against The Grain" also goes beyond the purely technical or musical aspect. It it also a sort of design guideline, which Criminal Mayhem is following. The clash of minimalism and chaos, as well as a surreal element are examples of inspiration coming out of this guideline. You can experience the results in Criminal Mayhem's music videos, artworks and live shows.
Continue reading on this page to explore how the concept is applied.
THE LIVE ACT
Criminal Mayhem presents: Against The Grain LIVE. A Rawstyle x Techno live act that will melt the boundaries of hard dance music.
'Against The Grain LIVE' is a brandnew Criminal Mayhem live experience centered around the combination of Rawstyle and Techno, launching as of today. During the performance the audience will encounter live improvisations with a modular synthesizer, exclusive live edits of Criminal Mayhem tracks, new and unreleased Criminal Mayhem music as well as edits and bootlegs. This live experience will guide you through Criminal Mayhem's distinct musical and visual world.
For a first experience, check out this live set recording:
THE LIVE SETS
What would a musical concept be without putting it to actual use in live sets? Criminal Mayhem has created a series of live sets, that follow the concept and guideline behind "Against The Grain". They are organized and numbered in movements, since each set follows a different story line.
Check out the already available live sets here.
The first movement
The second movement
The third movement
THE PLAYLIST
Criminal Mayhem is curating his own Spotify-Playlist bearing the name of "Against The Grain". It is a playlist which dares to look beyond the constraints of hard dance music and embraces other genres as well. As a rule of thumb, the playlist contains music that is inspiring to Criminal Mayhem and which is matching the above mentioned concept behind "Against The Grain". The playlist is updated bi-weekly and always features 100 pieces of music. All listeners are invited to dive into this world and also look beyond the genre that Criminal Mayhem is active in.
THE COMMUNITY
Do you want to be part of the "Against The Grain" community? Then consider joining Criminal Mayhem's official Discord server.
Take part in discussions, art sharing, NFT news or share your work with other musicians and help each other out with feedback and nerd-talks.