Loom

Soaked with yearning emotion but laced with aggressive vigour, Loom's work isn't exactly conventional. But that last word doesn't go hand-in-hand with instrumental grime so the Ipswich producer's marking a massive tick in all of the correct boxes.

We were first made aware of him last year when his track 'Mazed' appeared on 'Boxed Vol. 2', a free compilation from the game-changing London party Boxed birthed by Slackk, Logos, Oil Gang and Mr Mitch. 'Mazed' is a frantic, fizzy ride (think Tetris on speed) and set him up to release the 'Grade' EP on Mitch's mecca for all things side-winding and bonkers, Gobstopper Records. The four-tracker flips between moody, heads-to-the-floor business ('Grade') and delicate thought provokers ('Rain Falls Hard Here'), finely showcasing his ability to go in hard as well as woo us with soothing melodies.

'Noctilucent' is the best example of him pulling at your heartstrings. Somewhat of a distorted audio love letter, the vocal coaxes feelings of heartbreak and longing, but it's the types of feelings Daniel Timms revels in creating. "There's something comforting about experiencing a simulation of emotions within the safety of music," he tells us. "I think it's good to feel them, especially ones you would avoid in normal life." Too eccentric to label as grime, it still appeared on the 'Blacklink Sound Compilation' which featured a load of erratic bangers from the likes of Strict Face and Shriekin. On the same tip is his 'Kate' Peace Edit, a cyborg-like take on Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill'.

Basically, the tunes he makes are utterly obscure and impossible to categorise, but brilliant at the same time. It's probably why he's got a second EP coming out on Gobstopper, a label that's released work by Strict Face, Bloom and Dark0, and a platform that refuses to settle for the same sound over and over again. Out next month, the 'European Heartache' EP is a five-tracker combining the meditative with the mad: relaxed, creeping synths meeting hyperactive beats that wouldn't sound out of place on a sugar-fueled Gameboy.

To give you the full lowdown of what he's about, we've got a mix from him featuring all of his own productions with a couple of edits thrown in. If you're ready to have your mind fucked with, listen to the mix, and check the tracklist, below.

Download (right click & save)

God Colony - Steady ft. Flohio (Loom Remix)
Loom - Tokyo Cleanse
Letta - Where I Left You (Loom Remix)
Loom - Dyed Black Hair
TSVI, Loom & Luru - ??? (WIP)
Loom - Balaclava
Jexxa - Tell 'Dem (Loom F BLOCK Remix)
Loom - Nylon
Loom - Kate (Drumless Edit)
Loom - Ultraviolet Love Scene
Loom - ???
Loom - Tracksuit
Loom - Boy Racer
Loom - Fractured Light
Becoming Real - Grime Lord (Loom Remix)
Loom - Fukushima
Loom - Rain Falls Hard Here
Loom - Noctilucent

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter