Norfolk Trotter — Gritcore

Gritcore is a new two-track HNW release from Norfolk Trotter- aka Norwich’s Michael Ridge (Acerbitas, Zebra Mu, Dial-Up Summer Breeze). Each ‘wall’ runs between thirty and forty minutes, and has been created by playing sandpaper on a modified turntable.

This is a self-release put out on Michael's own label Quagga Curious Sounds- it’s available in two formats a CDR (which I’m reviewing), or a digital download. The CDR has a black & white git like labelled face, presented in a light brown card slip- it features on its front a circle of red sandpaper, and inside an inlay recreating a piece of sandpaper without the grit. This physical edition of ten copies is now out of print- though you can of course still download the release.

Each track is sourced from playing sandpaper discs on a modified turntable at 8 RPM; track 1 is coarser grit whilst track 2 is a slightly finer grit. Each ‘wall’ having a decidedly bucking & baying quality.

So first up is “P60”, which runs at thirty-seven minutes and twenty-four seconds. The ‘wall’ is dense/ no-nonsense affair- it’s built around a constantly rolling, semi-rumbling low end- which is topped with small darting static sub-tones. If you lock into the ‘wall’s simple yet effective flow, from time to time you get a feeling it’s going to suddenly skitter & sputter to a stop, but of course it never does.

The second track is “P180” which comes in the twenty eight & two seconds mark. Here we find another dense ‘wall’, though there is almost a semi-jittering & jiving quality about it- as it’s focused on a constant sawing feel, with a tight mesh of purring lows and jittery Mids. Together, these create this constant sawing quality- and in ones mid eye you can almost see the steady, rapid, and constant saw of an electrical saw.

It must be a little while since I last heard anything from Norfolk Trotter. And as always with this new release, Mr Ridge presents us with an interesting concept and rewarding ‘walls’