Cooly G

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Merrisa Campbell, known by her recording alias Cooly G, is a British singer, rapper, producer and DJ, living in London. She has released two albums of bass music on Hyperdub: Playin' Me (2012) and Wait 'Til Night (2014). [1] [2]

Contents

Music

Her full-length albums "explore more complex, difficult and polarising emotional frequencies than can possibly [be] visited on her club-ready EP output." [3]

Singles and EPs from 2008 onwards have encompassed UK funky, [4] [5] [6] jungle, [7] garage, grime, deep house and dub. [8]

Alexis Petridis in The Guardian described her debut album Playin' Me (2012) thus: "You hear fragments of lover's rock, dubstep, Soul II Soul, drum'n'bass, UK funky and Massive Attack's stoned melancholy: the end result sounds unearthly, alternately scattered and luscious, and ultimately like no one else. Her vocals – unreconstructed south-London accent, beautifully understated style, lyrics that trace the arc of a relationship going wrong – bring it back down to earth." [9] A review in the NME concurs that "'Playin' Me' develops the UK funky sound she's been pushing for years, with its devastating sub-bass, raindrop drums and warm vocals. Within those vocals is a pop edge, and some of her lyrics could be cut straight from the Top 40 [ . . .] But the best thing about 'Playin' Me' is that for all its futuristic swirl, it's a record about living in London in 2012." [10] Petridis praised the inclusion of a cover of "Trouble" by Coldplay, where as the NME was critical of it. [9] [10]

Paul MacInnes in The Guardian described second album Wait 'Til Night (2014) as "bass-driven hip hop; and a lyrical theme, lust." [7]

In 2010, Cooly G set up a record label, Dub Organizer, a name she had previously used for a series of CD-R releases. [11] She played Boiler Room DJ sets in London in 2014 and 2018. [12] [13] She has "taught sound engineering and held music production and DJ workshops for disaffected teens." [14] [10]

Personal life

Campbell was born in Brixton, South London. [15]

She has two children. [16] [17] They lost all their belongings in a fire on 31 December 2018. Campbell had been using a temporary storage lock up in Croydon, which was destroyed in a fire, having abandoned their home after a flood and whilst waiting to move. [18] [19] [20]

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

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References

  1. Power, Chris. "BBC - Music - Review of Cooly G - Playin' Me". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. "Cooly G: Wait 'Til Night". The Quietus. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. "Cooly G - Wait 'til Night". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. "UK funky: a short-lived sound whose influence lives on". The Guardian. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. "Label of love: Hyperdub". The Guardian. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. "UK funky isn't back — it never left". DJMag.com. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Cooly G: Wait 'Til Night review – stripped down seduction". The Guardian. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. Gentles, Tim (29 January 2014). "Cooly G Hold Me EP". XLR8R . Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Cooly G: Playin' Me – review". The Guardian. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Cooly G - 'Playin' Me'". NME. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  11. "Cooly G preps Dub Organizer label compilation". Fact (UK magazine) . 9 April 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  12. "Cooly G". Boiler Room. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  13. "Cooly G". Boiler Room. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  14. "The new generation of women taking over the music studios". The Independent. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  15. "Cooly G: A Woman of Many Talents". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  16. "Cooly G". The Village Voice. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  17. "Cooly G Fire Fund started by Kode9 - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  18. "Crowdfunding campaign started for Hyperdub artist Cooly G following devastating fire". DJMag.com. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. "Cooly G Loses Possessions in Fire, Launches GoFundMe". Pitchfork. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  20. "Fundraiser Launched For Cooly G". Clash Magazine. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  21. 1 2 "Cooly G: Playin' Me". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  22. "Cooly G, 'Playin Me' (Hyperdub)". Spin . 5 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  23. Ratliff, Ben (13 July 2012). "Laid-Back Colombian Folk and Angsty Swedes". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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  25. "Cooly G - Wait 'Til Night". Clash Magazine. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  26. "Review: Rewind: Cooly G - Narst / Love Dub". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  27. "This week's new singles". The Guardian. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  28. "Cooly G - Landscapes". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  29. "Cooly G "Landscapes" b/w "It's Serious"". XLR8R . 10 November 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  30. "Albums of the month". Dazed. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  31. "Cooly G - 'Hold Me EP'". NME. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  32. "Cooly G - Hold Me · Single Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  33. "Cooly G: Armz House EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 September 2021.