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).
Music
Her full-length albums "explore more complex, difficult and polarising emotional frequencies than can possibly
evisited on her club-ready EP output."
Singles and EPs from 2008 onwards have encompassed
UK funky,
jungle,
garage,
grime,
deep house
Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ...
and
dub.
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
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."
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
nbsp;. . .But the best thing about 'Playin' Me' is that for all its futuristic swirl, it's a record about living in London in 2012."
Petridis praised the inclusion of a cover of "
Trouble" by Coldplay, where as the ''NME'' was critical of it.
Paul MacInnes in ''The Guardian'' described second album ''Wait 'Til Night'' (2014) as "
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
-driven
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
; and a lyrical theme, lust."
In 2010, Cooly G set up a record label, Dub Organizer, a name she had previously used for a series of CD-R releases. She played
Boiler Room DJ sets in London in 2014 and 2018. She has "taught sound engineering and held music production and DJ workshops for disaffected teens."
Personal life
Campbell was born in
Brixton
Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
, South London.
She has two children. 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.
Discography
Albums
*''
Playin' Me'' (
Hyperdub, 2012)
*''Wait 'Til Night'' (Hyperdub, 2014)
Singles and EPs
*''Dub Organizer Vol 1'' (BM Funky, 2008) – CD-R, EP
**''Dub Organiser Vol 1'' (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital
*''Dub Organizer Vol 2'' (2008) – CD-R, EP
*"Narst" / "Love Dub" (Hyperdub, 2009)
*''Dub Organizer Vol 3'' – EP
**CD-R (BM Funky, 2009)
**Digital (Dub Organizer, 2010)
*"Hyperdub 5.5" (Hyperdub, 2009) – split with
Mala; includes "Weekend Fly" by Cooly G
*"Up in My Head" / "Phat Si" (Hyperdub, 2010)
*"Dis Boy" (DVA, 2010) – split with
Scratcha DVA*; includes "DIS Boy" by Cooly G
*''Dub Organizer Vol 4'' (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital, EP
*''Dub Organizer Vol 5'' (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital, EP
*''Dub Organizer Vol 6'' (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital, EP
*"Landscapes" / "It's Serious" (Hyperdub, 2011)
*''Hold Me'' (Hyperdub, 2014) – EP
*''Armz House'' (Hyperdub, 2015) – EP
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooly G
English record producers
English electronic musicians
21st-century English musicians
21st-century English women musicians
Black British musicians
DJs from London
Singers from the London Borough of Lambeth
Rappers from the London Borough of Lambeth
People from Brixton
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)