Cimm, real name Cimm Mann, has become an established name in bass and dubstep circles, with a sound informed by reggae, dub, and hip-hop. Growing up in north-west London, he taught himself to play piano, guitar, and bass but fell into electronic music by accident, when his school friend showed him Cubase. As it dawned on him that you could play all the instrumentation he had committed his teenage years to learn through one single computer, he knew this was the pathway for him. “I thought it was a sick evolution,” he says, “and the control freak in me loved it!” He began producing grime and hip-hop, but steadily his style shifted to straight-up bass through attending gigs across the English capital and ultimately making his own sketches. He put out his first EP, Split Minds / Redshift, on Tempa Recordings in collaboration with Daniel Lockhart (a.k.a Youngsta) in 2016.

Fast-forward to today, and Cimm is a regular on Youngsta’s Sentry Records, and just recently he put out a couple of soundsystem shakers on the London label. You’ll also find his work on Artikal Music UK. While his music is rooted in dubstep, Cimm’s work is deeper and more dub-driven, and it stands out for its moody basslines and high tempos. A similar thing could be said of his DJ sets, but there he explores a wider range of tempos, and his XLR8R podcast is an expression of this versatility. He’s infused it with a bunch of his latest unreleased tracks and edits, but beyond that it’s explorative and wide-reaching, pushing the limits of what he believes bass music can do. You’ll possibly recognize familiar tracks from Tsuruda, Ivy Lab, and Warp’s Mark Pritchard, but under the surface, you’ll hear a rising dubstep talent defining his voice as a DJ.

01. What have you been up to recently?

I have been in the studio, learning new tricks, and, of course, making new music. I have set myself a little goal of trying to make as much multi-genre stuff as I can to break the mold and evolve my music. It’s been fun but super challenging. I’ve also been learning blues on the guitar which is proper jokes.

02. How has the period of lockdown been for you?

Lockdown has been full of ups and downs but I have made a conscious effort to keep my vibrations high. I focused a lot of my energy on making music and keeping a positive outlook as much as possible. Mental health is important and I think it’s crucial to have a support system with friends and family. We have all struggled at one point but the key is to never feel like you are alone, because you are not. Lockdown has been testing for everyone but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

03. What have you been listing to recently?

I’m a huge fan of ’80s music so I have been listening to a load of Italo disco. It became a bit of an obsession but a worthy one. Also, I love listening to all sorts of music because I play a lot of different styles instrumentally. I definitely have an eclectic taste and without that, I’d be a bit lost. Notable artists I’ve listened to a lot recently are Shigeto, Aphex Twin, Tame Impala, Botany, and Clap Clap.

04. When and where did you record the mix?

I recorded this mix last week in my home studio. It was boiling but very fun!

05. How did you go about choosing the tracks that you’ve included?

I really want to start bringing my music knowledge into my sets so I kept it flowing through a range of tempos. The mix goes from 110bpm all the way up to 160. You will definitely see me doing more multi-genre sets, but they’ll always be linked to bass-heavy music. The way I see it is, if you love it, mix it!

06. What can the listener expect?

Lots of different flavors mixing into different flavors. I do a lot of preparation work on all tunes I play and I often make edits to play. You will hear many of these in the mix.

09. What’s next on your horizon?

I want to continue making as much music as possible and focus on limitless genres. I feel it’s important to me to learn the techniques of each genre and learn as much as I can from them. This way I can understand the motives and passions of my favorite artists and attempt to apply them to my own music. You will see some new releases dropping soon and you might start seeing some live elements in my sets.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to hear the podcast offline you will need to subscribe to our Select channel to listen offline, or subscribe to XLR8R+ to download the file. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

Full XLR8R+ Members can download the podcast below. If you’re not an XLR8R+ member, you can read more about it and subscribe here.

Tracklisting

01. Shigeto “A2D” (feat. ZelooperZ & Silas Green) (Ghostly)
02. Tsuruda “Delivery” (Alpha Pup)
03. Missy Elliot “Shes A Bitch (Acapella)” (Goldmind / Elektra)
04. Tyler The Creator “Who Dat Boy” (Columbia)
05. Kuedo “Flight Path” (Planet Mu)
06. Cimm “Day 1” (Unknown)
07. London Modular Alliance “Moonbase” (Applied Rhythmic Technology)
08. Rhythm & Sound “See Mi Yah” (Burial Mix)
09. Deft & Lewis James “Teleporter” (B4 Music)
10. SPMC “Drawing Sound” (Unknown
11. Cimm “Work Me” (Unknown)
12. Ivy Lab “Tea Cup” (20/20 LDN Recordings)
13. Eva808 “I Saw The Devil” (Innamind Recordings)
14. Karma “Drizzle” (GD4YA)
15. Cimm “Unknown” (Unknown)
16. Headland “Unknown” (Unknown)
17. V.I.V.E.K “Killa (J Kenzo Remix)” (Unknown)
18. Cimm “Unknown” (Unknown)
19. Cimm “Unknown” (Unknown)
20. Cimm “Unknown” (Unknown)
21. Cimm “Conman” (Sentry Records)
22. Akcept “Stylist Dark” (Unknown)
23. Hijinx “Shush” (Unknown)
24. Fixate “Unknown” (Unknown)
25. Dismantle “Broke” (Terrain Records)
26. Cimm & Silkie “Unknown” (Unknown)
27. Trends & Boylan “Norman Bates (Cimm Remix)” (Unknown)
28. Kodama “ISH” (Unknown)
29. Headland “Unknown” (Unknown)
30. Cimm “Grape Lime Ricky” (Sentry Records)
31. Cimm “SO” (Sentry Records)
32. Cimm & Youngsta ft Riko Dan “Hear That (Trends and Boylan Remix)” (Sentry Records)
33. Ruff Sqwad “Together” (Ruff Sqwad Recordings)
34. Skream “Lightning VIP” (Rinse Recordings)
35. Dead Prez “Hip Hop (Instrumental)” (Loud Records)
36. Sister Nancy “Bam Bam” (Techniques)
37. Mark Pritchard “Natty” (Warp Records)
38. Cimm “You Fooled Me Once” (Unknown)