Legendary EDM producer RL Grime graced the stage at Emo’s in Austin, TX last weekend along with some incredible talent off his Sable Valley Records label to bring some of the best trap and EDM bangers this side of the Mississippi.
Hailed by many as the Godfather of the trap EDM genre, RL Grime graced Austin with his presence on the Touching Grass Tour to showcase some tracks off his latest three part LP Play, as well as the remarkable artist from his Sable Valley label. For any die hard EDM fan or even casual listener, it’s no secret that RL Grime is one of the leaders in his genre, if not one of the biggest names in the EDM scene period with his methodical sound design, incredible attention to detail, and innovative style.
Slowly but surely RL Grime continued to gain momentum as an up and coming producer, even helping innovate the Trap style of EDM, which is based off the rap subcategory of the same name, drawing influences from artist such as Chief Keef and 50 cent, the former of which he did a remix to back in 2013, which was one of his biggest tracks that broke him into the mainstream along with the Kanye West Mercy remix.
RL has been instrumental in helping push the genre forward working with artists such as Baauer and Diplo, releasing a yearly halloween mix accompanied by a live performance, and now heading his own record label with some of the best names in the current day EDM scene. The man has done more than enough to have made his mark in the EDM world, but luckily for his fans he’s not finished yet. His recently released 3 part LP Play, curated based on the vibe and style of the tracks, and there’s rumors that he may be playing his annual halloween show in October, although not confirmed yet.
Austin was lucky enough to get a performance from the Godfather himself as well as a few notable artists off his label. The first of which being a young artist by the name of Wink. Wink is still on the rise and relatively unknown compared to the other artists on the roster, but despite his greeness to the scene, Wink managed to gain the attention of RL and the rest of the Sable valley team and recently released an EP under the label. Wink was the first artist of the long night and although fans were just arriving and hadn’t yet filled the room, the artist was still putting on one hell of a show showcasing his style, playing tracks off his EP as well as classic EDM bangers and remixes, all while hyping up the crowd for the evening. The man definitely played his heart out and proved that he’s one DJ to watch for in the future.
The multi talented non-binary artist Moore Kismet was the next DJ to hit the stage. Moore has been making quite a name for themselves for years at this point releasing some of their first tracks at the early age of just 12 years old. Moore Kismet is following in the footsteps of label owner RL as clearly establishing themselves as a DJ prodigy.
Moore Kismet also recently released their debut LP which has been 5 years in the making and played some of the tracks during their set with some of the most animated stage presence of the night as well as some of heaviest hitting tracks. The artist has been carefully garnering attention from EDM aficionados over the past few years and to see their work come to life was truly a treasure to see as you could feel and hear all the love and passion they put into their work.
The third artist of the evening Rossy continued the momentum with her incredibly passionate bass heavy set. Rossy, who has also been putting in work for a long time playing major festivals such as Electric Zoo and Hard Summer and releasing her highly anticipated debut LP last year, showed why she was the frontrunner for the evening. Rossy showcased a different variation of EDM, bass and future bass for the EDM fans who love the wonky and experimental variants of the genre.
In true bass head fashion, Rossy headbanged her way through the night not missing a beat as she dropped some of the heaviest songs of the evening. Her set was a nice change of pace compared to most of the house and trap heavy sets from some of the other artists as she brought her stylistic variant with pure joy and positive energy as she did it. Lastly the man of the evening was set to hit the stage.
As the only artist with a full on break in between and introduction for the night, RL Grime hit the stage with much anticipation and excitement for his set. The man who has been on top of his game for well over 10 years played to a gleeful and energetic audience and understandably so. For those who had never seen him play live before this was the experience of a lifetime having heard his songs for years and watching his sets from afar, for many it was a night that dreams came true and nostalgia was in effect in full force as he played tracks from the prime era of trap.
RL definitely lived up to the hype playing fan favorites such as the Mercy Remix, UCLA, I Wanna Know, and his latest single Smack Talk as well as a track from opener Rossy, there was something for every fan to enjoy, notice and Diehards alike. As the night ended the Sable Valley showcase came to an end and fans were gleaming with happiness. For fans of the genre new and old, RL Grime is definitely one to check off your bucket list.
I’m a photographer currently based in Austin after recently relocating from Denver, CO. I graduated from the University of Colorado, Denver in 2019 with a degree in Business Management. I love music of all genres and have been going to live shows since I was 5 years old. Some of my favorite artist currently include Freddie Gibbs, Lola Young, Ivy Lab and Knocked Loose, but that is always subject to change.