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Macabre Unit • Music Producer • Grime

@macabre_unit

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Producer’s Cut: Macabre Unit

Grime’s roots are often traced back to East London, home to pioneering producers like Wiley, Jammer and Dizzee Rascal, who helped push the sound away from UK garage. While East London takes much of the credit for grime’s early development, artists from across the capital also played an important role in shaping the genre. But what about beyond London altogether?

@macabre_unit were a crew from Bedford, a town northwest of London in the East of England. Despite being outside the capital, their productions have cemented their place in grime’s legacy, helping to establish the blueprint of the genre’s foundational sound. With early support from the likes of DJ Slimzee, their tracks featured in some of the scene’s most influential sets, providing the foundations for many of your favourite MCs to cut their teeth on.

When I caught up with Raff (aka Nurve, R.Demon), he explained how the crew came together:
“Macabre Unit was founded by myself and 9er, back when we were just two jungle and drum & bass kids, me as a DJ and him as an MC. Out of the blue, 9er came to me one day and said, ‘Yo, there’s this new sound coming out of London called grime. I’ve already got a couple of tunes down, you should jump on it.’ As a DJ and producer, I was all for it, so we gave it a try. Not long after, 9er had the idea of building a crew around the sound by bringing MCs into the mix, and before we knew it Macabre Unit was up and running, carving out our place in the grime scene.”

Talking through some of their most iconic productions, including Dem Na Ready, Sense and Take Time, Raff and 9er recalled how much of their early work was made in Reason using nothing more than stock plugins: “For a lot of my early grime material, I didn’t even use an EQ to tweak any sounds. I just relied on sound selection, and if it worked as it was, it would stay in the track. If it didn’t, I would find a sound that would.”

Scroll through the post for a deeper look at some of their most influential productions, along with a taste of what’s coming next. by @macabre_unit

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a year ago

THE ESSENCE: C4 Pulls up in Birmingham and it’s mazza 🔥🔥🔥 @c4_oorite #GRIME

🎥 @31501

TRACK ID: @macabre_unit taken in Birmingham, United Kingdom by @macabre_unit

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a year ago

THE ESSENCE: RB Pulls up and it’s 🔥🔥🔥 @rb.yic #GRIME

🎥 @31501

TRACK ID: @macabre_unit taken in London, United Kingdom by @macabre_unit

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a year ago

I wrote a Grime track from start to finish, and recorded the process for my YouTube channel.

YouTube: ElevenOneOneAudio 🎥

Go and check it out and don’t forget to h it SUBSCRIBE.

#grimemusic #youtube #musicproducerlife #musicproductiontips #macabreunit by @macabre_unit

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6 days ago

Creating a classic Macabre Unit bleep synth. #grimemusic #youtube #musicproductiontips #sounddesigner #serum @macabre_unit by @macabre_unit

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17 days ago

Part 2 of working on this track has just been published. I reassessed the balance of the mic and started working on the advanced stuff. Go check it out!

LINK IN BIO 🔗#macabreunit #grimemusic #musicproductiontips #producertips #youtubetips by @macabre_unit

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20 days ago

I’m starting a new series documenting the process of mixing a Macabre Unit grime track from the early mixdown stage through to the finished track.

This is Part 01. Link in bio for the full video.

#macabreunit #grimemusic #mixingtips #musicproducer #youtube by @macabre_unit

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21 days ago

Naaaaaaa Instagram is taking the piss! McCauley Unit??!! I’ve heard it all now. For years I’ve heard all kind of mad versions of Macabre Unit but this has done me in 🥴🥴

Anyway, hit the BandCamp and cop yourself a couple of McCauley Unit dub packs for BandCamp Friday 👊

#macabreunit #grimemusic #bandcampfriday #newmusic #dubpack by @macabre_unit

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a month ago

It’s BandCamp Friday - Go and get involved. LINK IN BIO 🔗 #macabreunit #grimemusic #bassmusic #140bpm #bandcampfriday by @macabre_unit

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a month ago

When it comes to Grime, Macabre Unit was there from the very beginning laying the foundations for what the genre would become. Their sound was championed by big name DJs aplenty.

This post focuses on tracks that were released under the Macabre Unit name so it doesn't involve any solo productions from any of the past or current members under their own names. While I know a lot of these tracks we're made solo, they were still released as "Macabre Unit" so I've done it this way to keep it uniform. They made so many bangers in the 2000's but some didn't see release until at least 2011.

🔽 What are your favourite Macabre Unit track(s)? Let me know in the comments! 📂🔽
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Macabre Unit emerged from Bedford in 2001 as a collective of DJs, MCs and producers led by Raffa Demon and 9er, becoming one of the most distinctive forces in the formative years of grime. Built around dark, futuristic and bass-heavy production, the Unit quickly developed a sound that stood apart from the emerging London scene. Their tracks became regular weapons for DJs including Slimzee and Hatcha, with records such as “Slow Jam”, “It’s All About”, “Everyday Life”, “Sense”, “Crusher” and “Take Time” gaining serious traction across pirate radio, raves and early grime sets. Releases appeared through Slimzos, B-Line, Zodiac, Square and Plastician’s Terrorhythm imprint, with Macabre Unit’s music receiving reloads at events including Sidewinder and FWD>>.

As the 140 sound evolved, Macabre Unit naturally moved towards the darker, more industrial territory that would become dubstep. Raffa Demon developed his production further under the Demon and later Nurve aliases, while the Macabre Unit name remained closely associated with the early grime sound. The collective also established MUD (Macabre Unit Digital), providing a platform for their own material and like-minded artists including Biome, NDread, DColt, Catacombes and Versa. Their catalogue was later revisited through various remastered compilations, preserving tracks from their influential early period. by @macabre_unit

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2 months ago

BandCamp Friday. 2x Macabre Unit dub packs full of new material. Go check them out!

🔗 in stories #bandcampfriday #bandcamp #grimemusic #macabreunit #grime by @macabre_unit

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2 months ago

Yeah, big vibes last night over at @cu_dalston and big shout to @nldc140 for getting us down. We had a blast! Shouts to everyone who rocked up and vibed with us 🫡

#macabreunit #grimemusic #musicproducer #grimemc #140bpm by @macabre_unit

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2 months ago