RL Grime

RL Grime
RL Grime in 2018
Background information
Birth nameHenry Alfred Steinway
Also known asClockwork (2011–2014)
Born (1991-02-08) February 8, 1991 (age 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresTrap, future bass, drum and bass
(as RL Grime)
Electro house, big room house, Dutch house
(as Clockwork)
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • DJ
Years active2011–present
LabelsWeDidIt, Sable Valley, Fool's Gold, Mad Decent, Dim Mak Records
Websiterlgri.me

Henry Alfred Steinway (born February 8, 1991), better known by his stage name RL Grime,[1] (previously known as Clockwork)[2] is an American record producer and DJ. RL Grime specializes in trap and bass music and is a member of the Los Angeles electronic music collective WeDidIt.[3][4][5] His debut Grapes EP was released in April 2012 on WeDidIt.[6][7] RL Grime premiered a popular Halloween mix in October 2012, which have continued to be released annually through 2023. His follow-up EP High Beams was released in July 2013 on Fool's Gold Records, which debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart, and No. 1 on the iTunes Electronic Chart.[8][9][10] RL Grime has produced remixes for Benny Benassi,[11] Chief Keef,[12] Jamie Lidell,[13] and Shlohmo.[14] His second studio album, Nova, was released in 2018. In February 2019, RL Grime announced the founding of his record label Sable Valley.[15]

Early life

Steinway grew up in Los Angeles, California.[16] There, he attended Windward School in Mar Vista. In 2009, he graduated from Windward and enrolled at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, with a focus in music business.[17] In 2010 after his first year, he transferred from Northeastern to New York University, majoring in music business.[18] In 2012, Steinway moved back to Los Angeles and currently resides there.

Music career

In 2011, RL Grime joined the WeDidIt collective with fellow Los Angeles-born producers Shlohmo, Groundislava, and D33J.[19] In April 2012, he released his debut release on the WeDidIt label, the Grapes EP, featuring four original tracks and remixes from Shlohmo, Salva, and LOL Boys.

In June 2012, RL Grime teamed up with producer Salva for a remix of Kanye West's "Mercy", which has garnered over eight million plays on SoundCloud and was called by The Fader "just massive, as if hail and tsunami waves were both byproducts of bass."[20] In December 2012, RL Grime remixed Benny Benassi's song "Satisfaction", which gained over one million SoundCloud streams and charted in the top five on the Beatport electro house chart.[3]

In October 2012, RL Grime released his first Halloween Mix, featuring original songs and remixes of popular tracks, along with vocal drops from celebrities. These mixes have been widely popular, and have continued to drop annually through 2024. Each mix has included vocal cameos from celebrities such as Tony Hawk, Pharrell Williams, Hannibal Buress, Shaquille O'Neal, Guy Fieri, T-Pain, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bruce Buffer, Jack Black, and author R.L. Stine, whose name RL Grime derives from.[21]

In July 2013, RL Grime released his High Beams EP on Fool's Gold Records, a five-track EP featuring producer Salva and Los Angeles, California rapper Problem.[22] The EP debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Electronic Chart, and No. 8 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart.[8]

RL Grime collaborated with like-minded producer Baauer on the track "Infinite Daps" in November 2013. Both producers toured together throughout July and August 2013, along with Ryan Hemsworth and Jim-E Stack.[23]

His debut studio album, Void, was released on November 14, 2014.[24] It featured guest appearances from Big Sean and Boys Noize among others.

On May 30, 2017, RL Grime announced his second studio album, Nova.[25] The album was released on July 27, 2018, through WeDidIt Records,[26] and featured collaborations with Miguel, Julia Michaels, Chief Keef, Ty Dolla Sign, 24HRS and Joji.[27] The album's lead single, "I Wanna Know", was released on March 16, 2018, followed by "Undo" on June 13, 2018,[28][29] and "Pressure" on July 11, 2018.[30] Commenting on the album's concept, Henry stated: "NOVA' came from obsessive ideation on growth and on transition. The art and stories and the moments that inspired me through this record tend to explore this as well. The feeling of leaving behind what was, and of welcoming the foreign. Throughout the process, I had this vision of a 'nova' or of a star no bigger than a person launching from earth into outer space and expanding endlessly until its light was all that we could see. That's the feeling I get from these records, infinite light."[31] The album's last single, "Light Me Up", which featured the vocals of Miguel and Julia Michaels, was released on July 25, 2018.[32] Initially an unused Jack Ü demo which was shown to Grime by Diplo, Grime decided to build the demo out and have Miguel's and Michaels' vocals recut, since he felt that the album required a "summery vibe" to it.[33]

Henry announced the founding of his record label Sable Valley in February 2019 stating, 'Since the inception of RL Grime, I’ve had this goal in the back of my mind to start my own label. My Halloween mixes have always been an outlet for me to curate and showcase new music, but the natural next step for me was to start a label. My whole life I’ve been obsessed with the process of searching for and finding what's next, and this is a way for me to use platform to highlight emerging talent that I believe in. "Arcus" is the first release, and it felt like the perfect son to set the tone for what Sable Valley is about". In a following statement Sable Valley announced, "During your membership here at Sable Valley, we strive to provide you with the technical information, advocacy, and professional opportunities to help advance your overall well-being. As a member, you will be able to exchange research information with other Sable Valley affiliates and participate in programming sessions offered at various conferences held by Sable Valley throughout the year."[15]

Discography

Albums

  • Void (2014, WeDidIt)
  • Nova (2018, WeDidIt)
  • Nova (The Remixes, Vol. 1) (2018, WeDidIt)
  • Nova (The Remixes, Vol. 2) (2018, WeDidIt)
  • Nova Pure (2019, WeDidIt)
  • PLAY (2023, Sable Valley)
Void, Track Listing (2014, WeDidIt)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Always"RL Grime4:07
2."Danger (feat. Boys Noize)"RL Grime, Boys Noize3:56
3."Scylla"RL Grime4:47
4."Kingpin (feat. Big Sean)"RL Grime, Big Sean4:12
5."Valhalla (feat. Djemba Djemba)"RL Grime, Djemba Djemba3:45
6."Let Go (Interlude)"RL Grime2:33
7."Core"RL Grime3:56
8."Monsoon"RL Grime4:14
9."Reminder (feat. How To Dress Well)"RL Grime, How To Dress Well4:20
10."Site Zero/The Vault"RL Grime7:44
11."Julia"RL Grime5:01
12."Golden State"RL Grime4:30
Total length:53:11
Nova, Track Listing (2018, WeDidIt)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Feel Free"RL Grime4:12
2."Shrine"RL Grime, Freya Ridings4:43
3."Light Me Up"RL Grime, Miguel, Julia Michaels3:21
4."Undo"RL Grime, Jeremih, Tory Lanez3:28
5."Take It Away"RL Grime, Ty Dolla $ign, TK Kravitz3:58
6."OMG"RL Grime, Joji, Chief Keef3:18
7."Shoulda"RL Grime3:53
8."Reims"RL Grime3:55
9."Pressure"RL Grime3:29
10."Era"RL Grime4:09
11."Run For Your Life (Interlude)"RL Grime 
12."I Wanna Know"RL Grime, Daya3:26
13."UCLA"RL Grime, 24hrs3:12
14."Rainer"RL Grime4:06
15."Atoms"RL Grime, Jeremy Zucker3:48
Total length:55:24
PLAY, Track Listing (2023, Sable Valley)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."[PLAY™ APEX]"RL Grime0:23
2."Ultrawide"RL Grime3:30
3."NME"RL Grime, JAWNS3:47
4."Zone"RL Grime3:42
5."Jewel"RL Grime, ISOxo4:06
6."Runner"RL Grime5:36
7."Breach"RL Grime, Juelz4:15
8."Delta"RL Grime3:24
9."[PLAY™ GRID]"RL Grime0:23
10."Keep You (Close)"RL Grime2:46
11."Borderline (feat. EMELINE)"RL Grime, Montell2099, EMELINE3:17
12."Street Sweeper (feat. 1nonly)"RL Grime, 1nonly2:50
13."Lose my Mind (feat. Reo Cragun)"RL Grime, Reo Cragun3:09
14."Slow Dive (feat. Bea Miller)"RL Grime, Bea Miller3:48
15."Pour Your Heart Out (feat. 070 Shake)"RL Grime, 070 Shake3:40
16."I Am The Ocean (feat. Noomi)"RL Grime, Sublab, Baauer, Noomi3:39
17."[PLAY™ RUSH]"RL Grime0:23
18."I Think I'm Getting Emotional"RL Grime4:27
19."Metro North"RL Grime3:52
20."Push"RL Grime2:57
21."Howling Fjord"RL Grime3:51
22."Around Me"RL Grime3:30
23."Hikari"RL Grime3:21
24."The Afterglow"RL Grime3:14
Total length:1:17:50

Extended plays

  • Ayoo / Think (2011, DirtyNitrus) (as Clockwork)
  • Clipz (2011)
  • Squad Up (2012, Dim Mak) (as Clockwork)
  • Grapes (2012, WeDidIt)
  • Titan (2012, Mad Decent) (as Clockwork)
  • High Beams (2013, Fools Gold Records)

Singles

  • "Trap on Acid" (2012)
  • "Flood" [a.k.a. "Flood the Block"] (2012)
  • "Because of U" (2013)
  • "Blitz" (2013) (as Clockwork)
  • "Infinite Daps" (with Baauer) (2013)
  • "Tell Me" (with What So Not) (2014)
  • "Champion" (2014) (as Clockwork)
  • "Infinite Mana" (with Congorock) (2014) (as Clockwork)
  • "Core" (2014)
  • "Reminder" (with How To Dress Well) (2014)
  • "Scylla" (2014)
  • "Kingpin" (with Big Sean) (2014)
  • "Golden State" (2015)
  • "Aurora" (2016)
  • "Waiting" (with What So Not and Skrillex) (2016)
  • "Reims" (2017)
  • "Stay for It" (with Miguel) (2017)
  • "Era" (2017)
  • "I Wanna Know" (with Daya) (2018)
  • "Undo" (featuring Jeremih and Tory Lanez) (2018)
  • "Pressure" (2018)
  • "Light Me Up" (featuring Miguel and Julia Michaels) (2018)[32]
  • "Arcus" (with Graves) (2019)[34]
  • "Stinger" (with ISOxo) (2021)[35]
  • "Fallaway" (with Baauer as Hærny) (2021)[36]

Productions

  • Pitbull - "I'm Off That", (produced by RL Grime) (2012)[37]
  • Tory Lanez – "I-95", (co-produced with Tory Lanez, Noah Breakfast, and Grave Goods) from "Lost Cause" (2014)
  • Tory Lanez – "In For It", (produced by RL Grime) (2014)
  • Big Sean – "Light It Up" (featuring 2 Chainz) [co-produced by Noah Breakfast] (2016)
  • Joji – "Test Drive", (produced by RL Grime) (2018)[38]

Remixes

References

  1. ^ "Show Review: RL Grime at Le Poisson Rouge". May 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "RL Grime And Clockwork Is The Same Person, And He Stays Busy". Huffingtonpost.com. November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Baauer & RL Grime Drop Huge Trap Anthem 'Infinite Daps' : Trap / Bass [Free Download] " this song is sick". Thissongissick.com. November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  4. ^ Dantana (May 12, 2013). "Best New Trap Music: RL Grime Remixes Chief Keef, B.Lewis, Rockie Fresh ft Rick Ross Prod by Lunice, Cutso". Okayfuture.com. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  5. ^ RBMA (October 25, 2013). "RBMA PRES. WEDIDIT HALLOWEEN @ BOILER ROOM LOS ANGELES". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  6. ^ "RL GRIME – GRAPES EP". factmag.com. April 21, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  7. ^ "RL Grime "Grapes Alla Vodka"". xlr8r.com. April 20, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Fresh off a tour with Baauer, RL Grime makes his first appearance on the Billboard charts with his High Beams EP". Billboard. July 26, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  9. ^ "RL Grime High Beams EP". pitchrork.com. July 26, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "RL Grime – High Beams EP". thissongslaps.com. July 17, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  11. ^ "Benny Benassi – Satisfaction (RL Grime Remix) : Massive Trap Remix (Full Version)". thissongissick.com. December 10, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  12. ^ "Chief Keef, "Love Sosa (RL Grime Remix)" MP3". thefader.com. May 3, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  13. ^ "Hear RL Grime and Salva's Rattling Trap Remix of Jamie Lidell's 'What a Shame'". Spin. March 25, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  14. ^ "Shlohmo – The Way U Do (RL Grime Remix) : Extra Chill Sunday Remix". thissongissick.com. December 2, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  15. ^ a b Hartshorn, Tori. "RL Grime Announces Sable Valley Label". BroadwayWorld.com.
  16. ^ "Interview: RL Grime". liveforthefunk.com. April 22, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  17. ^ "EDM producer Henry Steinway brings new meaning to the term 'triple threat'". danceproducer.com. June 14, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  18. ^ "GDD SPOTLIGHT: CLOCKWORK". gottadancedirty.com. February 16, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  19. ^ "WEDIDIT Collective, Professionally Unprofessional Since 1990". clustermag.com. November 23, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  20. ^ "Kanye West, "Mercy (RL Grime & Salva Remix)" MP3". fader.com. July 21, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  21. ^ David Rishty, "Listen to Every RL Grime Halloween Mix", Billboard, September 26, 2017
  22. ^ "RL Grime "High Beams" EP Out Now". foolsgoldrecs.com. July 16, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  23. ^ "CODE Picks of the Week: Baauer & RL Grime, HNNY and More". Billboard. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  24. ^ "Here's the Cinematic Trailer For RL Grime's New Album". Complex. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  25. ^ Erik Mahal, "RL GRIME OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM ‘NOVA’, NEW SINGLE PREMIERING NEXT WEEK", EDMSauce, May 30, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  26. ^ Goddard, Kevin (July 27, 2018). "Stream RL Grime's "NOVA" Project". Hotnewhiphop. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  27. ^ Bein, Kat (June 13, 2018). "RL Grime Shares 'Undo' Featuring Jeremih & Tory Lanez, Announces Album Release Date: Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  28. ^ Bein, Kat (March 16, 2018). "RL Grime Goes Pop With Daya on 'I Wanna Know': Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  29. ^ Sweeney, Farrell (June 13, 2018). "RL Grime announces album release date and unveils new track, 'Undo'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  30. ^ Castillo, Ryan (July 11, 2018). "RL Grime releases newest track, 'Pressure' from forthcoming second album". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  31. ^ Holbrook, Cameron (June 13, 2018). "Rl Grime Readies His First Album in Four Years 'Nova'". Mixmag. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  32. ^ a b Thompson, Rita (July 25, 2018). "RL Grime Releases 'Light Me Up' in Support of Upcoming Album: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  33. ^ Meadow, Matthew (July 25, 2018). "Rl Grime Drops Previous Jack Ü Demo "light Me Up" With Julia Michaels & Miguel". Your EDM. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  34. ^ Bein, Kat (February 6, 2019). "RL Grime & graves' 'Arcus' Is a Grand Cinematic Rush: Listen". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  35. ^ Heffler, Jason (April 2, 2021). "Listen to RL Grime and ISOxo's new haunting trap banger, 'Stinger'". EDM.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  36. ^ King, Ariel (July 30, 2021). "RL Grime, Baauer share first collaboration since 2013 under HÆRNY joint alias, 'Fallaway'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  37. ^ "Global Warming: Meltdown by Pitbull on Tidal". Tidal. November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  38. ^ Sawyer, Jonathan (October 16, 2019). "Joji shares video for RL Grime-produced 'Test Drive' from his debut album". Highsnobiety. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  39. ^ Stack, Chris (June 29, 2019). "RL Grime releases heavy bass edit of G Jones' 'In Your Head' on Sable Valley". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.