Slugabed

British electronic musician Gregory Feldwick produces twisted, bass-heavy glitch-hop under the name Slugabed. While his moniker suggests laziness, his prolific release schedule proves otherwise, as does the music itself, which is highly complex and detailed. Slugabed’s work typically combines blown-out bass and heavy, off-time beats, along with bright, frazzled melodies reminiscent of 8-bit video games. His playful, unmistakably original music has earned him fans in the dubstep and left-field hip-hop scenes, and he’s released material on notable labels such as Planet Mu, Ninja Tune, and Anticon. Feldwick grew up in Bath, England, but moved to Brighton in 2008. He made his recording debut in 2009 with 12″ releases on MYOR, Ramp Recordings, and Stuffrecords. After his remix of Starkey’s “Stars” was released by Planet Mu, the label released Slugabed’s Ultra Heat Treated EP in early 2010. By this time, Feldwick had become an integral part of Donky Pitch, a well-regarded club night that began in 2009 and started releasing records in 2010. The label’s first release was Donky Stomp, a split EP between Slugabed and Ghost Mutt. Slugabed remixed Roots Manuva’s “Witness” on Ninja Tune’s 20th anniversary box set Ninja Tune XX, and Manuva was so impressed by the mix that he began playing it during his concerts. As with many other artists who released material on Planet Mu around the early 2010s, Slugabed then signed to Ninja Tune, which released his EPs Moonbeam Rider and Sun Too Bright Turn It Off in 2011. Following the 2012 EPs Rockin U and Sex, Slugabed’s full-length debut, Time Team, arrived in 2012. He co-founded the Activia Benz label in 2012 and released his EP This Is a Warning the following year. A final single for Ninja Tune, “Do U C Me Tho,” also appeared near the end of the year. Coolest, his second EP for Activia Benz, was released in 2014, followed by the single “Living W/o U.” By this point, his music had largely grown past his jagged, distorted early sound, and was far more lush and reflective. Following two scrapped attempts at a follow-up LP, Slugabed finally resurfaced in 2017, when Anticon released his dreamy, pop-infused second album, Inherit the Earth. ~ Paul Simpson