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Ready to have some genre boundaries broken? Meet Random Impulse. Initially a grime MC, the rapper found he could not ignore his passion for guitar music, and influences like Jack White and the Arctic Monkeys spurred him on to create his own sound and blur the lines of genre definition.
"I sampled The Vines, 'Amnesia'. I thought I wish I could make a song like this without having to sample, so I stopped rapping, went onto YouTube and learnt how to play guitar, drums and bass, 6 months without anything else" he tells Gigwise.
The artist concedes that defining what he does to an audience can only be achieved by playing his material to win over any doubters. He says: "I go on stage and say I'm a grime MC from north London, even though my music's not grime, but just to throw them off - then I play guitar and they wonder what's going on." But perserverance is key for an artist that is determined to spawn a style of music that is equal measures hip-hop and indie.
"A lot of people have tried to do something similar but it always tends to lean towards one or the other. When they see it live and see that I play and spit you can see them squinting their eyes trying to get their heads around it, but they enjoy it."
For Random Impulse, winning over fans is nothing compared to the stress of trying to direct young children in his video for new single Best Party Ever. Never work with kids or animals is now a phrase that he will forever stand by. "In the beginning I was worried that they wouldn't have enough energy, and be a bit shy, but the minute we started throwing popcorn and stuff that was it," he says. "One of them was trying to climb out the window on the second floor! It's a very true statement."
The video is directed by Random Impulse himself, and aside from being a challenge, it was a big deal for the first time director. He tells us that music videos are "part of the art as well, so it's important to have a strong idea starting off".
Watch Random Impulse's 'Best Party Ever' video below
Independent work has always been a big deal for Random Impulse as he regularly updates his blog and has a weekly 'Refix' series online. Going the extra mile is so important nowdays as competition in the music industry is greater than ever.
"With your music, you're a needle, and you're just thrown into a haystack that's filled with other needles and hoping that when someone pulls out a needle it's your one," he tells us.
Random Impulse will soon be throwing a huge needle into the proverbial haystack when he releases his debut album. When asked what we can expect from the record, we were told: "It is very story based, a lot of tracks are about stories that are simple and everyday, everyone goes through them. They are also personal but I think people will relate to them."
"It's very much like indie rock influenced and urban influence in terms of grime/ hip - hop and some pretty heavy rock too."
This is a huge Summer for Random Impulse as he embarks on festival dates and prepares to release his debut LP. The future looks very bright for the man that has merged genres by sheer force of will, and by 2013's end he tells us "When you say to somebody, you know Random Impulse? I want them to be like, yea what about him? That would be my biggest achievement."
Watch Random Impulse's 'Overload' video below
'Best Party Ever' is release 3 June, 2013.
