Cooly G

Merrisa Campbell, known by her recording alias Cooly G, is a British singer, rapper, producer and DJ, living in London. She has released two albums of bass music on Hyperdub: Playin' Me (2012) and Wait 'Til Night (2014).

Music

Her full-length albums "explore more complex, difficult and polarising emotional frequencies than can possibly [be] visited on her club-ready EP output."

Singles and EPs from 2008 onwards have encompassed UK funky, jungle, garage, grime, deep house and dub.

Alexis Petridis in The Guardian described her debut album Playin' Me (2012) thus: "You hear fragments of lover's rock, dubstep, Soul II Soul, drum'n'bass, UK funky and Massive Attack's stoned melancholy: the end result sounds unearthly, alternately scattered and luscious, and ultimately like no one else. Her vocals – unreconstructed south-London accent, beautifully understated style, lyrics that trace the arc of a relationship going wrong – bring it back down to earth." A review in the NME concurs that "'Playin' Me' develops the UK funky sound she's been pushing for years, with its devastating sub-bass, raindrop drums and warm vocals. Within those vocals is a pop edge, and some of her lyrics could be cut straight from the Top 40 [ . . .] But the best thing about 'Playin' Me' is that for all its futuristic swirl, it's a record about living in London in 2012." Petridis praised the inclusion of a cover of "Trouble" by Coldplay, where as the NME was critical of it.

Paul MacInnes in The Guardian described second album Wait 'Til Night (2014) as "bass-driven hip hop; and a lyrical theme, lust."

In 2010, Cooly G set up a record label, Dub Organizer, a name she had previously used for a series of CD-R releases. She played Boiler Room DJ sets in London in 2014 and 2018. She has "taught sound engineering and held music production and DJ workshops for disaffected teens."

Personal life

Campbell was born in Brixton, South London.

She has two children. They lost all their belongings in a fire on 31 December 2018. Campbell had been using a temporary storage lock up in Croydon, which was destroyed in a fire, having abandoned their home after a flood and whilst waiting to move.

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

  • Dub Organizer Vol 1 (BM Funky, 2008) – CD-R, EP
    • Dub Organiser Vol 1 (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital
  • Dub Organizer Vol 2 (2008) – CD-R, EP
  • "Narst" / "Love Dub" (Hyperdub, 2009)
  • Dub Organizer Vol 3 – EP
    • CD-R (BM Funky, 2009)
    • Digital (Dub Organizer, 2010)
  • "Hyperdub 5.5" (Hyperdub, 2009) – split with Mala; includes "Weekend Fly" by Cooly G
  • "Up in My Head" / "Phat Si" (Hyperdub, 2010)
  • "Dis Boy" (DVA, 2010) – split with Scratcha DVA*; includes "DIS Boy" by Cooly G
  • Dub Organizer Vol 4 (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital, EP
  • Dub Organizer Vol 5 (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital, EP
  • Dub Organizer Vol 6 (Dub Organizer, 2010) – digital, EP
  • "Landscapes" / "It's Serious" (Hyperdub, 2011)
  • Hold Me (Hyperdub, 2014) – EP
  • Armz House (Hyperdub, 2015) – EP

References

  1. ↑ "FREAK YOU". ascap.com. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Power, Chris. "BBC - Music - Review of Cooly G - Playin' Me". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "Cooly G: Wait 'Til Night". The Quietus. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Cooly G - Wait 'til Night". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "UK funky: a short-lived sound whose influence lives on". The Guardian. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Label of love: Hyperdub". The Guardian. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "UK funky isn't back — it never left". DJMag.com. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Cooly G: Wait 'Til Night review – stripped down seduction". The Guardian. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. ↑ Gentles, Tim (29 January 2014). "Cooly G Hold Me EP". XLR8R. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Cooly G: Playin' Me – review". The Guardian. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 "Cooly G - 'Playin' Me'". NME. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "Cooly G preps Dub Organizer label compilation". Fact (UK magazine). 9 April 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "Cooly G". Boiler Room. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "Cooly G". Boiler Room. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  15. ↑ "The new generation of women taking over the music studios". The Independent. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  16. ↑ "Cooly G: A Woman of Many Talents". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  17. ↑ "Cooly G". The Village Voice. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  18. ↑ "Cooly G Fire Fund started by Kode9 - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  19. ↑ "Crowdfunding campaign started for Hyperdub artist Cooly G following devastating fire". DJMag.com. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  20. ↑ "Cooly G Loses Possessions in Fire, Launches GoFundMe". Pitchfork. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  21. ↑ "Fundraiser Launched For Cooly G". Clash Magazine. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  22. 1 2 "Cooly G: Playin' Me". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  23. ↑ "Cooly G, 'Playin Me' (Hyperdub)". Spin. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  24. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (13 July 2012). "Laid-Back Colombian Folk and Angsty Swedes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  25. ↑ Carroll, Jim. "Cooly G: Wait 'Til Night". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  26. ↑ "Cooly G - Wait 'Til Night". Clash Magazine. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  27. ↑ "Review: Rewind: Cooly G - Narst / Love Dub". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  28. ↑ "This week's new singles". The Guardian. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  29. ↑ "Cooly G - Landscapes". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  30. ↑ "Cooly G "Landscapes" b/w "It's Serious"". XLR8R. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  31. ↑ "Albums of the month". Dazed. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  32. ↑ "Cooly G - 'Hold Me EP'". NME. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  33. ↑ "Cooly G - Hold Me · Single Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  34. ↑ "Cooly G: Armz House EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 September 2021.