Infrasound Artist Spotlight #4: Grimblee & Hecka | Plus New Hecka Album, Stay Hidden

Photo by Dylan Blazick

by Kyle Taylor |

Salt Lake City might not exactly be the hotbed for bass music that some other cities are, but if there is one lesson to take away from the music world, it is that talent exists everywhere. Utah producer Gilbert Splett is a pure testament to that statement. With two separate projects, Grimblee and Hecka, steadily emerging in the dance world, the young producer has shown a ferocious hunger for versatility and authenticity.

First came Grimblee, launching a ruthless new perspective on bass music. Never has Splett settled for anything short of the most pristine sound design and production. The project’s bass layers are rich and voluminous, engulfing eardrums in an atmosphere of reverberating noise. Grimblee’s percussion and sound design have been the real key components to his unique piquancy, though. Time and time again, Splett has developed new sounds, never before introduced to the human ear, cramming them into peculiar, offbeat patterns that stagger the tracks into borderline glitch compositions. The drums are equally authentic, spanning a delicious platter of bass music genres while ceaselessly furthering the gap between Grimblee and any other producer.

Hecka is where things get really quite weird though. Under the moniker, Splett steps into a vast world of experimental cacophony. Twisting up everything from garage to downtempo and hip-hop beats, the project allows for a deeper exploration of sound. With an equally impressive library, Hecka has reached a status well beyond that of a side project. The intellectual nature of Hecka’s rhythms and the expansive catalog of sounds it carries sets the project apart in a whole class of its own.

Lucky for us, Splett will once again be performing two sets at this year’s Infrasound Music Festival, one for each of his magnificent alter egos. This will mark Splett’s third consecutive appearance at the annual festival, and second consecutive year performing separate sets under each alias.

Previous Infrasound 2015 Artist Spotlights:
Spotlight #3: Android Jones [April 22nd, 2015]
Spotlight #2: Freddy Todd (& Artist Interview) [April 15th, 2015]
Spotlight #1: Thriftworks [April 8th, 2015]

Grimblee – Bandcamp // Soundcloud // Facebook // Twitter
Hecka – Soundcloud // Bandcamp // Facebook

For a prime glance at Hecka, check out the project’s freshly unveiled release, Stay Hidden. The album exemplifies in a wholesome, filling manner the magnanimous depths of Splett’s influences and abilities.

Hecka – Stay Hidden –– Buy on Bandcamp

Grimblee – “Tuff Streetz”