Gradience, the blackened rap metal act from Denmark, has forged a path that defies conventions and redefines musical fusion. Their debut EP, ‘Ironsight,’ encapsulates the raw intensity and haunting beauty of their unique sound.
The genesis of the project, consisting of vocalist and lyricist Gavin Mistry and musician and visual artist Jakob Harris, can be traced back to 2022 when Gavin and Jakob first crossed paths. Their chemistry was undeniable, and the idea of merging their musical worlds into a shared vision was born. Gavin, a prominent figure in the hip-hop scene, and Jakob, a stalwart in the Danish metal community, set out to create something unprecedented in the metal landscape
The name ‘Gradience’ symbolizes their mission to erase clear boundaries between musical genres, creating a seamless blend of trap-rap, black metal, metalcore, and deathcore.
Their debut EP, recorded in the summer of 2023 with producer Chris Kreutzfeldt, showcases this fusion. Each track delves into Gavin’s personal experiences, grappling with themes of alienation, anxiety, and the struggles of being an immigrant in Denmark. Gavin Mistry describes ‘Ironsight’ as a portrayal of inner turmoil and self-destructive tendencies in the face of a deteriorating relationship.
Blending the disparate elements of rap and metal posed significant challenges. Jakob and Gavin had to navigate the dogmas of each genre, experimenting with chord progressions and vocal delivery to create a cohesive sound. The process involved a great deal of trial and error, but their commitment to innovation and authenticity paid off.
Check out our full interview with Grandience below, where we discuss their unique collaboration, the challenges of blending genres, and the personal experiences that shaped their debut EP ‘Ironsight.’ We also chat about their creative process, the influence of the Danish underground scene, and their vision for the future.
When you first met in 2022, the chemistry was there. Can you take us through the moment you realized that merging your musical worlds was the direction you wanted to take? What was it about each other’s artistry that sparked this collaboration?
Jakob: After we initially met I hit Gavin up about doing a project together, not really knowing anything other than it should be a metal project and that I wanted Gavin to sing, because I really liked his vocals, delivery and flow – besides I thought he looked hella cool. Gavin and I had different projects going on when we initially met up, so we knew about each other and had respect for what each other had made, so luckily Gavin was up for doing something together, which eventually turned out to be Gradience!
How did the initial collaboration process unfold? Was there a particular song or moment that defined your synergy?
Jakob: We wanted to make things as easy as possible songwriting wise, so since I can do demos and pre-productions in my home studio, we just took some writing sessions together. I bought a 7-string guitar and tuned it in A, which is a much lower tuning than what I’d ever previously played in, so it was really fun exploring new ways of making heavier riffs and chord progressions.
We knew from the get go that we wanted to try and do something that hadn’t been done before in the Danish metal scene, but we couldn’t really nail how the vocals should be delivered. At this point Gavin was the only vocalist.
Until one day, when writing the song that turned out the “It’s All Black” from the EP, I was messing around and thought “what if this chorus was just a blast beat?” and then later “what if I tried screaming on top of it, so we have a rap verse and a blackmetal-ish chorus?” and I recorded it, and immediately laughed when I first listened back to it because it had such a ridiculous contrast!
I sent it over to Gavin and our producer Chris, who both thought the idea had something and that I should work on it – so, that was what initially sparked the idea of mixing blackmetal parts with rap. This was actually also the very first time I ever screamed, so it was a steep learning curve to do it properly from then on.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in blending these genres? How did you overcome them to create a cohesive sound?
Jakob: Definitely the major difference there is in all the dogmas between genres. It was kind of a problem solving thing, where we had to analyze what constitutes a black-metal part, a trap/rap part and then trying to fit these parts together.
We did it by retaining pretty much the same chord progressions for many of the songs, but rearranging the different parts. There’s actually a significant overlap between making hiphop/trap beats and metal, probably why it’s been done so many times before. I think the blastbats and so on we mainly try to use as a kind of “effect” or tool in order to increase the intensity of a part. The most important thing is making the vocals feel natural in their flow between the very contrasty musical arrangements.
We also tried to somehow not have too many ideas at once, but make each song present like 2-3 ways of fitting the pieces together.
We are definitely still exploring how this is done well, but we feel like we are getting better and still defining the spectrum of soundscapes we can mash together.
Gavin, your lyrics are deeply personal and address significant experiences, such as your upbringing and the encounter with Danish culture. How do you channel these emotions into your music? Can you share any specific stories that particularly influenced the tracks on ‘Ironsight’?
Gavin: Songwriting for Gradience is deeply rooted in emotions. All our lyrics somehow tie into lived experiences and feelings. This makes the writing more authentic, and my dream is that the lyrics resonate with at least one person, somewhere – somehow. I have personally been struggling a lot with my mental health, and writing poetry has been a therapeutic outlet for me, since I was very young.
I’ve often felt misunderstood – especially due to the cultural differences – and conversing with my friends in my youth, always felt as if there was a barrier between us. Writing my thoughts out and later transforming them to lyrics, has been a huge game changer for me as a person.
To mention a track on ‘Ironsight’ the directly influenced the song writing, I would say ‘Love Me and Lie’. The song deals with feeling inadequate and put in a box, you don’t necessarily belong in. The bridge in this song describes a racially motivated attack I experienced in my teens, and its a spoken word part in Danish, to really cement the reality I dealt with, also in the native language of the perpetrators.
Jakob, your role as a visual artist is integral to GRADIENCE. How do you approach the creation of music videos and other visual elements to complement the music? Can you describe your creative process?
Jakob: For me the whole visual aspect of Gradience was actually developed already during the demo stage of the EP. I knew I wanted to have something that represented the contrast of the musical genres we were blending together visually, in order to enhance the impact it has.
Also, I knew I wanted to have a coherent aesthetic for the whole release in regards to everything from press photos, music videos to artwork – in order to make it all feel like one collected work of art for this period of the band.
The video for ‘This Abyss’ was a good example of this, where I really tried to play on some of the visual aspects that define hiphop/black-metal. So, in the video Gavin is standing in front of a wall of graffiti in an urban setting, which then abruptly switches to me standing in a forest screaming when the blastbeat part hits. I knew this was gonna “sell” the effect more clearly and also translate what we were trying to do better.
But, in order for it not to feel too gimmicky, I tried to stitch things together by having everything in black and white and also added some graphical elements during transitions and different scenes that I reused for the artwork for all the singles and other music videos.
So basically, the process is to try and set up some kind of framework or tool set of things I’m only allowed to use and then try to brainstorm ideas and be as creative as possible with those assets and how they can portray the music, intensity or feelings as best as possible.
Music videos are a great way of enhancing the feel you want the viewer/listener to experience and I’ve really tried for all of them to have that effect that it enhances the experience of listening to the music.
Since the release of your singles and videos, what has been the most surprising feedback you’ve received from both the rap and metal communities? Has there been any reaction that particularly stood out, positively or negatively?
Jakob: I think we’ve mostly been exposed to the metal community and it’s different niche audiences, but in general we’ve been really overwhelmed by the response and especially how positive it has been! Of course there’s been the occasional negative youtube comment, about mixing rap and metal should just not be a thing – but I think actually we’ve been quite fortunate to have an overwhelmingly positive and open arms.
Not just online, also from our local scene and the bands / audience here. I think also that it really helped how serious we took it, and didn’t try and do something silly and gimmicky from the get go – and I believe that translated well with the online community. Especially from youtube reactions, where we got some amazing responses from major channels that really helped push us out right from the first single.
It was actually quite nerve wracking to release the first couple of songs, because we knew it could either stir some waters or just fall flat to the floor, and luckily it wasn’t the latter.
How was your EP release show?
Jakob: It was fun! It finally made us feel like being a “real” band, also because we announced at that show that we were no longer only a duo but a five-piece now. haha.
It was great to see how the songs translated live and getting the response from the audience afterwards. We are all in the band pretty seasoned musicians, so we had a head start in some way in making a live-set work, but we suffer by not having more than 5 songs released and a cover song (we did a blackened version of Turnstile – Holiday) and I’m really looking forward to seeing how things progress from here.
The Danish underground scene is known for its diversity. How has the local scene influenced your music? Are there any up-and-coming artists this year that you would recommend to your listeners?
Jakob: Our local scene has influenced us immensely since we have so many friends in the local scene and know quite a lot of the bands personally. We can’t help but be influenced. I would say the three major big three influences for this EP have been MØL (Alternative blackgaze), CABAL (post-deathcore) and VOLA (Djent/alternative metal) – HUGE recommendations for these bands.
Reflecting on latest releases in general, what rap and metal albums have caught your attention and influenced your creative process? Are there specific tracks or artists that have left a lasting impact on you this year?
Jakob: The thing is, we’re not really inspired by rap/metal bands, but bands that have a unique sound and do something that touches us in some way or form. I would say that for this year bands (other than the ones previously mentioned) such as Knocked Loose, Spiritbox, Loathe, Love Is Noise and Zeal & Ardor has been ones I’ve been really inspired by.
As a new duo breaking barriers in the music scene, how do you define success for GRADIENCE? What milestones or achievements are you striving for beyond the release of ‘Ironsight’?
Jakob: Since we’ve been doing music for so long in other projects and now have families and dayjobs – and in general a life next to music, we were really acutely aware that it should be the creative process in itself that should be the driving force of Gradience and not any kind of external rewards, acknowledgments or the likes.
Not saying we’re not really happy about the response, support and the opportunities given us already, but, we don’t want any of that to influence the reason why we are doing it which is to create, create, create both audio and visuals – the whole process should be something we like to do, both writing, performing and presenting the music, and we feel the output we’ve shown already speaks volumes.
Finally, what message would you like to share with your listeners, both old and new, as you embark on this journey with ‘Ironsight’? How can they best support you in this new chapter of your musical career?
Jakob: That having a “spark” and a creative vision and delivering it, is fulfilling in itself – and we are huge fans of music and bands, and I absolutely get blown away when bands i love acknowledge when I contact them/interact with the, and I really hope that everyone who’s shown us support in some way, shape or form has felt the appreciation and gratitude we have towards them connecting with Gradience and we are doing.
That is really, really amazing and makes us wanna just go harder. I think the best way people can support us is showing one of our songs to a friend, and follow us on all the social platforms (including youtube and spotify), because mass on all those channels just help us get reach and be shown to more people. Money is not the issue for us, it’s finding our audience. So any help with finding new listeners, is greatly appreciated.
