Royal-T, much like Flava D, is a producer that draws connections between grime and its slinkier, sexier cousin garage. On his first EP, he marries 2-step rhythms with grime's cold angularity, creating a bizarre hybrid that suggests the potential for the genre to move further towards more danceable territories. Royal-T has inevitably drawn comparisons with the ubiquitous Burial, whose interest in garage along with more recent styles like dubstep have made him a keystone for any artists that seek to push these genres in similar directions. Admittedly, Royal-T is no Burial. But then, few are. However, Royal-T is undoubtedly far more interested in matching the mechanical sounds of grime than the more emotionally-driven Burial has ever been. Where Burial creates a ghostly and skeletal deconstruction of garage, Royal-T takes that same generic template of slinky garage and amplifies it with the in-your-face machismo of grime. Burial makes contemplative garage for headphones, Royal-T creates garage you can fight to. Both are great, but only one is truly inspired by the spirit of grime's history.
