Proc Fiskal – Insula
Edinburgh grime producer Proc Fiskal's debut album Insula offers a microcosm of the 21-year-old’s day-to-day life in the Scottish capital, while also providing a sense of thematic consistency
The debut release from Edinburgh-based grime producer Proc Fiskal was a triumphant amalgamation of various grime sub-genres. Entitled The Highland Mob and released on the highly-influential Hyperdub imprint, the EP spliced together elements of eskibeat, sinogrime, ruff sound and the like, providing equal parts nostalgia and originality.
Returning to Hyperdub, Fiskal’s debut album Insula feels like a far more personal affair. Similar to The Highland Mob, it utilises a number of classic grime tropes – eski clicks (Kontinuance); 8-bit homages (Evil Spirits); Dizzee Rascal-sampling sino throwbacks (A Like Ye) – but repackages them in a way that brings introspection to the fore.
“I think I probably make tunes to get out emotions I don’t express in day-to-day life,” Fiskal explains candidly. This sense of self-examination is reiterated by the LP’s liberal use of vocal samples – many of which are fleeting extracts from Fiskal and his mates’ off-the-cuff conversations. Interwoven between tracks, these samples – which also include police dispatches and news reports of cars ‘tearing through the streets of North Edinburgh’ – offer a microcosm of the 21-year-old’s day-to-day life in the Scottish capital, while also providing a sense of thematic consistency.
“Social media/notification sounds are designed to release serotonin, which is what I’d like my music to do – to make me and other people happy,” he enthuses. “Using these manipulative noises in a positive way, I like to think I’m taking back the power of the manipulation.”
Listen to: Apple Juice, Dopamine, A Like Ye