LV

LV are a United Kingdom dubstep and electronic group associated with South London, with music that also draws on dub, garage, and uk garage. They begin as a trio of producers — Gervase Gordon, Will Horrocks and Si Williams — making music around 2000 while at university. Their releases are known for swinging rhythms and for blending influences from dancehall reggae and South African kwaito.

Releases and collaborations

From 2007 to 2010, LV issue just under a dozen 12-inch releases on labels including Hyperdub, Keysound, 2nd Drop and Hemlock. Their first release is “Globetrotting”, a dub reggae track featuring Errol Bellot. They continue to work with guest vocalists and artists drawing on Jamaican and African musical traditions.

Their first album, Routes, appears on Keysound in 2011 and features vocalist and poet Josh Idehen throughout. Sebenza follows in 2012 on Hyperdub and includes South African vocalists Okmalumkoolkat and Spoek Mathambo, as well as production and MC duo Ruffest. Okmalumkoolkat also appears on the 2010 track “Boomslang”.

Line-up changes and later work

After Sebenza, Gordon leaves the group, leaving LV as the duo of Horrocks and Williams. Williams also starts an experimental hip-hop side project called SwamiMillion. Islands, another full-length collaboration with Josh Idehen, appears on Keysound in 2014. In 2015, LV sign to Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings and release their fourth album, Ancient Mechanisms, which features Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan. The duo had already collaborated with Hamasyan in 2012.