JOLT MUSIC 013:
Gloorp ‘Em Up
Gloorp ‘Em Up (Jolt Music, 2025) is the second release from Gloorp, a project from Philadelphia-based drummer and producer Garrett Burke. After playing a supporting role in art-rock ensemble Mothers and recently collaborating with Kristine Leschper on her 2022 solo endeavor, The Opening, Or Closing of A Door (ANTI, 2022), Gloorp centers Burke’s skill as a percussionist and songwriter.
Like a cyberpunk Steve Reich, Burke structures his works around syncopation and texture. Some producers rely heavily on passive processing, sequencers, and automation. Burke, by contrast, created the complex rhythms on Gloorp ‘Em Up by hand. Reflecting his high school marching band chops, almost every jittering beat, thud, and squeak on Gloorp ‘Em Up is a precise stroke of a drumstick, primarily triggering a now-discontinued, cat-shaped MIDI controller. In a time marked by the hollow promise of AI and machine-learning as a threat to creators everywhere, Gloorp makes the case that drum machines are the ones that should worry about job security.
Drawing inspiration from juke, jungle, and footwork, Gloorp ‘Em Up is experimental and immediate —futuristic and anachronistic. “Gangggsta,” Burke’s collaboration with Orange Milk Records’ No-Metal artist Morgan Garrett recalls the visceral howling of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint. By contrast, poet Myene Trimble-Yanu provides a kind of guided meditation on “Gunk Body,” with the glitchy disintegration of Burke’s backbeat invading the sonic space like an intrusive thought. Gloorp ‘Em Up rewards the active listener, savoring the microtonal ear candy, but equally finds an audience in the club.
Drawing inspiration from juke, jungle, and footwork, Gloorp ‘Em Up is experimental and immediate —futuristic and anachronistic. “Gangggsta,” Burke’s collaboration with Orange Milk Records’ No-Metal artist Morgan Garrett recalls the visceral howling of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint. By contrast, poet Myene Trimble-Yanu provides a kind of guided meditation on “Gunk Body,” with the glitchy disintegration of Burke’s backbeat invading the sonic space like an intrusive thought. Gloorp ‘Em Up rewards the active listener, savoring the microtonal ear candy, but equally finds an audience in the club.
PRESS:
Nina Protocol - “Polyrhythmic electronic frenzy.“
Pitchfork (7.2/10) - “Philly percussionist Garrett Burke’s new dance tape is one skull-rattling fill after another, a daisy-chained string of mulching beats that’s casual, light, and fun as hell.”
Hearing Things - “The wildest drums you’ll hear all year.”
TRACKLIST:
1. Angggry
2. Glimpse
3. Gangggsta (feat. Morgan Garrett)
4. Smoggg
5. Pergggus
6. Ugggly
7. Glyph
8. Gunk Body (feat. Myene Trimble-Yanu)
CREDITS:
Music & production by Garrett Burke aka Gloorp
Recorded at home, Headroom Studios, & The Percussion Studio in 2023-2024
Mixed & Mastered by Danny Murillo
Additional production by S. Leidig, Danny Murillo, & Adam Torneo
Additional vocals by Gabriel DeSanto
Vocals on track 3 by Morgan Garrett
Vocals and lyrics on track 8 by Myene Trimble-Yanu
All rhythms were performed live on the drumkat, spd-sx, or on acoustic instruments. The use of sequencers were minimally incorporated.
Painting by Kelsa Kuchera
Graphic Design by S. Leidig