From Tennessee to Los Angeles: The genesis of a hybrid sound
The contemporary electronic music landscape prepares to receive a new record milestone this July 10, 2026. Producer and singer-songwriter Michael Griffin, operating under the alias Gryph, presents his debut album titled 'Nash Angeles'. Released through the Californian record label Elbow Grease, this nine-track long play represents a stylistic collision that documents the artist's vital and musical journey. Born in Nashville and currently based in Los Angeles, Griffin has managed to channel his initial training as a rock and blues guitarist into the West Coast club culture.
The conception of 'Nash Angeles' is not accidental. The project arises after Gryph's acclaimed participation in the "Point Winona Sound Library Vol 1" compilation, where he already stood out as one of the most promising talents in the Los Angeles underground scene. Now, with his own full-length work in vinyl and digital format, the producer displays an absolute devotion to analog roots, fusing genres ranging from disco and dub to modern soul, post-punk, italo, R&B, and jazz-funk, all structured by an undeniable classic house groove.
Synergy in the studio: Dave Aju and live instrumentation
To materialize this ambitious sonic architecture, Gryph has relied on the co-production of veteran Dave Aju, a key figure in minimal and techno who has been at the helm of Elbow Grease for five years. The synergy between both producers has allowed for the organic integration of a select cast of vocalists and live session musicians, moving away from the sterile sequencing of in the box production to embrace the warmth of human performance and improvisation.
The tracklist of 'Nash Angeles' functions as a diverse ecosystem where each cut explores a different facet of the dance floor and contemplative listening:
- Summer Nights: A luminous opening that flirts with Latin-tinged disco and the yacht rock aesthetic characteristic of California.
- Gotcha Love (feat. Shirtz): An exercise in organic percussion and elastic synthesizers that set the festive tone of the record.
- Dangereuse (feat. Dina Moursi): A sophisticated foray into Euro disco with a marked rhythmic attitude oriented toward the club.
- Feeling It (feat. Masho): A masterful contrast between deep bass lines, sweeping string arrangements, and seductive saxophone phrasing.
- St Barts and Dr John: Instrumental pieces that pay tribute to spiritual jazz and mid-tempo funk, evoking the influence of pioneers like Lonnie Liston Smith and Herbie Mann.
The backing of pioneers and the projection of the physical format
The technical and conceptual maturity of 'Nash Angeles' has not gone unnoticed by the upper echelons of international clubbing. Weeks before its official release, the album is already part of the regular rotation of legendary selectors of the stature of Glenn Underground, Francois K, Bill Brewster, and Daniele Baldelli, as well as contemporary figures like Massimiliano Pagliara and Louise Chen. This level of support underscores the versatility of the productions, capable of functioning both in dark Chicago house basements and in open-air balearic sessions.
With catalog reference EGLP3, Elbow Grease consolidates its foundational manifesto based on musical quality over ephemeral trends. The physical 12-inch vinyl edition, distributed globally by the German entity Word and Sound, ensures that the rich palette of analog frequencies captured by Gryph and Aju reaches the turntables of the most demanding audiophiles. 'Nash Angeles' thus stands as a testament to artistic evolution, proving that the roots of Tennessee blues can find their ultimate expression under the strobe lights of Los Angeles.
