Artwork by Lynzie Dray Text by Jon Thompson 

Contrast

Conscious Route & Chris Greive

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Contrast

Conscious Route & Chris Greive
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Producer and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Greive has once-again joined forces with rapper and MC, Conscious Route to deliver a two-track release that shows their versatility and talents both musically and lyrically. This Read more

Producer and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Greive has once-again joined forces with rapper and MC, Conscious Route to deliver a two-track release that shows their versatility and talents both musically and lyrically. This basis of this release was conceived & created in a series of 'fast writing' sessions.

The title track, ‘Contrast,’ sees the duo call on the services of Geoffrey Williams as featured vocalist plus adding life to the composition on guitar and bass! As the track opens with a lilting guitar line we can immediately sense his contribution before the hooked '6-bar' intensity piano moves into view, adds high hats and kicks, switching in and out as the track progresses. Lyrically, Conscious Route and Geoffrey Williams use the platform to take aim at cliché rappers who offer nothing to the culture. Hitting out at Middle Class MCs who think they are from the road because they smoked some weed, Conscious Route talks about faking an image without the context of reality, while also questioning where this is taking the art. Geoffrey Williams delivers a soulful vocal that weaves into Conscious Route’s rhymes before breaking out as the lead to end the track and question the culpability of the music industry in pushing a negative agenda in hip-hop, “They don’t want truth, they want swag, they don’t want chill, they want mad, they don’t want good, they want bad…”

The second track in this set, ‘Skewed’ brings a jazz-influenced soundscape with skittering, hard-bop afro drums, a locked backbeat clap, walking bass drop touches all while we are all blessed by ethereal, neo-soulful style plus power hook vocals courtesy of Jennifer Anne Todd. This all provides a palette for Conscious Route to deliver a style that pushes from hip-hop into poetry as he weaves deep metaphors to explore mental health, growth, and recovery from past traumas. Your ear will be demanding more than one listen to unlock, the ambient melodies, relaxed pace and calm flow offset the strength of the wordplay.

This two-track collaboration shows two different styles back-to-back, which are both lifted further by the guest contributions and will leave you wondering what else could come from this pairing in the future?

Credits: Tracks Mixed, Produced and Mastered by Chris Greive Lyrics by Conscious Route Guest Lyrics by Geoffrey Williams (Contrast) / Jennifer Anne Todd (Skrewed) Guitar and Bass (Contrast) by Geoffrey Williams Artwork by Lynzie Dray (Picture ) Jon Thompson (Text Design) Editorial by Tom Clover Pictures by Ben Glasgow

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    Contrast ft Geoffrey Williams 4:15
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    Contrast ft Geoffrey Williams

    Conscious Route & Chris Greive

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    Skrewed ft Jennifer Anne Todd 5:27
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    Skrewed ft Jennifer Anne Todd

    Conscious Route & Chris Greive

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Conscious Route

Rapper, MC, Poet

Conscious Route is a rapper, MC, poet who was born in London before moving to Edinburgh over a decade ago. In 2020, he unleashed the collaborative ‘Lost Routes’ album, alongside producer True Note, which went on to receive a 4-star review in The Scotsman upon its release.

His most recent album, ‘Belterz’ has also received 4-star reviews from The Skinny Magazine and The Scotsman. It has been supported worldwide, including ‘Day Ones’ being named in the top tracks of 2023 on London based Itch FM Exposure Show with DJ Sammy Jay and on Sheffield-based Mama RaRay’s Break & Bass Fam show. The album has received worldwide coverage with multiple songs played on radio and digital broadcasting platforms. It also was given a featured spotlight on PortlandMetroRecords.com, and was featured on Blacksmith and Frenic’s Rinse FM show. Other recent releases, ‘Trojan’ and his feature on ‘Dragons Jaw’ by Post Coal Prom Queen, were named as tracks of the week on BBC Introducing Scotland. 

‘The Sensory EP,’ received worldwide airplay on Rapstation 365 radio, being played by the UK’s DJ Shorty on the London Chip Shop show, then re-spun by the legendary Chuck D in the USA. His ‘Lost Routes Flip Tape’ was supported by Tom Robinson’s BBC 6 Music’s ‘Fresh On The Net BBC Introducing’ mixtape show and he has seen his music named among the Herald’s top 100 Scottish tunes of the year in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024.

The track, ‘Galactic’ was featured on the BBC 6 Introducing Mixtape and on BBC Introducing Scotland, where Shereen Cutkelvin said, “Can I just say this trio together are absolute fire! I mean it just all works so perfectly together, it’s by far the best track I heard here, like he’s just taken the bar so high, he’s knocked it off to a whole other room.”

Meanwhile, the live music scene has seen Conscious Route support Dabbla, Dead Prez, Akala, Marlowe, Wiki, Jelani Blackman, Onyx, Manga Saint Hilare, Dizraeli, and, most recently in 2025, Pan Amsterdam, and Jeru The Damaja, to name a few. Plus, guest appearances with Pro Focus supporting Souls of Mischief and with Kryptik supporting Fliptrix in 2024.

Conscious Route also added musicians to bring brass, keys, and guitar along with some of Scotland's most talented guest rappers and singers to create ‘The Collective,’ which saw him headline the Queen's Hall Edinburgh, and perform at Kelburn Garden Party among other events in the UK in 2024 and 2025.

Chris Greive

Producer/Composer/Arranger/Jazz Trombonist/ Educator

Chris Greive started his multifold career of Producer/Composer/Arranger/Jazz Trombonist/ Educator in Perth, Australia, and has been working in the music industry for over 3 decades in diverse small groups, jazz orchestras, music education creation and delivery, plus collaborating with many artists creating their own work.

Relocating to Scotland in 2000 with his wife and young child, he’s added to his Aussie CV (Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, plus many jazz tours/fests across Australia) with being a current member of the GRIT Orchestra, album productions, and nearly two decades as Lead Trombonist with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. He’s written brass arrangements for Eddi Reader (she of Fairground Attraction ‘Perfect’ fame), produced and co-written albums with local artists Joseph Malik ('Diverse Pt 3’ was BBC 6Music Craig Charles Show’s 'Album of the Year' 2021) and the Leftfield R’n’B meets soulful, orchestrated experimental pop of Nicole Cassandra Smit (‘Third in Line’) “...one of the most impressive Scottish LPs of 2022…” (The Scotsman).

He regularly extends traditional approaches to music with his ‘Electric Trombone’ performances that started with co-led ‘NeWt trio’ (‘Best Ensemble’ - Scottish Jazz Awards 2012) who released their 4th album ‘Drip’ (recorded in Toronto) in 2021 and also his sell-out Edinburgh Fringe performances as ‘Soundbone plays Led Zep’ (Aug 2023/24), where the trio of Drums-Guitar-Trombone rip open the Led Zeppelin canon with heavy riffs and outrageous improvisation angles.

These last two years, Chris has further developed his writing and production within the digital studio world with re-mixes for local artists such as singer-songwriter Lynzie Dray (‘H.E.S’ 2023), extended solos on dance music tracks with ‘Sound Signals’ (Craig Smith/Saleem Andrew McGroarty) plus speed-writing with/and soon to release co-written tracks with rapper/MC/poet ‘Conscious Route’ from his workspace known as ‘Soundbone Studios.’ Always into personal progression and the unfamiliar, his own sound-world is rich in the history of orchestration of past giants from jazz, the film world, and contemporary music, allied with the mind of a restless musician that yearns for the long days surfing, creating, or playing backgammon. It’s all good.

Conscious Route pic by Ben Glasgow 

Chris Greive