Panda 2006. Photo from MySpace

On the eve of the fabric 48 launch back in August, I spoke with Radio Slave aka Matt Edwards, about life in Berlin after Brighton, love, music and what’s driving his new creative projects, which include the fabric 48 mix CD, new releases on his Rekids label and a top-secret art project.

Although from South London and infinitely lauded for his many projects under his various guises (Quiet Village, Sea Devils, Matthew E, Rekid), there was little talk about his past achievement, focusing on the present – and the future.  Soft-spoken and modest, Matt talked as easily about his recent trip back to Brighton as he did about his mixes.

The fabric 48 mix, which came out in the UK on 14th September 2009, includes the Steve Lawler remix of “Koma Koma”, tracks from Baeka, Nina Kraviz, Spencer Parker, DJ Boola, Brothers’ Vibe, Michel Cleis, Dance Disorder, 2000 & 1 and Nate William’s Club Patrol – and of course Radio Slave. Five of the 13 tracks are exclusive unreleased material.

Radio Slave’s selection of house floor fillers are truly representative of the sort of quality sets he plays; if you’ve ever been to a night where he’s playing, you’ll know that he delivers the goods and at length. The mix is quite chilled out in places, but builds up nicely with some stand out moments with “DDB” and latin-doused “La Mazcla”.

Enjoy the interview and check out fabric 48 on the Fabric site.

Radio Slave aka Matt Edwards

Interview with Radio Slave, by Amythefilmmaker (Amy Riley)

Amythefilmaker (A): Hi, this is Amy, phoning from you from Brighton.

Radio Slave (RS): I was actually visiting Brighton yesterday.

A: What were you doing?

RS: I was visiting, well, I guess my ex wife, and having a look round town.

A: Oh cool.. did you pop into any of the shops?

RS: I did actually. I bought two paintings from Art Republic and then we went to the cinema, to Duke of Yorks and saw the Coco Chanel movie.

A: How was that?

RS: It was amazing. Yeah it’s really good. Really slow, it’s very moving, but very slow.

A: I love how you can take booze in the cinema. I’m just trying to remember what the weather was like yesterday.

RS: It was pretty good. I used to live there so I haven’t been back for quite a while. It was good to wander round, see some friends.

A: How long ago did you live here?

RS : I lived there for eight years, for pretty much from 1998 to 2006.

A: That’s pretty cool. Did you play out at clubs down here?

RS: Yeah, I used to be resident at Stompaphunk. It was with my friend Anthony at Funky Buddha Lounge – I used to hang out with those guys for years. It’s a good place to live, but it ended up being too much like a small town for me. There’s too many people in each other’s business and it’s incestuous and it caused a few problems in my life.

A: I used to live in New York and I’ve been waiting for Brighton to lose it’s thing – it’s charm – maybe but it’s thing – maybe I’ll move to Berlin.

RS: Well if you lived in New York, you’ll like Berlin – there’s a great comparison between the two cities.  Some parts remind me of Brooklyn, with the overhead subway train line.

A: I’ve been going over the past two years, to visit friends, go to the clubs and take in the music. Do you go over there a lot?

RS: Berlin? I live there!

A: Oh sorry.

RS: I’ve lived there for two years.

A: How’s that?

RS: It’s amazing. I’m not there very often, but when I’m there, It’s a very free city, it’s so bohemian, in Kreuzberg where I live, they’ve got everything you need from a city, but it feels like a village. It’s a beautiful city.

Fabric 48: Radio Slave

A: So do you want to tell me about the Fabric mix?

RS: It’s long overdue. The mix is a reflection of the sets that I play at the Fabric club. There’s only 13 tracks on the CD, which isn’t much compared to the other CDs but it was really to play the whole songs and carry the story of the artists and musicians who made the music rather than just make this one continuous blend, which a lot of people seem to be doing these days with modern technology such as Traktor. I guess we’re moving away slightly from the era where people are making more songs or tracks with a start and an end. There are so many great tracks out there and I wanted to make a mix that reflects what I play. It’s quite dubby and spaced out, which is more of a reflection of the sets I play at Fabric. The soundsytem is so amazing that you can really play the songs. You get this sense – well I do anyways – that you can really let the music do the talking, rather than tweaking or adjusting and EQing all the time.

A: What sort of system do they have there?

RS: I couldn’t tell you really. I always use the Allen & Heath mixer, which is a valve mixer. It’s probably one of the only clubs in the world that has that mixer in the booth, and I think every channel has a valve. It’s very sensitive, but incredibly rich and warm. It sounds nothing like a…I guess a comparison would be in most clubs the Pioneer DJ 800 and this is like a million miles away.

A: You’re a bit of a legend – where are you getting your influences these days? What’s sparking you off?

RS: I still get influenced by my peers. People like Carl Craig – I’m intrigued by his career and what he’s been doing. He’s been doing stuff with the Innerzone orchestra and I think his next performance in England will be with 16 performers on stage. People like that. I like visionaries, people who stick to the same path, who make their own way, through music. I think this can be a real problem, not just for journalists, but for record buyers and media. It’s great when people do completely different things. Like Carl, he does techno but he also does jazz and at the moment he’s making a classical album with an Italian pianist. Things like that inspire me. People like Villalobos, through his DJing. I always get surprised by new artists coming through, which is great.

A: Can you name any artists?

RS: Like this guy Michel Cleis who’s come through over the past couple of years. I don’t think he’s particularly young, but his music is amazing and he had a bit of a hit with the xx single. I think he’s coming through as a remixer and a producer and he’s got a unique style.

A: Where’s he from?

RS: He’s from Switzerland. Also some of the artists we work with on Rekids. Spencer  Parker and this Canadian guy called James Pase – he’s a real interesting character. He sings, he’s a multi instrumentalist – and I find these people inspirational – they make straight up club tracks. I get inspired by all kinds of music.

Michel Cleis

A: What have you been doing in the past few months? Have you been producing?

RS: Yeah, I’ve been trying to do some remixes while I’ve been touring. Over the past 12 months to 2 years, I’ve been heavily concentrating on DJing, but recently I’ve been doing some remixes for DJ Hell, Josh Wink, which should be coming out soon. I’ve also been working on a new album project, which will be released on Rekids, now in the new year. We’re also doing a Radio Slave works compilation, which is a best of remix compilation, which will cover the last three years of my remixes. I think it’s going to be two double CDs.

A: Where have you been DJing over the past few months?

RS: Over the past few months I’ve been everywhere, from touring in Japan, then in May I was in India, doing some sessions with kids at the Record Academy, then DJing in Goa and Mombia, which was increidbly intresting. Then I’ve been to Ibiza three times – I was there last week to do Cocoon. So yeah, I’m constantly flying around places. Later this year I’ll be doing Colombia and Mexico – all of these places I’ve dreamed of going to. I’m incredibly lucky I guess.

A: How long are you going to be out there for (in Colombia and Mexico)?

RS: What I try to do now is to stay somewhere for five days so I can really take it in, rather than fly in and fly out. That’s what I tend to do in Europe and it kinda makes sense – at the end of the weekend, I can’t think of a better place to be than at home. I always try to get an early flight on a Sunday, even if it means having no sleep. I’d rather sleep at home than stay at a hotel.

A: In terms of your new productions, are there any new frontiers for you?

RS: Yeah, totally, like I said I’ve been working on this new project which should hopefully be coming out next year. It’s more of a cerebral – I guess head music – it’s less club oriented. It’s more a home listening experience. The tracks are incredibly long and there’s lots of detail, it’s more soundscape, more cinematic – still with a techno/house slant. They’re particularly slow.

A: Do you mean a longer development period?

RS: I’m really into taking dance music into different areas and pushing it as much as you can. I’m really into these soundscape inspired tracks that still have elements of the dance track in them so DJs can still play them and yeah, they’re still playable. Which is kind of important to me. I always like to be able to play my tracks, even if they do get kinda weird, I can still find a place, maybe like Fabric where the soundsystem is so amazing that you can still play these things.

A: That reminds me of music from the 90s.

RS: In the early 90s I was really into the ambient and chill out stuff like Peter Hamlet, Mixmaster Morris, a lot of the shoegazing stuff, like Slow Dive and Seafield. I guess what’s missing at the moment is that in clubs you don’t really have a chill out room. You have house or techno in one room and house or techno in the other, and there’s no real difference. With this project, I’m trying to make something more cerebral, more horizontal, but still dancefloor (laughs).

A: Do you find when you’re making stuff like that that it’s more in an artistic vein? I mean, is it something you could connect more with visual or film?

RS: For this project, I’ve already commissioned a friend of mine to make a film. One of the tracks is 16 minutes so he’s making a film for this track, with the idea of maybe doing an installation to put in a gallery to show the artwork, which is done by a friend called Misha from Pam, which is an Australian clothing company. Misha from Perks and Mini. They don’t have a website but they’re a really influential brand from Melbourne. Misha’s already been trying out some ideas, weird tribal stuff, some sculptures – it’s going to be interesting anyways.

A: It sounds like you’re wanting to go more into the creative vein rather than commerical stuff.

RS: I’ve always been fascinated with art, collecting art, and it’s a way of bringing everything I’ve always been into into one thing: music and visual stuff, which I haven’t done yet. Hopefully this is something we can release as a DVD.

The world of Perks and Mini

A: It sounds very multi-media.

RS: I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into this project. We’re nearly there. I’ve written three or four tracks of the album already.

A: Do you have a vision for this project?

RS: I dont want to give it away. (laughs)

A: That’s okay.

RS: I mean we’re not even telling people the name of it or anything.

A: Oh, it’s nameless?

RS: It does have a name and a whole theory behind it, but we don’t want to pre-empt or give anything away before we put it all together. I have this phobia that the more I tell people, the less it will actually happen.

A: That’s true. So I’m interested to hear more about Berlin – why did you choose to move there?

RS: After Brighton, I really needed to get away. I had a lot of friends living in Berlin and it’s just a great cheap city to live in. If I’d moved to London, I would have been spending a fortune. I wanted to get away from England. I’d had enough and Berlin seemed like the right place. It’s not just the music and the clubs – it’s a huge place and you can get lost in it. I have a huge apartment and there’d be no way I could get close to it in London or in Brighton. So it’s given me a lot of freedom to make music and to find out what I want to do, to find myself.

A: Are there certain aspects of German culture that you’ve gotten into?

RS: Uh, um, not really (laughs). Where I live is predominantly Turkish so everyone speaks in Turkish and where we live in Kruezberg, we have one of the best Turkish restaurants in Germany at the bottom of our road. So not really. That’s the thing. A lot of people ask ‘why haven’t you learned German?’ but all of my German friends, all the guys who work at Hardwax, people I know, they all want to speak English. They all want to practice, so it’s pretty difficult. My girlfriend’s Spanish as well….

A: So there’s not a lot of point? I was talking to my friend’s sons and I asked them ‘do you think I should move to Berlin?’ and one of them said, ‘yeah, but don’t learn German – it’s too hard’.

RS: It seems like an incredibly difficult language to learn. My girlfriend tried and it seems really difficult. I can get by but that’s good enough for me.

Busking Cancer Brighton, a mini music festival running from Saturday 5 September to Saturday 12 September, is the latest push to raise much-needed funds for cancer charities, organised by Chris Taylor and friends Andy, Paul Budd, Matt Bassant and Holly.

“We’re hoping to the biggest donator,” said 27-year-old Taylor, who explained across the country, some people are literally busking on street corners, with cap on ground.

Instead Taylor and friends, have gone all out, organising a showcase that brings 42 different acts, including DJs and bands, across four different popular music venues,  including Audio, Gemini’s, Oxygen Red and Druids Arms.

“It was easy,” Taylor commented on pulling together so many people and places for the week-long event, which included another 24 DJs in one night. “Everybody is passionate about music.”

The group have been supported through the generosity of local businesses: they got their fliers printed for half price and had venues donated for free.

Over the past year, running under the name Together, the group have run six gigs, raising  5,ooo pounds and are hoping the festival, which is partnered with a national campaign www.buskingcancer.co.uk, will raise another 3-5ooo pounds.

Taylor explained that his involvement with cancer research stemmed from a flatmate’s mum, who had cancer, but fortunately recovered, and he decided to make it his new year’s resolution to help raise funds.

“I’m doing a half marathon next week, which might kill me,” Taylor said with nervous laughter. “You kinda get carried away with it, meeting people  - it’s fun. I’m permanently knackered though, but I enjoy it.”

Need further incentive to pop down?

“Rather than pay a tenner to go to Concorde 2, pay half and it all goes to charity,” urges Taylor.

BUSKING FOR CANCER – BRIGHTON (venues, acts & times)

Saturday 5th September – Afternoon. Gemini’s (from 1pm)
Two Spot Gobi, Rubylux, The Impellers, Koala Friday

Saturday 5th September – Evening. Oxygen Red (9pm-2am)
Together. 24 DJs playing b2b

Sunday 6th September – Evening. Audio(from 7pm)
Mean Poppa Lean, Kovak, Fake Bush

Monday 7th September – Evening. Audio (from 7pm)
Mozez, Charlie Rivers, Luke Toms

Friday 11th September – Evening. Druids Arms (from 8pm)
Pete York, Trashbat, Hand to Mouth

Saturday 12th September – Afternoon. Geminis (from 1pm)
FitsRoy, Carly Bryant, The Lanes, Mila Falls, The Die Vibes

Elephant on Brighton beach. Photograph: Robin Hughes

Writer Tara Gould joined me in the studio for this month’s edition of Writers’ Hub. We chatted about her night Short Fuse, which is currently looking for readers, for Brighton and for Hastings events, and her new literary ambitions: a first novel.  We discussed some upcoming opportunities for writers, via New Writing South and Myriad Editions, and we also presented the writing for this month’s theme: seaside and seaside towns.

For published writing, I took two slightly off-kilter takes on the traditional seaside theme: the very dark tale, ”The Pearce Sisters” by Mick Jackson, from The: BrightonBook, published by Myriad Editions (2005), in which two eccentric sisters’ hospitality goes one step too far; and an extract of the sci-fi story “To Walk Upon the Sea” by Larry Matthews, from Fabulous Brighton: An Anthology of Short Stories by Peter James, Lynne Truss and others (2000), in which a man’s strained relationship comes to a head amongst dolphins, corporate Brighton and a mysterious discovery.

“The Pearce Sisters” is read by Wil Jones (Boutique Theatre), and “To Walk Upon the Sea” is read by Peter Taylor. Both books can be found in Brighton’s Jubilee Library.

I got some great original writing submissions via Twitter: two short shorts from Emma Cave (new Fusion writer) and Nigel Cooper – see further down to read the pieces.

Finally, it was a great pleasure to have Jon Cotter, Director of Company Paradiso in the studio. Jon recently ran a project in Berkshire prisons working with young offenders called “The Ballad of Reading Jail”.  He shared some of the stories and played clips from their show on BBC Radio Berkshire. Here’s one quote from a young person who took part in the project:

I’d never really written much before. It was while I was sat in a prison cell, and I had all this stuff going through my head, that I decided to pick up the pen. I needed to express myself. I still keep things in perspective with my poetry, as in not wanting to go back.’

– Participant, Shaun D

We were meant to have an interview and readings from an Ian Breckon, author of Knight of Swords [Old Street, 2009], but weren’t able to due to technical difficulties.

Many thanks to Donald, Grant and everyone at RR for helping me navigate the station’s equipment.

The theme for August will be Pride, inspired by Brighton Pride, which takes place in Brighton on 1 and 2 August. The show is open to all stories, poems and non-fiction relating to pride, in any sense of the word. Please email your submission to amy@brightonfusion.co.uk , no later than Monday 3 August.

The next Writers’ Hub will air on Sunday 9 August, 1-2pm on Radio Reverb 97.2FM.

You can listen to the show on the Brighton Fusion player or download by right clicking.

Download audio file (writershubjuly09final.mp3)

Writers’ Hub July 2009 – Radio Reverb

Seaside resorts
by Emma Cave (@Emsbabee)

The shingle has misled me. It feels like I’m sitting on bones. From the slow-burning tarmac, it had seemed like the more comfortable option, but now I’m down here, I’ve realised that the sun was in my eyes, and making everything look shimmery and soft. The sea, for example. Right now, it’s the exact shade of a raspberry Slush Puppy, and just as tempting. But I can’t bring myself to brave the inevitable ice-cream headache which will commence in the ankles and work its way petulantly up my bloodstream as I wade out.

Yards from my outstretched feet lies the sulking remnants of a driftwood fire. I think I unwittingly chose this spot because I love the smell of wood fires, even when they’ve been extinguished with left over cider, as this one appears to have been. They remind me of midsummer teenage free-for-alls. The hissing flames on my face, and the tentative arm of a very nice boy round my waist, taking it in turns to sip bravery from a shared plastic cup.

There are a couple, just a few feet away, seemingly oblivious to the discomfort of the pebbles. She has mounted him and is squirming about on top like a sand worm. A seagull is eyeing the remnants of their picnic with increasing malevolence. I lie back, carefully, arms folded protectively across my torso, in case the seagull decides to hop onto my stomach and start some investigative pecking. They put me in mind of medieval executioners, something about the way they dispassionately size you up.

I’m sleepy. I blame the tide, which matches the rhythm of my dawdling heartbeat. The clouds are slowly pulling across the sun, like curtains. The sound of flapping beach towels and wind shelters could almost be mistaken for the swaying of palm trees. I dream of finding a mermaid’s purse, and buying myself a stick of rock the size of a pleasure boat.

The Beach in 66 words
by Nigel Cooper (@nijay)

A baby listens to adult voices singing lullabies over the sea. The child, trussed warmly to her father’s chest, watches waves lapping pebbles, lapping pebbles, lapping pebbles.

She is comforted by her mother’s gentle voice. Rocked by her father’s breathing. Made drowsy by the sun’s fading fingers.

She hears less fortunate children wailing from deep within graceful, white, feathered bodies. She gurgles. Snuggles into daddy’s jacket.

Most people get really excited when I tell them I’m doing a radio show, thinking I’m going to play some incredibly cool music, but sadly, it’s not that kinda thing. Although I do play music. And it’s usually pretty good music.

My show is called Writers’ Hub and it’s all about getting writing out of the ghetto – on it, I interview local novelists and playwrights, event organisers and writer wannabes, plus I feature real writing from real local people and extracts from books written by people who might live round the corner from you – Brighton’s that small, most places practically are.

For the first show, I interviewed Sue Eckstein, the author of The Cloths of Heaven, who’s first novel was published through Myriad Editions and focuses on the story of new High Commission recruit Daniel Maddison, who, in his first days stationed in West Africa, finds himself enchanted by a mysterious woman selling cloth in a warehouse – someone who reminds him of someone from the past.

Sue, who worked for the VSO in Africa for a number of years, cited Tracey Chapman and an African choir as inspirations for her novel, which she started and finished as a graduate writing student at the University of Sussex.

Tara Hanks, author of The Mmm Girl

I featured an extract from Sue’s novel (read by James McVeigh).

I also featured an extract from Brighton novelist Tara Hanks, The Mmm Girl (read by Shannon Magness).

The Mmm Girl tells the story of Marilyn Monroe from her point of view, charting her dusty origins as an adopted teen to the mega screen starlet she became.

The book got rave reviews from Marilyn experts and fans.

The show also features interviews with:

• Sarah Cross, MA student at Sussex University
• Max Crisfield from city-wide book reading project City Reads who were promoting this year’s big read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I’ve got original writing  based on the theme of festivals from Ed Siegle (”Too Old For this Shit”) and a poem from Tara Hanks (”Music Reminds Us”).

The show’s a bit rough n ready, but hey – it’s my first one. The next one’s marginally better, but expect great things on the horizon.

May 2009 Writers’ Hub (RadioReverb show) (right click to download)

The next show airs on Sunday 14 July from 1-2pm on 97.2FM or www.radioreverb.com. I will be posting the July show here. Check out the June show on Brighton Fusion, which features Sarah Lee, Tim Lee, Bridget Whelan and a little bit of MJ.

Brighton Fusion – Fat!Beaches with Subtone

Download audio file (Brighton Fusion – Subtone.mp3)

Brighton Fusion – Subtone.mp3
Right click to download

1. Guy Gerber – Disorientation (Reboot Remix)
2. Cle – Nomads (Matthias Tanzmann Remix)
3. Speedy J – Red Shift
4. Matt Nordstrom – Lucky Drawls
5. Speedy J and Chris Liebing and Collabs – Magnit Express
6. Radio Slave – Grindhouse (Dubfire terror planet remix)
7. Dave Shokh – Chlam
8. Francois K. – Road Of Life (Radio Slave Dub)
9. Dubfire – Ribcage
10. Timo Maas – Subtellite

When did you start Fat!Beaches and what was your inspiration? How did it all come about?

We formed Fat!Beaches here in Brighton back in 2006. From the very beginning it was me aka Subtone and Arkadiusz Koper, who started it. The whole idea behind it, was to fulfill the lack of quality club nights playing underground music, the very same we have been listening to while going out back in Poland. Since then (over two years now) we’ve thrown about 30 parties in different venues across Brighton and we’ve played in clubs in London such as Aquarium, The Egg and Gramophone – which has always been good fun!

How did you both meet?

We met on the dancefloor at the Eskulap Club in Poznan in Poland, actually I can remember this quite well, it was Phonique from BPitch Control headlining that night… This club inspired us a lot, you know there were frequent nights of labels such as Tresor or Gigolo records, so we were listening to a lot of big European House/Techno/Electro djs. It probably had a massive impact on us and the venue is still there, despite poor opportunities to party that way here in Brighton.

How would you best describe the music policy?

Our style was changing and developing over the past few years, but for now I could easily say that we are definitely into Minimal House and Techno which is mostly becoming more about Tech – House these days. We have been trying to push these great vibes over here as we are simply passionate about this sounds. I’m more eclectic. In my mind old school genres like Detroit Techno or pumping House music blends together with nowadays upfront House/Techno/Electronica. Arkadiusz, he is more into new Minimal – Tech – House as well as more scientific about technology, using lots of fx in his mixes. I’m more classical, I like long smooth mixes but with elegance and soul added to it.

You have recently moved the night away from the underground at Tom’s bar. What was the reason for this move?

Basically, we weren’t happy about the way they treated us there. Despite our last party being successful, we ended up finishing before we were supposed to as there were people from Brighton Council metering the sound levels. Many people left during our guest DJ set slot as we had to put the music down for about 15 minutes, not a good experience. In addition to that we didn’t get any support or understanding from the management of the venue, on the contrary we got kicked out. In fact we kicked ourselves out. It was just too much. We are happy to give up the space for other promoters.

What would be your ideal venue in Brighton?

There is a few, really nice, interesting venues around, but in reality, during almost four years I have been living in Brighton, not much changed. Big clubs even though they are great party spaces, they will always be for commercial sound/people only, with no exception. In this case sound of quality House and Techno in Brighton will probably always stay underground, finding its place in little dungeons and old basements, despite its huge popularity in the rest of the Europe. But answering the question. We didn’t find the ideal place here yet, but there is still a few left to try. I believe Micro would be a good place to try in the nearest future:)

What have you go lined up for the future?

For the summer time we are going to join our friends nights as guest DJ’s. For the time being, we are booked to play on the nights such as: B-Side, Upside Down and Gonzo Disco. We are also trying to collaborate with nights like Analogue and Beep Low Tech. There is no pressure for us, we just want to play music and people to dance to it. We also got into production a bit already and we are definitely going to bring some buzz around and release more quality mixes and our own productions in the nearest future.

words by Subtone

Lewes rave, 1994, from Positive Sound System flickr site

There was a time in Brighton when nightclubs were at permanent capacity, thanks in part to the big beat popularity and the city’s reputation as a party town, but underpinning the thriving night scene was the sweaty, pulsating  free party scene that took over fields, beaches, mansions, vacant buildings, warehouses, coastal strips and sea archways.  It didn’t take long for the police to start cracking down on all these spontaneous gatherings.

These days, free parties in the city are few and far between.  Sure there’s the yearly free party down at Black Rock, which takes place after Pride, in which different sound systems pitch up for an all night party for local people and out-of-towners – rumour has it that the authorities turn a a blind eye to this yearly party for fear of a homophobic slur. Then there’s the drum n bass house parties,  where nearly everyone is 17-years-old and mostly male, waiting for their turn to MC on the mic. A few years back there was a blip of steaming Spanish squat parties. There are still parties at Ditchling Beacon. We are seeing the embers of a fire, but perhaps not all is gone yet.

Over the past two decades, people – initially inspired by the acid rave sounds – cobbled together sound systems with their mates and succeeded in carrying on the tradition, innovating newer ways to elude the authorities. Positive Sound System was the name synonymous with the biggest and best sounds and system combined, putting on free parties all over East Sussex, and later moving the free party vibes back into nightclubs such as the Positive Nights at Audio. A  few years ago, in September 2007, Positive celebrated 15 years of parties, the whole crew need a whole weekend just to celebrate, despite the fact that the head honchos were now pushing middle-aged.

So as not to forget the self-styled DIY approach to creating your own fun, which might be an alternative during the dark penniless days ahead, we spoke with Darren, founder of Positive Sound System. Darren recalls the birth of the Brighton rave scene back in the 1980s and talks about the influence of reggae, the technical aspects of sound systems, the never-ending battles with the police, and the fight for the right to party. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme (the more things change, the more they stay the same).

Black Rock party, 2003

1992: why you & why then?

Darren: I started going to ‘proper’ parties in about 1985, these were either ‘Blues’ parties (organised reggae parties where you paid £1 on the door, these were every Saturday night and occasional Thursdays) or squat parties that were a bit of a free for all.

After a year of so of going to the parties and getting to know those involved, I graduated to helping carry speakers and then to DJing and finally looking after a mate’s sound system and organising a couple of reggae squat parties. Then the acid house scene burst into life and suddenly the police were cracking down hard on all the parties.

By the summer of 1988, police pressure had intensified and culminated in me getting busted setting up a reggae party at a squat venue that had hosted an Acid rave the week previous. The police were very aggressive and threatening and confiscated all our booze and kept us locked up for 12 hours. A week later one of the guys helping me died in a motorbike accident, and I decided then that I would get out of the party scene for good.

I then started to go to Acid House parties as I knew some of the organisers and DJs and kinda liked what I saw and heard. By 1990 the police had pretty much cracked down on all the Brighton parties and the summer had been virtually party free and very boring. Then me and my friends had a great idea: we’d do a party at their house to impress some girls from Croydon we’d met. I organised all the technical side of things – sound system, DJs, lights, decor – and come the night of the party, the whole road was blocked off with cars and people, the police could do nothing about it and we carried on ’til Sunday evening (well the others did, I was back home with one of the Croydon girls by this time). Come Monday, the Evening Argus did a big piece about the party with the headline “Street in Fear of All-Night Thrash”. Three days later, they were all evicted!

Flyer for club night at the Church, October 1991

Not long after this, Jim Bob (aka the Pope of Brighton) approached me to help him set up a club night as he’d been offered every Friday at the Asylum (now New Hero, previously the Loft, Church etc). He wanted me to sort out sound, DJs, lights, etc and we’d promote it together. I agreed but only if my party buddies, Sean and Ashley (who he didn’t much care for) could be involved with me and thus began my first club promotion crew, KG Promotions (I named it that after seeing an advert for KG cars and liking the sound of it).

The first club night saw queues around the block and it wasn’t long before we were getting local DJ’s like Dave Clarke to play (for £30!). All the profit was put into a joint account and the plan was to share this out at a later date. We would hire a sound system for the downstairs room and then take this off to an after-party once the club had shut at 2am – this would involve a few days preparation: breaking into a venue/empty flat, changing locks, tidying up and getting the place ready for a party.

This carried on for a few months, and we were getting more organised and building a reputation for wild, anything goes parties. But trouble was brewing, however, and the KG crew eventually had to go their separate ways from Jim’s crew. We took over the Saturday night and they had the Friday night.

DJ Neil Janabi at the Church, early 1990s

Party at Ditchling Beacon, 1994

With our share of the money, we started to build our own sound system instead of hiring in. The only sound system at that time in Brighton was a rasta crew, King Tafari Love Music, and with their influence and contacts, we started to build a reggae-style Acid House sound system. Within a few months, this had grown to about 10k and we were doing clubs and parties all over Brighton.

Then in late summer we were approached by a local gangster (Ashley was going out with his sister) and asked if we could organise a rave for him – he had the warehouse and wanted us to supply the rest. It ended up with the warehouse being surrounded by police, who then confiscated all the equipment – which we had hired from a London firm- which led to the hire firm grassing us up. We eventually ended up in court but got off with a conditional discharge after the hire firm didn’t show up in court, but this was the beginning of the end for the KG Crew and our Purple Polka Dot sound system.

For New Years Eve 1991, we had hired a massive warehouse in Hove and planned a massive semi-legal rave. Everything was going okay until about 8pm on the night when the police arrived. They were desperate to stop the party but it was down to the fire officers. After showing them round, they declared the party could go ahead. This made the police even madder, and they then got the warehouse manager down to the police station and threatened him with all kinds of stuff if the party went ahead.

By 10.30pm the police had won, and we had 1,000 plus disappointed ravers to deal with. Not the best NYE I’ve ever had – in fact the worst one ever! The next day, both Sean and Ashley decided that they didn’t want to be involved anymore and were bailing out, leaving me to deal with the fallout.

I spent the next three months trying to sort out the mess, and once everyone who had brought a ticket was sorted (some had money back and the rest I put a free club event on for them), I had had enough of organising parties and the police hassling me. I put the remainder of the sound system into storage and washed my hands of the whole party scene and tried to live a ‘normal’ life.

By autumn 1992, I was going through a painful split with my then girlfriend and by chance got asked if I wanted to get the sound system out of storage and help organise a party for a friend. I decided to give it a go – mainly to keep my mind occupied – and within a couple of months the sound system was back on the road with a new coat of paint, a new name and a new mission.

All day reggae flyer, early 1990s

You draw your sound system’s lineage from the Jamaican soundsystem – why & how?

The whole culture and style of reggae sound systems impressed me. They had selectors who chose the records, DJ’s who played them, the MC’s who gee’d the crowd, a sound engineer who worked the system, the box boys who carried speakers and then there was the bar staff, door crew and security. Any trouble was dealt with properly, and they knew how to handle the police. You couldn’t even sit on the floor at the Blues parties – if you did, you were rudely told to “get off the floor!” – quite a far cry from the chaotic squat parties I’d been going to.

We styled ourselves system on the reggae sound systems, who use ’scoop’ bass bins to create eyeball-quivering bass. I was influenced by the Brighton reggae sound system King Tafari, who had one of the best sounding systems in the UK at that time. They achieved this by splitting the sound into four frequencies as opposed to the normal three frequencies (Bass/Mid/Treble). I wanted to split the frequencies up to 6 times (Sub Bass/Bass/Mid Bass/Mid/Upper Mid/Treble) to get a true high fidelity sound. We achieved this by having a purpose built 6-way crossover (the bit of kit that splits the frequencies coming from the music).

Reggae also influenced Acid House parties in numerous ways: starting with remixes of current tunes (a staple at reggae parties was at least three remixes of the latest tune, often with a guest MC boasting about how good that particular sound system was), the introduction of MC’s (most of whom also MC’d at reggae parties), the oversized sound systems, and of course the eventual birth of Jungle and D nB all owe their existence to reggae.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Want to check out more photos from the parties, people and places that were part of the Postive Sound System time? Check out their flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/positivesoundsystem/

BONUS : OLD SCHOOL MIXES FOR DOWNLOAD

Here’s a couple of old school rave mixes from two Brighton DJs who continue carrying on the free party tradition and can be seen in clubs and free parties alike:  DJ Aize (Cut Loose) and Pook (Brap FM/Archangel).

Ain’t Slept In Days mix – DJ Aize

Download audio file (beatroutesessions_oldskoolsession89-92.mp3)
POok’s February Old Skool Session (BeatRouteSessions on Brap.FM Wednesdays 8-10 pm with POok)

Photos by Eliot Gill

Here are some shots from the Stanton Warriors at the Concorde 2. This night was also the supposed Brighton Fusion x-mas party, about time we had one since our formation in 2004. A great night had by all – ears still feeling the pain. The bellow is an article which Fusion’s Amy Riley did for Trash Menagerie.

Trash Menagerie is a music culture and lifestyle blog dedicated to delivering its listeners and readers upfront music, artist downloads, features, DJ mixes, news, listings and commentary from around the globe.

Check it…

I recently talked to Dominic Butler from Stanton Warrior’s on the eve of their latest Fabric release Stanton Warriors Sessions Volume III.

Do breakbeat pioneers Stanton Warriors need much in the way of an introduction these days? Americans might not think they’re into Stanton Warriors’ breaks, but they’re more than just manhole covers, you know.

For just two guys who started out playing at West Country parties, Mark Yardley and Dominic have managed to push their music via Bristol and later down to Londontown, where they’ve honed their bass-driven breaks sound, filtering the party music around them. Their sound is distinctive, with big chunky basslines, capitalising on sounds from garage, house, hip hop and electro to create their own version of breakbeat – their tracks are like the backing tunes to a great lowrider car chase.

The duo have remixed Basement Jaxx, Mylo, Missy Elliot, Fatboy Slim, Azzido Da Bass, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Jocelyn Brown, Gabrielle – to name the proverbial few – and the number of awards and accolades littering the Stanton Warriors mantelpiece must be enough to qualify them for a heavy metal mark of distinction: Breakspoll Number One DJs, DJ Magazine’s Number One Breaks DJs, DJ Magazine’s 50 Best Remixers Of All Time. Their Sessions Volume II was voted album of the year by breaks Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale.

Dom’s feet had only just touched British soil when Fabric set him up with an eight-hour interviewing stint. He and Mark had just returned from LA, after a worldwide tour. Despite the extreme jetlag, Dom was charming and funny during the allotted 20 minutes – not really the cocky, bad-boy attitude that could be expected from a superstar DJ. Got him on a good day perhaps?

Many hours later: there’s a massive party going down in Shoreditch for Oakley’s Design Brief contest, with hundreds of trendies crowded in the warehouse space at Cordy House. The free booze is flowing, sunglasses designs and visuals are plastered on thewalls and the dancing drunk crowds are making square shapes to some serious bass-heavy dubstep from TM’s T and his Patchwork Pirates crew – and guess who’s there? You’d better believe it. Jetlag not withstanding, Dom was perched next to the DJ booth, as tall as the tower of speakers and bassbins he stood by. He was flanked on either side by a bouncer and few others checking out the DJs do their thing.

A few sets later from DJ Session, Young&Positive, The Equalizers, Soda Boys and The Nextmen, Dom was still there, hanging out next to the t-shirt printing factory and the free bar chatting with a blonde woman. Dom explained that he’d ended up doing interviews til 8 o’clock that night and that he was out to hear his mate Deekline play.

Unlimited vodka, redbull and beer all night – and free. It was a long night.

Similarly, Stanton Warriors Sessions Volume 3 is also made for a long night – it’s like having the club follow you home after you’ve left with your mates for a private session in the living room. The guys throw in a bit of everything – and it is very much rubberstamped with “their sound” on it all – so you can either take the view that they’re being diverse or you can think that they’re just jumping on musical bandwagons because breaks is, to some minds, at an all-time low.

The Stantons don’t waste any time warming up listeners and immediately punch below the belt with a remix of the killer Yo Majesty tune “Club Action”, followed very closely with another hit with their remix of Deekline and Ed Solo’s “Handz Up!” featuring Benzo, Flipside and Big Booty Kim.

There’s been a lot of knob twiddling on the tracks featured especially for this mix, and in all, the mix is an enjoyable stuck-on-repeat experience.

Electro fans might like the fact that Digitalism and DJ Mehdi get a look in here, but the money’s on the bootie bass tracks, everytime. The two tune that blow everything out of the water, though, are first the Douster remix of Bryan Cox’s “Let’s Go to Work”, which is a booming tune and a half, and Basement Jaxx’s “Nifty”.

The boys end on a fuzzy farewell note with the “Hope Time” accapella that’s played at the end, which features an inspiring speech from Jesse Jackson and ties in nicely with the US election and that was no doubt influenced by their recent time in the States:

“Don’t you give up! Don’t you surrender! Your spirit and faith will be tested; you are the light of the world. It’s healing time, it’s hope time.”

Stanton Warriors Sessions Volume III was released in the UK on the 27th October 2008 and will be released in the US on Tuesday 11th November 2008. It features tracks and remixes from Yo Majesty, Plump DJs, Boyz Noize, A-Trak, DJ Icey, Hysterix, The BPA, Bryan Cox, Alan Braxe, Bassbin Twins, Douster, Digitalism, Chromeo, DJ Medhi, The Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, and more.

Interview with Dom Butler

Stanton Warriors on Sessions Volume 3

A: How are you today?

D: A bit jetlagged to be honest. We just got back from our American tour.

A: Ah, how did it go?

D: Good. The last show we did was in LA. It was a Monday night and it was sold out.

A: Wow, that’s pretty good going. Where’s Mark?

D: He’s in bed. He can’t speak.

A: Partying hard?

D: You could say that.

A: So, the Fabric Session 3 mix – tell me why you guys chose these particular tracks.

D: The mix is representative of the tracks we’ve been playing this year at our night, big parties and festivals. We get tracks from the different scenes we like – French housey stuff, American ghetto stuff like Bryan Cox – and then we do our own thing to them. It makes them unique and varied. It would be a shame to keep them to ourselves.

A: Do you guys look out for new undiscovered talent?

D: Yeah definitely – we keep close eye out for all new music. In the US, we found a new wave of rappers – they’re not famous but they’re distinctive and hungry for influences. A while back, we found the Streets on a pirate radio station and we used them on Volume one.
A: Are there any up-and-coming artists we should look out for?

D: Yeah, but they’ll be featured on our next artist album after this mix. I can’t drop their names or everyone will want to use them!

A: Is there any new technology you’re using these days?

D: In our live sets, Mark adds a new dimension with the laptop. He has all of the parts of all our tunes and remixes live. He has like the acapellas and stuff and does it all on the fly. It smashes the crowd! I wouldn’t do a dj set only on a laptop purely though. I’ve been djing for a decade – I know how to dj.

A: In the breakbeat scene there’s been a lot of talk that breaks is dead in the UK and it’s actually gone over to Oz, but that it will boomerang back. What do you think?

D: I think that most breakbeat is shit. There’s a lot of shit out there. I think we draw on so many genres and sounds in breaks, it needs a new definition. The guys in the US call breakbeat discobass. I find that interesting. It conjures up an image of one sound and it’s never good. For instance, when we dj in the States, we’re booked to play in big house clubs, not breaks clubs – and we don’t play house. We play in dubstep clubs and it still works. We have this reoccurring thing that happens when we play in the States – people come up and go ‘what is this?’ Volume 3 is a testament to the variety in breaks, from ultra funk to French touché. People say they don’t like breaks but I think they don’t really understand what it’s all about.

A: So you think mixing up the genres is the key for breaks djs right now?

D: If you only play breaks, you alienate the girls for a start. We’re still there with a heavy bassline, but anything for two hours is boring. I think we’re going back to that old school NYC thing of playing different sounds in one night. That’s what’s interesting at the moment.

12►

Photo by Eliot Gill

Record label owner and deep house DJ, Magnus Asberg needs no introduction here in the UK. The 39-year-old Swedish native has been a solid part of the house and rave party scene in London and Brighton over the past 10 years, and before that in Sweden divided his time as a DJ, club owner, and professional skateboarder and snowboarder. But as I got talking to him, I learned that his love of music goes deeper than the party scene.

Magnus was first influenced by his father, a jazz musician, who introduced him to bands such as Pink Floyd (literally), as well as giving him his first record player. He recalls the first time he set his hands on vinyl and started DJing and laughs. “It was straight away! I was like six and I loved it.” He cut his teeth as a DJ at his parent’s many parties; at age 11, he broke in his first set of Technics 1200.

At 17, Magnus owned a nightclub in Sweden. Though his love at the time was hip-hop, he found he had to play the crowd-pleasing pop music of the time. It was at this time (1985) that Magnus discovered house music by accident: on the B-sides of hip-hop records. He found that the early house fit in well with the kind of pop music he was playing so he started mixing it in. As well as realising that he wanted to make house music, he deepened his knowledge of the genre by buying stacks of records on trips he made to the UK with his parents, which he said was more underground than the commercial house found in Sweden. He explains his segue from hip-hop to house: “Hip-hop I never really felt part of but house, I felt part of and I knew I was there to create it.”

Magnus made the permanent transition from Sweden to the UK in the mid 90’s, settling in the Riviera of the English south coast, Brighton. He joined forces with one of the South East’s most well-known and respected sound systems, Positive Sound System (“I was only meant to stay with them for a week!”) and continued DJing at clubs such as Fabric, Turnmills, Mass,and Berns (Sweden) to name a few plus festivals, skateboard and snowboarding competitions and parties throughout Europe (including helping to put on some of the early rave parties in France).

Magnus still DJs regularly in Brighton and London. In Brighton, you can catch his soulful to techy sets at On The House Records Late at Kabuki on Middle Street (from 3am) or the bi-monthly Positive Sounds nights at Audio. Magnus is also resident at 3am Nights at Funky Buddha Lounge and Lovestick nights. In London, he plays at Ram-a-Jojo every month at the Bedroom Bar alongside good friends Digs (DiY) and James Thomson (Juno Records).

These days, one of Magnus’s major preoccupations (not the only, mind you – he’s a busy man) is his recording collaboration with Jimmy Day (Mula/Stompa Music/Caged Baby), who is also currently part of Long Range, the new band from Phil Hartnoll (Orbital). The recording team go under the name C-Soul. Why the name? Well, “bits” didn’t gel so the duo went for something a bit more down-tempo (read: literal): “by the sea, seeing the soul, sea soul”. Something like that. Magnus and Jimmy have spent the past five years making music together, having first met earlier through friends in London in the tech house scene.

Magnus explained the process by which they worked, which sounds a bit like a nice game of tennis: first Magnus does fancy footwork on Logic with the ideas and vocals, then Jimmy comes in and destroys the court with his keyboard skills, followed by several more volleys across the net and culminating with a final arrangement. The C-Soul name has appeared on labels such as Flyagaric Trax, Is This, DiY Discs, and Suspect Package. More recent tracks feature on Magnus’s own label On The House Records (OTH), which has produced three EPs to date — “Feel It”, “Got To Be With You”, and “Watch This” – and include C-Soul’s remix handiwork.

Listen : From OTH 3 “Watch This” EP. It’s straight up-and-down house, with an edgier, tech-driven, finger-on-the-wire seam running through (but that’s just my opinion).

www.myspace.com/csoulmagnusasberg
www.onthehouserecords.com

This article was also featured on Trash Menagerie.
www.trashmenagerie.com

Words: Amy the Film Maker

It’s no secret that as of late, Paul has been one busy bunny, touring around the world to play his monster sets. So, when I asked Paul if he’d give me an interview, he was extremely gracious, but it took several months of emailing back and forth to finally catch up with him. Good timing – he’s due for another visit to man the decks at Slackers Convention on the 17th (see below for details).

Why the name?

I saw it written on a synth and thought that it was a good name.

Are you pleased that you got #2 on a Google search?

Really? That’s cool, I’ve never Googled my own name so that comes as quite a surprise (cough).

What was the first record you ever bought? And the last?

First album I bought was ‘Prince Charming’ by Adam and the Ants and the last album was ‘Hyperdub’ by Burial.

You’ve had an album come out last year – “Midi Style”. What’s it sound like?

Its all breakbeat baby! Lots of different flavours from the more hip hop side, through electro to the more clubby stuff but there’s a seriously dubby undercurrent running through it- you don’t live in Bristol for this long without dub osmosis occurring!

I’ve read somewhere that you have an evil twin, Al Watson, your partner-in-crime in the whole General Midi production factory. When it comes to producing, do you have any set way of working, in terms of who’s better at certain things? I only ask because I know some collaborators do like to work that way.

I’m on the road loads, so Al spends most of his time plugged into the Midi mainframe coaxing the finer details out! It’s definitely a team effort – we both come from musical backgrounds so the roles are interchangeable. We’ve just settled into away of working that we’re both happy with.

Do you let Al come on stage with you when you DJ?

Thing is, last time Al DJed out it took 3 weeks to find all the pieces so I’m actually now DJing on my own for legal reasons…….

I heard that you’re going to be collecting a lot of air miles this year…where are you jetting off to?

It’s been a mad year so far. Since Christmas I’ve been to Australia, Japan, Canada, America, and several places in Europe, not to mention a lot of places in the UK. In the next few months I’m going to China, America, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Canada, and several places in the UK – it never stops.

What do you never leave home without?

I never leave home without my sanity – can’t guarantee that I return with it though!

Favourite drink?

Alcohol

Favourite holiday destination?

Difficult question! Recently I’d say Vancouver; its one of the only places in the world you can go snowboarding in the morning and be on the beach by late afternoon which is fine in my book. Oh yeah and the sushi there is killer (not literally). Although Tokyo is hard to beat for the experience – it’s like amphetamine in holiday form.

Hobbies?

Wish I had the time although cooking rates quite highly.

Communication preference?

Word of mouth

Any brushes with the law?

I once got arrested naked in a hotel room whilst on tour in the States. I’d got really smashed the night before and sleep walked through the hotel and was found crashed out in the wrong room by a maid who freaked out and called the police. First thing I knew about it was coming to and finding a policeman handcuffing me whilst two others stroked their holstered firearms. Fucking scary! All worked out in the end though. I wasn’t charged with anything (they over reacted fo sho) and the limo arrived and whisked me away on the rest of the tour to the next city!

Finally, you’ve recently had your arm twisted and joined Slackers Convention as a resident. Stroke our ego and tell us what you love about Brighton.

It begins with B. I like cities that begin with B (apart from Birmingham). Oh I also like the idea of being able to throw rocks in any direction and hit a band – I hear Brighton is infested with them.

Don’t miss General Midi’s next Brighton date. Slackers Convention, Saturday 17th June @ Concorde 2, 11.30pm-5am. £6.50 advance, £10 on the door. Lineup includes Los Albertos, Medtronix, Dirtpop, Y-Not, Conspiracy, Symmetrik, Someblokewivrecords, and DJ Lucas. Phew.

And if you go to the website (not myspace), you can even download a minibot. Oh yes.

http://www.generalmidi.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/generalmidi

Words: Amy the Film Maker

Hayley: So guys you’ve just come off stage after your set, how is the Ordinary Boys tour going?

Pat: The tour’s going well, we’ve really enjoyed ourselves. This is actually the second to last show (of the tour) we have our last show tomorrow in London. It’s a little bittersweet because it’s been a really good time with these guys. They’re an amazing band and they’re really good guys too.

Hayley: You’re starting a Canadian tour in just a few days, are you looking forward to performing for a home crowd?

Pat: It’s been a long time since we’ve actually done a full Canadian tour so I’m really looking forward to it. We hit a couple of cities there this summer on the Warped Tour but it wasn’t quite the same experience as it is to see us in a club or at a venue.

Hayley: Do you enjoy playing festivals? I know you played Reading and Leeds this summer, or do you prefer independent shows?

Jay: It’s a totally different thing. I see Leeds and Reading as you’re part of an event that’s way bigger than you, even if you’re headlining. There are so many stories that go on at festivals. I feel like they are things that just come up but your touring is really where your story is actually taking place.

Hayley: Do you enjoy the whole social aspect of touring? Obviously you make new friends and get to catch up with old ones… Is there a real party atmosphere when you tour?

Jay: No (laughing from all in the room)
The majority of this tour has, I mean we, I mean I…..

Hayley: I’ve actually seen pictures of you at Reading getting very drunk at a kebab shop Jay, so you can’t tell me it’s all hard work!!!

Jay: No, no it’s always, it’s always…. (At this point everyone in the room is laughing at Jay!!) …it really is hard work getting drunk at a kebab shop!!

(Jay then goes on to note the number of kebab shops in the UK, the fact that he feels like he will die if he eats another kebab and his distaste for sandwiches with loads of mayonnaise filling in – but I won’t bore you with this information!!!)

Hayley: Now J, I also remember a certain drunken night when you were introduced to Brighton’s own Market Diner and to black pudding after a show….

Jay: I hate it (laughing) what happened was someone told me that you should really try black pudding. Now I’m an open person, as we all are and er, so….

Hayley: But I seem to remember you loving it at the time Jay!!!!

Jay: You know what, I realised the reason that Britain loves the food it loves is because they’re drunk all the time (laughing from all around the room)

Hayley: OK enough of food already!! Let’s get back to the music. I know you guys have just finished recording a cover of U2’s New Years Day with Ian Brody (from Lightning Seeds fame) and Steve Harris (super successful producer type). How did that go?

Eon: It was awesome. We went to a studio in Liverpool and recorded that track with them.

Hayley: Were you fans before that?

Eon: You know, to be honest I didn’t know who they were before that and I was introduced to them by the opportunity. But, learning who they were and what they’ve done in the past, I have the utmost respect for them.

Hayley: Was it nerve-wracking as Steve Harris has produced U2 before?

Eon: No not really, I think going into the studio we’re always really confident about what we’re doing. The nerve-wracking part is just making sure that everyone is going to be willing to share our vision and they were eager to do that so it was cool.

Hayley: Although you’re first single was a little more commercial, the album has a rawer reggae feel to it. Do you find that people are surprised in the contrast when they hear the album following the success of the single?

Jay: I think that the whole idea of our band is bringing together things that we wanted to hear. There was a lack of music that we wanted to hear in our lives and we came together on reggae. Reggae is something that’s not received as well as I think it should be in the mainstream anymore and a lot of the music I listened to was influenced by what came out of Jamaica.

Hayley: So what are your influences as a band?

Jay: Even going back to our first demos there’s influences from everywhere else but our meeting point was always reggae. That’s where we all ended up together. Collectively, we all listen to and trade music whether it’s punk music or reggae or world (music) or jazz or electronic. It really doesn’t matter, as long as it has soul, it’s doing something new. For me, lyrically telling a really good story is important. I think the best music can be played anywhere, make people dance but still say something when they go back to listen to it later in their room. I think some hip hop still has that essence, that spirit but it’s really missing from rock music these days.

Hayley: So what are your future plans/aspirations for the band? Where do you see yourselves gong from here?

Eon: In terms of the band we’ve only just started exploring new territories other than our home. So in the coming year we want to play more in Europe, America and just trying to take our music to as many new audiences as possible. I think our live show really speaks volumes about where we’re coming from which you may not get as well on the record as you would to see us perform.

And with that I can see the boys are itching to check out the last few songs of the Ordinary Boys set before boarding their bus to London for tomorrows closing show. All I can say is that if you haven’t already caught them playing live then make sure you get yourselves down to their headlining tour in January – they’ll be playing Wembley before long. These boys are going places and you know what? It couldn’t be happening to a nicer bunch!

Words: Hayley