Archive for the ‘Features’ Category

Wrongtom: Ample Trample

Posted by ianbrainer

For the last ten years or so, producer and deejay Wrongtom has been bubbling away in the underground (and overground, producing and touring with, yes, Hard-Fi) slaying dance floors the world over and cooking up all sorts of musical glee in his “makeshift” studio. What you might know him from is his ingenious reworking of Roots Manuva’s ‘Slime & Reason’ – along with other choice cuts from the eccentric rapper – the tracks coming together to form last year’s intrinsically summery ‘Duppy Writer’. Fresh out of playing Soundwave, Brainer caught up with the London music lover to discuss what he’s got in the works.

Who are your influences?
In the early days it was my family: my granddad banging out piano rags, my dad’s calypso records, my mum’s jazz obsession. As I got older I started pilfering my brother and my sister’s records – post punk, electro, acid house, dub, Prince etc. I guess in some ways it’s the people who play records that I’m influenced by: DJs, radio folks but obviously there’s loads of artists too. If I had to pick five off the top of my head I’d go with Prince, King Jammy, Tom Tom Club, KRS1 and Bob Thiele but it’s ever-changing and expanding.

What inspires you?
Films, I’m a cinema addict. And food. Films about food – perfect.

What’s your production set up?
It’s a mess of analogue synths, drum machines and FX, hazardously wired together with Logic at the centre keeping it all in check.

What do you try to achieve with your music?
I’ve always been a bit of an underachiever so I try not to think about it too much.

What was the first 12″ you bought?
You know what, I really don’t remember. My 1st 7″ was The Show by Doug E Fresh but 12″ is a tough one. Might have been something by Renegade Soundwave or maybe Prince.

How did the Duppy Writer project with Roots Manuva come about?
I’d already done some stuff for Roots and I’d been chatting about doing an LP with Big Dada for a few months when Duppy Writer came about. It evolved from a plan to do versions of Brand New Second Hand and gradually took on its own form.

What have you been working on since? You said you’d been in the studio…
Loads of different stuff. My main focus is my own album but I keep getting distracted by side projects and remixes. Plenty of dub on the boil and a dancehall/reggae project with my mate Deemas J. There’s quite a few other things in the pipeline but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

Tell us a little about the mix you’ve done for us.
I was having a look through the shelves for some inspiration and started digging out loads of old dancehall. A lot of it is stuff I used to play out when I first started DJing so it’s oddly sentimental despite tracks about venereal disease and Satan.

What music/artists are you particularly feeling at the moment?
It’s a total cliche but I’ve been trying to steer clear of new music simply because I’m writing and I don’t want to get too sidetracked. A few things slip through the net now and then though – I’m loving the new Zed Bias stuff and Omar’s new album has some wicked tracks. DELS is great, Ghostpoet’s album is untouchable, LCMDF are flying the flag for Heavenly Recordings, and I really like what I’ve heard of Shabazz Palaces. It’s not exactly new but I heard Abbie Cornish MCing with Blades recently and I was blown away, I’d never have imagined she’d have that britcore thing going on when I was watching Bright Star, I actually have a track in mind that she’d be perfect on but that’s probably wishful thinking.

What’s the best thing about the British music scene?
We’re a small enough country for underground scenes to become part of our national identity. To some people jungle is up there with fish ‘n’ chips, dubstep’s as British as a nice cup of tea.

What can we expect from you in the near future?
Hopefully my LP, or a single at least. Plus the Deemas J album, the Pama International Meets Wrongtom LP I started work on about three years ago, and I’m putting together a compilation at the moment, though it’s in the early stages so I’ll leave that there as I don’t want to jinx it.

What do you think the defining sound of London is at the moment?
The sound of young professionals yacking on about how they love London now but it’s not the kind of place to bring up kids, while ultra-niche sub-genres pump through the flimsy walls of new build flats that litter the skyline. No wait, I mean it’s reggae.

Words: Ian Hsieh
Photography: Oliver Night

For the second volume in the Brainer mix series, Wrongtom got nostalgic and put together a mix chock full of old school dancehall – perfect for enticing that elusive English summer to stick around a little longer. Click here to download.

www.wrongtom.com // soundcloud.com/wrongtom

The Road to Soundwave

Posted by Steve


Five years ago in 2006, Soundcrash was born. The brainchild of graphic designer Rob Waller, it is now one of London’s premier music events companies. Over the years, Soundcrash has deftly ushered the cream of today’s underground electronic, hip-hop and bass music through its doors, and these artists have, without fail, slayed an array of avid fans. From an unforgettable audience with the ever-intriguing Mos Def, to magical nights at the Royal Albert Hall with the Cinematic Orchestra, Soundcrash has grown from humble beginnings into a key, much needed part of London’s always-electric live music scene.

With its boutique festival Soundwave (described by The Guardian as having “all the quirks of a Bestival but in a far more beautiful and sunny setting”) just around the corner – offering music from the likes of Little Dragon, Bonobo and Roots Manuva next to the shimmering turquoise waters of the golden Croatian sun – Brainer caught up with its founder to discuss genre eclecticism, Soundwave itself, and what’s in store for us all in the near future.

How was Soundcrash started in the first place?
Well, I was working as a designer for quite a while, and I was putting on small bands on the side and small club nights in Shoreditch. Places like Herbal, a few basements here and there… Just small, cool stuff. Obviously friends were coming through, and I guess it got to a period where I started putting on a few gigs. Things like Kid Koala came up and the gigs became bigger, and all of a sudden I decided OK – this is the way to go. I’m going to stop the graphic design, and just throw myself fully into trying to make this scene that a lot of people love, into something a bit bigger. At that point the scene was definitely dwindling, in a live sense; it needed some impetus, and I thought I was the man to do it.

What was the first gig under the Soundcrash banner?
There were a few bank holiday weekend ones I did back in the day at 333 which were Ninja vs. Warp, but not many people know about those. The first under Soundcrash as we know it today was a Kid Koala show at Cargo – we vastly oversold it, I was completely inexperienced in what I was doing. A 375 capacity venue, 500 people in the place – people were dancing on the bar to see Eric do his stuff. It was crazy!

It must have been a great feeling…
It’s nice to see hard work pay off. From then on, it was one thing to the next. Within a year and a half of that, we’d done our first show at the Royal Albert Hall – our first Cinematic Orchestra show – closely followed by Mos Def tours and some other really good shit.

How were you able to start off putting on nights on the side?
I was gambling my wages, basically. At the time my girlfriend wasn’t too happy about that! The rent was sometimes late, but when you’ve got a passion for something… Basically I believed a lot of artists out there – big artists, small artists – had a lot to offer, and there was a big crowd of people that wanted to see a certain sort of music. These two things weren’t linking up. So, I took a gamble. First and foremost I’m a fan; I don’t put on music that I don’t like. Everything I put on is something I’ve got a passion for.

What were some of the problems you encountered starting up?
Starting up something new, you don’t have the relationships with the people you need to work with. Convincing people that you’re serious, that you want to hire out a bigger venue than you’ve done before, sometimes that’s not easy. Our first one at Koko I remember bringing Krush over from Japan; is the venue

Ta-ku: From Dusk ‘Til Dawn

Posted by ianbrainer


Hailing from Perth, Australia, Reggie Matthews (who also goes by the moniker Ta-ku) has been dealing in chocolatey electronic beats for the past four years. Listen to any of his numerous free beat tapes, and you’ll be soothed by buttery synths, bombarded with ragged raw drummery. A graduate of the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy’s 2008 class, Matthews’ infectious ‘Hey Kids’ – a glorious coalescence of Neptunes-esque synth play and rambunctious drums – was picked to kick off Brownswood Recordings’ ‘Brownswood Electr*c 2′ compilation, out later this month. Brainer caught up with the 24 year-old to talk music, the effervescent Australian beats scene, and the first volume of Brainer’s shiny new mix series.

How did you come to start making music 4 years ago? Can you remember the exact moment you decided to?
When I heard Slum Village’s ‘Fall In Love’.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
Good Music.

Who are your influences?
Dilla. Wajeed. Mndsgn. Devonwho. BMB.

What inspires you?
God. Family. Relationships. Friends. Travel. Women. NBA League Pass Broadband. Pandas.

What’s your production set up?
It’s a really simple set up. PC. Midi Keyboard. Micro korg. FLStudio. Vinyl.

Other than the large, deep drums, there’s a strong element of soul in you music (regardless of tempo). Is soul important to you?
Definitely. I fall in love with any piece of music with soul. Emotion-driven music.

What do you try to achieve with your music?
I really just want people to hear it. Whether they like it or hate it is up to them. I will feel very accomplished if my music reaches every corner of the earth.

How did you come to be involved with the new Brownswood Electr*c compilation?
I have been sending bits and pieces via email to the Brownswood crew for a minute and was lucky enough to land a spot!

What does it mean to you – not only are you on the compilation championing the next generation of electronic music’s pioneers, you have the prestigious opening slot with ‘Hey Kids’!
I feel greatly honoured and privileged! Gilles and the guys at Brownswood are the pinnacle of progressive music today, and to be a part of their vision excites me greatly!

We don’t really get exposed to the Australian beats scene over here, how is it? What’s it like being part of it?
The AUS beat scene is still quite young – however there is a nice collective of Aussies really pushing the boundaries at a world standard. Friends like Galapagoose, Panorama, Kilter and Slamagotchi have really great music to check out. On that note – there are so many talented musicians here in Australia so its always a constant inspiration down under!

Tell us about the mix you’ve kindly done for us – is there a theme to it?
The mix I made is really a bunch of tracks I’ve really been feeling lately. From some of my favourite artist like Dimlite, Chief and Samiyam to some new artists like DukeHugh, Mike Gao and Sam A La Bamalot.

What music are you particularly feeling at the moment?
Thundercat’s cover of the George Duke jam ‘For Love I Come’!!!! This track makes me laugh, cry and sleepy all at once! Messed up man! It’s an amazing track.

What’s your favourite album of all time?
Wow. Um… Dilla’s ‘Donuts’.

What craziness can we expect from you in the future?
After a string of free releases on my Bandcamp, I’m really happy that I have a few proper releases on their way: the ‘KT’ EP out on DarkerThenWax in July; the ‘Faces’ 12″ on ProjectMoonCircle in September; and the ‘Bounce’ 12″ with KitPop on PaperChainRecords in December.

Words: Ian Hsieh
Photography: Gauth Jayaram

Ta-ku kindly put together the first volume in the Brainer mix series, click to download. His track ‘Hey Kids’ features on Brownswood Electr*c 2, out June 27th on Brownswood Recordings.
takuakaflip.bandcamp.com // soundcloud.com/takugotbeats

Liam Bailey: Soul Maverick

Posted by Steve


BRAINER IS SITTING IN A BUSTLING PUB IN NORTH LONDON. IT’S A CHILLY FEBRUARY EVENING. AND WE’RE WATCHING A BLOKE CHOMP HEARTILY ON A HEFTY SERVING OF TWO SAUSAGES, CHIPS AND BEANS. Needless to say, we’re getting pretty hungry. The contented man in question is Polydor’s latest roll of the dice: Liam Bailey, the 27 year-old singer-songwriter from Nottingham who most recently featured on Chase & Status’ number 5 single ‘Blind Faith’. A euphoric, dubstep flavoured track of epic, wave-your-glow-sticks-in-the-air-and-go-buck-wild proportions (in a good, corny kind of way of course), Bailey’s soaring vocal moves, despite being filtered and thinned.

Not too long ago in late 2010, Bailey released his ‘2am Rough Tracks’ and ‘So Down, Cold’ EPs on Amy Winehouse’s Lioness imprint. Six tracks of raw, lo-fi blues and soul incorporating both original songwriting and covers of classic songs – like Etta James’ heart-wrenchingly melancholic ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ – the EPs made one thing crystalline clear: this man has soul. Not that laboured, glossy soul that populates the charts these days, but real, gritty soul – the kind of pained music you got from Otis Reading, or Solomon Burke. And he can sing – with a voice possessing all the character that only years of inhaling cigarette smoke and quaffing large quantities of alcohol can achieve.

Bailey is boisterous, cheeky, instantly and totally likable as he munches on his dinner, sipping hot water in preparation for a show at the Jazz Café after our chat. A raucous laugh, conspiratorial nudges, constant references to “you and me” – it’s as if you’ve known the man your entire life. Give him five minutes with Oscar the Grouch and by the end of it, the two of them will be shooting the shit about how Burt and Ernie are way more than best buds. Totally.

He’s also brutally honest. Not just about what he thinks of other people, but what he thinks of himself.

“I couldn’t understand why I didn’t have a record deal,” says Bailey with his mouth full, in his East Midlands drawl. “When I was younger I just could not understand why. I knew that I had something and that it should be out there – just at the same rate when I know I’m shit, you get me?” When asked to elaborate, he retorts matter-of-factly: “I didn’t hear many singers that were as good as me on the radio or on the TV.”

It seems like an arrogant, Tourette’s-style Kanye outburst. But, the more you talk to Bailey, the more you come to realise that he’s just calling it how he sees it. He’s not being modest, but he’s not being pompous, either. “That’s just how I thought mate,” he says. “If you know yourself and you’re true to yourself, you know what you’re good at, and you know what you’re bad at.”

Fair enough.

‘OUT OF THE SHADOWS’, THE SINGER’S DEBUT ALBUM, SEES BAILEY ESCHEW THE ACOUSTIC FOR THE ELECTRIC. PRODUCED BY SALAAM REMI – KNOWN FOR HIS WORK WITH NAS, THE FUGEES AND AMY WINEHOUSE, to name but a few – the record is in the can, waiting for its release in June. It’s more polished and produced than his last two EPs. “Some of the songs are still stripped back, letting the vocals breathe, and some of them we’ve just thrown the kitchen sink at you know,” laughs Bailey. “And then you’ve got epic kind of… fucking ‘Eleanor Rigby’ type strings and shit. Big mate. Next,” he says, grinning.

Steve More and Remi/Rough ‘A’: Future Perspectives

Posted by Steve


Two artists, one space and a unified passion to shatter the trappings of conventional thinking – with an eruption of style, intuitive creative expression and an unbridled approach towards modern art. The ‘A’ exhibition sees a new collection of work from revered artists Steve More and Remi/Rough. Embarking on their individual creative journeys as young graffiti writers back in the eighties, the two first meet in the early nineties, establishing a relationship built on respect, artistic collaboration and a shared conviction to go against the mainstream.  Following a seven year hiatus from working together (focusing on individual projects), the two reunited last year after Steve’s return from New Zealand, working on a string of projects as members of the inspired creative collective Agents of Change – through which the seed was planted for 2011’s ‘A’ exhibition. Brainer caught up with the two artists to reflect on the journey that has brought them both to point ‘A’.

When did the idea first manifest that you wanted to do a joint exhibition?

Steve: We always spoke about working together while I was still in New Zealand. I guess nothing really started to develop until we worked on the Agents of Change project at Mews 42 last year, then after doing that the intentions of putting on a joint show began to grow in both our minds. However, with me trying to re-settle and Rem caught up with other projects, it wasn’t until May that we said to ourselves if this is going to happen, we need to start laying down some plans.

Remi: You almost have to think a year in advance with a project like this. Once you say “right we’re gonna do this” you’ll be surprised how quickly 12 months flies by.

What in particular attracted the both of you to house the show at Blackall Studios?

Remi: It’s a great space to show work, we were looking at a lot of different spaces, weighing up different options and I guess we knew the amount of work we wanted to put into the show mentally. And when we saw that space, something clicked.

Steve: Other than the fact that it’s situated in a great location and is quite accessible to people, we also felt that it was quite neutral, polished yet possessing character.

What’s the inspiration behind the name of the show ‘A’?

Steve: We wanted an idea that suggested the beginning of something, ‘A’ being the first letter of the alphabet and it was also the first letter of a few key words that sprang to mind when we were toying with the notion of a joint show. Abstract, alternative, avant-garde, awareness.

Remi: Like Steve said the whole point of ‘A’ is that it’s the beginning, you always start at point A and you get to point B, C or D. We also wanted an icon; ‘A’ is a strong image, beyond being a letter it’s a beautiful image, tri-pinnacle. It wasn’t so much a title as it was a way of thinking in relation to the show.

How and when did you guys first meet and what was the first project you collaborated on?

Remi: We first met in ’92 at a graffiti jam in Livingston, a little town near Edinburgh. Initially I became really good friends with Derm (Agents of Change), who was based up in Scotland. Often he would invite me up to stay and paint walls and he introduced me to Steve, who he used to write with.

A New York State Of Mind

Posted by ianbrainer

IT’S THE SPRING OF 1997, NEW YORK CITY. MARCH 7 TO BE EXACT, AND A 22 YEAR-OLD JEFFREY NG, ON HIS BIRTHDAY, IS ABOUT TO WALK INTO THE TRIPLE 5 SOUL BOUTIQUE IN SOHO AND START A SERIES OF EVENTS THAT WILL CHANGE HIS LIFE. FOREVER. Sporting one of his own hand-made, silk-screened Staple t-shirts, the intrigued store manager clocks the shirt, and right there, right then, makes an order for twelve – to be sold in the boutique. The twelve shirts sell out, and the order doubles to 24. Those 24 shirts sell out, and the order increases to 36. The rest, as they like to say, is history.

Today, Staple is a full men’s clothing line, a commercially successful design agency and a retail and art space named Reed Space – after Ng’s high school art teacher. The latter notably shows exhibitions from some of today’s most celebrated artists (Faile and Parra for example) before they hit the big time – and the big money.

2005 was a fateful year for Staple. The design agency collaborated with sports giant Nike on the now infamous Pigeon Dunk, the result of which was a frenzied amalgamation of riots and hysteria on the day of the shoe’s February release. What happened that day made the front page of the next day’s New York Post, singlehandedly cementing Staple as an icon in the annals of street culture, simultaneously skyrocketing that culture into the wider, mainstream consciousness. All this, from one, single shoe – dedicated to New Yorkers and sold exclusively in the city with a run of only 150 pairs.

“People were saying, ‘Jeff, that was an amazing PR stunt you just pulled. How did you get the NYPD? How much did you have to pay the SWAT team to come out and break that shit up?’” recalls Ng. “I was like, ‘That was not a PR stunt.’ People were about to get stabbed. People had machetes and baseball bats tucked under their jackets because they knew they weren’t going to get the shoes. So they’d just wait for the kid who got one, and then get him.”

This extreme reaction from New York’s obsessive sneaker fraternity boosted both the then 30 year-old Ng and his company’s profile infinitely. Within a day, Staple HQ found three executives from Timberland walking into its offices requesting, believe it or not, an actual riot. Braying yahoos armed with machetes and baseball bats included. “It was like they were ordering a cheeseburger,” laughs Ng. “We would like a riot with French fries.”

Fourteen years after he sealed his first t-shirt order in that downtown Manhattan boutique, Jeff Ng has become one of the most consistently fascinating, inspiring and esoteric designers working anywhere in the world. And it could be argued that it’s all down to his love of one thing other than design. Music.

Born and raised in New Jersey to Chinese parents, a young Jeff Ng found himself mostly listening to popular music of the time: Culture Club, Human League, Wham and “one hit wonder bands”, infused with a touch of soul from Michael Jackson, Prince and Stevie Wonder.

Be Here Now

Posted by ianbrainer

Tom Oldham is a prolific photographer. That old adage about quality over quantity doesn’t really apply to the 40 year-old lens man though. Over the course of twelve years working as a freelance photographer, Dorset born Oldham – now residing in east London – possesses a rare skill not often seen in music photography today. What you see is what you get. There’s no sense of pretence from his chosen subjects. Whether it’s Dave Grohl’s boundless good nature, Janelle Monae’s enigmatic stare or N*E*R*D’s complete and utter cool, Oldham, simply put, has a knack for making his shootees feel totally at ease.

With his pictures frequently gracing the front cover of The Fly magazine, Oldham also works as one of V Festival’s regular snappers. Photography is his passion, and being heavily involved in Riders for Health – an organization dedicated to providing transport solutions for medics in rural Africa – has fuelled this urge to shoot more. Be Here Now is a new music project the photographer is working on – Brainer caught up with Oldham to find out more.

Tell us about the project.
It aims to capture the most exciting artists in the most candid and revealing of ways, in the seconds prior and the seconds immediately following their live performance.

What was the reason for doing something like Be Here Now?
I shoot loads of live music, have done for ages and I love it, but sometimes when there are ten really good music snappers in the pit next to you, using the same kit, it doesn’t always feel like you’ll personally capture anything unique. We’re only allowed the first three songs with no flash normally which means the sweat, anguish, effort, joy and everything else we associate with a great gig normally occurs when we’re on the bus home. I was getting into shooting more portraiture and the concept I hoped would illuminate the true live music artists that give their shows everything they have.

Why War Child?
Have you seen their work? It’s astonishing. Deep – very very deep. My kind-of agent Ed Bartlett at Future Tense is a friend to War Child (www.warchild.org.uk) and he suggested we tie in War Child as they are the music charity of choice in music and a hugely deserving cause that we knew any artist would want to be involved with, if they weren’t already. We’re hoping we’ll raise a fairly significant sum for them through this.

Images, Shapes and Words

Posted by Steve

Definitive album covers, striking illustrations and prints, an entire arsenal of self-produced fonts plus breaking into the realms of video production – as one of the UK’s finest creatives, Mitchy Bwoy’s impressive visual legacy brims with artistic exuberance and creative intuition. Producing artwork for the likes of Ziggy Marley, Chase & Status, Nitin Sawhney, Amp Fiddler and working alongside Banksy, Mode 2 and Swifty, Mitchy’s arresting imagery and approach to design played an integral role in the development of the UK’s record sleeve design scene and club promotion culture. Brainer recently caught up with the artist to discuss some of the defining moments of his foray into the creative industries.

Tell us a little bit about your creative background, how got into design and what inspired you to pursue that path.
Thanks to my parents, art has always been a major part of my life. I was never pushed in any specific direction as a youngster and actually ended up on a biology degree after my A Levels. This was a turning point and helped me realise that art was more important to me than anything else. After completing my first year of biology I switched to art college. Although I love fine art, it’s perhaps a scientific way of thinking that ultimately steered me towards design.

I still look at design as a kind of ‘emotive visual science’. Working at Swifty’s Studio Babylon during the final year of my design degree was another major stage in my development. Essentially this was a baptism of fire – the studio was buzzing with creativity. Designing layouts and type for Straight no Chaser magazine gave me a chance to express my own voice and working alongside people like Fred Deakin, Mode 2 (and of course Swifty) was an invaluable experience. After a short while I had all my own clients and was churning out event flyers and record covers like some kind of design automaton!

With an influx of burgeoning creative talent at the moment, how do you manage to keep your style and approach to design fresh. What do you feel makes a Mitchy Bwoy creation stand out from the pack?
I learn something new every day and try to invent my own design trends. Perhaps my work has an emotional aspect that others may lack? I care very deeply about the quality of my work – hopefully this is evident in the final product. It’s important to stay humble and realise that you’re doing this for a client, not for yourself – suffering from delusions of grandeur does not a powerful Jedi make!

Page 1 visuals: Chase & Status picture discs.

Lex Deasley: Red Bull’s Man Of Culture

Posted by Steve


Red Bull is one of those rare companies that has enjoyed mass commercial appeal whilst maintaining its integrity. For a drinks brand consumed by millions worldwide, the company has admirably achieved a reputation for supporting niche scenes, whether it’s b-boying, numerous free sports or perhaps more pertinently, underground music. With Red Bull Music Academy London this year making a huge impact, and the infamous Red Bull Major Lazer Carnival party coming up, Brainer caught up with the man behind these projects (amongst many others): Lex Deasley.

Where in London do you call home?
For about the last year, South Ealing, but always have been West London – West is best and forget the rest and all that.

What makes you happy?
My family, first and foremost. Outside of that I guess I really enjoy stuff which surprises me – things that you wouldn’t think should happen but do anyway – stuff which makes you think about things in a different way. I like to see how people manipulate media and culture to create these sorts of surprises. I guess this is what first really attracted me to hip-hop as a movement – seeing your first painted train pull into a station, or hearing a sample completely recontextualised are experiences that really challenge your perception.

What are your passions?
Mainly surfing, Brazilian jiu jitsu and graffiti – I was lucky enough to live in Rio for a couple of years, which is kind of a wet dream for anyone with these interests.

Is there anything else you do in your spare time?
I have three year-old twins and I work for Red Bull – spare time is a totally alien concept to me. I’d love to have more time to paint and given endless time I’d probably learn another language – at the moment I just make do with finding the etymology of words and phrases – sounds a bit shit but it would be handy in the pub quizzes I never have time to go to.

Where did you go to university and what did you study?

I went to Liverpool University and did a joint BA in Fine Art and Psychology– not massively vocational but I thought it would probably be interesting and that was more likely to get me through three more years of education.

What’s your official job title?
Communications Manager – Culture and National Campaigns

Where were you working before Red Bull?
Before coming to Red Bull I ran the Sport and Entertainment team at Exposure in Little Portland St, running accounts like Nike, Rizla, Levis and Umbro. It’s an amazing, full-service agency which means that you are free to come up with big ideas which go beyond the usual confines of straight-forward PR work. Red Bull was my client for almost two years, which is where the initial hook-up came.

Describe a particular working day in the life of Lex Deasley, Communications Manager.
There isn’t really a typical day to describe, it changes all the time. At the moment our London Studio is a big focus. It was left as a legacy from the Red Bull Music Academy earlier in the year and since we launched it as an ongoing project in March the place has been packed.

My role is pretty diverse, but the central premise is to ensure that Red Bull speaks to people in the right way, at the right volume, through the right channels and at the right time. This involves a lot of planning, creative input, working with partners, creation of content and generally putting it all into motion as a campaign.

What do you love most about the job?
What I love and hate most about the job is that there’s so much genuinely incredible stuff going on all the time. It’s great because you’re always working on interesting and innovative projects, but at the same time there’s only so much time in a day and you can’t do everything. It’s like being a manic kid on a trolley dash through a sweet shop – you want it all, but there’s only ever so much you can grab.

Chali 2na: The Freshest Fish

Posted by Steve

Charlie Stewart has arguably the most recognisable voice in hip-hop. Better known as Chali 2na from beloved L.A. hip-hop crew Jurassic 5, his rich, sonorous voice and emphatic, articulate flow have not only made him an enduring icon of hip-hop music – they’ve made him rapper of choice for countless fans. Working with a whole host of artists including Blackalicious and Quannum, the Black Eyed Peas (pre-Fergie), Damien Marley, Galactic, Roots Manuva, Talib Kweli, the Breakestra, Dilated Peoples, Rusko and more (the list is endless), the Chicago-born emcee possesses an open-mindedness and appreciation of diverse music that is both rare and admirable. And believe it or not, the man is first and foremost a painter. Fabrice Bourgelle met the gentle giant while he was in Brighton on tour with the Breakestra, courtesy of the good folk at Playgroup.

With a name like Chali 2na, you must get people asking how that came about. Can you tell us a little bit about the story behind it?
It’s been like that forever man, my pops named me that when I was 4. Originally my name is Junior, after my father who was Charles and his father before him. In the streets, peeps used to call him Peewee, ‘cause he was all tall and skinny, but he didn’t want to call me Lil Peewee, so one day he was watching TV and in the States there is this commercial for this thing called Starkist Tuna. Their logo is this big, tall, deep-voiced tuna named Charlie, so he was like “That’s IT! I’m calling you Charlie the Tuna. What’s up Tuna!?!”

You are known for having quite a unique voice. When did you realize you wanted to start rhyming?
Wow that’s a trip because originally I’m a painter man! That’s what originally got me into hip-hop. I mean, I always used to dabble in poetry and stuff, I liked English at school you know. I used to love learning about all the different styles of poetry and all the different little ways of constructing sentences – I would even look at it like painting, you know, putting the blocks together, making the puzzle fit. I didn’t take it seriously at first, though I knew I had an interest in it.
 
Then there was this event that really made me actually write a

rap. I mention it in the track ‘Think Back’ I did with those New Orleans cats, Galactic. Way back when I was 13, 14, I used to have a crush on this girl called Tasha,and in Chicago in the summer it’s hot all night, so we used to hang out under my building, in this tunnel where these dudes used to rap. And they were hard man, just freestyling, making jokes and shit. One night they had a crowd and they were picking people out and rhyming about them, and I fell victim to these dudes, but it just so happened that it was in front of the girl I had this thing for, so I went home and I was crushed. I didn’t know what to do. So I sat down and decided to write a rhyme about these guys and I memorised it. Later on that summer, I got an opportunity. They were drinking and beatboxing, clowning around and freestyling again, and they started on me.  I was like aiiight! Let me bust! And they were like “Whatever man, you don’t” and I was like yeah, I do! So they started clapping their hands and I did my piece, and I just dissed they ass, and the whole crowd was like “Woooooooah!” and I think I got that feeling right there: when I saw the crowd’s reaction, I was like aaaaight, that’s it!

Fast-forward to today and you have had an incredible journey in music. Would you say there have been some big influences in your life and career?
Yeah man, artistically, out the gate, I have an uncle called Detmer Timberlake – he was a poet and a painter as well – and he could play flute and piano too. I used to be amazed by all the shit he could do so I tried to emulate him and I think he was a big part of where I’m at today. Secondly, my father could draw. He wasn’t as good as my uncle or as my other uncle Maurice, who could draw as well. But, without Detmer I wouldn’t have been exposed to those thoughts – you know, like, Yeah! I might be able to do that kinda thing.
 
Later on in life, artists like DaVinci and Van Gogh and other fine artists really caught my eye with the way they could make shit look so real, yet in certain instances so distorted at the same time. But eventually there was this dude named Dave 3, who moved to my hood from the Bronx, and he brought with him these photo albums, full of graffiti, and that was that basically.