Being compelled to share GREAT music is how Drumzofthesouth began; -then, posting photos and words about music that was getting right into my system led me to organise events at Brixton’s Plan B, a tent at Antic Banquet festival and many, many events in and outside of Crystal Palace’s Antenna Studios. I am now taking up the baton from Katherine & Charlie Hannah (Itchy Teeth) and organising the next Live from Alexandra Nurseries event on the 28th of November.
It will feature talented friends Breezy Lee & The Spaceshipman, Duke Bradley (and band of more fantastic musicians) & Alain McLean (Moine Dubh), playing Blues, Soul & Rock n Roll.
Alexandra Nurseries is a family-run & community oriented garden & vintage home-wares shop & cafe in Penge, South London. This year it was deservedly featured in both Vogue and Time Out. The music will play outside, under the canopy, framed by plants, pots & fairy lights. It’s a magical and unique space in which to listen to music and socialise and I am proud to organise an event there.
TLC are crowdfunding their next (and final) album and they’ve already smashed their target. A new TLC album is exciting news for most of the ladies and some of the blokes around the same age as me, as many of us know their 1994 album CrazySexyCool inside-out. Many of us can rap the entire Waterfall’s rap too (looking at you Clare C). Bette Midler didn’t try and attempt it on her recent cover of Waterfall’s though, which is the only thing that let it down.
Asides from the excitement of the actual album itself, it’s use of crowd-funding- is interesting, as it’s just one example of the new ways musicians are finding to make money (PJ Harvey’s current installation at Somerset House being another).
For me though, the most exciting thing about the new TLC album are the photograph’s on it’s Kickstarter page. Thirteen images, including Polaroid’s of T-Boz, Chilli and Left Eye back in the day, complete with captions, seemingly annotated by themselves. Here are three of my faves.
“By this time, all the photographers knew we liked fun shoots. It was so dope.” – TLC
“… I remember Lisa did the sign language, and we all chose to do something with our hands….” – TLC
And last but not least…
“We just got real creative with the burlap. None of us had any boobs so that was a serious little boob moment. We had a rope kind of thing to holding the burlap together, but that’s why we had our arms crossed.”
Of 2014’s new music, I was particularly taken by Dean Blunt’s album “Black Metal” and The Bug’s “Angel & Devil’s.” Fatima Al Quadiri’s “Asiatisch” album really stuck to the shadows of my brain (particularly Shanzai).
Of the pre 2014, there was lots of CAN, lots of PJ Harvey, some Leonard Cohen and loads of King Krule. There’s something kinda ugly about his voice, which is what I like about it.
I was also, blessed with an introduction to Bwiti music this year.
Of the stuff that sits in-between pre-2014 and 2014, it was Hyperdub’s Next Life + all four of their “Hyperdub 10” compiliations that got me; each offering a unique journey through the Hyperdub soundscape.
Of the live shows and DJ’s it was Dean Blunt and Kode9 at Corsica Studios, Francis Redman DJing at our friend Edith’s house on NYE 2014 and Oneman at Hideout Festival in Croatia. I loved meeting Rosi Lalor this year and experiencing her magical songs and personality and Duke Bradley with his Johnny Cash meets Nick Cave style.
Breezy’s parents punk band Lost In Space were a repeat prescription in 2014 and it felt so right to play alongside them at a gig with my own band (our third ever). They’re all 50+ and I can honestly say they kick it harder than many bands 20 years younger than them. Raw, honest energy with the most genuine PUNK spirit I’ve ever felt.
Kate Tempest’s launch of her new album Everybody Down at Brixton’s Hootenanny was also full of energy. It was beautiful watching her look so overwhelmed and surprised by the amount of people that had turned out to see her and her band, in a local haunt that she’s played on a number of occasions to far smaller crowds.
Hosting a couple of Oliver Sudden’s Vintage Fly night’s at Antenna Studios Cafe was great fun. I heard some great tunes and met some brilliant people at both of them, such as Hark1karan Gill, who runs this ultra fresh, positive culture website of the same name.
The Fireflies (Nina Walsh, Franck Alba & Dani Cali) have been a pleasure this year. Poet Joe Duggan joined them on the mic at the Crystal Palace Festival x Antenna Studios programme that I curated in June. I had a another great time at Weatherall’s A Love From Outer Space night just before Christmas, followed up by a session of beautiful music from Bear Phillips and Fireflies’ Franck & Nina and her dog Droogy at their house.
I’m incredibly lucky to know so many talented people and some of them appeared in music documentaries such as Channel 4 and Dazed’s “Music Nation” series. It was insanely refreshing being able to see and hear the story of Garage, Bristol Bass, Jungle and other genres and scenes on mainstream TV, particularly when parts of those stories cross over with your own story.
Other great music documentaries or films, included Tim & Barry’s feature length “I’m Tryna Tell Ya” (about Footwork), Rollo Jackson’s “Slimzee’s Goin On Terrible” and docs that I contributed images to including Mikhail Mehra’s “Skream- Come With Me,” Mala’s “John Peel’s Record Box” and another Rollo Jackson production “London On a Regular.” The last three are very poignant at this very moment, as they all mention Forward>> which happened at the club Plastic People, which as announced this week, is set to close, forever. I really must also mention 20,000 Days On Earth, featuring Nick Cave, “The Possibilities Are Endless” about Edwyn Collin’s, “Diana Vreeland- The Eye Has to Travel” and Jonathan Glazer’s “Under The Skin.” The last two break the (perhaps obsessive) pattern of films about music, by being about an eccentric, life-loving fashion editor and an alien woman in Glasgow respectively.
My favourite label Hyperdub provided me with my favourite live show of the year and one of the only London night’s that I brought my camera to in 2014 (click on image for the gallery). Which was no mean feat as it involved strobes on an otherwise pitch black dark floor. Check out this guy in the centre, blinded. That was all of us in the room. What you can’t see or hear are the high pitched sounds that accompanied this particular part of Dean Blunt’s compelling and heartfelt set. An immense experience.
I’d like to say a big thank you to Hyperdub for a decade of music that is beyond great. The four Hyperdub 10. compilations that came out this year highlight their varied contribution to the sonic landscape, which includes the aforementioned Dean Blunt, Burial, Darkstar, Scratcha DVA, Cooly G, Ikonika, Kode9 and of course, DJ Rashad and Spaceape, both of whom very sadly passed away this year.
While I reflected on Rashad here, I never managed to post a proper tribute to Spaceape. I none the less felt his passing quite deeply and have been reminded repeatedly of his talent, this year. Most recently, it came up while re-watching the punishingly emotional dystopian epic that is Children of Men (watch it!) , which features his and Kode 9’s Backwards. Mala’s John Peel Record Box, closes peacefully with his track Sine of The Dub, again produced with Kode9, but this time under Spaceape’s earlier moniker Daddi Gee.
I was lucky enough to hang out and photograph him, in his different guises as well as his regular (happy and incredibly clever) Stephen Gordon self on a number of occasions. His early DMZ sets and his ability to instill a nameless dread over the chasms of Kode9’s music, is a memory deeply embedded in my psyche and undoubtedly, the collective psyche of music lovers worldwide. Rest in Peace Spaceape aka Steve Gordon.
10 YEARS OF BLACKDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the maddest things about Hyperdub’s 10th birthday is that it’s sort of all of our 10th birthdays – all as in everybody that was around on the dancefloors of FWD>> and DMZ 10 years ago. Ever the torch bearer shining light on the underground, Blackdown also celebrated his 10th birthday this year and wrote a lovely piece to mark it, in which Drumzofthesouth (and the name that Sgt Pokes beset upon me, “Soulsnatch”) got a few mentions. Following the post, there was a nice bit of reminiscing on Twitter between myself, Blackdown, Bok Bok, Dan Hancox and Seckle. All good guys, all involved, all progressing. Bok Bok was on the cover of DJ Mag this year and Hancox published some essential articles about gentrification for Vice. Blackdown himself is forging ahead with success with his label Keysound. Happy Birtday Blackdown.
10 YEARS OF DRUMZOFTHESOUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s funny, that considering that as a photographer and blogger my career is built on sentimentality, I did not manage to get my self together to publicly celebrate 10 YEARS OF DRUMZOFTHESOUTH, which as the story so far goes, “was born in 2004 with Quark and photocopier in Streatham Hill before becoming a blog.” TRUE STORY. 10 YEARS! Who even knows what Quark is these days? (The above pic is my old bedroom in Norwood where I blogged from). While I’ve been away from the blog a lot, distracted by Trees and crafting stories for FACT among other reputable media, my heart’s still here. I’m still interested in what’s happening underground and even though I often feel old at raves these days, or that I don’t want to take my camera out cos it’s heavy, my ears are still open.
So send me stuff or get in touch if you would like to contribute to drumzofthesouth in 2015, which as it goes will mark 10 years of DMZ (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) And in the meantime, I’ll be posting up a few other bits about 2014, including photos and a “Currently Feelin'” post, which as old Drumz’ readers know, is NOT simply stuff that’s been released recently but stuff that I’ve found and would like to share cos, well, sharing is caring.
Click on the image of Mala above to be taken to a video of him digging through John Peel’s archive. It’s a catalyst for a description of Mala’s own journey with music and proves very inspirational. Check out which tune Mala plays to his baby son to soothe him. Check out a collection of my images towards the end of the video. It was nice to be involved in this!! John Peel lives on. x
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