Lisa Maffia Wah Gwarn
babies – so it’s nice to know I am still connecting; and the only way to do that is play with old school garage and give them new elements from today’s market.” Some 10 years back, when things had dried up a little, Lisa opened up her own booking agency. It was going to be key to keep the bread and butter coming in, and the only way to do that was go down that route, she tells me:
and Aaron would write, and the production team would produce around their vocals: “And it works brilliantly that way, and so I become a producer, as well, so even more royalty for me! [laughs] But it’s collaboration that creates the great tracks; I can definitely see that now.” Lisa hopes to release an EP in November, and then save the rest of the material for next year: “I think with everything being so easily
“It’s collaboration that creates great tracks, I can definitely see that now.” “I called it UC Bookings, which stands for ‘Under Cover’, as I was embarrassed! I didn’t want anyone to know I was buying myself a job, know what I mean? [laughs] And that’s how I have met the artists I am working with now. It all came from me contacting them about booking me for gigs!” One team that has been responsible for some of Lisa’s production is 4, a Southampton-based crew who she feels have a serious grasp of both new and old school garage music: “They just did the Pure Garage mix, and they are so sick,” Lisa enthuses. “They’ve helped develop me as an artist; and then I got Aaron Soul in to write with me, too; and that was the first track that I knew was going to work. And from that, we made 13 tracks. I had a great team and a lot of gigs going on; I was educating myself throughout that period, and I’m sitting with co-writers now, and they are incredible. We have vibe sessions where we all co-write together, and I am flying through tracks. It’s quite inspiring, really, and it used to be quite embarrassing not writing your own stuff!” Producers would come in with a beat, Lisa
accessible and immediate today, I need to make sure I can stay here, and not throw the lot out right away,” she reflects. “I think stage it, as the industry is so fast now. There are no poster campaigns anymore; you get 10 seconds, and if they don’t like you, you’re gone.” Back in the day, So Solid would record a track, get it onto pirate radio, and then onto white sleeve (a 12-inch record with no label whatsoever). “We’d sell it out of a van, and put it into Red Records and all the other distributors in central London at the time, and you’d test it,” Lisa recalls. “With Bound 4 Da Reload, we sold 500,000 records on white label over three years; and the same happened with Oh No; and that’s where it started with the underground campaign. Then maybe it’d be picked up by a label some years later. It was a hard graft, and right at the end, Myspace came about with a music profile. And if you knew how to upload to it, that was another thing!” Evidence, indeed, just how much the industry has changed during that period. Coming out of So Solid was another learning curve for Lisa; after So Solid was banned, she was also scrutinised: “It was a strange time; I remember being
searched at doors for guns, which was just ridiculous, but it was also part of the journey, so it meant we had made an impact, and that made me keep going despite the negativity,” she says. “At that point, I was seven years deep, and I then opened my own label, Maffia Records, and signed this group called North Star – the baddest boys in North London, mind you! And they went to number one in the Channel U charts, and stayed there for five weeks; I did it all off my own back, getting them gigs, and I even brought them along with me as I did my modelling overseas. “In that same period, I opened my own agency, was touring with Romeo [from So Solid], and was island hopping, so I kind of never really saw the gap after So Solid finished, as I always had so many things going on.” So now, it’s full steam ahead with the new material. What’s the plan? “Well, I did five tracks with 4, and another five I think with The HeavyTrackerz, who are phenomenal, so it’s been lots of people, and it’s been incredible,” Lisa admits. “I even worked with a 15 year old who’s created my third single, and he just has this brain for old school garage! I have no idea how! But it’s really quality stuff. We found him randomly online, so that was really cool. “But we have to reform garage, and remake it into something fresh sounding. Underground garage is grime garage, so we tap into grime, but it has a lot more melody and rhythm, it’s all a bit more positive. “It’s happier, more dancey; grime is a lot more tough and boisterous. Lot of girls are into grime, but they don’t tend to be ‘dressing up getting ready for the weekend’ type of girls. I am determined to bring back that feel with my music, and I can’t wait to see how it will be received!” We wish Lisa and her team the very best of luck with the record – keep an eye out, people!
@lisamaffiauk
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