AVNT.G VOL 1

SPRING | SUMMER | 2019

ISSUE 01 | FREE

AVANT.GROUNDMAGAZINE.CO.UK

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AVNT.G | ISSUE 01

AVANT.GROUNDMAGAZINE.CO.UK

SPRING | SUMMER | 2019

EDITOR’S NOTES VOLUME 01

Welcome to Volume 01 of Avant.Ground Magazine where we celebrate the vibrations of Avant-garde culture from the underground scenes of the UK Bass Music generation.

Bringing you everything within and in-between Dubstep, Grime, Drum & Bass, Jungle, Hip Hop, Garage, Bashment and all the other sounds within the scene. How we are going to do this you may ask? By collating exciting blends of features and interviews with the most supreme, respected and rising artists within the industry.

Music is at the very core of AVNT.G’s livelihood, but do not worry we have everything else covered too. To keep at the stem of culture and lifestyle we have a large Fashion and Art emphasis bringing again influential artists, designers and brands from all different types of fields, tying together all the good stuff which represents the sounds as well as past and current forms of the underground subcultures of today.

Within this issue you can expect interviews from the likes of multi genre lyrical skeng man Killa P, Bandulu Records heavyweight member Hi5Ghost and London based don DJ Barely Legal to name a few.

As you proceed to flick through these pages you will also find interviews with Bristol based abstract artist Mr Penfold and Berlin based graffiti, tattoo artist Lugosis but That’s it now, no more telling, more reading.

Now go ahead read on, we hope within this first issue you find something which interests you, provides you with something new and that you did not know before. Sit back be entertained and embrace yourself within the world of the underground.

Peace and love from Avant.Ground. Enjoy. It’s all about the Bass.

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CREDITS

IMAGERY

WORDS

Ryan Hyde, Liam Furneaux, Joshua Snead, Cicely Grace, Louis Bever, Callum Cartwright, Ollie Kirk.

Ryan Hyde, Joe Rooney, Howie Thompson, Jake Newbury.

Cover shot Killa P by Cicely Grace. www.cicelygrace.myportfolio.com

ONLINE

THANKYOU

avant.groundmagazine.co.uk instagram.com/avantgroundmagazine facebook.com/avant.groundmagazine soundcloud.com/avant-groundmagazine

Killa P - Patrick Knight, Barely Legal - Chloe Robinson, Mr Penfold - Tim Gremshaw, Hi5Ghost - Courtney Beckford, Lemzly Dale - Sam Lambert, Wavey Ice - Alex Situnayake, 9Trane - Elliot Lea, Lugosis - Luca Lugosis, Royal Rags Charlie Ballett. ISLE3.

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CONTENTS

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NEWS | EVENTS

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OUTLOOK & DIMENSIONS FESTIVAL The last dance at the fort Organisers of two of Croatia's biggest, most prestigious and best known music festivals have announced that 2019 will see them holding their final events at Fort Punta Christo in Pula. This year's Outlook and Dimensions festivals will be the last to take place on the site in Ĺ tinjan, on the outskirts of Pula. The news will come as a shock and a disappointment to festival goers and locals alike.

Outlook Festival is the leading global event for bass music, a music scene which emerged from the UK in the wake of Dubstep music and which incorporates reggae, dub, Bassline house, garage, drum n bass and Dubstep. Almost every key player within these musics has visited Outlook Festival over the last decade. Dimensions Festival is Outlook's slightly younger cousin. It shares the same organisers and production as Outlook, its underground house, Techno, disco and electro soundtrack aimed at a slightly more mature audience. Numbers of visitors who have visited Pula directly because of these events number in the tens of thousands. Since Outlook and Dimensions started in Pula, the city is the third-rated (behind on Zagreb and Dubrovnik) on Google searches for Croatia.

However, the news isn't all bad. Festival goers and party people still have one last chance to enjoy themselves at these wonderful events, both on the site at Fort Punta Christo and at the amphitheatre in Pula, where they hold opening concerts for each festival.

Dimensions Festival takes place between Aug 28 - Sep 2, Outlook Festival takes place between September 4th - September 8th.

The line up for 2019's Outlook Festival and Dimensions is as heavy as previous years, make sure you make it down to the last dance in the fort as it really isn’t one to be missed.

NEWS | EVENTS

KEEP HUSH Keep Hush events are becoming more and more energetic from when each event ends to the next one beginning. Built from the ground up by founders Fred and Freddy who are two like minded music enthusiasts and long time DJ’s who have seen their events build stronger than ever since starting up the platform back in 2017.

The talented pair play electric blended sets that mix together selections from the best in the spectrum of Bass heavy and electronic music, mixing 140bpm fire dubs with party ready hip hop, house and disco anthems.

The platform born in London seeks to elevate creativity and foster community by uniting people and sound together with quality music wherever its found. Keep Hush is recognised now as one of the UK’s most exciting underground music movements aimed to bring artists from cutting edge labels such as the likes of Deep Medi and Swamp 81.

Keep posted by following their socials and sign up to their members page as events are RSVP only.

Get your self involved.

And remember Keep it Hush. @KEEPHUSHUK KEEPHUSH.NET

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LORD OF THE MICS VIII Legendary Grime clash Lord of the Mics is soon upon us to take the Grime scene by storm for the 8th instalment. Jammer and his team have been busy rustling up something very special since the Last LOTM so we are definitely in for something special.

It has not yet been announced when and where this series of LOTM will take place but there has been talk about it being redirected to its roots where it all began back in the basement of Jammer’s East London house, known as ‘The Dungeon’ where some of the most iconic moments in Grime have been documented such as Wiley & Kano’s clash.

What has been revealed though is that their will be a total of 30 Grime stars involved with the clashes as well as the first batch of names and clashes to join the history book of LOTM8, Wanting to support the new generation of up and coming Grime stars, Jammer’s selection of clashes so far has been curated with a masterful eye and sees some very promising stars making their LOTM debut.

The clash line up so far is Ten Dixon vs Tana, Tommy B vs Jay 0117, T Roads vs SBK, Rawza vs Gen & Logan vs Ghostly.

Stay tuned to find out the next stages of information once more is announced.

NEWS | EVENTS

LET IT ROLL Let It Roll is the biggest Drum & Bass Festival within Europe, back in 2002 they appeared in the Czech dance scene where they began hosting club nights which over the years has progressively evolved into being one of the best festivals in the world for its genre.

The festival is now coming up to their 11th year in the game located within the Czech Republic town of Milovice. Festival goers fly out by their thousands each year to the country to experience the best of the best within the Drum & Bass world.

This year features probably the heaviest Line up to date totalling to around 300 sound breaking acts with artists such as Chase & Status, Andy C. Pendulum, Nosia and Benny L to really just name a few.

If your into Drum & bass then this is a definite motive to hit up this summer.

The festival starts From the 1st - 4th of August, and prices start from as little as £90 so if you haven’t already booked your place, get on it! Round your mates together and get it booked in.

Visit the Let it roll website for more information.

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BOILER ROOM Boiler room have a few events coming up around the UK within the next few months here are some of the events happening, starting things with Bass & Percs in London on the 3rd of April with a heavy selection of bass selectors on the line up ranging from the likes of Bandulu gangs Boofy & Hi5Ghost, Conducta, Ethua, Elkka and Sicaria Sound.

The next one coming to Bristol on May 10th at Motion, will not be one to be missed. Unlike Most Boiler rooms this is not a invite only request event, tickets are being sold for this, which will sure sell out. Line up is yet to be announced, be sure to keep your eyes peeled.

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Jungle Cakes springtime Unity Carnival is set to be true vibes for any Junglist out there. If you haven’t made it down to a Jungle Cakes bash before then your in for a treat, they always set the stakes high, and as you can see it goes with out saying when you read the line up. Bringing together Ed Solo, Deekline & Serial Killaz for a very special B2B2B accompanied by Legendary MC General Levy who will be performing his Jungle anthem ‘Incredible’ for the 25th year since it was released. + Many more big names.

Dubstep and Electro label run by Loefah Named after Operation Swamp 81, the stop and search laws which were put in place in 1981 throughout the South London area of Brixton and which directly lead to the infamous race riots of that year is celebrating a massive 10 years of the label with a massive party and monster line up Presented

by HVYWGHT in London at Fire Vauxhall. Powered by Sinai Sound system. Do not miss out on this one if your a Swamp fan this will go down in history.

Critical Sound are back with a bang, after last Summer’s BBQ event going so well, they have decided to do it again, this time around making the day even mightier pulling together some of the biggest names across the Drum & Bass spectrum to toast the speakers of one of the best venues in the city of London.

Teaming up with DJ Marky & Friends as well as Vandal Records.

This really is going to be one to be prepared for, expect to see a whole range of incredible artist such as the D&B pioneer himself Dillinja.

12 APR | 10PM - 5AM | £10 - £20 | BRIXTON JAMM | LONDON

21 APR | 10PM - 6AM | £8 - £20 | FIRE VAUXHALL | LONDON

25 MAY | 12PM - 12AM | £14 £22 | STUDIO 338 | LONDON

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Wide eyes Bristol’s weekly Bass event are continuously making every night that they host a night to remember. Welcoming Exit Records great Skeptical down for his 140 debut in the city accompanied

by SP:MC. The rest of the line up features Deep Medi heavyweights Coki B2B with Koast and lastly the Japanese Genius Goth Trad.

Support from resident DJ’s such as Hutton and Sub-Lo. Will be very dark and dangerous and some war dubs surprises in store for sure.

This one is a night not to be missed.

Hospitality in the park returns for round four and its sure going to be crazy! The line up for this one is incredible, bringing together all the powerhouses from the industries best artists within the Drum & Bass scene around the world. Hospitality, Outlook, King of the Rollers and Critical Music all have their own stages. On the day you can expect artists such as Deep Medi lead figure Mala, Skeptical, Jam Baxter, Dirty Dike, Chimpo, Nu:Tone, Serum, Voltage, Bladerunner, go check the full line up.

Sequences day Festival is back for its fourth year in the running after three successful years within Motion Bristol. This year they are returning with a new larger venue which is yet to be revealed.

Sequences brings together across multiple spaces the very best names in the underground Bass music scene’s, this year expect full energy as always and the likes of DJ EZ, Headie One, Jaykae, P Money, Kings of The Rollers, Mefjus, Kasra, Halogenix, Mala, Kahn, Mungo’s Hifi and many more. Get tickets now.

7 JUN | 10PM - 5AM| £3 - £8 | LAKOTA| BRISTOL

21 SEP | 11AM - 10:30PM | £35 £50 | FINSBURY PARK | LONDON

17 AUG | 12PM - 11PM | £16 £32 | LOCATION TBA | BRISTOL

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FASHION | ISLE 3

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ISLE 3 ISLE 3 founded around September 2018, is a unique product service and archive offering rare, sought after garments for styling, rental and sale purposes. The Isle 3 archive consists of vintage to current season pieces from designer fashion labels such as Prada, Common des Garçons, Stone Island, Undercover, Arc’teryx and other highly coveted brands. Be sure to check them out to learn more about products and to be able to get your hands on special one off pieces. @ISLE3ARCHIVE

FASHION | STUDIO ALCH

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STUDIO ALCH Studio Alch founder Alexandra Hackett AKA MiniSwoosh is an Australian menswear designer based within London, Her label focusses on the process of deconstruction and reconstruction within product, with the idea to expand the lifespan of a pre existing product with functionality and purpose.

This challenges conventional practicality of non traditional apparel fabrications and design methods.

Alch has now released many striking collections and also collaborated with brands such as the likes of Nike, Patta and the Basement and also created garments for Musical figures such as Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Young Thug, Frank Ocean and most recently SantanDave Alch products are available to purchase through the online website and in store and online at Selfridges London. @STUDIOALCH A-L-C-H.COM

FASHION | ROYAL RAGS

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ROYAL RAGS Royal Rags is a vintage designer clothing distributor based in Bristol UK. Selling the best in vintage designer and sportswear from brands such as Burberry, Stone Island, Fendi, Valentino, D&G, Polo Sport plus many more.

Royal Rags aim is to showcase pieces that many haven’t even seen before or don’t often come up on the market for sale, bringing something more unique to the customer rather than just a plain Ralph Lauren polo. Royal rags is never knowing what you’re going to find and as a company they build the customers anticipation by surprising people with bigger and better drops every time.

To shop and find out more about Royal Rags check out there online shop and Depop. @ROYALRAGS ROYALRAGS.CO.UK

FASHION | HYDENSEEK

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HYDENSEEK The brand with the eyes goes by the name HydenSeek, after founder Ryan Hyde labelled all his creative work under the name his brand sticks by it to. Creating limited pressings off iconic character fuelled illustrations which take influence from Rave and Drug culture.

Available to buy. @HYDENSEEK777 HYDENSEEKPORTFOLIO.CO.UK

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | HI5GHOST

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MUSIC | INTERVIEW | HI5GHOST

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Courtney Beckford Better known as Hi5Ghost is one of the four members from the all mighty Bandulu Records, who works alongside founders Kahn & Neek and Boofy. Hi5Ghost is Responsible for the likes of his iconic Grime riddim Kung Fu Kick which he released through the label back in 2014, since then he has been busy selecting at events and making music, taking charge of his own label Paper Cranes which he released his most latest EP Isoluate on in late 2018 aswell as all of this balancing his studies towards a degree. He gave us some time out of his day to talk to us about himself and his musical journey so far just ahead of his debut Boiler room set.

Hi5ghost tell us about yourself?

I’m Hi5Ghost, my real name is Courtney. I moved to Bristol probably about 12 years ago now, I feel like music wise it only started being more of a career for me within the last 7 years.

I moved from Greenwich South London. At the time when I was growing up in London music wise it was something I wanted to do, but there wasn’t anything near where I grew up which made it accessible to get into it. It was just like a bag of man in a youth club just spraying aggy bars.

It was only when I would go and visit my Uncle Peter, who is part of Smith & Mighty he would be like ‘yeah you need to clean up your sound’ kind of thing. Where as until I moved to Bristol I didn’t have any piers on the same wave length.

All my friends just wanted to be on badness; none of them wanted to be on music like that.

Before I did the Hi5ghost sort of thing I used to be an MC where I used to go under the name of Sparkaboi. I moved here as an MC - I just wanted to be a grime MC, I then linked up with a friend and we done a Hjp-Hop and grime live act for a bit. Then I met Kahn & Neek not long after, but they wasn’t Kahn & Neek at the time. Kahn was doing his own thing and Neek was part of another crew called Tokin Mandem. They invited me to perform at a Sure skank event that they ran when they were still at the Tube Bristol -before they moved to Clash Mansion also in Bristol. Since then I became their host MC and I used to do loads of shows with Khan who used to bring me out as his MC. it was fun man, I was cool with the True Tiger lot and also Chunky: we were all pretty blessed.

Taking things way back to your early years, can you tell us about how it all started and any of the key defining moments of getting into music?

Again what I mentioned before about my uncle, he’s definitely been a big inspiration for me. I remember he used to have a poster of the Atlas in his old flat: it would have pins placed on every part of the world he had played in. Just looking at that whilst growing up I was just like ‘boom. I want to see the world and do that because of music’.

So would you say your Uncle is one of your earliest memories of music then?

Yeah hands down he introduced me, yeah both of my uncles actually. My Uncle Peter, he introduced me to like early Jungle and Drum & Bass. Then my Uncle Rodger introduced me to garage in the early days when I was really young. Then I just took that and started finding Pirate radio stations and listening to grime in its really early stages. I was just amazed by it; I remember being like ‘what the hell is this kind of darker garage thing’ even before grime was a thing; before anybody knew what to call it.

Moving to Bristol gave me the confidence, people were telling me I had the bars and they would pay me to host. Then I was able to make some P from it too.

In the part of London I was in it was a bit of a distance to get to where all the stuff I wanted to be involved where it was all happening. If you weren’t in the know already you were going to miss it. Music wasn’t really popping in Greenwich, and also in them times the internet isn’t what it is now, you get me?

We didn’t have social media, Youtube, or anything like that; Yeah we had tings like Myspace, Bebo and Facepick, all of them old school ones, but not how it is now. But at the same time everyone just wanted to kick ball; everyone wanted to be like Ian Write, Bergkamp or Henry, you get me? (laughs).

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Who would you say are your key inspirations who keep you motivated?

Definitely my piers man. We all encourage each other; seeing what they do makes me want to better myself. I got to say Joker and Mensa as well: Mensa from day dot has always supported me from when I was an MC. He made sure I got bookings and since I started producing he’s always been there.

When I was first making beats he used to work in TNT; he would always be like ‘come round you can play your tunes here on the speakers, and I will help you’. I used to pop in and when he stopped working there and took up music full time it was still the case. My tunes were shit at the time. My tunes were fucking trash, but he was still kind enough to be supportive and likewise with Joker man who gave me great advice many times.

lot out. We all just met through events like I mentioned before, such as SureSkank which Khan and Neek were involved with. This bought us closer together, and from then on it just naturally grew and grew.

This then lead onto collectively starting our own thing together with Bandulu.

I met Boofy through Lamont. I used to have a show on Ujima FM, years ago when they started up and a friend was like ‘I’ve got a mate that lives in Bath he’s a sick producer’. So I got him involved and literally from that time we have been boys ever since.

I don’t know how Lamont and Boofy became friends, but I got to know Boofy well when I would go round Lamonts. Boofy would be there and we would all just be jamming,

As well as being a talented Producer and DJ you are also getting a degree is that right?

Yeah. I’m on my final stage of wrapping everything up on my degree at the moment.

I’m at DBS doing an music engineering degree; been there three years now. I’ll be happier once it’s done: I have learnt a lot, but I wish I could make more music and invest in myself on a more personal level. So I am excited to have the time to do that once I have finished the course.

How did you and all the Bandulu gang all meet?

So a lot of people I’ve met in Bristol just through events and being around. I hope this is still the case for new producers and people that live in the city now. Being able to build bonds with people who you have mutual interests with through events and music is what helped us

catching jokes and listening to beats.

There are so many years between us.

We’ve known each other for so long, we all came up together and we were all friends first, so there’s no ego’s.

If anything we are all just trying to support each other, and try to make sure if one of us eats we all eat.

You all play and release your music through Vinyl how does this play part with the DIY element you all push as independent artists and within Bandulu?

From a personal perspective nowadays if you see me DJing I will be playing off USB’s. I miss playing Vinyl because I know my records

inside out - my performance is better when I know I’ve got 50 tunes in this bag, I know every side of this tune, I know the intro, I know the bars, I know the breaks. But when I play through my USB I’ve got so many tunes it’s like ‘ahhhh’ you kind of get blind by the music.

When you’re putting out music on a vinyl only label its because you support the culture that comes with the records. It’s just a shame nowadays that like you rock up to a venue and the decks aren’t set up correctly and it sounds horrible. It’s not worth having a shit experience with everyone, so that’s why I tend to play off of USB more nowadays, as if you can’t beat them join them init. Nowadays Bandulu events have became more of a thing where anything goes, but before all of us would turn up with the main tunes we already knew we wanted to play, we would have cut all our other tunes on record.

Then a few other tracks would be on USB if we didn’t have it on record. Nothing beats playing off and having records, I do miss it but it’s just the nature of how venues have grown to where they are now.

When did you cut your first dub and for anybody who wants to start what advice would you give them?

I started cutting Dubs, just before my first Bandulu release. I would say to anyone who wants to cut records and it’s your own music, just make sure you go to a good cutting house. I would recommend Henry from DUB Studio he will sort you out he is the guy. Also it is costly, so make sure you got the P’s their to do it properly, as you don’t want to get a shitty job done it will show within the sound. I need to get back on the vinyl ting! I have such a love for it, its the best way.

The original way is always best.

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Any projects that you are currently working on?

You have your own label Paper Cranes any releases coming through this year?

Unfortunately not, nothing that is pencilled in, due to uni really. I’m just looking forward to getting my education out of the way, and then I can have that as my main focus again.

Give us 3 of your favourite tracks at the moment?

Drone - M416 Ivy Labs - Cake Herzeloyde & Montell2099 - You Tell us one thing that would surprise us about yourself?

Some producers have a stash of unreleased music with no plans of releasing it, Do you have a stash of unreleased music?

I am unbeatable on Mario Kart Double Dash. I will say that with my chest, when It comes to that I’m the guy. (laughs)

Naaa, not even I wont even lie. I’m jealous of producers like that - I always say to people who say to me ‘I’m getting my first release soon’ make sure you have a good few tunes just siting there. Then once you’ve got that first tune out and got a bit of buzz you’ve already got material to release not long after. So you don’t feel the pressure like ‘ahh I’ve got to make something else’, because that was definitely something I wish I had done slightly different after my first few records.

Musical guilty pleasures?

The way I work now if I’m working on an EP or a certain project I like to spend time to find samples, and create sounds for weeks: I like to have a library of samples and sounds I’ve made myself. For me I find this makes the production side of things a little easier. I feel this stops myself from using the same stuff all of the time. It’s so easy to keep going back to the same sample pack, and if you’ve made your own you’re likely to be more creative with it.

Your go to beverage in the summer?

You are playing at your first Boiler room in April, how do you feel about that?

Yeah man It will be good of course as it’s my first time doing a Boiler room. I am happy they reached out and gave us a shout, sometimes it feels you get forgotten about when you’re from Bristol. I am happy that Sicaria Sound and Conducta are on the line up it will be fun to share that experience with them, as they are friends.

IceJJFish, Bhad Bhabie, I just find them jokes man.

Bhad has actually got bars too you know (laughs) I love my 90’s R&B all the sloppy stuff.

One track that you wish you made?

Joker Kapsize - Tempered

White Duppy. It’s a special Wray Nephews on ice with Lime cordial and a slice of lime. That will set you nice.

You got £5 to spend in your local off-license what you getting?

Mango and lime Rubicon, Pringles, Wine Gums. I’ve got a couple fillings so it’s not the one sometimes though with wine gums but they’re still worth it (laughs). I feel like I’m really basic when it comes to the whole snack thing, because I feel that the selection is poor unless you go to another country. Thinking about my local corner shop the selection is dead, so I’m just always picking bland flavours. (laughs) If your were to have any other job for a day not to do with music what would it be?

Probably working in Nasa, that would be a madting!

Where can we catch you playing at coming up in the next months? Any Bandulu takeovers to be revealed?

There’s a lot of things which are pending at the moment which I have to keep on the down low. But yeah myself and the Bandulu crew will be doing bits throughout these next months so keep your eyes peeled!

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MUSIC | ON THE RISE | LEMZLY DALE

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ON THE RISE

LEMZLY DALE

On The Rise presents Lemzly Dale who co runs Bristol Labels Sector 7 Sounds and self runs his own Pearly whites. He answered some questions to let us know more about the man behind the music.

Lemzly co runs Sector 7 with Bandulu member Boofy which he had his remix of ‘Hi5ghost’s Holy I$$h’ laid on to wax on Bandulu Records back in 2017. His most recent work that he is responsible for is his ‘Catty EP’ released through Sector 7 back in 2018.

This is what Lemzly had to say.

Lemzly Dale who are you?

Who are key people who have inspired you?

Just a guy who enjoys making music and not always talking… good intro for an interview.

Producer-wise: Dot Rotten, Swifta Beater, Preditah, Joker, Guido, Gemmy, Gundam, Boss Mischief, Invader Spade, James Blake, Samiyam, The Neptunes, Timbaland, J Dilla, Knxwledge and Exile. All my mates are a huge inspiration as well.

What labels are you with/working with?

Mainly my own, Pearly Whites and Sector 7 that I run with Boofy. I’ve released a few things with White Peach and some others but I’m not overly fussed about working with other labels. DIY suits me best.

What would you say you are most recognisable for?

Panned hi-hats, catchy riffs and smoking pencils.

How would you describe the music that you create?

Stripped back, melodic, usually some sort of a crossover between Grime and Hip-Hop. Why do you think Bristol is thriving so much within underground musical talent?

I’m not sure why exactly, people say it’s something in the water. A lot of sick producers I know have moved here recently as well. There’s loads of good art here in general so it’s a pretty inspiring place to be.

What would you say your most proud of achieving in music terms?

Putting out a record was the first thing. Playing in Japan and Korea was crazy. Also me and Hi5 had a remix out on Kapsize which was big for me as it was one of my favourite labels as a teenager.

What do you do when you need inspiration?

Smoke, maybe meditate or go to the gym, find something to sample. Sometimes you gotta take time away from music anyway, I never try to force it if I’m not in the mood.

Any upcoming releases?

Got a tune on the next Pearly record, also sat on a good 3 or 4 EPs. What is your favourite festival?

Not been to many but Glastonbury was my favourite for sure.

What is your earliest memory of music?

My brother used to run around our garden singing ‘Boom Boom Boom’ by The Outhere Brothers.

Your 5 favourite tracks of all time?

Yoooo, my head is spinning just thinking about this so I’m gunna save the hassle and move on (laughs).

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What can you not get through the day without?

Breathing. And if I wasn’t being a smartass I’d probably say cereal.

What song/track is your Guilty pleasure?

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten.

One track that you wish you made?

‘JME - Mash’ just so I could have a proper copy.

What would surprise us about yourself?

I wear a hat when I get out the shower, It makes it go better. (laughs) For your life to feel complete what do you need to do?

I’d love to be able to make a living off of doing something I enjoy. There’s a couple goals I want to achieve musically, really though I’m just trying to live a healthy life and keep doing what I love and I’ll be good.

Performing at any events/festivals this summer?

Nothing planned at the moment. Yet to play a festival actually, I should try and make that happen.

MUSIC | ON THE RISE | 9TRANE

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ON THE RISE

9TRANE

On The Rise presents 9Trane a producer and DJ who is making an impact within the 140 scene, most recognisable for his track ‘Compute Riddim’ Ft Killa P and Badness’ and also ‘Appletize’ which were both released on 1Forty label, which he does a lot of work with. We asked him some questions to find out more about himself.

9trane who are you?

I am a Dj and Producer originally from Essex but currently living in Norwich.

What labels are you working with?

I have released a lot of music with 1Forty as well as playing sets with them at their events, other labels include Dissident Sound, Southpoint, Eatmybeat and Project AllOut Records.

What tracks would you say you are most recognisable for?

I would probably say my tune ‘APPLETIZE’ & ‘COMPUTE RIDDIM’ which features a vocal from Killa P & Badness (Both out on 1Forty).

How would you describe the music that you create?

I used to pretty much only make 140 (Grime & Dubstep) but have recently started experimenting with Techno/ Swampy UK Bass stuff. Whatever I make tends to be on the dark side and I’ve tried create some signature sounds throughout.

MUSIC | ON THE RISE | 9TRANE

What would you say your most proud of achieving in music terms?

Just being able to play in different cities and even countries has been mad, I’ve also had a fair amount of mentions in both Mixmag & Dj Mag which is real cool.

Who are key people who have inspired you?

When I first started to go out and experiencing underground/bass music it was people like Skream, Pearson Sound, Addison Groove and Tessela that first inspired me. I believe this is the reason for me recent tempo switch, it feels great to be making tunes that fit nicely with the ones I grew up with. Recently I’ve been inspired by Paleman, Walton, Biome, Massappeal & Egoless.

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Your 5 favourite tracks of all time?

I’ve always dreaded this question as its impossible to answer, Here are that I tend to play a lot in my sets.

Tessela - Hackney Parrot J.D Reid - Rōshi ft. D Double E Chase & Status - Take Me Away N.Y.T.A - Swarm Emmanuel Jal - Kuar (Henrik Schwarz Remix) What song/track is your Guilty pleasure?

I’m quite happy to end a set on Kelis - Millionaire Ft Andre 3000 if I’m playing last!

What would surprise us about yourself?

I’ve made 95% of my tunes either sitting on my bed or sitting on a train.

For your life to feel complete what do you need to do?

To be able to do music full time!

Performing at any festivals this summer?

Looking to play at even more festivals than last year, hopefully some abroad again like Outlook. Club event wise I’ve already racked up a fair few since January so looking to carry on the momentum throughout the year!

What do you do when you need inspiration?

When it comes to getting writers block I always try and make something completely random to clear my head. I’ve made tunes that have guitar samples and weird animal noises which maybe I will share with the world one day.

What is your favourite festival?

Outlook!

Any upcoming releases?

Loads this year, dates to be announced.

A few I can mention are: Remix for Hedchef out on Dissident Sounds.

A vinyl only Southpoint release.

Punks Music E.P featuring a vocal from DREAD MC Colab E.P with Ferguson.

Remix for Vital Techniques Ft. General Levy

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CAPTURE | LOUIS BEVER

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LOUIS BEVER My name is Louis Bever. My dad is in the army and speaks a hefty amount of languages which resulted in my brother and I going to different schools in different countries across Europe. I mainly grew up in France, Italy and Germany. I have been taking pictures as a hobby since I was 16.

My grandpa gave me his camera. When I finished my law degree , my mum made a bet that if I got a 2.1 , she’d buy me a Leica camera. I now have a Leica and a 2.1 which isn’t too bad! I have been shooting skateboarding and portraits on both 35mm and 120 format. Usually in Paris. I try to go back 1-2 times a year to shoot a new series.

An idea pops into my head when I’m having a shower and I just think ‘i need to buy a plane ticket to Paris’. This then leads to me sleeping on a sofa for a week or 2 next to the Notre Dame which is great. I shoot mainly pictures of friends and anyone that catches my eye. I have done work for Wimbledon and various editorial projects for brands over the years such as the Basement. @LOUISBEVER

CAPTURE | LIAM FURNEAUX

LIAM FURNEAUX Who are you and how did you get into Photography?

My name is Liam and I guess I am a fashion photographer. I grew up in a small village called Cheddar, where there wasn’t loads to do there, so I used to skate with friends everyday. I would say that’s how I got into photography.

My parents bought me a Minolta 35mm film camera for my birthday when I was about 15 or 16. I would just take it with me whenever we were skating. From there I got really into skateboarding photography, that was definitely my main focus from like age 18 to 22.

Now I work for Carhartt WIP in the Bristol store as well I am working for the British Fashion Council, photographing backstage at London fashion week throughout the year.

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CAPTURE | LIAM FURNEAUX

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What are your favourite events that you have been involved with?

Top of the list would have to be the British fashion awards! That was a pretty mad event! Running around the Royal Albert hall with a couple different film cameras photographing Kendall Jenner, Virgil Abloh, Samuel Ross and the Beckham’s was well mad.

I’ve photographed loads of other fun events too, a lot of in store events for Carhartt such as NTS, Sequences and Love drums.

They’re always mad good to shoot, lots of energy and characters.

I always take my camera to gigs and events that I like the look of in Bristol and else where. Keep Hush Neffa-T presents was a madness, which is another personal favourite for sure!

I always enjoy shooting backstage at London fashion week, the buzz around the whole place gets me, running around, loading film as quick as possible, pushing through people to get shots. Once the show is done, that’s it! Shooting it all on film I feel I have to be really on it, making sure I get every look.

CAPTURE | LIAM FURNEAUX

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What do you shoot with?

The main camera I shoot with and take everywhere with me is a Fuji GA645W. It’s suits the kind of things I shoot perfectly, it’s quick, built in flash, not too heavy or big for a medium format camera! If I am working on more personal projects then I shoot with my Mamiya RB67. I also use a 3D film camera to make gifs!

What excites you most about photography?

There’s a couple things that do. One of them would be that the events and fashion weeks I shoot don’t feel like work at all. I think shooting everything on film just keeps it fun and feels more like a hobby I guess.

I get excited trying to find new styles and ways to shoot as well, there are so many sick photographers around, so it’s fun to find new ways to shoot, experiment with different cameras, projects and so forth. I guess you’ve gotta try stand out, I find that exciting to do!

Any upcoming projects you’re working on?

At the moment I am mostly shooting backstage fashion week stuff each season, that keeps me pretty busy. I would like to take more time to work on some slower personal projects, maybe an exhibition. I’d also quite like to put some kind of book together from everything I have shot over the years at London fashion week.

I shoot so much when I am there yet 3 or 4 images will be used for Instagram and that is it, so I would like to focus more on print, exhibitions and maybe making a book this year for sure.

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | KILLA P

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We caught up with Killa P the renowned multi genre artist to gather a clearer insight. Looking back at his growth as an artist and how he developed into the person and performer that we see him as today, Following what has been a big few years for features and releases for Killa and what he has in the pipeline next. We dove in to his transition from the road to the music industry as well as finding out more about himself outside of music on a more personal level.

For the people that know you who is Killa P and for the people that don’t know you who is Killa P? Well Killa P is an artist and a versatile artist; my killing is a work of art that’s why the P stands for Picasso and not Patrick.

Musically I’ve always been killing it, if they’ve only just acknowledged it now or whenever but before there was Grime, there was always Bashment. I was making it and killing it in Bashment before, but yeah Killa P has always been a versatile artist where his killing is always been a work of art at all times, but still a person of principle, man has respect and for these normal things ya know.

Even though the name stands like a rock or a mountain the person who carries the face of that name maintains the fact that there is still a lot of respect that needs to be shown in order to be received.

When did it all begin for you, as I understand you started taking it seriously around 2002?

Yeah professionally it started around that time. I just came out of prison and all that malarky, but I had already been in the music industry itself from way early in the late 80s. I had already been performing all over the place from those times, coming up there was never a platform for us as a UK young artist. That new generation lot coming through, there wasn’t a platform for us.

So when grime became the platform I was like, WOW! what’s this? Ok I am going to transform everything I got over to this side, when I came into the game I was the shittest guy, I wasn’t the best, I got footage that still needs to be released and when people see that they gunna think RAHH! he was actually shit though, how did he wing it like that? You practice your craft init and stick to it, you got to be true to yourself and I sacrificed a lot to be where I am at man it never came overnight.

There’s so many losses that we have taken along the way within the journey, that I am just glad to be here.

It started in 2002 when I came out of jail, I decided that I had to take it serious, but at the same time I still had my feet in the road, you know, you’re still a road man you aint made a full transition yet into the music industry itself. 2005 I got caught up in a big raid, I was the only person who kinda got out of that raid. Had I got caught in that raid I wouldn’t be here now, until this day I wouldn’t be here. In that same place where I was hiding whilst the raid was going on I made the decision that I am going to leave the road to be the road and I’m going to be with the music because that’s where my heart’s at. For me from 2005 onwards I’ve been 1000% music all the way, nothing else.

It’s crazy you know because in the beginning you know how much money we were spending to get to places? We didn’t care, we didn’t give a fuck how much it cost to get to Leeds, Manchester, Huddersfield any flipping place.

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | KILLA P

We done the whole place already, we’re doing it the third time round again now! Imagine back then we were just spending so much just to be there, we were happy to just spend. Now we do the work and we get paid to do the work.

A lot of people that do the work have become complacent and I’m thinking like, have you actually forgotten where we actually coming from? Like we come from when we used to spend money to get here ya know, that’s because the vibe was so good and the brotherly connection that we had together was so tight and real, that’s all we wanted.

I was lucky to have my cousin Flowdan, having him in the mix, For me he’s a different character to me init, where I’m more of a hot headed guy things might happen and yeah, I just might react now and think about the consequences later; we don’t care about much afterwards anyway. But for Flowdan he’s a thinker so I’ve seen a lot of ups and downs in both of our lives init and the way he handles it is to keep it moving, stick with the music and keep it moving.

Things always work its way out, so I’ve been watching his moves and trying to make that same transition myself, and it’s not easy; but making that transition, that’s what I’ve been watching, to make that transition and that’s because of Flowdan init.

I would never leave Grime, I’ll tell you why. I made a promise to Grime because you see the dark places that Grime has taken me away from right?

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And all of these near misses with life and death yeah, I genuinely appreciate every supporter that has supported my journey; I genuinely appreciate every promoter that’s actually booked me for a show; I appreciate that everybody that contributed to any step that has helped me reach up the ladder, anyway down the line, and for that alone this is why I go into every show. It don’t matter how much I am being paid to do the show and how long my set is, nine times out of ten it’s supposed to be a 60 minute or 90 minute set, I’ll go in there and I know that the people are there to see me and I’ll feel the energy.

So once I see that and I feel that, bro I’m there for the whole night, performing on stage and I don’t care how much I was paid, this is about giving back to the people who have actually come and spent their money. It makes the establishment look good, it makes the promoters look good and obviously it makes myself look good also, but we all have a good night.

I come off stage and I want to take my pictures with my supporters because a lot of them have listened to my music for years, they’ve maybe never seen me before; it may be the first time they’re seeing me.

Some people have only seen me on Youtube before: you’ve got to have time for these things; a lot of people I’ve seen don’t have that time, they don’t make that time. I wanna make sure that I’ll always have the time; I’m never bigger than the people that put me to where I’m at. Everybody’s important to me bro.

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | KILLA P

Your a renowned multi genre artist. Am I right in saying that you started as a Dancehall/Bashment artist and then moved onto Dubstep and Grime?

Yeah, my old crew used to be called Fright Night Crew. I started with Grime and then I went into Dubstep on the back of working on the Skeng project. I started working with a producer called Cotii who was a friend of mine at the time, close friend at the time actually, working with him and experimenting with the sounds, it was cool.

I’ve done a few more Drum and Bass tracks, collaborations with the likes of Trigger, Sam Binga, Chimpo, and Johnny Cash from the Hoods Up project.

I’ve worked on the Richie Brains project which is more like Jungle themed style again. I’ve got a Jungle tune with Congo Natty which will be released shortly.

How would you describe the music that you create?

I would say its authentic to who I am, my personality, my culture, how I came up. I’m a Jamaican, my people are from Jamaica, both my parents. I grew up in a Jamaican household: Yeah, I’m in England but I’m in a Jamaican household, the whole family speaks Jamaican, but at the same time we still talk like normal English youts, because we come from the roads. We went to normal English schools, we’re engaging with everybody else, there’s no segregation, we’re all one. When you hear me spitting in the way I do with the yardie ting it’s because most of the time I’m around the Jamaican mandem who speak raw. I’ve found a way that I can speak kinda like an English yardie, some sorta Cockney yardie kinda ting, I don’t know how it came about, just naturally.

What is your favourite festival?

Ow my favourite festival, huh? well I’m going to be real, you see Sector 6 at Boomtown? Brother when those flames are coming out of those horns either side of the stage and your at the top looking at 30,000 people and you cant even see the last person at the back, lights, lighters, smoke all going off left right and centre its just nuts; that energy I cant even explain. That was my first year at Boomtown this year 2018 and that was epic.

Any festival in England Boomtown is the baddest festival nobody can chat to me about dat, yeah but when it comes to overall festival nothing can chat to Outlook, that’s the end of the year party everyone’s their to celebrate together and all of that, what I get to do whatever I want? You mad, I love it.

Outlook’s my favourite, every boat, every stage, Nothing but fun out deya, great memories.

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What are your favourite events and venues around the UK? Bristol’s my place bro, all the events in Bristol they kill it, High-Rise, Sequences all of them. BlueMountains my spot, Motions sick too, it seems like I’ve got a very heavy fan base in Bristol that’s my second home.

London’s sick still I used to love doing Fabric but I haven’t done Fabric for a good few years now, I mean them venues there, Brixton Electric is crazy.

How does the UK underground music scene compare to other places you have travelled too?

There’s quite a few places in the world that are like working with our kinda sound, but in there own way, you got places like Denmark, you got Estonia, Russia even in Croatia there building riddims that sound like ours.

Ive been working with Numacrew from Italy, we just released a new EP ‘We Nuh Tek Talk’. Theres a lot of people building 140, which is good anything that is 140 is us we built 140, thats us. I think is a great thing that its spreading, only good can come from it because its gunna come back to us in the end. we made that sound. onwards and upwards.

What would you say you are doing to the scene?

What I’m doing to the scene is leaving a legacy of hard work and hard graft, I think that’s what I’m doing to the scene, if anyone’s got there eyes open and is on the same type of journey they would clearly oversee by watching my journey what it takes to be seen, heard and acknowledged. Because I wasn’t being seen or heard before and all I done was tripled the work load.

We can be the best fucking lyricist in the UK or anywhere, we could be the best lyricist, the best actor, best actress the best anything you want to be, but if you haven’t got the full package meaning your not a people’s person you don’t know how to conduct yourself in public places, you don’t know how your being perceived or how your perceiving yourself, your mannerisms are very off, your vibes aren’t good you make people feel uneasy around you.

If you got all those traits but then you are a great lyricist or a great writer or a great performer, all those bad parts that you have right beside that good, thats going to fuck up your greatness. As well as we have the ability to rock a party and rock a crowd and all of that, you better believe you aint going to disrespect anybody in the building because everybody in the building’s your colleague.

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | KILLA P

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What would you say the highlight of your career has been so far?

The highlight for me was the first time I ever done the live opening ceremony with the Outlook Orchestra in Pula, that for me was mental, first time my legs ever wobbled and my legs don’t wobble for shit. I walked out there and I was like Rahh.

Yeah it was real, energy was real, if anything for me the fact we done a live orchestra performance, was completely different; where I’m coming from guys don’t get to do that we just about get a live band if your lucky.

Your favourite up and coming artists?

Artists that I’ve been working with the last couple years has been Irah and Long-range, but an up and coming artist to look out for right now is definitely Long-range, he’s a problem, a lot of people don’t see him coming but that’s why his name is long-range.

Look out for PK too he’s been doing bits, PK from YGG on Flowdans label Spentshell, I like his energy and has a lot of manners and respect.

Georgia’s cool from Bristol I think she’s hard when I was on Rinse FM with her recently I said to her why don’t you join the Army init be our DJ that would be sick, she said ye but never cared again.

Your favourite Producers/ DJ’s?

Obviously there’s more than this, but just to list a few Sir Spyro, Chimpo, Spooky Bizzle, Numacrew, they all go in.

Favourite tracks of all time?

Joker Kapsize track Mad Night that one there is my favourite tune, I don’t know how he got the master on that like he did, its crazy, he’s a problem.

What would a normal day for Killa P consist of?

Wake up have a bath sometime it doesn’t even get like that, sometimes I wake up switch on the computer and I’m straight working already, once I’ve got some work done then I set my bath and then it goes in that direction, get up get ready, switch on my computer and just get to work.

Away from that im with my children, I don’t live with any of them I got to do daddy duties which means doing the rounds, got 5 of them with 5 different mothers, Im all over the place bruv, no time to rest really.

The weirdest situation or moment that you have encountered in your career?

The funniest time in my career was when Devilman ran out the building. (laughs) That was mad funny, he got me man I thought you cunt, this was after we had a clash and he got me good, but then got shook after. (laughs) All good though we done tracks together since.

I got a New album out sometime this year just trying to get everything together so its solid, this will feature the Devilman tracks on.

Favourite artists who you aspired to most growing up?

You know what, people like Swiss from So Solid Crew, he held So Solid on the map for so long and if you look into the catalogue of all songs that they’ve got, yeah your going to look for a positive song that speaks about our community and where were coming from and how hard it is. Swiss has done the biggest song that So Solid would ever have I’m not talking about 21 seconds Im talking about Cry.

Wiley’s work ethic is something I’ve always looked at as something to work towards, his work ethic, Im not talking about Wiley not turning up

to a show, I’ve looked at those as pointers that I don’t want on my score board, he is somebody that I look up to and think work ethic is sick but I don’t want to be like you, Skepta is another inspiration again he’s something else still, he inspired me to do my first mixtape and release Killa instinct 1 and he produced a lot of the instrumentals on it to.

“ IF IT WASN’T FOR MUSIC I WOULD BE RIDING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN 140 IT WOULD MORE LIKELY BE A LONG SENTENCE. “ If it wasn’t music that you were doing for your career what do you think you would of gone onto do?

Well if it wasn’t for music, man would be dead out here fam either dead or in jail cuz, real life ting I’ve had many shoot outs bro I’ve had many stabbings, do you know how many times I’ve nearly died cuz? If it wasn’t for music I would be riding something different than 140 it would more likely be a long sentence.

INTERVIEW | WAVEY ICE

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Thinking of something new to drink throughout this summer time?

Maybe these will take your fancy, go back to your childhood and grab yourself an ice pop, but not a normal type, a wavey one. We hooked up with Alex Situnayake who is the founder of Wavey Ice who creates delicious Alcoholic ice pops.

What is Wavey Ice? Wavey Ice is the Original Boozy Ice Pop brand. We started the brand in South London back in 2014 as a bit of fun and since then we’ve appeared at some of the biggest festivals and nightclubs in the UK and have no plans to slow down.

How and when did you come up with the idea/concept?

I was working in a cocktail bar at the time and had joked around with a mate of mine about selling ice pops around the parks in London as a way of making a bit of quick cash that summer. I thought why not just make our own as we could make more money that way but obviously it wasn’t that simple. 5 years later and we’re still here trying to make it work!

Hardest elements you encountered to get it all running?

Getting in festivals and clubs has probably been the hardest part. A lot of the big festivals already have exclusivity deals in place with the big alcohol brands which makes it really hard for smaller brands to get a slice of the action. It’s still really tough but we’re getting there. There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes that no-one sees!

INTERVIEW | WAVEY ICE

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How many do you need to get wavey?

They’re around a shot per ice pop so probably about 3 or 4 and you’ll be well on your way! They are about 6% each.

What flavours are available?

Watermelon and Vodka, Sour Apple and Gin, Black Grape and White Rum. We sell them online as a freezer pack which totals to 15 pops, 5 of each flavour.

How many of you are involved on the wave team?

There’s currently 2 of us running the show but we have loads of people who help us out on a casual basis with photography, illustration, selling at events etc.

What collaborations and events can we look to seeing you involved with coming up this year?

You can catch us at Sneakerness at Printworks this May as well as Kerb Jam on Rye, NASS festival, Boardmasters, Motion nightclub in Bristol as well as a whole load of other smaller events up and down the UK. We’re also planning lots of our own parties.

How does the UK underground music scene and culture play part with the creation of your business?

Music and underground culture have always played a big part in my life. I grew up skateboarding and rapping so I guess this is reflected in the brand to some extent. It’s nice to have something to put your own identity on and show the world.

Music will always be a part of that.

Excited for summer?

YEAH BWOI!

@WAVEYICE WAVEYICE.CO.UK/SHOP

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | BARELY LEGAL

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London based Chloe Robinson better known as DJ Barely Legal is a familiar name to the Bass music scene, Renowned for her genre-twisting approach, mixing everything from Grime and Hip-hop to Dubstep, Drum & Bass and Jungle.

Barely got her break on MistaJam’s show after sending in the first mix she ever recorded aged 19, since then the 27 year old has been DJing for around 8 years and within that time has racked up a serious amount of gigs. DJing at some of the most prestigious venues and events across the UK and overseas, at the likes of Fabric and Boiler Room as well as playing at pretty much every main festival each year across the globe.

Read on as we linked up with Legal to find out more about herself and to see what the artist has been up to with her label Pretty Weird Records.

Barely Legal tell us about yourself, who are you?

What is your earliest memory of music?

Barely legal is a DJ. - I’m just Chloe, I’m from Birmingham and I moved to London when I was 18. I started DJing at Uni, in my second year, I am 27 now and I was about 19 when I started. It started as a hobby and unintentionally it developed into a career over the years. I started gaining more opportunities than I expected and I took them all.

Been going around 7 years now; so I am happy.

My mum is a massive garage head, - that’s all she played throughout my child hood. It took me ages to like it because that’s all that was played, so I thought it was quite annoying.

When I was about 9 years old I clocked that I actually liked it and started to really get into it. A few dodgy ones such as Hearsay and Busted when I was well young. In my teens I got into grime when I was about 14. To me Garage & Grime are my earliest proper memories, which have really stuck with

How did the name Barely Legal come about?

It’s a real long story, but I’ll try to cut it short. When I was 16 I went to London for my birthday, because they had more streetwear and trainer stores that I was into there.

Basically there was this guy who I kept seeing in every shop and he asked me if I was following him around. I said no, but he was just bit weird, he was part of the fashion industry. He then paid for a t-shirt for me, which was like £65 and said ‘it was my birthday’. He then took me and friend into one of his offices and told us to pretend that we are interns. He basically called me Barely Legal from there and then when I started DJing I just thought it was a funny nickname and stuck with it. I also looked under age when I started DJing, to be fair I still do now, so it works well. (laughs)

What and who were you most influenced by?

I used to listen to Rinse FM all of the time, so I was following lots of Rinse DJ’s who were selecting there at the time. Oneman, Jackmaster and Ben UFO are probably my favourite DJ’s.

I used to go to Boiler room a lot as well when it first started up and that had a big influence on my musical taste. I used to be really into Dubstep when I first moved to London, so I would go to loads of heavy Dubstep nights with the likes of Coki and Skream.

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Tell us about your label Pretty Weird?

Favourite set you have ever played?

I set it up Pretty Weird back in 2017.

My first release through the label was with Bristol producer Near. I have got some releases lined up with a selection of artists, which I’m pushing to be released throughout this year. I am doing loads of Pretty Weird parties starting from August onwards. It’s going to all kick off at Fabric, and then I’ve got plans to do Pretty Weird nights at other cities too.

I feel like people think of me predominantly as a Bass DJ and l think a lot of people were surprised with me being on the Circoloco line up for this summer.

I’ve got my own stage at Nass Festival this year which will be sick and I’ve got a couple other stages that I’m curating at other festivals. I can’t say much as it’s not all locked in yet.

I want to start designing some more merchandise for the label as my plans are to start making Pretty Weird more of a brand than just a label.

I like bringing new names through, so that’s my main focus really bringing people up, I give a lot of unheard artist’s radio play on my radio shows I try to make them full with fresh names and new sounds.

I really enjoy playing Techno and House. I played at Four Tet at the Brixton Academy show in 2018 with Ben UFO, Joy O and all the Hessle audio boys, where I played more left field music like Techno and Electro, mixing that in with old Dubstep, whilst having the freedom to play a bit of both. I prefer sets when I can be more experimental and do a mix of genres towards a crowd, which actually want to hear new music instead of just vibe-in, when it’s something they already know. I feel that is is hard to do that sometimes With strictly Bass audiences as they’re a bit less open to like the music, If that makes sense?

Your go to clothing brands?

I wear a lot of Jonny bangers brand Sports Banger. Always have repped Stussy and Adidas too.

MUSIC | INTERVIEW | BARELY LEGAL

What is your favourite festival?

The festival that I am most loyal to which I have been to every year since I was 18 is Outlook. I really want to try out some new festivals, since I have been getting into Techno so it would be cool to check out a Techno or electronic based festival soon, but yeah I would say Outlook is one of my favourites it’s family there.

What big events and festivals can we look forward to seeing you at this summer?

I’m looking forward to playing at Glastonbury again.

I’m playing at Annie Mac presents Lost & Found in Malta.

Nass festival as I got my own stage.

I’m doing a festival that I’ve not done before in Romania called Electric Castle.

I will be at all the other usual festivals that I’ve done before, I’m excited for this Summer and festival season its always the best time of the year.

The best and worst thing about being small? (laughs) I would say the Worst thing is if you put weight on you can see it because I’m so small & I don’t have enough body to put weight on. I would say the other worst thing is that it’s really hard to find people within crowds and for them to find me.

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The best thing about being small is being able to get away with being a bit cheeky here and there. People see me as being innocent and they allow me because they are like she’s fine, she’s small. (laughs) What can you not get through the day without?

Crisps! I’m into most crisps but Monster Munch roast beef are my go to. I tried to see how long I could give them up for once and I only lasted about a day and a half, I’ve had 3 packets of crisps today (laughs) - It’s bad.

What would surprise us about yourself?

Probably nothing, I am pretty much what you see is what you get so I don’t think their are many surprises about me, that’s quite boring isn’t it?, but anything I would say is a bit to personal.(laughs) Funniest/weirdest moment of your career?

I would love to answer that question, but they are all too inappropriate to say.

What do you think you would have gone onto do if you didn’t become a DJ? I would probably do something design related as I done Graphic Design at University so yeah I think I would probably of followed that.

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WWW.ADAM-AUDIO.COM

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Following on from BBS VOL 1 tape, Benton is at it again with BBS VOL 2 this time on a limited USB stick. Featuring 15 tracks + 2 bonus ones, this is a definite cop. Those who are unaware of Benton, get to know!

He is a producer DJ from South London and has been deep within the Dubstep and Jungle scene for many years now. These memory sticks are in limited supply, so make sure you get in their fast before they are all gone. Head over to his page on Bandcamp to give the tracks a listen.

Some serious shellas to be heard.

BENTONBBS.BANDCAMP.COM

Gangster Doodles, AKA Marlon Sassy the incredible Canadian illustrator has composed together an album that every Hip-Hop head must have.

Gangster Doodles Music VOL1 has a combination of various styles of Rap & Hip-Hop, which is a phenomenal mishmash of many greats, up and comings, and veterans of the craft, such as the likes of JonWayne, Oh no, Madlib, House Shoes, Onra and many more.

Available in “12 vinyl as well as cassette tape.

GANGSTERDOODLES.BANDCAMP.COM

GOT TO COP | ART

One for the sneaker heads which will not do to much damage to the pocket, the Hyped Source have got you covered when it comes to making your whip having a fresh smelling interior, whether you got a new 19 plate or riding in your mums old Ford Ka, keep your driving space feeling ultra fresh with these sneaker smelling goodies, available in variations of iconic trainer models.

Aboveground has brought out a new range of high quality limited prints of his photography.

Available to buy.

Check out and purchase Above Grounds work at.

@THEHYPEDSOURCE

ABOVE-GROUND.COM

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Jona Cazone is not your normal sneaker illustrator he brings together a mix of his own stylised characters which most commonly feature anthropomorphized rats, cats and dogs who battle it out on the streets, coated head to toe in vintage street and sportswear. He has just dropped a bunch of 6 colour screen printed T’s in collaboration with Full Court to celebrate their 4th year anniversary. Available in a variety of colours.

Head to Full Court to purchase and make sure you check out more of Cazone’s work by checking his Instagram.

Available to buy.

FULLCOURTCLASSICS.COM

Mr Penfold & GreyJamPress have teamed up to produce these custom cut mirrors, Available in 2 colours and their are only 10 of each available. Each are signed and numbered by the artists.

Available to buy.

GREYJAMPRESS.COM

GOT TO COP | BOOKS

OPEN MIC Here at Avant-Ground we are massive followers of Grime, who isn’t right?

This book Open Mic & Open Mic Vol.2 showcase Ewen Spencers photographic exploration of the early days of the East London Grime scene.

Within these books Ewen shows Early years Documentation of Many familiar faces of some of the genres key figures such as Tinchy Stryder, Lethal Bizzle, Lady Sovereign, Kano, Jammer and Devlin + many more.

Each photo captures a moment in the development of one of Britain’s most important musical movements.

Endorse yourself in what is pure music history by getting yourself a copy, available now.

EWENSPENCER.COM

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GOT TO COP | BOOKS

WAVEY GARMS Andreas Branco and his sister Rhiannon Branco are founders of London’s notorious Wavey Garms; the Facebook site and store that grew to be one of the most influential fashion names in the UK .

Back in 2017 WG created a 144 page Photo book that showcased theirs and friends personal documentary film photography of the London that they grew up in. This magazines reveals their life within growing up in the 90’s and early 2000’s when London was a different place to what it is now.

The London when you could smoke on the bus and sneak into raves and just generally get away with more if you knew how to.

The imagery within this publication emphasis is on graffiti, raving and generally being up to no good. This book is a definite cop if you can get your hands on it, as they only released a limited amount and was a fair few years ago now. Check them out.

WAVEYGARMS.COM

CARHARTT WIP ARCHIVES This one is made for the coffee table. The Carhartt WIP archives published by Rizzoli is the first ever publication to explore the brands remarkable evolution featuring over 350 images of unpublished photographs and artworks. Carhartt WIP is one of the key brands of our lifetime and It all Starting on the streets of Detroit in 1994 when Carhartt was actual work wear uniform back then and not the brand as we know it as today.

It gradually got adopted by subcultures of gangs affiliated with graffiti and Hip-hop which the German WIP founder Edwin Faeh saw and had a vision for. He then pitched his idea to Carhartt to bring the brand overseas to Europe and it all went from there, which went on to determined the content of this book and the successes of Cahartt WIP. Get yourself a copy and find out more about the brand behind the C wave.

CARHARTT-WIP.COM

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BACK TO THE LAB A crucial book to add to the book shelf collection is this one right here, Back to the lab produced by photographer Raph Rashid is a timeless photographic book that’s imagery is true art for a hip hop head and anyone else for that matter.

Back to the lab innately captures the home studios of a selection of hip hops best producers from around the world during the past decade Such as the likes of JDilla, The Alchemist and many more.

Whilst independent producers and DJ’s have been busy creating world class music in converted studio bedrooms, kitchens, cellars and garages for many years,in the meantime Raph has travelled the world getting in touch with these artists and has been visiting their inner sanctums.

Back to the Lab consists of 214 pages, has a hard cover is 10×10” full colour, and is beautifully designed.

AVANT-GROUNDMAGAZINE.CO.UK

GHOST NOTES Another one for the pile is Ghost notes - Music of the Unplayed, Taking its name from the unplayed sounds that exist between beats in a rhythm, which is an extended photo essay created by photographer Brian Cross better known as B+.

The book has more than 200 images that represent a mid career retrospective of B+’s photography of Hip-hop music.

His work has always been about way more that rap snaps, its about the world of people who create music, and the vast, ever changing influences that weave the culture of Hip-hop bringing togther LA Black Arts Poetry and Jamaican Dub, Brazillian samba and Ethiopian Jazz.

Be sure to give this a read, pick one up from our website.

AVANT-GROUNDMAGAZINE.CO.UK

GOT TO WATCH | FILM

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If you haven’t watched these films before then what have you been doing? Seriously all jokes aside, your in for a real treat with these timeless classics.

We have hand picked a couple of our favourite culturally music driven films, which we hope will tickle your fancy in some sort of way.

BABYLON Starting with Babylon which takes you through a journey of the trials and tribulations of young black youths in troubled London in the early eighties and how reggae sound system culture saved them, but also brought many dilemmas with it. This film will get you head bopping, which will result in you shazaming as the soundtrack is pure fire.

LA HAINE La Haine is an account of one crucial day in the life of three ethnically diverse teenagers on a housing estate in Paris, the film documents the fierce attitude that exists between the estates residents and the law. The black & white classic Released way back in 1995, this films messages still stand very prominent within today’s society of lifestyle and politics. Give it a watch, truly powerful.

HARD TO COP | TRAINERS

Here we have one of the most desirable creps within the sneaker world, many would agree.

The Nike Air Max 1 Parra x Patta Cherrywood has hit it’s 10th year anniversary since it was released back in 2009 as part of celebration for Patta’s 5th year in business.

Covered in burgundy suede with asymmetrical Nike swooshes of burgundy and blue; respectively the Parra x Patta AM1 quickly became one of the most sought-after and coveted of all the designs to ever embody the original Air Max silhouette.

Only 258 pairs of this grail were released to the public making them not only just a rarity, but also now a very costly trainer since the market exploded in the past 10 years, This trainer in a dead stock condition will set you back a hefty amount, wait for it.. A whopping £4000 dependent on size and condition according to figures shown on StockX. That is mental, If we had that sort of loose money here at Avnt.G we would some how consider it as being reasonable, as they are by far one of our favourite trainer releases to date.

But if you do have that sort of money floating around, get yourself on StockX or the next trainer event such as Sneakerbox in Bristol, you never know what you may find. we are pretty sure that the price has potential to increase even more in the next 10 years.

All we can hope is that within the future the powerhouses can work together to create something just as special, if not better, I mean if that’s possible?

Time will tell.

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ART | INTERVIEW | MR PENFOLD

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Tim Gremshaw aka Mr Penfold is an abstract painter who produces very graphical pieces of art, which he applies his work to different mediums such as Apparel, skateboards, canvases, murals and other surfaces. He gave us some time out of his day to talk about himself and his work.

Who is Mr Penfold?

I’m an artist born and raised in Cambridge. I live in Bristol now; been here for about 5 years. I do design work, make paintings, murals, and other bits and bobs.

How would you describe the work that you create?

I’m an abstract painter now. I guess what describes my work best is more my influences and where i’ve come from. This has developed my style of abstract work, which is kind of what was known as backgrounding graffiti, and has now turned into what is called ‘street art’. I really like the character side of things, skateboard graphics, cartoons, illustration, and pop culture reference from the 80’s and 90’s, as well as the classic New York pop up art scene. I just take influence from the things I like, and then use that to develop them into my own style, which is by me and not someone else.

When I was living back in Cambridge I was painting characters and used to put a lot of pattern work into them. The characters had to have eyes and the weird nose thing I did, and had a style to them. It was when I moved to Bristol I got bored of doing the character stuff: I got bored of the restraints that eyes, noses and mouths had. I wanted to do something different, so I started making the abstract stuff. I think it was once I did move to Bristol I started to find my feet and knew what I wanted to do. When I was painting shit before I always knew my work had to fit into a certain scene and painted to please my fan base and my piers. But once I moved here I wanted to do shit which pleases me and makes me happy;

it was only once I started doing these things that I started doing quite well with my work. I think people can vibe when you’re doing something which is true to you.

What surfaces and scale do you work with?

Everything really, when I am doing digital work it’s dependent on what it is for. For example if it’s for apparel or screen print and stuff, I make canvases - these are anything from little 30 x 30cm up to 2m square paintings. I also do mural work, which ranges from the size of someone’s front door to 4/5 story high buildings.

What are the mediums and processes you use to create your work?

Whatever fits the moment really; if you get a big wall it’s not always spray paint. A lot of the time I will just use emulsion, brushes, rollers and fuck loads of masking tape. On certain walls I will just use spray paint. In my studio the majority of my work is just acrylic paint, a bit of spray paint and brushes.

I used to use marker pens a lot within my work, but now I don’t. The satisfaction of learning to paint with a brush which looks like a marker pen is part of the craft and practice of self discipline. After a while you have to start thinking of how your painting is going to last; if you’re trying to sell a painting for x amount of money, and it’s done with marker pens, it’s not going to last. But if you use high grade acrylic paints and stuff that shits going to last for thousand of years.

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What got you into graffiti/art world and how did you choose your name\tag?

I got into it though learning to skate really when I was about 10 years old, and just from being aware of that world from being around the streets. Being more aware of my surroundings and looking at the world in a different way and I just started observing graffiti and tags and stuff like that. I met up with people in Cambridge doing similar things to me. I got cool with a couple guys who were B-boying and that and with B-boying and graffiti they have an alias together. Everyone used to be just like ‘you look like Penfold from Danger Mouse’. At the time I was making just wack tags; they would change every week, it was more about experimenting. Then I started doing ‘Penfold’ it was a long word for graffiti, but I wasn’t really painting anything, I was doing characters - it wasn’t about the name. I just stuck with it because I liked it and it was my nickname from all my mates.

When you first started did you know you were talented?

I was always good at Art in school because I sucked at everything else. My Dad’s a screen printer and Artist, and my Mum’s a Calligrapher, so I was always into letters and Art as it was always around me growing up. I knew it was all I could really do because I was so shit at everything else: I couldn’t read until I was about 13 years old, I was and still am really dyslexic (laughs) I never thought it would turn into a career because I was just being naughty and having fun with my mates and getting a bit of a buzz of painting the streets.

What was your first experience of graffiti?

I remember seeing it around my secondary school really - kids above us who were doing it, people like Dirty Dike from High Focus he was a couple years above me in school. There was always loads of Dike tags everywhere, and another guy called Nifty2 or Siege who still is a massive influence to me; we had two sights of our school; when you walked from one side to the other you would just see loads of their tags. I then got hold of Subway Art, and as a little naive kid in around year 11 I went and bought some Hycote Paint from a local DIY shop. I copied one of the pieces from Subway Art onto the side of my parents house; my parents came back to that from their little holiday getaway and they freaked the fuck out - It made things worse as well being in Cambridge it was a listed Georgian house. I was like fuck, but that was my first realisation of being like you can’t just get a can and paint pieces, you have to learn how to. There’s an order of how to do it. From then I took it upon myself to learn.

ART | INTERVIEW | MR PENFOLD

What elements of graffiti do you get the most satisfaction from?

It’s funny with graffiti as I never really classed myself as a graffiti Artist; I never really thought I earned the title because I never really got into the whole train painting thing, or racking paint from shops, as I was just a bit of a pussy when it came to that. I got such a record from skateboarding from breaking into places like Universities buildings and skating, I didn’t need another addiction to something which could get me in more trouble. The places I would paint would be grey area spots which were places that were still illegal but no one really cared about. Places like underpasses, abandoned warehouses or track sides out in the middle of no where.

The elements of graffiti which still have an influence on me today that I love are the spontaneity of it the rush and the feeling you have to paint. The amount of mornings that I wake up and I got work to do in the studio but I want to go out and paint a wall. The itch of it still comes, I just love painting walls outside and having fun. When I am in my studio just doing work for an exhibition, or client work and it’s all based around money and the return of a job, it’s quite nice to get away from that and go out and paint a wall for the fun of it.

What artist’s are you rating?

Momo from America is one of my favourites who is a huge abstract painter who does just ridiculously complex big murals that our super incredible. My mate Elliot who goes by the name Numskull from Australia he is smashing it and also my mate Brad aka Beastman killing it to in Australia.

Australian scene is really strong.

What advice would you give to a youngster starting up and trying to pursue a self employed/ freelance career within the creative industries?

I always say the same thing, take more risks. The older you get the less risks you can take and the more repercussions there are of the mistakes you make. Before you’re 18 do as much bad shit as you possibly can within reason, just experiment and find your style, focus on what you enjoy painting. Don’t look at what is trendy as trends change every year, I remember in 2014 it was all about girls faces, everyone was painting photo-realistic things, the next year it was stencils of bullshit, the next year it was techy graff, then the next year its abstract work. You see certain Artist’s who are so skilled but they chase the scenes, but I feel it should be all about doing what you do. If you’re painting for example super clean characters and it’s not in fashion stick with it, because by the time that fashion comes back around if you’ve been doing it for years you will be seen as the don of the scene and you will smash it.

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How has music influenced you and your career?

Massively, my two older brothers are big Drum & Bass producers Nu:tone and Logistics known as Nu:Logic, so I have grown up around the Hospitality Records family. I’ve done loads of artwork for them, such as record sleeves and flyers. I can’t paint without music: it brings out my creativeness, and different music brings out different styles and energy within my work.

What Genre’s of music have you always listened to?

I’ve been Drum & Bass since I was about 8 years old now, always been D&B. I like Jungle too but I was a bit young for it for when it first was about, I’ve always been to Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, Garage.

Who are your top artists/Dj’s/Producers?

MJ Cole always has been my favourite producer from day dot. Everyone on Exit Records, Kid Drama, D Bridge, Skeptical they are all mates and stuff known them for a long time, but I love their forward thinking on Drum and Bass.

What are your Favourite 3 tracks of all time?

MJ Cole - Sincere Nuyorican Soul - I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun Future Sound Of London - Papua New Guinea What is the weirdest moment that you have encountered within your career so far?

I think just being asked to do certain jobs where you’re like fuck this is my life now. I was out in Dresden doing a job there, and whilst I was there I got a random email saying can I go out to China in 10 days, so I literally got back from a job washed my clothes, packed again, shot off to China. I was there for 4 days, painted a wall and then came back; things like that just don’t seem real sometimes, it’s sick. There’s been loads of weird moments, but those weird moments for me are just when I step back and I’m like man this in my life this is mad.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a good trajectory with my life and artwork that things seem to keep just getting better and better. Every now and then you got to stop yourself and have a moment of clarity and be like this is fucking fun right.

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What is to like living in Bristol?

Yeah it good, chilling! Obviously growing up in Cambridge where it was super academic and dry, we had a good skate scene and a good Drum & Bass scene, but I was never surrounded by people that were similar to me.

Then I came to Bristol: you go to the pub and everyone’s in the creative industry and more like minded. It’s a fun city a lot goes on here.

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What collaborations/exhibitions can we look to seeing you involved with coming up?

What would surprise us about yourself?

I just recently had my solo exhibition in Bristol called Simple Pleasures. I just did a big collection with Route One, got some new skateboards dropping with a UK brand called 1401 which is a cool independent skate company. I’ve got another solo show in Portugal in a couple weeks and I am doing a massive Mural in Leeds at the moment, tons of stuff man, loads happening throughout this summer. Things are always just popping up. This year is nuts.

I don’t really know (laughs) I would just say I a just thick as fuck; I dropped out of school when I was 15, learnt to read when I was about 12, that’s why I do what I do man, because this is all I got, Skating and painting is my life.

I’m also doing Nass Festival this year - they are letting me paint the skatepark, so I will be working with the designers to create massive shapes which I will then be painting, so I am looking forward to that.

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MUSIC | RELEASES

Bristol boy and now UKG front runner conducta brings garage back to the radio waves with Steezing ft Coco & J’Danna. The standout track in his mixtape ‘Kiwi Kuts’ released at the latter end of 2018, the records’ floaty melody and fresh, bouncy percussion is something we’ve come to expect from Conducta. Steezing was a teaser in the run up to Conducta announcing his own record label ‘Kiwi Rekords’, consisting of some of the best known names in the new UKG resurgence, Sharda, Mind of a Dragon, Sammy Virji and Prescribe Da Vibe.

You’d be forgiven thinking the busiest man in UKG was making a mistake bringing out this bubbly heater in the dead of winter. Aside from collaborations with the likes of Murlo and some of his remixes getting good of the likes of Jorja Smith getting good traction on streaming services, this seems to be his biggest push behind a record so far. However, with Steezing earning Conducta his first BBC play and a Boiler Room debut on the cards, his plan becomes clear. By bringing his new twist to the classic formula of playful bars and soulful vocals he’s captaining the SS 2-Step all the way back to the mainstream of the UK scene.

BANDCAMP.COM

Dirty Dike is back with a bang with his new album Acrylic Snail. After a 3 year hiatus between this and his last album, ‘Sucking on Prawns in the Moonlight’ he’s allowed a little extra growing room than his usual 2 year gap - and it shows.

You can expect Dike’s signature pisstaking, fuck-pig-riding lyrical energy, with a self awareness unparalleled by any MC. Rex 01, the posse cut that sees the album finish is a musical ball of energy, bringing in the likes of Inja and Killa P for lyrical injury. Ohhhhhhh myyyy gawwwwshh. SHUT UP! Check it out.

12” Vinyl Available now.

HIGH-FOCUS.COM

Numa Crew and Killa’s Army join forces on this banger that represents the first release of the brand new label Numa Recordings.

The first release of Numa Recordings is all about a Mediterranean and Jamaican alliance, an explosive blend of Grime and Reggae vibes.

Killa’s Army if you didn’t know is a crew from London formed by Killa P, Irah and Long Range, one of the most powerful trios in the contemporary UK Grime scene, their own original style is distinguished by a “heavy” Jamaican Dancehall & Reggae influence.

The Italian collective Numa Crew have developed their unique sound over the years, ranging from Dubstep to Jungle, through a limitless exploration of the different styles in the wide spectrum of genres in the UK underground scene. In the production of “We nuh tek talk” lies the essence of this musical journey.

The main theme of the tune is the legendary motive of Courtney Melody’s ‘Ninja mi ninja’ chorus, adapted to a modern day grime beat.

Backing the title track is the ‘We nuh tek riddim’ version by Numa Crew, the beat and the bassline are simple and heavy at the same time. It will be fire in the dance! 12” Vinyl Available now.

UNEARTHEDSOUNDS.CO.UK

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Icicle never seems to disappoint, now his third full EP released on Entropy Music sees Icicle stepping back up to the plate delivering 4 uncompromising 90’s leaning barbones rollers synonymous to his sound. On ‘Cycles’ Long time friend and collaborator Alix Perez lends his hand and the result is a minimal quirky stepper best explained against the background of Jonny L’s metallic outings from two decades ago. The lead track ‘Days’ screams ‘Optical’ where splashy beats meet thick dark warped bass. A sound as central to drum and bass now as it was in ‘98.

And with ‘Turn’ and ‘Noisecraft’ Icicle is further underlining the propose of this EP, namely, reconnecting with the unadulterated dark and rolling sounds of the early years of drum and bass. Not hiding behind technique and process but laying bare the soul and energy of bass music. Available for download: BEATPORT.COM

After many years of hard grafting Critical Impact has crash-landed on the mighty Playaz label. Enlisting the talents of lyrical genius Skibadee on the bold “Bulletproof Vest” and “Mr. Smith” - it’s clear to see Critical Impact and Skibadee intermix perfectly delivering two head-nodding tracks that exhibit pure drum and bass vibes.

This one is a real head shaker, which will get any crowd hyped. Available for download: BEATPORT.COM

Well this escalated quickly didnt it!

Serum, Voltage & Bladerunner which make up King Of The Rollers only announced their signing to Hospital Records going back April last year.

In fact they’ve only released one EP and a few compilation tracks on the label so far, since then they have all been working incredibly hard and it shows as their new album which was recently released on April 26th is a true madness.

The album features 17 heavy tracks with the likes of Chimpo, Redders, Bassman, Lydia Plain and their main man Inja, it’s a whole new level of regicide as the popular trio begin to express the same musicality and variety with their productions as they always have with their epic DJ shows. If you’ve seen them play recently you’ll already be aware of this as tracks such as Mammoth, You Got Me and The Sky Is Falling are causing serious damage in their sets right now.

King Of The Rollers are fucking up the scene right now and they don’t look like they plan to stop. Festival season is just around the corner so get ready for the sound of the rollers to vibrate your soul as they have a busy summer ahead; headlining a number of shows. Download & 12” Vinyl available now.

HOSPITALRECORDS.COM

ART | INTERVIEW | LUGOSIS

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Lugosis is a well respected graffiti and tattoo artist from Milan who is based in Berlin. A member of the JBCB crew His work is very unique and has a lot of style which mainly consists of iconic cartoon characters mixed with violent and serious subjects.

Here at AVNT.G we are big fans of Lugo. We caught up with the man behind the graff and tats to find out more about himself and his work.

Lugosis who are you and where did your name Lugo come from?

Lugosis is a tattooer, graffiti writer and “artist” from a little town close to Milan, Italy and now based in Berlin.

I named myself after a Café in Harlem, Netherlands. I used to go there when I went on trips through Europe with my Brother and my father who used to be a truck driver. From a young age, he took us on his rides.

Anyway, he took us to that place called “Lugosis” it was Dracula themed, since Béla Lugosis played in the Movie which goes by the same name. I remember really liking that place as a young boy. So that’s how I got to my name.

“CARTOONS ARE DEFINITELY THE MOST IMPORTANT INFLUENCE IN MY WORK” How would you describe your work?

Cartoons are definitely the most important influence in my work, of course street life plays a huge role too. I’m mixing funny looking characters with violent and serious subjects. Walt Disney is one of my idols since I was a child.

What was your first experience of graffiti?

First experience of graffiti must have been in 2008, I painted with some school mates, nothing mind blowing.

After that I really started to paint in 2009 with my twin brother in my hometown. We would paint around the streets.

I always drew cartoons. Being able to see them in a huge size was what motivates me to continue. I just painted with my brother, later I entered a big Milan Crew.

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Tell us about JCBC? I knew about them because of the vinyl toys by Flying Fortress since I was about 11 years old.

I didn’t know about graff at that time.

I met Flying Fortress at a jam when I was about 19, two years later, when I started to tattoo and I guested in Lyon, I met another crew member who was tattooing as well. We became friends and I travelled to Hamburg with him. After a few weeks they asked me to join the crew.

How is it living in Germany/Berlin how has your upbringing and the city made the person you are today?

I love to live here, it’s a huge city, you get confronted with different backgrounds of tons of people. I never get bored of it, that’s unusual. I have lived here for about 3 years now.

What do you think of the UK Graffiti and tattooing scenes?

I don’t really know a lot of UK tattooing and Graffiti. I have a friend who tattoos in London, he is very talented, but actually from Italy too.

A UK- writer that is one of my favourite in general is Oker from GSD because he reflects my idea of graffiti.

ART | INTERVIEW | LUGOSIS

How has Lugosis?

music

influenced

You can actually recognize what Music I’m into by checking my draws. It’s pretty obvious.

Music makes a big influence on my work. Mostly rap music but I listen to other genres as well.

Right now I enjoy German rap.

What brands have you worked with?

I have been privileged to work with some great people and companies to name a few, Carhartt WIP where I designed graphics for clothing, Montana Cans which I produced some limited merchandise for them such as T-shirts, Tote bags and also had my artwork put onto a spray can which was really cool. Also I have done stuff with Reebok Classics.

Any collaborations coming up or exhibitions?

There’s a lot to come, stay tuned.

Where are people able to get tattooed by you?

I’m Based in Berlin at 19:28 tattoo. But I’m traveling a lot. I always announce my travel dates on Instagram. The places I go to most are Paris, Bern, Milan, Barcelona and even London from time to time.

Coming to the UK this year?

Can’t tell an exact date for London yet, probably within this spring/summer months.

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If your going to do it, don’t be daft and start with half.

Find out more information online. avant.groundmagazine.co.uk

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That’s us signing off for this first issue of AVNT.G, we hope it was a good read and that you didn’t notice any mistakkes! Oops.

Thanks for reading,

AVNT .G

AVNT .G

Peace & Love.

@AVANTGROUNDMAGAZINE AVANT.GROUNDMAGAZINE.CO.UK