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Happy St. Shakespeare’s Day?

It’s the 396th anniversary since Shakespeare’s passing so today shall be spent being dramatic and talking like a Shakespearian Elizabethan. It also falls on the same day as St. George’s Day, which many of us know is the ‘English’ saint but according to research scholars the story of George and The Dragon goes back to Scandinavian folklore -we are an island in the midst of the French to the south, the Danes to the east, Germania to the south east and the Nordic peoples of the north so it’s no surprise that they’d often jump inside their war ships and venture to our shores.

Give me some music; music, moody food
Of us that trade in love.
(Antony and Cleopatra, 2.5.1-2)

I’ve never celebrated St. George’s Day but I’d jump at the chance to honour Saint Shakespeare’s Day because this guy created the modern English language through creative writing, if that’s not someone who is an example of a creative writing wizard who can be aligned to the likes of Homer and Muhammad [Allah forgive me in this context] then I don’t know what you deem as an aspiration of creative writing prowess. Shakespeare laid the foundations for a beautiful language by writing plays, poetry, and interpreting history for the stage, by doing so, he not only displayed languages versatility but he also provided us with a demonstration on how language could be used and how we can use it to express ourselves. Before Shakespeare I can only guess the people of England were split between French -in the higher classes and nobility- and what we now know as English in the lower classes -an amalgamation of West Germanic, Anglo-Frisian and Old Saxon Dialects brought to Britain by settlers from Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands, acrolect Latin -acrolect meaning the most prestigious part or variety of a particular dialect/language, and Celtic language Brythonic -thought to be the native language of Britain in the time of Roman occupation.

I say celebrate Shakespeare because he brought language to the masses, he united all Elizabethan class, race and culture under one open top roof, -aptly named- The Globe Theatre, where all could understand and learn a new language being acted out. I’d say a trip to the theatre was more of a language lesson on how to ‘speaketh’ this new language rather that watch a play, The Globe was also somewhere people unconsciously learnt about contexts of the words, how wide a variety one could use one word or many for the same meaning, entendre, puns, similies [ecetera], Shakespeare revised the rules on self expression…

  1. So I say this and this only, why do English citizens continue to honour George when we have a patron saint who kick started the English language, who made it most versatile, poetic and beautiful?
  2. Why don’t we honour Shakespeare with a public holiday or at the very least acknowledgement on calendars?
  3. Why isn’t Shakespeare honoured with a place on the Google homepage?

The answers are pretty simple, Shakespeare died on the same day that we celebrate St. George’s Day so unless we politely acknowledge that two great examples of fearless and intellectual Englishmen share the same day, we may forget what Shakespeare did for the hearts, minds, creativity and communication strength of the English people. Imagine if there were no Shakespeare, we’d probably be doing business in French -with all it’s poetic airy fairy romanticism or Chinese -with it’s bluntness and straight to the point nature where there’s no room to dance in it’s beautiful complex or simple intricacy. We need to give respect where it’s due, and Shakespeare deserves so much more than most, if not with a sainthood at least with calendar recognition -where there is space of course so we don’t upset the lovers of the Dragon slayer.

Ghost.
(exeunt)

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Up In The Ear meet K.Flay (Exclusive Video Interview)

My penchant for females in hip-hop has spiralled out of control over the past year. 2011 didn’t just see Nicki collaborating on loads of artist’s tracks or like, wrenching out Lil’ Kim’s dusty weave. We saw Kreayshawn’s Gucci Gucci video go viral (not to everyone’s taste and I’m not sure what I can say that is positive about V-Nasty), we saw Iggy Azalea sport most of American Apparel’s spandex range and her and A$AP hooking up. Harlem badass Azealia Banks signed with Universal (but sadly did not score it with Interpol front man Paul Banks after her cutesy cover of Slow Hands…). I think at some point some British girls did some cool stuff for rap (anyone…?) but all the while Brooklyn-dwelling K.Flay (real name Kristine Flaherty) was hanging out being awesome and rapping over a bunch of cool beats she’d produced in relative obscurity. But it’s very likely that 2012 Is going to be her year.

Over from the states to record her first full-length, we meet with K.Flay in Sarm Studios after navigating our way from Ladbroke Grove underground in the pissing, pouring rain. Arriving early we dry off in the reception area, awaiting our invitation to studio 4. Promptly we’re led up the spiral staircase and ushered in to meet K.Flay.

K’s petite and full of energy, welcoming us in with a smile. Dressed in leggings, a slouchy tee, high tops with the laces loose, her hair is shoulder-length, side-parted and a little disheveled; she spends the interview mussing it about intermittently in an animated fashion. She’s full of this sort of effervescence that’s bubbling under the whole time, and immediately totally engaged when we start chatting. While we set up, she bounces about the studio before flopping onto a sofa, momentarily glued to her iPhone, thumbs going light speed crazy. She explains her addiction; Scramble With Friends. I express my reluctance at downloading the game because of the pressure – I’m perfectly content ducking in and out of Words With Friends at a leisurely pace – but K is a bit more hardcore with her gaming habits, telling us about a particular girl she has a fierce rivalry with on Scramble. “Or I think she’s a girl, her name on it’s like, ‘lady-something’!” she laughs at the veritable battle of words she’s having with a total stranger.

Hailing from Wilmette, Illinois (just north of downtown Chicago), K relocated to Stanford University to pursue a double major in sociology and psychology in sunny California where there was a “really interesting hip hop scene in the San Francisco bay area, there was all this hyphy music, like E-40, Mistah F.A.B, Turf Talk and all those guys, so like really weird and playful and eccentric rap.” With no musical upbringing (“I could play guitar as a kid but that was about it”) her initial foray into recording came about in a rather unorthodox manner; “I was talking with a friend of mine about mainstream hip hop and rap at the time and how a lot of it felt really formulaic and we were just kind of going back and forth talking about it, and he was like, “well you should make a rap song” so I did, pretty much as a joke-“ she laughs, “and it was horrible!”

Of her prank, K muses “There was something really fun about the process, about making a beat, recording something, and then it, like, existing. One thing led to another and “I started getting into production and I got a keyboard, started making beats and started playing house and frat parties on campus but I was still super serious about school. It was actually a really cool release for me.” She goes on “It was something that had nothing to do with anything I was studying, and something I had no expectation at being good at, and nobody else had an expectation of me so it was like, this really liberating thing to do. Then I just sort of got more and more serious, a couple of people in the Bay area in San Francisco who are further along, like other artists took me under their wing a bit, and like, mentored me and after graduating I started playing a lot of shows in the area.


”

The music K grew up listening to does not instantly lend itself to hip hop, but as she reels off names it’s evident where she has taken inspiration from in her own recordings, “I listened to a lot of like, depressed female vocalists… A lot of Liz Phair, Fiona Apple, PJ Harvey, Garbage… So kind of that rock girl, pissed off, “I’m angry too!” kinda thing. One of my top albums ever is Metric’s second album  ’Live It Out, I love Emily Hanes and I love Metric and I just like that they’re a band I feel has very interesting lyrical content with like, kinda cool but still very appealing music.” She grins “I was listening to it the other day walking to the studio!”

And for hip hop? “I’ve always been a huge Tribe [A Tribe Called Quest] fan and there is some stuff from that era that I kinda love. I think a lot of the Outkast stuff was pretty influential for me just because it’s weird and freaky… It has a very distinctive flavour even though that flavour is like, always changing, their albums are very different one to the next.
”

What female artists have influenced K? “I think Robyn’s a really interesting case study” wasn’t the answer I’d expected, but she goes on, “She’s sort of developed her own lane in a lot of respects, and she’s been doing music and been around for quite some time with just like, her.” Listening to some of the mixtapes K’s produced it’s actually not difficult to draw parallels between the two artists; K is absolutely doing her own thing and the way in which she combines cute synthy bits with lyrics about loneliness and confusing boys is very Robyn. “There’s something really compelling about her and her vibe, she’s just kind of a badass which I like and she’s just in her lane doing whatever, for the sake of the music and being creative and doing what she wants to do. I think that’s really cool, I’d love to be able to have that sort of energy.” The next evening K plays a show in Kensington’s Archangel; she really doesn’t have to fret about energy levels.

Describing her song writing process, she grins “I usually start a song with some kind of loop, usually like a sixteen bar drum loop, basic synth line, or little riff or whatever, that’s how I start, instead of with a lyric, and I kinda put it on repeat for like, a really long time.” At this point she laughs “It’s annoying for anyone around me… I just get a vibe. I think what’s nice about that, is because I’m creating the music to begin with it feels like it kind of co-evolves you know, as the lyrics change, I can be like, oh the beat shouldn’t be like that it should be this. I just kind of practice over and over again and try to find a rhythmic flow that sounds cool over it, and try to do something different I haven’t done before.”

Of her live set-up K explains “My live show, I run Ableton Live, we’re kind of looking at my live set-up now”, she gestures at the equipment in front of her “I use this Akai MPK 25 pretty much as my midi-controller for everything. I compose most of my stuff on [Apple] Logic and [M-Audio] ProTools, I like Logic for midi. I’m trying to get a little more into Ableton Live for production rather than just for the live show, but I feel a little crazy with it, and I just love it for on-the-fly kind of stuff, but I think it’s cool to add those little modulation things into a recording so that’s kind of what I am using it for.”

Before we have to leave for a further flurry of interviews K.Flay has penciled in for the day (and of course, recording), we speak briefly about her thoughts on being a female in the music industry. Does K feel a pressure to look, dress, act a certain way? “I think in pop music generally speaking there is this kind of hyper-sexualisation. I think for women, a lot, you either exist on one extreme end of the spectrum, like very hyper-sexualised or just totally not. I do think there’s a void somewhere in the middle, I feel like I want to fill that void. I know that for a lot of young girls, like I’m talking about growing up, talking about rock girls, there was that kind of aesthetic, you know, someone who was sort of a badass but wasn’t necessarily super sexualised. Even talking about Garbage or Shirley Manson, there’s a place for it in hip hop. She grins, “I do think there’s room for that, and for me it’s not a fabricated identity, it’s about who I am and what I’m about naturally. I don’t feel a tonne of pressure, I just would like for that to exist.”

K.Flay’s Eyes Shut EP is available for free download on her website KFLAY.COM and for other recommended listening, check out YouTube for her tracks Less Than Zero, Doctor Don’t Know and also her Gucci Gucci remix (she eats a lot of hamburgers in the video for the latter!).

Izzy Toshi

Introducing #1 – Izzy Toshi aka Magik Skillz (Producer/Beatsmith)

Izzy Toshi a.k.a Magik Skillz is a producer/beatsmith from North London. I caught up with him in the midst of a major studio overhaul, a busy production and studio session schedule to talk all manner of things from rebranding himself Izzy Toshi to improvisation and musical infusion.

Izzy Toshi is a befitting name to this artist because his real name is Israel Omotosho, he’s a self taught pianist who was born and raised in Nigeria before moving to North London at the tender age of six. Izzy recalls that his first experiences of London were shock because London was densely populated, ‘They live too close together’, as opposed to back home where there was a fair amount of space between neighbours. A man of very few words, Izzy Toshi is a humble observer who chooses to express himself through music. I thought he’d object to becoming Izzy Toshi but once I explained to him that for a production and skill set so eclectic, he needed a name that would not only stand out but represent himself, his family and cultural history.

Facebook | @MagikSkillz

I met Izzy while studying a Fda Popular Musician degree at British Academy of New Music in London, where alumni include chart toppers Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran, so I’ve seen the progression in sound and skillset. He’s produced and remixed for UK artists Kasha Rae, Kristina Shashina, Tyme‘s Money and a whole host of artists from the African diaspora. He’s dabbled in a variety of genres across the musical spectrum from Afrobeat to Rap, House, R&B and Pop. Izzy Toshi is someone who stays open to experimentation so if your looking for a producer, remixer and beatsmith/collaborator, look no further.

Ghost.

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Jay-Z & Kanye West – N*ggas In Paris x Videojacking Graffiti Guys

Do I really need to introduce this? No.

Do I give a fuck if you like it? No.

Do I care for your astronomical expectations? No.

Do I care if you don’t get that they’d rather invest in innovative ways to be creative and simply intricate rather than be tacky and vulgar? No.

Do I give a fuck if you think I’m posting this just for traffic? No.

If you thought the questions which preceded this sentence were anything but rhetorical, you are a DICK.

These two are my IDOLS. They represent two prominent polarities at opposite sides of the Rap spectrum. Their partnership has propelled Hip Hop culture to dizzying heights. They are an absolute partnership in both business and creativity. If you think otherwise, you can shut the fuck up and piss off because I’ve listened to Rap since my conception in the winter of 1984 whilst a bunch of you discovered it a few years ago. I’ve seen many come and go. Yes I know I’m babbling but fuck it. I can write what I feel and I will because you really didn’t have to read this far, did you?

I personally love the way they kept it quintessentially about the live show and energy to keep it simple with sprinkles of luxury i.e the panthers and lions, but kept it archaic with the kaleidoscope.

I FUCKING LOVE THIS!!! … But did you see this one?

Ghost.

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Incisive ft Shakka – This Groove/Heartbreak (Official Video)

As some of you may know, outside of Grime I’m really not a UK Rap fan. Why? Because I can’t get with the ‘Urban’ amalgamation watered down malarky and let’s face it 9/10 UK artists are either emulating our cousins across the pond or ‘artist‘ of the moment. I’ve been sent links to this artist before and skipped through it as a lot of the time I’ve been on the go -maybe it was the beat, maybe it was the flow, maybe it was the visuals… Who knows?

The only thing I’m sure about is that I’m feeling this cut right here, it’s original, it’s uplifting, it’s beautiful, it’s BRITISH.

This is a wave that I hope other Brits jump on because it’s totally our vibe, from the production, to the lyrics, to the flows, to the arrangement, the singer and the visuals. I really couldn’t of given a fuck about him before but this cut right here has put this rapper on the radar… Let’s just hope the album, scheduled to drop later this year, contains more cuts like this and less of the soundalikes like his contemporaries. FUCK DAT! I wanna hear a joint album because these two lads have got maaad chemistry, and a great set of producers behind them.

@Incisive1 | @IAmShakka | Download

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El Suavo feat. Various Artists – ‘Talk Of The Town’ (Video)

Minus the few repulsive faces -no homo, the lack of ‘swag’ or better yet ‘try hard’ shwaggg and one dude playing fancy dress up, I really like the video but more than anything I love the beat! THAT SHIT CRAAAY!!!

@thereeljai | @RMLGofficial | @thereel_elsuavo | @enjayonline | @terrasworld | @igdoesmusic | @mar_tino | @t_grhymey | @elshaymusic | @marvin_live | @enigmar1 | @bizzydot

Who had the best verse tho!?

Director: Reel Life Media Group
Producer: Chloe Pullinger
DOP: James Matai
Editor: Hatice Ozbayir

Email: reellifemediagroup@yahoo.com
FB: Reel Life Media Group, El Suavo

I predict big things from this guy -always have done. Not sure if he’s under management yet but I’ve been telling my mate over at Pouts & Deuces to snap him up from the longest… *Since Easter Sunday April 4th 2010 to be exact* So what are you waiting for haaah? (French Montana/Kanye ad lib)

Ghost.

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Technodrome1 In Paris

This guy is the future. I featured him on here ages ago but missed a chance to go and meet him whilst I was out in NYC back in November. I love his artwork and can’t wait for him to visit London sometime soon. I also remember interpreting his work as I saw it via email ages ago but I never kept a copy so if you’re reading and see the first few email exchanges between us, please email me the messages so I could a proper write up.

Ghost.

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Corinne Shields – Maybe I’ll Miss You (Audio)

I’ve found a new ‘favourite’ artist that I’ll be on the lookout for in 2012!

I was doing the sporadic twitter/soundcloud rounds when I come across this song Maybe I’ll Miss You. At first I didn’t think much of it, I slyly dismissed it but I got to the chorus and I was like “WHAT THE FUCK!? THIS IS A BANGER!”. It was there that I began to share it on my Tumblr blog whilst listening to it and sorta started writing a commentary in real-time. Since posting it I think I’ve listed to it a few dozen times. At first I didn’t know why I loved it so much but then I put my finger on it, she has an angelic vocal timbre similar to Ellie Goulding. It’s also the way Corinne layers her vocals, the harmonies, the ad libs -simply majestic, add that to her overall sound and song choice; an amalgamation of quirky, ‘booty shaking’, feet shuffling electronica (UK Garage), and a piano ballad with sprinkles of manipulated oscillators on a variety of modular, granular, and additive synths -reminiscent of my gaming excursions on Nintendo gaming consoles in the late ’80s/early ’90s, it’s no wonder why I’m captivated by this particular song.

Corinne Shields’ Maybe I’ll Miss You has won a place ‘Up In My Ear‘ because she -with the help of a creative collaborator perhaps, has managed to capture the sentiment of nostalgia almost absolutely. Also befitting of the song title and subject matter -WELL-FUCKING-DONE!

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Randomly seething through twitter/soundcloud before finding this. Flicked through it and fell in love with it. Not perfect but I’d love it because the chorus is sick and it reminds me of one of those video games, you know the travelling through space in a spaceship on a mission to rescue Zelda…

Pretty much wrote this as I’m listening and I’ve just heard the breakdown… The backing vocals, harmonies are on point. She’s looking for work as a writer so artists and producers get in touch.

The track continues to grow on me with every listen, by the time I got to this sentence I had actually began to listen through all the other tracks.

corinne_shields@yahoo.co.uk | @CorinneShields

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McKenzie Eddy – Do What You Want To (Video)

I’ve been admiring this lady from a distance and I can’t make up my mind, I’ve downloaded a few mixtapes from her but failed to listen because I haven’t been in the right frame of mind. I keep hearing a few bits and pieces but I haven’t heard the right track until this…

It’s on the same instrumental that Curren$y used for ‘Boarding pass’ and I think she does a pretty great job at sitting on it -minus the flange and modulation effects. I’m still waiting to hear the right set of songs from her but I love her voice and pronounciation -not so weird when you think about it- and the visuals are magnifique, another thing you gotta love about DD172.

@McKenzieEddy | Website | DD172

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Kendrick Lamar – Rigamortis (Video)

This isn’t one of my favourite songs on the album but it certainly does showcase the sharper side of Kendrick’s lyricism.

This on the other hand is one of my favourite songs on Section 80. but I wish they had or have plans to do visuals to Hol Up, which is also the track that I looped on the into on a ringtone app and made it both the ringtone and alarm on my iPhone… Not sure why I told you all of that but Hol Up is definitely a banging beat that we all can ride out to.

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Mr. Little Jeans – Valentine/Suburbs (Directed By High5Collective)

I don’t know about you, but when I discover something new to my ears, I get all warm and fluffy inside. I get this overwhelming feeling of euphoria which makes me want to shout about and share this ear candy with the rest of the world. Out of the many ‘new’ songs and sounds I hear, only a few motivate me to stop whatever it is I’m doing at that particular moment and shout about it. I literally stop whatever it is I’m doing and flash straight to the laptop, yes the laptop rather than the iPhone app, to share my latest discovery with you. Fair enough Mr. Little Jeans isn’t exactly a new band but to me, someone who’s only just heard of them, they’re on par with the Boom Clap Bachelors.

Firstly I’d like to point out that ‘Valentine‘ was a song that I heard after watching the video to ‘The Suburbs‘, which was directed by a creative mob, who are making major waves out in the sphere for their high quality conceptual visuals, the High5Collective. Valentine and the overall sound of Mr. Little Jeans is reminiscent of the lush ambient soundscapes comparable to the likes of Goldfrappe and Little Boots, vocally Monica Birkenes has the charm and intrigue of the aforementioned, with hints of Ellie Goulding‘s soft timbres. I really love the sound and her voice…

@MyMrLittleJeans | Facebook

When H5C direct and share videos with their social network -facebook, twitter etc, I always take a peek because I always know I’ll witness something epic! If I’m to be totally honest, a lot of the time the visuals have almost always outweighed the music, but it hasn’t been until now that I’ve seen a partnership flow so organically. I was only five seconds into the video when I fell in live with the song, Suburbs. Upon further research I found that Monica had actually covered an Arcade Fire’s song, but I doubt I’d need to hear the original after falling in love with Birkenes’ rendition almost instantaneously. Perhaps it was the sentiment that matches my current temperament almost absolutely, perhaps there’s something about Monica Birkenes‘ majestic tones weaving its way through such a haunting soundscape. The one thing I’m certain of is that Mr. Little Jeans fits perfectly into my ears, and without sounding mahoooosively cliche, I’d say it’s a match made in heaven…

http://vimeo.com/h5c/littlejeans

Directed By – @H5C | Facebook | Website