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Hoochinoo Interview
 interview 0179 added
16.02.04 words: K-Per
technical:
QED
Hoochinoo Live 03/12/03 @ Madame JoJo’s,
Soho
A new
Hip Hop night in London, Hoochinoo, focuses on home grown talent, bringing
together established and not so established names to come and show their best in
front of what was, for their first night, a pretty decent crowd. Madame JoJo’s
is a venue that has hosted many other Hip Hop related events in the past and
this new one seems to follow in that tradition of representing the UK and having
a damn good night.
The main names on the night were that of Skully’s and upcoming MC Kashmere.
Along those two were more unknown acts like Acerola Plus, Abstractions and
Combined Mentalz both of which are signed to Receptor records, co-hosts of the
night.
 We got there in time to see Acerola Plus come on stage doing their thing. These
boys hail from South London and are one of the most interesting acts I have seen
in a long time. They started out with 3 of them on stage, backed up by a DJ,
which was good but somehow seemed to be lacking something. It was as if there
was more to them but they weren’t letting on. And then after two tracks, the DJ
took off his headphones and grabbed a sax and a full band came on stage, with a
drummer, keyboard player, bassist and trumpetist, and two MCs, so that was what
was missing! Pretty much most of them took turns on the mic as well, which made
for some interesting lyrical combinations but the real highlight was the music
they played. Live Hip Hop bands can be dope if they are done well, and these
guys held their own really well. They went through a few songs, doing all the
instrumentation live, with some nice downtempo numbers and some more uplifting
ones, including a really nice Latin tinged number about some Spanish girl. They
put on a damn good show, playing with the crowd and getting people moving and
involved, as well as switching between full band numbers and some more
straightforward Hip Hop bits which went down really well.
Following them was DJ Ak-One who helped keep the dance floor going in between
live numbers. Abstractions and Combined Mentalz came on stage next, both putting
on a good show, not necessarily ground breaking stuff but some good quality
Hip Hop, which went down well. The idea of giving groups who haven’t had the
chance of showing their stuff live before, an outlet for their performance
seemed to work well and they got a good reception from the audience.
"...We
meet lots of very interesting and talented people, and most are more than happy
to perform at the nights...”
Skully and Kashmere closed the night. Skully put down a good set of party
classics, both old and new, with just the right dose of scratching and juggling,
enough to keep people interested and bodies shaking on the floor. The only
downfall seemed to have been that a lot of the crowd left as Skully came on,
what with the night being mid-week, it’s always hard to get people to stay late
and have to catch a night bus home. But that slight problem apart, Hoochinoo put
on a fine night, helping to showcase unknown talent and bringing a new vibe to
the capital’s musical landscape. Look out for more from them, including more
live sets by upcoming artists and regular Hip Hop nights with big and small name
DJs.
We also spoke to Specialist and Ak-One from Hoochinoo, about the night and their
future aspirations, to give you a better idea of who these guys are and
hopefully convince you to get down to their next event! The following interview
was done by email.
First off, can you let us know who you guys are and how Hoochinoo came
together, where has Receptor come from and what’s the link between you guys?
Also how long have you guys been around and where you all from?
 Specialist: Hoochinoo and Receptor Records are 2 very individual entities,
although very closely connected in our interests we have separate goals and
aspirations within UK Hip Hop.
Hoochinoo is a collective composed of a scratch DJ (Ak-One), Hip Hop MC
(Specialist), photographer (Vark) and drum and bass DJ (state of mind). We are
all promoters at the end of the day, united by the love of the music and desire
to expand, find new talent within the UK and get it seen. We met and formed over
the last 3 years through people who knew people. We were all doing our separate
things within the music but developed the ideas for the night and worked very
hard to get it launched.
Specialist and DJ Ak-One are part of rap group Abstractions, who work closely
with producers and MCs from Receptor Records and know them as friends as well as
artists, that is the main connection. We obviously help each other as far as
Hip Hop night and Hip Hop label as it only makes sense to consolidate but we also
have our separate ideas of where we are going with our outfits.
We have been formed for 3 years as Hoochinoo but before then we were all into
our own things. We are all based in North London and carry out the night all
over the capital.
Ak-one: I got into Hoochinoo about a year ago by playing out in a bar as a
Hip Hop/breaks DJ. As time went on I found myself slipping into the background more,
but still playing out at the same time.
Specialist introduced me to all the Receptor crew who he’s known for quite a
while. We decided to have a go at creating a 2 emcee (specialist and greef) and
one DJ style Hip Hop crew called Abstractions.
Can you describe what the idea behind Hoochinoo is?
How do you guys approach putting a Hip Hop night together and is there anything
you try and do to make your nights stand out?
 Specialist: Hoochinoo was made with the idea of finding talent within the UK and
exposing it to the Hip Hop community. So many people are into the music and have
their talents wasted from the fear of starting out. We give people the chance of
performing some of their material to a hype crowd alongside big name artists,
helping us to help them. The nights get bigger and these artists get to show off
their skills.
The way we attract people to our gigs is to give them a name they will recognise
and respect from the scene. Then alongside this we have newcomers, the idea is
to bring new sounds to our crowd but giving them the ‘security’ of knowing that
there will be a big name at the event. Its hard to get a crowd into a gig when
there are no names they recognise, it’s a real hard obstacle to get around
especially when starting out.
We do the usual promotions for the gigs but use a lot of our own visuals on the
nights and in our flyers etc. We try to incorporate all aspects of sound and
vision into the gigs, anything to make the night stand out, different people
remember things for different reasons, so we aim to appeal to people on
different levels.
Ak-one: I feel flyers are mad important. Get a flyer that’ll stand out as much
as possible and chuck it around to anyone who’s anyone within the Hip Hop scene.
Even if people are just like “yeah, yeah, whatever, hoochinoo?” and just dump it
on the floor then at least they’ve had a look at it.
The definite mix of DJs and MCs is important on the live night. You don’t want
to over do it with more than one or the other or else people might get bored.
We were very lucky to get Skully down to our night who helped us out by giving
it mad airtime on his radio show. Mad props.
Word of mouth also helped us, as many of the people who came down were friends,
or friends of friends. And as the word spreads I feel we’ll find more and more
people recognising the name.
Can you give people a brief description of what they can expect coming to one
of your nights?
Specialist: We have 2 different nights:
- ‘Hoochinoo Live’: Expect live Hip Hop. New
Hip Hop talent mixed in with
established UK artists, MCs & DJs, good party atmosphere. Anything else goes
from beatboxing to breaking. The main emphasis is that it is a UK & Alternative
Hip Hop night. We like to give the people what they want and a little something
they don’t expect.
- ‘Can You Hoochinoo?’: Expect experienced
Hip Hop DJs, scratching, juggling and
spinning all those Hip Hop gems you want to hear. A good club night to come to.
Ak-one: Well said. I think that about cover’s it! Especially the scratching and
juggling part.
The people playing on the night were all pretty much unknown to the public.
Do you guys consciously try to push forward new talent and build them up from
the start?
 Specialist: Yes, exactly. I think there are many good
Hip Hop nights going on in
London, but if we are to be successful it needs a new angle. We look for new
artists, so we get to go to a lot of gigs through word of mouth, flyers, other
Hip Hop forums whatever it might be. We meet lots of very interesting and
talented people, and most are more than happy to perform at the nights. I’d like
to think of Hoochinoo as a collective of all these artists as well as a Hip Hop
night. It’s a centre point on which many ideas revolve and are brainstormed.
Ak-one: Without a doubt. No one got themselves recognised by just staying in
their bedroom and smoking weed all day. You got to send the demos around
(hopefully to us) and someone will recognise skills and talent. Obviously if you
ain’t got it, that’s just the way it goes. We’re all very open-minded and are
willing to check out anything. It will always get a listen.
What’s your impression, feelings, about the Hip Hop scene in the UK and
London and where do you think things are going right and /or wrong?
Specialist: I have been into Hip Hop since the early 90’s and remember that the
first UK tracks put out were always about fast lyrics and heavy bass lines.
Groups like Gunshot, Silver Bullet, JC001, whoever. It was all good. Although
only over the last 5 years has the British scene begun to develop and getting
the exposure it deserves. It has really built character and recognisable crews
are forming up and down the UK.
I think that a lot of artists are trying to be too different and ruining their
skills by filling their tracks with electrical sounding, new age, experimental
type shit. Then saying a whole bunch of nothing on top. When Hip Hop tunes start
sounding like dub its time to rethink your game plan. Although there are always
exceptions to the rules. I think, concentrate on the sounds that people really
feel and make more of it. Work the tracks, take time over the lyrics, write
something that will leave an impact.
"...different
people remember things for different reasons, so we aim to appeal to people on
different levels...”
Ak-one: The UK scene definitely has it’s own feel. A good change from the days
when people used to want to sound American. It’s better to talk about things you
know and see every day. On the other hand a lot of people are starting to sound
very similar nowadays and it’s hard to tell one British emcee from the next.
You’ve got to have your own style, that’s a must. Nice freshly chopped breaks
are a very important ingredient and a little garnish of some scratches never
goes amiss.
What are your plans for the future and what can we expect from Hoochinoo and
Receptor in 2004? Who should people be looking out for?
 Ak-one: You guys are the future! Whoever reads this and feels they want to send
us a demo. Get it to:
Abstraction Music
483 Green Lanes
London
N13 4BS
Specialist: We will be putting together a mix CD/12” of all our Hoochinoo
artists, or at least a selection. It is something that talent scouts might want
to pick up as an untapped source of Hip Hop talent. As well as heads who want to
hear an alternative raw sound.
Look out for Kashmere The Iguanaman from Receptor Records. I am sure many have
already heard him, but this guy has got skills, amazing live performer, well
worth a butchers. As well as him, Combined Mentalz from Receptor and the 7 piece
live Hip Hop group Acerola Plus are all great artists, watch out for these guys.
Too many groups to mention.
We will be pushing the DJ Ak-One “All Mixed Up series” over 2004, which will
include heavy tracks from UK and US artists and feature Receptor Records
exclusives.
On top of this we will be running our club night ‘Can You Hoochinoo?’ in various
locations in London so stay tuned to updates on
hoochinoo.co.uk.
The live nights ‘Hoochinoo Live’ will be run every few months and these are the
ones not to miss!!!
Ak-one: Definitely a place to get “Can You Hoochinoo” running on a regular basis
to get up and coming DJs showing their stuff.
Check for my mix CD “All mixed up”. It’s around and a 2nd instalment will be
with you soon. Kashmere’s “Raw Styles 2” (in stores now) is hot like white coals
so you better get that. Wait, did I say it was hot? That wax will burn your
turntable.
Any last words?
Specialist: Just to say check out
www.hoochinoo.co.uk.
Find out what happens next. At least come down and have a beer, it can’t hurt.
And also have a look at www.abstrax.co.uk.
Thanks for the support!
-
K-Per
Related Links:
 
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We got there in time to see Acerola Plus come on stage doing their thing. These
boys hail from South London and are one of the most interesting acts I have seen
in a long time. They started out with 3 of them on stage, backed up by a DJ,
which was good but somehow seemed to be lacking something. It was as if there
was more to them but they weren’t letting on. And then after two tracks, the DJ
took off his headphones and grabbed a sax and a full band came on stage, with a
drummer, keyboard player, bassist and trumpetist, and two MCs, so that was what
was missing! Pretty much most of them took turns on the mic as well, which made
for some interesting lyrical combinations but the real highlight was the music
they played. Live Hip Hop bands can be dope if they are done well, and these
guys held their own really well. They went through a few songs, doing all the
instrumentation live, with some nice downtempo numbers and some more uplifting
ones, including a really nice Latin tinged number about some Spanish girl. They
put on a damn good show, playing with the crowd and getting people moving and
involved, as well as switching between full band numbers and some more
straightforward Hip Hop bits which went down really well.
Specialist: Hoochinoo and Receptor Records are 2 very individual entities,
although very closely connected in our interests we have separate goals and
aspirations within UK Hip Hop.
Specialist: Hoochinoo was made with the idea of finding talent within the UK and
exposing it to the Hip Hop community. So many people are into the music and have
their talents wasted from the fear of starting out. We give people the chance of
performing some of their material to a hype crowd alongside big name artists,
helping us to help them. The nights get bigger and these artists get to show off
their skills.
Specialist: Yes, exactly. I think there are many good
Hip Hop nights going on in
London, but if we are to be successful it needs a new angle. We look for new
artists, so we get to go to a lot of gigs through word of mouth, flyers, other
Hip Hop forums whatever it might be. We meet lots of very interesting and
talented people, and most are more than happy to perform at the nights. I’d like
to think of Hoochinoo as a collective of all these artists as well as a Hip Hop
night. It’s a centre point on which many ideas revolve and are brainstormed.
Ak-one: You guys are the future! Whoever reads this and feels they want to send
us a demo. Get it to: