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© ukhh.com - 2004
interview 0195 added
09.05.04 words: Nikesh technical:
QED
A year ago, Infinite Livez had just put out his infamous 7” “Pononee Girl”
on Big Dada and had completed a tour with the Majesticons. Since then, a lot has
happened for the guy. He’s been slowly raising his profile through 12” releases
and touring relentlessly. Now, his album “Bush Meat” is scheduled for release on
28th May 2004 and he’s very happy to have finished it finally.
I caught up with Infinite for some lemon chicken and a chat about what he’s been
up to, what his plans are and to meet his mate, the elusive Barry Convex.
It’s been a year since we
last spoke…
Yeah…
Apart from shaving off
your dreads, what’s changed for Infinite Livez?
A lot, a lot, a lot… of hard work. I’ve never had to work so hard in my life
basically. When I last saw you, I’d just done the Mike Ladd thing. That was good
and all of a sudden, things picked up. A lot of it had to do with that interview
as well, I know the site gets a lot of clicks. It was related to that and to
putting “Pononee Girl” out. Although it didn’t sell a million copies…
Still made a spark though…
Yeah. It really made a mark and things took off. I was then in a position of
having to keep up, and then realising I can’t just keep up, I gotta be on it. A
lot has happened. In terms of releases, did “Sumfink4Nafink”, I did an
appearance on a Kid Acne single. I’ve done a lot of shows over the last year.
Did a “Radio School”, which is a radio show with DJ A’La Fu in Aberdeen. Hosting
that once a month and just completing the album, Bush Meat.
What’s the vibe on the
album?
The premise was to do all the ideas for songs that I had. Do something that
wasn’t done before. Even if it meant doing something silly or something novel.
That was the starting point for that album. On it, there’s a lot of weird stuff,
a lot of tongue in cheek humour, a lot of surreal humour. It just turned out
that way in terms of what I thought made the songs work at the time. I think
people should expect something new… not new, that sounds poncy. But I didn’t
want to sound like somebody else. So, more and more of the same… nonsense.
Musically, what kind of
vibe is it?
That’s a difficult question to answer, just cos I work with so many different
producers. A lot of the time, it would be like “I like that beat.” A lot of
beats I got, they’d played them to other MCs and they’d been the ones they’d
least liked. The sound is a bit electronic, maybe. It’s not an uptempo bounce-ment
album, but there are some uptempo tracks. It’s more focussed on the lyrics, you
can hear what I’m saying and there’s a focus on the concepts and the ideas. Like
I said, it’s difficult to see myself away from it. The skits are also quite
important on the album, the little mini-tracks.
"...It’s just trying to get something spontaneous and in
the moment, and really fresh. And, I wanted to bring that to the album..."
When I first heard the
album, I remember thinking that some of the skits were a bit jarring and broke
up the flow, but the more I’ve listened to it since then, they make sense now…
They’re a lot to do with the live shows. When I’m doing something inbetween all
the tracks, I’ll have A’La Fu playing an instrumental and I’ll do stuff with a
distortion pedal and an air synth and make up a track on the spot. I’ll make up
a line on the spot, like “We were late to the show today” and then make that
into a track. It’s just trying to get something spontaneous and in the moment,
and really fresh. And, I wanted to bring that to the album. I didn’t want it to
be like a track starts and a track stops. Ideally, it would have been one
continuous thing throughout the whole album but we didn’t really have time for
that.
Whenever people talk about
Infinite Livez, they say that in person he’s really quiet, but on stage he’s
mental…
Well, one of the Gamma lot said to me at Ghetto Grammar was that “from the
moment you’re on stage you’re Emceeing”, even if you’re just standing on stage.
So everything you do is part of the performance. I don’t want to be how I am on
stage in real life, cos that’s not really me but I’m quite aware of the fact
that the moment you step on stage, everything you do is part of the act. I hate
going to shows and seeing people not facing the crowd or shouting at the
soundman or looking at the floor for a one pound coin. You gotta interact with
the audience on every level so that’s what I do. Offstage and onstage are both
me but in different environments. I’m not into this whole being an MC and
spending a ridiculous amount of money on clothes and shit like that. That’s
never been me. So, yeah, it works. I think it works.
How involved were you in
the production of the album?
Well, it varies from producer to producer. Like Tomz will just give me a beat
and that beat will have a lot in it already. The way he works is there’s a lot
in the tracks and we’ll put it into sections and do it there and then on the
day. Someone like M3 who did most of the production will work quite minimally
and we end up building a track over a while. I’ll suggest stuff that can be
added. I can sit round Blufoot’s and make the beat in a day. Literally, I’ll be
rapping along with the track, adding a chorus and lyrics and he’ll build it and
give me a minidisk copy. I’ll take that home, write the song properly and come
back. Part 2 is kinda weird really. He’ll never finish a track. He works with a
sampler and Cubase on the Atari and the track’s never finished till the last
minute. Even in the studio, he’s got ideas and stuff for the track. I don’t
really have to suggest too much. Blackitude, everything will be there. Very
similar to Tomz, a lot of diversity will already be there and you won’t have to
change too much. Everyone’s really different. With M3, for example, I’ll be like
“I want a track like this.” With the Lactating Man track, he already had the
beat and it was for an R’n’B track and I had an idea for that track.
Do you produce yourself?
I’m starting to. I did the “White Wee Wee” track. I’m using a Groovebox, a
Swedish thing called a “Machine Drum”. It’s a bit like Reason but in a box. I
think if you’re an MC, and you start production, you tend to overlook certain
things that a producer would see in a track. You make silly mistakes like too
many beats, too many layers on something, too many snares and kicks. At the
moment, I’m just trying to hear what makes a beat really work. So, “White Wee
Wee” was me starting out. So hopefully, on the next album, there’ll be more.
"...I
think the important thing is people should realise that UK Hip Hop is quite
diverse and there are a lot of definitions and interpretations of Hip Hop in
this country..."
What inspired the song
“Claati Brothers”, which appears to be about the art world and reclaiming
African Art back from it?
I think, in terms of Ster’s verse, that’s where he was coming from. My verse and
my input, it was talking a little bit about my experience as an art student. I
found that environment really different. Being black, it was just new to me.
There’s a lot of things I enjoyed about art college. I got exposed to a lot of
ideas that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. There were a lot of things that
were really strange to me. Like the opening skit was tongue-in-cheek… but I used
to go to private views and I used to have the weirdest conversations with people
and just… people getting totally drunk and not even looking at the art, just
there to get pissed. The atmosphere would be… two black people in such a big
institution… it made a big impression on me. So I wrote a song about it. In
terms of what you’re saying, I think that’s something that Ster came with… and
I’m glad he did because I knew I wouldn’t necessarily come at it from that
angle. He went to art college as well. I knew Ster would have his own take on it
and it would be completely different from me. Reclaiming black art, that’s where
he came from.
What’s happening with your
“Globulicious” comic?
Well, they released the first one. I made them a second one and I don’t think
it’s ever gonna come out…
I haven’t ever seen the
first one…
It’s very hard to find. They did a run of 500. I don’t know. The first issue was
out. I gave them the prints for the second one and it never came out.
You used to work in
computer games… if you were to design an Infinite Livez computer game, what
kinda game would it be?
I’ve thought about this a bit. At the time, when I was working there, I thought
it would be really good to make a suicide game. Like a Tamagotchi that you have
to stop from topping himself. You gotta stop him from getting depressed by
sorting out problems in his life… I don’t think it would be very popular but it
would be good in terms of press because people would be outraged. It’d sell
itself. That, or some kinda of Barry Convex game, kinda like Dance Mania where
you go to the arcade and you get a Barry Convex glove and you have to mime stuff
off the screen. Or a Barry Convex shoot-em-up, I’m a big fan of shoot-em-ups.
How has UK Hip Hop evolved
in the last year?
I think a certain kind of Hip Hop that I can’t stand has really established
itself as the voice for UK Hip Hop.
What kind is that?
I’m not gonna mention it. Will (Ashon) calls it dad-rap. Rap that your dad would
listen to. Rap… I guess, UK backpacker rap. And it’s good for that market but I
think, long-term it’s got some problems and I’ve got problems with it. I just
think that underground Hip Hop ethics, like spitting, no chorus, full of
metaphors and similes and put on London accents, with Premier-sounding beats, I
think it’s selling itself short and it’s establishing itself as the sound of UK
Hip Hop in some areas, and for me it’s a little disheartening. I think the
important thing is people should realise that UK Hip Hop is quite diverse and
there are a lot of definitions and interpretations of Hip Hop in this country.
It’s become a lot more established, like what Ty and Jehst and GLC have done.
They’ve put out records and sold them, and put themselves in the spotlight. A
lot of people coming up like Mystro. Like, what Ty’s done has been really good
for the scene. We need more girls though, more female MC’s.
"...I
hate going to shows and seeing people not facing the crowd or shouting at the
soundman or looking at the floor for a one pound coin. You gotta interact with
the audience on every level so that’s what I do..."
What up and coming people
are you feeling?
I haven’t had much of a chance to listen to much stuff really. I’ve just been
constantly working. I haven’t had the chance to hear new stuff. But it’s got to
be Foreign Beggars I think. That’s a really strong album they’ve put out.
Orifice is just ill. Kid Acne as well. We did a track together and we’re trying
to get an album sorted.
What role do you think the
internet plays in the UK Hip Hop industry?
It’s quite important. It’s been important for a lot of so called sub-genres. Not
just UK Hip Hop. I don’t think it can just rest on that alone. If people believe
that, they’re gonna be disappointed. You gotta do the hours, go on tour, do
shows, go to parties, say hi to people you don’t like, make shit music, make
good music, send out your demo, get knock-backs… that’s the reality of getting
signed and getting out there. Not just being on a forum and being really
opinionated… that stuff helps but it’s virtual, literally. It does help in
connecting people and helping people communicate.
Say we meet in a year’s
time to catch up, where do you hope Infinite Livez to be?
Where? I hope I can get a rest. I don’t know. It’s difficult to look at it like
that. There are certain objectives I hope to achieve. I definitely want to pay
off my Big Dada account. When you get a deal, you get given a certain amount of
money and your expenses come out of that. I don’t care about making money, I
just want to break even so that the next album can be the same again. It would
be nice to get a bit of recognition for all the hard work everyone’s done.
There’s other ideas as well. Like performance art, or comic books. I need to
learn an instrument, like piano or something. In terms of live performance, I
want to make it work better than it does at the moment. I’m supposed to get a
dancer in, but at the moment, no-one will dance for me because it’s too weird
dancing in a horse mask.
"...I thought it would be really good to make a suicide
game. Like a Tamagotchi that you have to stop from topping himself..."
How important is the sense
of spectacle to your live performance?
Well, there is a tried and tested theory that works really well. You know that
if you put on “Simon Says” and rap over that, you’ll get a response. But not a
million times. Not again… Not every time you go out and see someone. When you go
and see my show, I want it to be quite theatrical. I want it to be a little bit
outlandish and surreal, maybe shocking in a way you can’t put your finger. One
of the bands that really influenced me are Butthole Surfers. I remember seeing
them at Reading, before they’d signed a major deal and it was just amazing. It
was really, in terms of what they were doing, pushing theatre of performance,
aesthetically and visually. And I thought, why can’t Hip Hop be like that? Why
can’t it be able to not just be about skills, but be about pushing the quality
of sound? Just an experience that goes somewhere else you’re not expecting.
Which producers are there
left to work with, you would like to work with?
One of the producers I’d really like to work with is the P Brothers. I really
like them. The mastering on a lot of the singles they do, and the sound is
really nice. It’d be nice to work with Diplo and hopefully, Mike Ladd… maybe for
this Kid Acne thing. Maybe Part 2 more. More me… I’d like to work with myself.
What pisses Infinite Livez
off?
Getting up late. I used to be able to get up at 7 o’clock, do some drawing,
write some songs, go to work. Maybe it’s age but I can’t get up anymore. I get
up last minute and I get up and I practise freestyling or whatever. I need to
get up earlier and sort my shit out.
Any shout-outs and
shameless plugs?
Big up to the Mighty M3, the baddest producer that there is, my right-hand man…
big up to Blufoot, big up to Shadowless, big up to Will Ashon and Big Dada, Kid
Acne, Etienne, Estron, who works very hard, everyone at Ninja Tune, and big up
to mum and Jayden and everyone on the UKHH forums… Shameless plugs: Barry Convex
t-shirts on the Big Dada website. Limited edition, only 100 made and they’re in
girls sizes, so if you wanna get something for your girlfriend this Easter, get
her a Barry Convex t-shirt. There’s “Move It or Lose It” on the new Kid Acne EP
(“Reality Raps”). Currently out. Of course, there’s the album coming on 28th
May, called “Bushmeat.” Got that coming out, what else? What else? I think
that’s it. I think I’ve forgotten someone. Big up A’La Fu and everyone in
Aberdeen, for being such a laugh.
There you go, nuff said. Peep the album, check the review of it in the review
section. Get on board now, cos this cat is going places you couldn’t even dream
of.
“Bush Meat” will be released on May 28th through Big Dada records.
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