So lets set the scene....errrm well actually theres nothing to set.
I’m sitting on the settee in my house trying to sellotape up a mashed dictaphone - getting not very far n’ showing the sort of skills which made me realise Blue Peter weren’t really gonna be knocking down my yard to drag me off for fame and charlie snorting fortune.
So bring on the New Flesh For Old. First up the brains behind the beats within the organisation - the founding geezer of NF4O from back in ’92....Mr Part 2
After some n’ technical glitches - like the sellotape getting stuck to the side of my head - we got down to some questioning:
is it cold in here? |
You’ve been around putting out vinyl since around 94 yeah?....I was wondering why it took so long from 97 when you released the Electronic Bombardment 12" and like it took two years later since "Eye of the Hurricane" came out?
It costs a lot of money nahmean n’ the first 12"s we done ourselves - and after we signed to Big Dada (in 1996) at that time they weren’t really doing albums n’ that cos they had just set up the label n’ were only doing 12’s to build up the label. Also - we was doing stuff for the "Black Whole Styles" LP. And we was talking for a while around that time about doing an album but they had already sorted something with Roots Manuva so we got on with ours n’ that’s time spent.
So you think Big Dada are moving more towards albums in the next years then?
Oh yeah – definitely getting into albums now….theres a new album coming out called "The Infesticons"…
Oh is that Mike Ladd?
Yup – I got a copy the other day so that's due out now n' also Roots Manuva's in the studio at the moment. Oh and theres Gamma – thats Juice Aleem and (Robotic) E.B.U. – their doing a little project. And I'm also talking about doing a New NF4O album as well - which is going to be a New Flesh International LP….so its going to be a lot broader and is going to break away from the UK…the UK rap labelling-type of thing cos' its universal music nahmean n' I'm gonna be pushing it a bit more widespread. But anyways Big Dada are definitely doing albums now that they got it properly off the ground.
Nice – were you happy with the way Equilibrium sold?
Aye – yeah its not bad. Its an improvement cos when we first started out in the UK scene people were just pressing up 500's. And then when people signed deals like Brotherhood n' Silent Eclipse or whatever – they were the kind of people getting the deals whereby they got one album n' dropping it. So its good to see that people now are getting comfortable sales. but the idea is that when we get forward with our new album people will still look back n' buy the old one. So we have just gotta keep pushing n' keep stepping up those steps…walking…forwards….
Speaking about walking – how did the recent UK tour go….how was you received out there?
It was received really well….but some of the media people were taking the piss nahmean.
Proper?
Yeah proper man – fucking Hip Hop Connection and that guy needs a smack nahmean. He said the New Flesh For Old lacked a spark – n' this is bollocks cos for a fact EBU jumped into the crowd n' couldn't even get back on stage. And you just thought hang-on why is this guy blatantly lying – we did a wicked show. We did a wicked show in Brighton and the crowd was loving it from back to front. This was at the Pressure Point –
Oh seen that little room upstairs innit…
Yeah man it was ruff n' 60/70 people were outside n' couldn't get in n' the crowd were going mad. Melody Maker came in and they reviewed it and they were like we are the best UK group they have ever seen n' fuckin amazing n' that. And then The Wire reviewed it n' fucking said we scared all the women but this is a blatant fuckin lie cos I could see all the girls with my own eyes up the front there….theres just lies going out there and we need to have words with these people.
When your album first came out people were saying it's a Dark-sounding album thats gonna push people away. You agree with that?
I dunno man – to me it ain't. I can understand people with that point of view. I dunno I thought it would be better received than that – better than it actually was received. Cos like people are like nah yeah yeah it went across peoples heads or whatever – I can maybe understand why like for example I never thought Toasties voice change was gonna hit people in that way. We done that LP and we were like yeah its straight forward n' seems to have covered all the bases – I remember talking to Juice (Aleem) a couple of months before release and we thought we'd like created an album that can hit the abstract people but at the same time hit the straightup people n' that we had got that like cross margin which we had done by accident anyways. We had just gone in the studio and done it – we never sit there and work out some mad marketing strategy. Heres the music – yeah we're feeling that so lets write some lyrics for it n' get in the studio and ad-lib stuff in there n' just put it out and see what the reception is. At the end of the day – we enjoyed making it…if you don't like it you can't please 'em all. But I know for a fact that if it had come out on Rawkus…
People would have jumped on it?
Yeah like - how can people say that Company Flow is cool n' everything and then say we are too fucking weird? At the end of the day I don't understand how people can say Rawkus n' Company Flow and everybody jumps on that as yeah yeah the underground heroes n' all that. And then ours comes out n' everybodies like "OH what they doing?" - it doesn't make much sense to me.
What individual projects you got going on at the moment…. You got your artwork n' stuff.
Yeah I got my artwork – which I ain't been doin' to much of recently – but I need to start doing. Theres talk about an Iconoclastic Movement book – so I wanna
do some up to date work for that…
You ready for a double cliched question here…. Whos' been or remains your greatest influence within hiphop?
Within Hip Hop?
Yeah within hiphop – I mean like I know you like Divine Styler for definite...
Ummmm yeah I'm a fan of his music from back in the day…but that's a bit of an influence but not totally - I dunno cos when I hear things I like I try to do the total complete opposite….almost like a deliberate thing of yeah yeah I wanna challenge that with a type of battle. But within hiphop I dunno – I suppose Rammelzee but more for his artwork which influenced me musically what with all his theories of Iconoclastic Impressionism (I think this is what he said but it's a shabby recording and a fucking long word – Sound Reproduction Ed). *–Here is loads of wicked chattering about breaking, graf, old skool rappers n' a basic history lesson about hiphop related tings but can't work out what the fucks being said cos the Dictaphone slipped-* . But some of my influences within hiphop are all kinds of things – people like Bambaataa from the first time I heard Planet Rock…I mean that influenced me more than anything cos it was such a groundbreaking record.
Thirsty? |
You did a graf advert for Fosters Ice yeah?
Yeah I did a billboard.
If somebody was to ask you to do something – like for example Mr. Dexter did the scratches on the 5ive album – if somebody was to offer you something like that would you take it? If not have you had any offers for things like multimedia, soundtracks, film scores etc.?
Nah man – I ain't got offered nothing like that…. Not yet anyway but I'd do that shit though.
Cos you've got a heavy breakbeat album out at the moment innit (Metal Giants out on Vapours)?
I got a breakbeat album dropping about now – but I ain't really followed that to closely to be honest….I'll just wait n' see with that.
You know this International New Flesh project you mentioned setting up – you got any emcees or anything that your gonna be working with or sorted any connections out?
Theres a few but its still in negotiation.
So you wanna keep it under manners?
So yeah I gotta keep it under wraps – cos I know a few cats out there who'll be looking. Cos if you tell people then the next minute there onto it nahmean.
Alright then fairplay if people gonna jump on it – so a variation on that – who's your favourite emcee from the UK?
I dunno – its one of them questions where I have to be like hold-up wheres my record collection. Otherwise I'll forget something or think about it ten minutes later – oh theres him and I never mentioned him. So. I dunno people that are really saying it…are….. I mean some people there deliveries good and some people the lyrics are crisp. Anything from Roots Manuva to oh gosh anything man (struggling due to the dryness of the question!). Theres a lot of good stuff out here - a lot of good stuff coming out right now – really strong stuff…. Somebody who I'm am feeling is
A-cyde – I think A-cyde is wicked man…..I dunno a lot of people overlook him but he's got some flow….. that Absent Minded track is wicked.
Have you thought about the role of the internet to distribute music – is it like all positive advertising or is it nicking the pennies as stuff gets pirated off over the web?
I think its interesting – cos its pushing things thru to a different stage. Its become so strong now that it is one of the better places to sell records – especially compared to some of the shit magazines you get out there. If things are designed well and look good then I find it interesting to look at a thing – but sometimes the only thing it lacks is information….just cos if you bother to read a book you get more information than you would on the internet cos everybody needs to condense it and keep it short. So theres the tendency to find information you already know n' shit – so hopefully you lot can change it. It's a good way of informing people but I know cos we've got our own website but it doesn't get updated as often as it should.
Whats going on with your emceeing cos on the Equilibrium album you made some appearances but not as much as what some people would have expected – you still writing rhymes?
Its just a period I went through where I didn't really wanna write rhymes – I dunno…
You moving away from it then?
NAH – I'm getting back into it….believe it or not – its starting to hit me. But at the time (of the LP) I was being more motivated by the musical side of things and doing the graf and everything else as well. And when your doing that many kinds of things you gotta cut it all down to focus on stuff – otherwise its just going to be a fifty percent thing and I wanna do everything at a hundred percent nahmean so….I know for a fact that I can do a lot better than that LP.
So are you working at the moment or chilling on a timeout?
I'm doing music everyday at the moment – I got backlogs of stuff ready to go into the studio with…..the next New Flesh thing and some other stuff I'm working as well.
Metal Giants |
You wanna have a mention about all these other plans you got?
Errrm I got the Metal Giants thing that's out – I'm just leaving that out there for the moment. And then theres another project I'm supposed to be working on at the moment under the name Man Ray.
Man Ray?
Yeah – its like a different project. It's a Miami Bass like stuff.
Miami Bass (laughing)……Miami Bass?
Yeah (laughing) …yeah man.
Is this a general direction your moving into or what?
I done some on a remix and I didn't know what to do with it – it was an instrumental track not straight up hiphop stuff (by DJ Ziggy – an instrumental producer). And they sent me a 12 and said do you wanna do some remix stuff and I thought yeah why not cos it was a challenge innit. But I never got round to doing it straight away and then by the time I could do it I didn't know what to do with it but I didn't want to do what they had already done. I wanted to move away from the straight up remixing of just breakbeats looped up….so moved into this chopping it all up into sections with drum rolls n' whatever so it sounds more complex. And then when it came to laying out the music over the top I put some BOOM down and it blended it in a bit better innit. And I had made a Miami Bass track with some concerto music over the top – summink like Beethoven would do but it was just BOOM – and I just done it for a laugh innit. So that remix was called the John Staggliano Booty Mix – and now they want me to do an album for them.
Really – just for a laugh?
Yeah – so I've come up with this name Man Ray who was like an old photographer guy who was like born in 18-0-something and died in 19-whatever….and around 1915-1925 when the Dada movement started up in the artworld with surrealism n' everything and he was like one of the main culprits who was stringing it all together and laying down the foundation. I kinda liked the name and I'm like interested cos he's coming back from the dead – like cos all them movements were like Anti-Art movements SO this is gonna be my Anti-Industry movement. It's a big middle finger.
For the people that weren't into your sound?
Just for people in general like media and whatever.
What you pissed off now?
Nah nah – it was just like that odd ego side – the side that's saying how the hell can these people who've been into hiphop for two years….these journalists….think they can tell me about something which I live and fuckin' breath. That's where I'm coming from – so yeah it can anger me….but I don't let it get me down cos I believe in myself. It can dishearten some people but I got nuff energy – but at the end of the day I chose this industry and I ain't gonna be intimidated by it.
Do you think that the thought of life in outer space is a comforting or frightening?
Errrm its quite frightening actually – would you be comfortable out there? – Floating about in space? (Nuff cracking up). Hahaha…. Nah man the concept is good – about exploring rather than being stagnant cos if something is stagnant then it just gets taken over – that's the whole thing about the Miami Bass man – I done it for the laugh….and at the end of the day at first I'm thinking NAH I can't put this out there nahmean cos its just a laff but then I thought why the fuck can't I….people can't dictate what I do….why should I not put it out just cos people are pushing me as a UK rap producer - cos I'm an adult making music. Especially cos people accuse New Flesh of being a bit anal – of taking ourselves to serious.
Is this true?
Well nah – just cos its got a concept people seem to think that of you. But theres nothing wrong with having a concept.
Whats your take on the concept behind New Flesh For Old then – can you give the uneducated heads out there a little summary?
The concept behind New Flesh is about pushing the envelope out and that.
Part 2 taking it camo-style |
Going abstract?
Yeah …that and within different moods. I'll make music for the laugh if I wanna. Its not everyday you wanna listen to hiphop is it? Cos you might wanna chill with some old funk n' jazz or whatever.
Do you DJ out yourself?
Yeah now and again….
You got any plans on that – just Djing around n' playing out some of these breakbeats your making?
Errrm I'd like to …. But I ain't really had the time to push it and promote myself in that way. I do a few things on a Sunday night at this little thing at a chillout place called the Function Room – just playing out bits of breaks, old jazz, latin and whatever…just stuff I don't get a chance to play normally cos its not really a hiphop crowd in there so I can play what I wanna play.
OK – that's that n' thanks for taking the time to answer me…PEACE.
New Flesh 4 Old's 'Equilibrium', 'Eye Of The Hurricane' & the Equilibrium instrumental LP are all available on Big Dada, distributed through Vital.
Part 2's 'Metal Giants' instrumental LP is available now on Vapours, distributed by Pinnacle.
'BROKEN IMAGE – 10 YEARS OF THE IKONOKLAST MOVEMENT', a book featuring art from ROUGH 360, ARKAE, SYSTEM, JUICE, LOOMIT, EDNA, STORMIE and PART 2 will be the first release in Jazz Fudge's literary range, late in 2000
Thanks to Will & Part 2 for their help. Check Part 2 & NF4O's site at the Bullets Of Autumn pages
NEXT IN THE BIG DADA SHOWCASE SERIES:
#2 Juice Aleem
#3 MC TY
#4 Roots Manuva
#5 Your Mum
Mr S to the M I double F why?
Big Dada showcase series #1 - 'Part 2'