Birmingham and beyond. Issue three Autumn 2016
Bab Mag. Imbue Jaykae One Eyed Baz Mike Skinner Murkage Dave G-Anders Drifting And More
Image: G-Anders
Full story at
liquiproof.co.uk/pages/ridedry
Credits
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Introduction
John Bryan - Editor in Chief Callum Barnes - Art Director Joe Miles - Art & Lifestyle Editor Holly Rackham - Arts Editor Jack Parker - Music Editor Holly Hollister - Music Editor Lap-Fai Lee - Food Editor
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Imbue
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Jaykae
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One Eyed Baz
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Ruth Porter
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Carhartt
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Tonga Balloon Gang
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G-Anders
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Bunny
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Lauren Ralph
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KebaBabMag Part2
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Leftfoot
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Drifting
Contribution Alexander Jones, Chad Ellis, Daniel Bridle, Gavin Campbell, Glen Anderson, Gift Gwanmbe, Joseph Marshall, Kate Hook, Morgan Tedd, Ruth Porter, Robert Lewis, Tom McElroy, William Daulphino
Contact contact@babmag.co.uk www.babmag.co.uk facebook.com/babmaguk twitter.com/babmaguk instagram/babmag Boxxed 104-108 Floodgate Street Digbeth Birmingham B5 5SR
Many of the manuscripts, visuals and promotional materials shown in this publication are sent to us anonymously and they are used only for the purposes of documentation. The views expressed in BabMag are those of the respective contributors and not necessarily those of the staff or the brand. This mag contains graphic material in the form of art.
October 1st 2016
www.sneaksandpeaks.com
119 Floodgate St
9 E DI T ION
Bab Mag.
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Original Reading Material
Welcome to issue three.
Three is the magic number and that’s definitely the case when it comes to our third issue. When we started the publication, the name at the top of our hit list was a musician who spent his youth in Birmingham and went on to create a game changing debut album and a sound that moved a generation; Mike Skinner and The Streets. We caught up with him and his new partner in crime Murkage Dave to talk about Birmingham grime, Tonga Balloon Gang and football. This issue kicks off with an insight into an artist once dubbed ‘The Banksy of Brighton’, who is now plying the streets of Birmingham with his satirical works, Imbue. We go on to chat with Birmingham City’s fiercest football hooligan, One Eyed Baz. And we recap on a day spent with our good friend and artist G-Anders, whose work continues to push creative boundaries. We also spend some time with the movers and shakers of the Birmingham music scene from the legendary Leftfoot crew who continue to provide the platform to bring musical heroes to our city, to the young grime powerhouse, Jaykae, whos recent explosive re-entry into the grime scene has caused shock-waves throughout the country.
It’s been a big season of events over the summer, with some huge festivals and nights gracing the city. We had the chance to collaborate with two Birmingham heavy weights last month proudly making our presence known with our family of visual artists and musicians. This included the birth of the BabMag stage at MADE, which hosted the biggest festival to ever hit inner city Birmingham with a lineup that included names such as Stormzy, Lady Leshurr, Kano and many more. We also had the pleasure of teaming up with our homies Moschino Hoe Versace Hottie for a night of pure naughtiness with My Neck My Back, which as expected, was a lot of fun. Our next outing will be at sneaks&peaks 1st October, where we will be returning to the Birmingham lifestyle festival in Digbeth. You’ll be able to pick up some limited edition sneakers, get to know local independent brands, scoff street food from Digbeth Dining Club and take in the visual treats by some of the UK’s leading graffiti artists. You will also be able to get your hands on some new merchandise we have put together inspired by the don, Mike Skinner and The Streets. Including a simple breast pock logo tee which reps a lighter graphic, giving a firm nod to everyone’s favourite album, Original Pirate Material. Also available at BabMag.co.uk
The BabMag Team. 007
Imbue Imbue has become something of a household name around Birmingham recently, his subverted adverts, posters and religious icons keep us guessing and re-imagining iconic symbols in our world. You’ll see his unique art popping up all over the city with stickers, posters and installations. Previous works have included in situ installations such as Drug Vend on Brighton Pier that featured two sweet vending machines filled with ‘supposed’ packets of heroin and cocaine, the results and reactions from passers-by were then filmed. Seaside towns have recently been linked to high drug usage, cracking the façade of the happy go lucky seaside town - a cheeky line instead of the traditional 99. Another piece titled WKD Vodka Campaign landed him in hot water with the company stating they wanted him to remove the work with a cease and desist. This kind of work doesn’t happen in isolation, it’s the reactions from the public and companies involved that enrich it and support the message. After all, any publicity is good publicity, is it not WKD?
Mailbox Tunnel
Words: Holly Rackham
Images: Jim Alix Heru
Words: Holly Rackham
Images: Alexander Jones
The images Imbue uses are so universally known from Disney to Coca Cola, it’s the twists that make us question what we are viewing. Really we should be scrutinising mainstream advertising more, instead of letting it bombard and manipulate us. I asked if he ever gets worried about copyright or upsetting more orthodox religious types, “copyright is a grey area, but the law was changed a few years ago allowing the right to parody, this is a good step forward and great for artists. There is a big difference in copying something and trying to pass off as the real thing, compared to referencing or appropriating an existing idea into something new. That’s how the creative process works; everyone is inspired by what came before them.” As for religion, Imbue says he “never sets out trying to offend and my work is not anti-religious. I’m not religious myself but I’m really fascinated by it and all the art and culture it has produced for thousands of years. I’m interested in where religion fits in the world today. As religion declines in the west, what has society replaced it with, what is important to people now?” Many are quick to define this type of work as one thing, street art, guerrilla art, pop etc. but Imbue is not keen on being tarred with a single brush. “I’m really not sure how to define it, I definitely found my way in through street art and I do still love to put work out there, but I’m not a street artist and I think the street art scene has become saturated and lost its original edge. Really, I’m just an artist and I don’t limit myself to any medium or particular style.”
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He’s lived and worked around the country, most notably Brighton but now sees our city as a permanent home, “I was in Brighton for around 7 years. I moved up to Birmingham with my girlfriend nearly 3 years ago and I really love it. It’s such an underrated city with so much going on under the surface. People are doing good things in Brum and everyone is friendly and pretty humble. I’ve got no plans to leave, I really feel at home here.” Now working in a collaborative space in Jubilee Centre with friends he says, “we’re all working on our own projects but we can also work together and keep each other inspired and motivated. It’s always good to bounce ideas of someone else. The space is run by Matt
(Provide Shop), architects Jay and Adam (space_play) and myself. We spent about a month doing up the unit and now it’s a really nice environment to work in.” The space is indeed great, industrial, factory ceilings and smells of an old school gym. Outside of the studio space, people were taking part in pole dancing and art classes as we visited. Despite his collaborative space to work in, Imbue is not planning any collabs with artists in the near future, “I think I prefer to work on my own for most things. I do have some new, more complicated ideas so I might try and collaborate with someone with the right technical skills. I like the idea of collaboration and I think great things can come out of it.”
He’s previously been coined ‘The Banksy of Brighton’ which he says has been a blessing and a curse, “ I don’t want it define me and I want my own voice and identity. I was first called ‘The Banksy of Brighton’ by The Independent and that was a huge thing for me, it added some credibility to me as an artist but it’s a bad habit of journalists to compare anything remotely street art to Banksy. I don’t want it to follow me forever.” It does indeed stink of lazy journalism and a lack of understanding to label everything in this form as the next ‘Banksy’. In reality artists such as Imbue are treading their own path. Interestingly, Banksy has created his own ‘artist persona’ with his real identity under wraps for most of his career; Imbue says that he doesn’t necessarily think this is important. “I don’t make a conscious decision to try and stay anonymous anymore but it’s the art I’m putting out there, that’s what I want people to see I want to create stuff that is consistent so I guess I am creating a persona and a brand. I try to keep my social media all about Imbue, rather than me on holiday or what I’m eating.” And what about the name imbue, where did it come from? “I’ve been using the name Imbue for over 10 years now; it started at college as a t-shirt brand with a friend. Eventually we lost interest in the clothing and as I got into stickers and street art I continued with the name. If you look at the dictionary definition Imbue - inspire or permeate with (a feeling or quality) that fits with what I want to create.”
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Imbue comes up with ideas that are executed beautifully and visually eye-popping; he says his inspirations come from, “all over the place, I’m constantly thinking. I always have a few ideas floating around in my head and they gradually piece themselves together and evolve into something I can make. I’m really inspired by technology and where we are heading in the future. It feels like the world has completely changed in my lifetime and I’m now trying to create art that explores this.”
imbuesource.com artobox.com/artists/imbue
ARTOBOX Artobox.com Original Art & Limited Editions From British & International Artists
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Words: Chad Ellis & Holly Rackham
Images: Morgan Tedd
Jaykae
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where have you been?
...The question on everyone’s lips when it comes to Birmingham grime artist Jaykae. After a short amount of time out of the music scene, it’s safe to say Jaykae is making a come back and making it feel like he never left.
We’ve given you Sox, Skinner, Lady Sanity and Jorja Smith, it’s only now fair to talk about Jaykae, the Brummie grime powerhouse making his way in the scene. His latest single Toothache announces his return to music after the death of best friend and inspiration Depzman. Depzman’s death sent ripples through the city and to those who knew him and the loss has affected Jaykae in a colossal way. In Toothache his fast bars break over a heavy hip hop choral that has a nostalgic feel like Kanye’s Never Let Me Down; with similar sentiment and style but with power and emotion worn on its sleeve. It’s not a surprise this is his first solo song to reach over a million views on YouTube. His emotional Fire in the Booth with Charlie Sloth showed his despair at the loss of a friend and dealing with grief through boozing and sparking up. It’s refreshing to see something so raw instead of male bravado covering genuine feeling. He states that he can’t stop doing music now because he needs to make Depz proud. Violent crime, drug use and poverty are themes intrinsic to grime lyrics and Jaykae has used his own experiences and hurt to create deeply genuine work.
He’s now somewhat of a veteran to clashes featuring on Lord of the Mics 3 and 7. His latest outing at LOTM7 came with an undisputed final result, with many taking to social media to denounce Jaykae as the winner and crown Kozzie instead. A couple of Jaykae’s own crew members even took it upon themselves to announce the same, ultimately leading to Jaykae’s announcement on Twitter that he was leaving Invasion Alert and starting afresh, “I am no longer apart of what all you know as Invasion Alert. I wish the crew the very best and as individuals it’s still love. I’m done!!!” Going solo seems to have done him good as we recently saw him join the stage with Skepta at his impromptu show at the Rainbow, where Skepta called out local MC Devilman to the crowd, opening up old clash beef that started in 2006 with a Lord of the Mics 2. The gig was eclectic, messy and sweaty and it was good to see the Brummie support from Jaykae and Sox, propping up arguably one of the strongest albums and artists of the year.
We also can’t ignore the sound system banger CCTV with Tonga Balloon Gang feat. Jaykae and Mayhem. This dance hall grime bouncey beat features all my favourite hangouts on a Digbeth night out; The Old Spotted Dog, round the back of the Bullring, Spar and Digbeth Coach Station – if you know, you know. Pull Up his latest video on YouTube is a gritty tune showing yappy dogs on chains, puffa jackets, quad bikes and gun signs – a potent mix of all things most likely to annoy Birmingham Mail readers, which of course means that it’s great.
Every artist has that one peak album that they announce and everyone goes mad for. For Skepta, it was Konnichwa, for Giggs, it was Landlord, for Jaykae, it is going to be Hooligan. He has spoken out about this recently in Meet the Artists on the Be83 network saying that he has “not forgotten about this project but there is a lot of growing up and development that he feels he has to do himself.” He mentioned how having a son has made the music take a back step as his priorities changed and getting back into the mind-set of the ‘hooligan’ may take some
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time. He also hinted about getting Mike Skinner amongst others on the album. After Jaykae and Mayhem released CCTV together you can only assume that they are sitting on a few more collaborations with this album. In the meantime we can expect more of his story in the next project Where Have You Been? showing his journey from jail until now. One of Jaykae’s biggest collaborations has been the That’s Not Me all star remix. The song featured Skepta, D Double E, Tempa T, President T, Sox and of course Jaykae. The collaboration saw Jaykae put up next to some of grimes biggest MC’s and in the video we see Skepta stroll across an estate complaining of hay fever whilst walking up to a big group of lads. Cue stereo with That’s Not Me playing, the lyrics are then reworded and filmed by some guy who looks like he works for the BBC, terribly confused over who to film for each verse. Jaykae comes in with his verse and smashes it with Skepta bobbing along beside him. Not only was it a good move for Jaykae’s own career but it showed everyone in London that Birmingham still has a lot to offer when it comes to grime and with Skepta still sharing and promoting Jaykae’s latest content it’s a good sight to see and hopefully they will collaborate more in the future.
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Photograph: Tom Bird / Infinity Project Jaykae performing with Skepta at The Rainbow Venues.
He’s recently hit mainstream news, although not for what you may think. He featured in a Newsbeat article citing a deep love for Adam Peaty – the first man to win a gold medal at this year’s Olympics. The pair have been staunch admirers of each other with Peaty using Jaykae’s music to pump him up before swimming races and whilst the article presumed Adam would be off for a massage and a well-earned meal after his win, Jaykae tweeted, “I’m with 2 girls and a bottle of vodka who’s coming out to play”. We know which team we’re on. Jaykae has been sowing the seeds for some time and it feels like now is his moment, through adversity he has the power to stake his claim. He may have his demons, been through hard times, lost a good friend and gained a son but it’s all to come back to the scene with a bigger voice than ever.
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B I R M I N G H A M ’ S N E W P L AYG R O U N D
Birmingham’s 7 1 KENT STREET . BIRMIN GHA M . B 5 6RD
new playground @AMU SEMEN T T HIRT EEN
Barrington Patterson
One Eyed Baz
The majority of red blooded males have ended a night with a straightener and lashed out after seeing red - we are only human after all and sometimes animal instinct over takes rationality, but I doubt anybody loves the connection of knuckles with flesh more than the man dubbed the deadliest man in Britain. From terraces up and down the country, to rings and cages across Europe, this warrior has been breaking bones in both to feed his blood lust. Football hooliganism is a lot more that just thumping the first fan you see wearing the rival colours; the top firms are run with military precision and discipline which is instilled in to the ranks, roles are set with generals down to scouts and foot soldiers. During the rise of football casuals in the 80s, it was predominantly a white man’s game but that all changed with presence of Barrington Patterson at St Andrews and the infamous top boy of West Ham’s ICF (Inner City Firm) Cass Pennant, who later hung up his knuckle duster to become a writer and penned One Eyed Baz’s autobiography.
St. Andrews Stadium
How did you first get in to the world of football hooliganism? Fucking hell, I was just intrigued in fighting really. So just fighting wise, how we actually got in to it was, back in the early 80s, we were rude boys on the town. So like rude boys and skinheads didn’t get along. Every Saturday, all these skinheads would come to town. They were the Apex. That’s the old blues, they call it the Apex. All the skinheads would come to town, so would all gang up in town and fight these fucking skinheads. Then all of a sudden, things started changing, music scene started to change and a lot… got friendly with some of the lads and said come down the fucking Blues. So we come down, I think my first match was ’82, ’83 and just hit off from there. What made you persist with it? What was the appeal? Just the fighting. I was never interested in football. Football’s for faggots. All the faggots play football. I just came down for the fighting, just pure fighting. Fuck the football, I was just interested in the fighting.
Did you follow football or attendance purely for violence?
was
Then it was purely for violence. Now I do follow football, even though I don’t know half the fucking teams but… no, I do come down for the football now. I don’t come down for the violence anymore but if it came my way I would. What it is, I’m well known to the police. I work for TNT now and they’ve got a box there. I park the car there, come in here, straight to the box. Ten minutes before the end of the match, in my car, fuck off home. Keep away from it. But this season is going to be different because there’s a lot of Midlands clubs in the league and you go to quite a few away games, especially Midlands clubs because it’s like an hour, hour and a half to get to them. Is the temptation still there on a Saturday to go out and bust some skulls? To tell the truth, I haven’t been to that many matches so it hasn’t been there, you get what I’m saying? And if it has been there, I can’t afford to get myself in to trouble. I’ve got lots of good things going for me now. I’ve been out of trouble for like five or six years and I’ll be going back down the ladder again
and I’ve got no intention of going back down the ladder and giving the people something to talk about, know what I mean? They’ve got enough to talk about as it is. People never forget what you do. Your past is your past but people never forget it. People don’t want to move on. I’m interested in moving on but you’ll always be labelled as that football hooligan, street fighter, cage fighter, kick boxer. Some people view football violence as mindless hooliganism; is there more to a firm to how it’s depicted by the media? The media are full of shit, especially the fucking papers, know what I mean? The paper is full of shit. People… half the people don’t understand football, or some of them are proper fucking thugs and some of them are racist thugs, some of them are out just for the football, just like myself, just out for the football. I’m not interested if you’re fucking black, white, pink or yellow, or your Indian, Pakistani or whatever, but I love football violence. You go to other grounds and you see different colour scarves on and they start attacking, or they see you with your kids and that and you think… that’s no good.
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Did they bring any bans on football? Did you serve any bans at any clubs? No not at all. The only time I was banned was like if I got arrested for something. Obviously, you’re banned until your court case is finished. That’s the only thing. I’ve probably been arrested about three or four times, and every time I’ve got off with it, know what I mean? I’ve never had a banning order or nothing. Football and fashion have always been closely associated, from the early days with the skinheads to rise of the casual. Was you a fan of the expensive clobber? I’ve always been a fan even up to now. I like the expensive clobber. Sometimes I do go to like H & M and buy the odd one or two things if it looks decent. Trouble is, you can buy expensive clothes but you’ve got to be able to carry it off, and there’s a lot of guys who buy the expensive clothes and they look fucking shit in it. They can’t pull it off. It’s like not everyone can wear a pink t-shirt or a red t-shirt. You’ve got to be able to pull it off if you understand what I’m saying, so it’s no use in wearing a nice Burberry shirt or Aquascutum or something and you can’t pull it off. Toughest firms you have encountered? You know, I’ve always had a good run with Villa, always had a good run with Villa. Toughest firms, probably West Ham, Arsenal. Yes, probably West Ham and Arsenal. But mind you, back in the day there were some good firms around, really, really good firms, even in the lower league. Some of the lower league teams are fucking tough. There’s only one good firm though and that’s Birmingham. How did you relationship with Cass come about? I’ve known Cass for years and someone put me on to Cass for when I did the book. We’ve never clashed together because on the times that it probably did happen; where you’re getting chased all over the place… we used to have town on the lock
up. You know on a Saturday, the Bullring was on the lock by us. Fans would come to the Bullring and they were scared to come to the Bullring because they know that you’re fucking… they’re going to get their arse busted and they’re going to get fucking taxed. So a lot of the fans didn’t want to come to Birmingham. They didn’t want to come in to town. But yes, someone introduced me to Cass and mentioned about the book and he said yes, “we’ll give it a bash man, I think it will do good” and it did. It’s done brilliant man and it’s still doing well now. Two or three years later, it’s been number one in two or three charts. The latest tournament in France has highlighted hooliganism is still rife, did you ever get involved with any international bust ups? I’ve never been… I’m not even an England supporter, you know what I mean? I don’t support England. I’m a club man not a country man. I’ve been to Poland loads of times and I’ve been to Poland for Speedway. Last time I went there was like 35,000 people there. I was the only black one there and I loved it. Them type of people, all they do is eat, sleep and train. That’s all them fucking people do. They’re like ex-military guys, you know what I mean. You see the football, they aint going back. They’re just stamping other people, playing forward, that’s it. You have gained the strap line of one of the deadliest men in England; how’s it feel to carry that tag? I haven’t personally given myself that tag. Joe Public has given me that tag. If Joe Public want to think I’m one of the toughest, fine. I’ve done this thing with Danny Dyer, I thought, you know, I’m going to get some shit off this man. But since the programs been out, I’ve never had any shit… no ones ever come up to me and said to me, oh you think you’re the hardest man in England but it’s never happened. If Joe Public want to think I’m a bad man, that’s totally up to them. I’m just a normal bloke from an inner city area, doing what I do best.
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Street fighting. Because it was always with more than one person, you know what I mean? No rules and it was always with more than one person.
I travelled all over. I didn’t just travel Europe, I travelled the world with my martial arts, yes. I’ve been to Russia three or four times, Brazil, Hawaii, all around Europe. I fought Vitali Klitschko. I fought Dennis Alexio who starred with Van Dam in Kickboxer. I’ve won the world title in kickboxing. I’ve won the world title in cage fighting and I’ve come second in like the world karate championships in Holland. You learnt martial arts at a young age, how important do you think it is for young boys and girls to get involved with these clubs at an early age? And do you feel more support is needed? England don’t get the support… especially for unprivileged kids. I’ve been to quite a few countries with my fighting career and if you’re good at a sport, the government push you towards that sport. In England, if you’re good at sport and you come from an inner city, you’re going to struggle to get anywhere. I know this one guy, he was a really good tennis player, of course, he was black and from Handsworth, he couldn’t get the funds or nothing like that. But someone who was from outside of the manor, up there with the rest of the hitech people, he got it. I started martial arts from when I was about ten, eleven years old. I started with Judo and I just gradually moved, this one, that one and just gradually moved up. I would encourage my kids, any kids to get in to martial arts. Are you still involved in martial arts? Yes, I just teach kids now. I still train a bit but mainly teach kids in Coventry. Well I moved to Coventry in ’87 and now I’ve done 28 years in Coventry. I’ve been back in Birmingham now about four years. I prefer to do it back in Coventry. Coventry is like my second home. I get a lot out of teaching the kids. I’d rather teach the kids than adults. The adults… half of them are just brain dead, don’t know their left from their right. Kids pick up things a lot easier and they get more enjoyment out of it, especially going to competition and the kids win something. I give myself a pat on the back, that’s my work done. They’ve got their trophy, their Mum’s laughing, I’m smiling. I’ve done my work. Happy days.
Images: William Daulphin
Your martial arts has allowed you to travel, can you tell us some about this?
Words: John Bryan
Street fighting or in the ring, what gets your adrenaline pumping the most?
every friday & saturday
FRI 16TH SEP
SAT 17TH SEP
DJ RANDY
MOHO X HOLIDAY
(The Night Owl / OLD CROWN)
BIG GARDEN TAKEOVER
FRI 23rd SEP
SAT 24TH SEP
DJ MAZZY
VINTAGE & VINYL TRAIL
(The Night Owl / Chicks Dig Jerks)
WITH THE BIG BULLS HEAD & THE NIGHT OWL
FRI 30TH SEP
SAT 1ST OCT
WHISKY NIGHT
DIGBETH OKTOBERFEST
LOTS MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED! outdoor bar . cocktails . bbq . good times
Ruth Porter @roots_0121
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Carhartt W.I.P Birmingham Outlet Carhartt Work In Progress (Carhartt WIP) is the avant-garde way of living the Carhartt brand, reshaping the outstanding Carhartt legacy. In 1889, Hamilton Carhartt founded the Carhartt Company in Detroit. Founded in 1994, Work In Progress initiated a distribution network for Carhartt across Europe, introducing a selection of classic products from the original work wear range into a new market. Carhartt WIP has carefully adapted, re-interpreted and re-fitted work wear cuts for the demands of an active life in the urban environment, remaining true to Carhartt´s core values: quality, durability and comfort and becoming the globally respected contemporary brand that it is today. Carhartt W.I.P Birmingham Outlet opened its doors last year on the 29th October at Resorts World Birmingham. It’s the only Carhartt W.I.P store in the Midlands and the only Carhartt W.I.P outlet in the country. Being the biggest store in the UK, the Birmingham outlet stocks desirable previous season items that customers were not able to get their hands on. The store stocks a wide variety of accessories, large selection of denim, many styles of tops and collectible novelty items. Designed by French architects Fred Naulin and Marianne Le Ster (based in Toulouse, France) the Birmingham Outlet has a unique design and layout like any other Carhartt Store you would walk into: bespoke furniture, high ceilings and neon signs are just some of the features of the store. The Outlet has an industrious feel which is reflected in the use of vintage lighting, painted concrete floors and workshop style racking in recognition of Birmingham’s rich manufacturing heritage. For Carhartt customers old and new the Birmingham Outlet store is a place to hang out, talk Carhartt with the friendly staff and find those previous season gems they have been hunting for.
BIRMINGHAM
Mike Skinner
Between 1994 and 2011 Mike Skinner was the spearhead of a now iconic movement with The Streets, combining hip-hop and garage to bring the UK urban scene to the dizzy new heights it reached after the release of Original Pirate Material in 2001. Whilst Skinner was conquering our sound waves, Murkage Dave was destroying dance floors in Manchester with his Murkage crew collective. Monday night raves, a television documentary that featured legends like David Rodigan and aspiring artists such as Example. In 2015 Tonga began its rise with the monthly London club night at The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington. It quickly gained a reputation, with guests of the highest calibre including Kano, Giggs, Big Narstie and Bonkaz. Later that year their first EP Tonga Ballon Gang dropped and their show hit the road with stops at Glastonbury and Bestival. Momentum carried into 2016 where we recently saw the guys perform at Birmingham’s own MADE festival and collaborate with JayKae and Mayhem on the video for their new single CCTV.
Murkage Dave
Tonga Balloon Gang
Words: John Bryan
Images: Joseph Marshall & Alexander Jones
What’s the story with Tonga, would you say it’s the love child of The Streets and Murkage? M: The audience only know us as The Streets and Murkage unless you look at my terrible photos of people in nightclubs. D: I like them! M: No amazing photos of terrible things in nightclubs. But yes, it works really well for our existing audiences. D: It’s kind of like a thing that locks together. It’s like Ying and Yang. M: Good cop, bad cop. D: Mike’s the white part, I’m the black part. M: I’ll take that. What other artists come under the Tonga banner? M: I mean we’re making music as Tonga and really it’s anyone who is on a Tonga tune who doesn’t get a feature. So that would be me, Dave, Mr Silver, Oscar and perhaps Guyka if he wants to make a comeback, although we’d probably have to feature him now wouldn’t we?
D: Yes, we would. And also we’ve got a few strap holders, like Klepto. M: There’s a few Bez’s. There’s about seven Bez’s in Tonga. There’s a very high Bez count. D: There’s Teeth. He’s selling the Drugs not doing them though. Will we see another Tonga EP out soon? M: Definitely, we’ve been really working a lot about finding what it is we do well and CCTV is probably the first proper thing where we worked out that every song we make, we have to be able to play it at the club. When you go in to a studio, you tend to write more emotionally… because you’ve got to listen to the song all day. So it ends up being less clubby. It ends up being more musical and I think you’ve really got to be careful doing that if you’re a club night like us. I think it took us a little while to really get inside that and now we spend all day in the studio listening to club music, which is a headache. When you’re listening to the same bass line of a tune! We’ve made some amazing base line tunes that I’m playing now that I love when I play them, I love them. But we’ve been listening to that for eight hours sometimes and you have to do that if you want to make club music.
Mike Skinner
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Murkage Dave
We’ve recently seen you working with another BabMag featured artist, Jaykae. Can you tell us more about that? M: Well Jaykae is incredible. I actually think that in terms of rap. I think the regions… the North… that’s the most exciting place now. I don’t really have any loyalties really and to be honest, that included Birmingham before really. I guess I grew up feeling like there weren’t many opportunities in music. It drives you mad but it’s really just about the results. You have to get the results somehow. But I do think that they’re the most interesting rappers; the Brummies’, the Manc’s; they’re the most interesting rappers because London is and always has been quite showbiz. It’s like the coasts in America. They’re very aware that they’re being watched. They’re very aware of what they’re there to do. And the North of England has the same kind of feel as the South coast hip hop movement, if London was the East or West Coast.
D: But at the same time, I kind of feel like with Jaykae, Mayhem, also we were hanging out with Daps that day as well. I kind of feel like they’re bigger than even they realise. From hanging out with them, with Daps or whatever in the car and he was like I can’t believe The Fader posted my shit. I was like bruv, you’re getting mad plays. You’ve got mad fans. It’s like they don’t even realise… I don’t think the music industry has really caught up yet. Jaykae’s plays are insane. He’s getting more plays than a lot of London based artists. M: It’s very easy to get distracted by America and it’s a big deal for a British rapper to go to America. In your head you kind of become a caricature. It’s a really difficult thing to go to New York and not get caught up with all that. Similarly, that’s what the Brummies’ have got to do now is to really carry on with their audience and not get distracted by London because that’s what London is. London is just distracted by London. It’s just constantly looking at itself all the time.
M: Yes, but I think particularly Birmingham. Birmingham is so for its own… they’ve got their own audience, a massive audience and they’re there to really communicate with that audience and I think that’s a much more interesting thing for someone from the outside to look at. It’s closer to authenticity. 049
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You’re both heavily linked to other cities (Dave Manchester, Mike Birmingham) do you feel that for someone who wants to make a name for themselves in the music industry, time spent or a move to London is a must? M: You don’t anymore. I mean you probably have to know a few important truths but you absolutely don’t need to be in London anymore because of YouTube. That said, if you’re not experienced, if you haven’t been in London and watched showcases of up and coming rappers and stuff like that. For an artist, whether what you do is good or bad, really the great thing about being a great artist is when they go, “this is what I do, fuck you”, without being rude to anyone, being nice to everyone, but literally like this is what I do. That’s the hardest thing to do, and I think Londoner’s naturally get that. That’s why I think they’re so much more confident as artists. Up north it’s a bit like “oh, everyone’s going to think I’m a wanker because I’m not humble”. I grew up with that. But you can be humble, you can be nice, but you can also not defer to anyone else. In London you can put on a carton of Ribena and wear it as a chain right… you can’t do that in Walsall. Not in 2016.
Dave you’ve been putting on parties for numerous years now, what’s the key advice you can give? D: I just think let people do whatever they want, let people wear what they want, go where they want in the club and take whatever drugs they want to take. M: You know with hooligans, at the beginning they were like beat the hooligans down and then the hooligans got worse and worse. What they learnt in the 90s was if you don’t get on horses and get truncheons out, if you just don’t really give a fuck… no one wants to have a massive fight or take the piss or put beer all over the decks… if you just let them do whatever they want, no one does do anything because they want the party to carry on. D: It’s kind of self-regulating. I learnt a lot from metal gigs, which is a bit mad, they kind of look really violent, but once you watch it for a bit there’s all these rules, and you can see if someone does something then you can’t touch them or you can’t do certain things to people if they’re not in the circle or whatever.
Original Pirate Material was the sound of a generation. Did you anticipate the album to blow up as much as it did? M: No, I mean it went down very different. What I was trying to do was to get big in South Birmingham, and suddenly it got really big with hipsters in London, it was quite an indie thing. So kids that were in to indie bands got in to it and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to at all in a way. It sort of makes you realise that London is a good thing and a bad thing, but London wants the new thing and often that new thing is a load of shit. It’s literally wearing that carton of Ribena round your neck. There’s a reoccurring thing here with this Ribena carton round your neck. D: In this interview we did before, I was saying in the New Rave area, people used to do things like wear buckets of chicken like KFC round their neck and wear mad colours and shit. M: When I first got to London I was like literally what the fuck? But it was everything. Design, tables and chairs… they just want it. When did you know it was time to put The Streets to bed and was Glastonbury 2011 the last Streets gig? M: No, the last [The] Streets gig was at Skegness at a Weekender thing, but that was literally because that just happened to be the last one in the festival calendar. Yes, it was obvious. I never really wanted to be a word guy. I wanted to be a producer and when I got to the point where I could have carried on doing that or earn enough money as a DJ and just really do what the hell I wanted really… not many people get the opportunity to basically retire at 30. With The Streets, a lot of your lyrics were on a personal level and told your story, how does that differ to what you produce with Tonga? M: Well the difference with The Streets was that it wasn’t supposed to be club music and Tonga is supposed to be club music. It’s that simple. I mean there’s a lot of similarities. We’re going to be making more music but when we’re trying to come up with a hook or something, it takes me back to those days and I think just the way the production is really. I always used to try and keep things really simple anyway, but when you’re making stuff to be really loud in a nightclub, it has to be so simple because most nightclubs don’t have good enough sound to really be able to produce more than a few drums and a bass and something very clear. So the back vocals had to go didn’t they Dave? D: I mean it’s a bit of a shame. I love my harmonies.
You support Birmingham City FC. Does this season’s long running rivalry with Aston Villa excite you at all?
M: It’s just a different energy.
M: Yes, shit on the Villa obviously. Shit on the Villa. People that are like in football, they don’t really support teams, they just like good football. I don’t really support musicians and I don’t expect them to support me. I’m friends with a lot of musicians but it’s really just about who’s doing the good stuff at the time. Everyone gets their turn in music. That’s what you realise. At some point, that guy will be the guy if they’re good. But after England – Wales, I just switched off. I literally just found that bit in my brain and just turned it off.
M: It slightly makes my eyes water a bit. It is a different world Birmingham to London isn’t it? London is so showbiz. It doesn’t matter. You can find the most authentic looking person in London but you scratch the surface and their girlfriend will be a PR for some magazine. You only have to do that a bit but Birmingham is not showbiz at all. It’s kind of like Detroit, it’s our Detroit.
You’re playing MADE in Birmingham at the end of the month (July 2016). What can we expect? M: I’m hoping that we can bring all our new relatives. D: Yes man, we’re just going to rush security.
D: Just rush security and run on stage.
You’re playing the Hare and Hounds pub as well? I know you played there under Mike Skinner not long ago? M: I did, under the name of Mike Skinner. They gave me the really new decks last time and I’d literally never used them. I had to learn to DJ from the moment the music started, which is fascinating but next time there’ll be a lot more of us. It was a fantastic venue, I loved it. There’ll be loads of us and we won’t be learning to DJ.
#tongaballoongang
G-Anders G-Anders known to some as Ouch and to others as Glen Anderson is an artist who style covers many disciplines. You can see his old worked dotted around the city, from metal shutters covered in bright contrasting colour explosions cut by geometric lines to landscape pieces that draw you in to the hidden levels on canvases provided by many clubs and bars. His spray paint work creates optical illusions and every time you examine his work you find another character, creature or facial feature lurking in the depths of his paintings.
Words: Joe Miles Images: Gavin Campbell
With bold colours, abstract patterns and strong lines being characteristics of G-Anders pieces, gradually his work has outgrown the normality of two dimensions and this willingness to push himself forward and find new avenues of creativity has led to the natural progression of 3D builds. However, it doesn’t just end with a build; he takes his creations and offers them to the powerful force of fire. His transition in to 3D builds has allowed him to travel the festival scene across the UK and Europe. Building, showcasing then reducing his artwork to cinders and ash. We linked up with him at The Rainbow Arena, the perfect setting under the imposing Victorian viaducts to spend the day putting the finishing touches to the structures he had created. To accompany the figures Glen also painted large messages on the walls behind. We had heard rumours Digbeth was a smokeless area, so decided to wait till the sun had set for the cover of darkness and to avoid sending out a smoke signal across the city. Firstly we were introduced to the male build, a figure that had been built especially to burn on the day, a martyr to the cause. This figure was created in a matter of weeks, unlike the female form who’s been in his possession for some years. She had been built with great precision and attention to detail. Her shape, posture right down to the unique individual pattern donned on each piece of the jigsaw, gave her a personality not expected from a wooden structure.
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So tell us about this one. Is it Richard and Ruth? No this one is like an Adam and Eve. It’s the masculine and feminine really. I don’t really want to spoil anything by talking too much about what it is. I want the image to say what it is. A man is burning, and the woman is still standing. But the quote, the lyrics I’ve used, “it’s still vibrating, hence why I paint it on the wall” and then the Ruth is stranger than Richard, I borrowed an album off Kosmic the other day. I just thought I’d change the words a little bit. Ruth is equally as strange as Richard. Richard has to burn. How did you get in to 3D work? It’s just basically what keeps you interested, paint, draw. For me, it’s the 3D world, to touch, feel, that tactile hand around something and basically just boshing together some basic, simple effigies that allowed me to experience something that I wanted to experience and to keep me entertained. You’re not entertained when you’re painting 2D stuff, it can be miserable man on deep levels. So to keep yourself within that, I organically drifted in to 3D stuff. I suppose the loss of my best friend, coming up to nine years ago really. I thought about it and it was the sort of transition from 2D to 3D. Long story short, you know flexing some 3D muscle at Shambala man alone and it worked, seeing people like moths to the moon or some shit.
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As you mention, you’ve done a lot of larger burns for festivals in the past do you enjoy bigger builds? I think big is more impressive. I think just by doing big ones it’s allowed me to understand how to build smaller ones. There’s a method within the madness. The softwoods, hard woods, you know, joints. I don’t know man, whatever, big, small. How do you approach a build differently to a painting? It just kind of magically happens. If you’re into something, you’re naturally going to explore those angles for them reasons. You might ponder something once then you’ll attack things quick in a space of a couple of weeks. It’s just constantly adding subtracting and learning but most of all, just keep producing no matter what it is. And just that urge… sometimes it dies down a bit and sometimes it illuminates. I was building a head last year to do a burn in Amsterdam and I kind of thought it would be my last burn for a while through various reasons and it just so happens that you start building a hand. A hand leads to an arm, which in turn leads to this. So it just happens. It just appears. So let’s talk about your other work. You use a lot of animals, especially in paintings. I’ve been thinking a little bit about the African element to it, it’s just more the salvaged, recycled, good intention with whatever you’re using. So you know from things that are kind of contrast, but work if they’re placed with good and solid intention. It’s the same with the colours you use as well it just always seems to work. Don’t be afraid man. Through loads of trial and error and still constantly in the background you learn man, you learn from yourself. It’s just booming everywhere. It’s just having your eyes open.
I know you through graffiti, through knowing the same sort of people; would you say you’ve moved away from that world a little? Well I’d never really call myself a graffiti artist. I weren’t really kicking about in the 80’s and I feel like in my head, that’s the certificate. So I’m sort of like post looking at graffiti artists, picking up the same kind of tools. But I’m a different generation; I’m not about following people. I respect people, I don’t give a fuck. I’ll walk along till the end. Just we were born alone and we’ll fucking die alone. If you don’t speak your mind or do your thing without trying to be fucking all punk and that, then what the fuck are you doing… you’re just spinning bullshit and it’s pointless. So my journey is just trying to feel at ease with myself through feeling at ease with myself, trying to find some solidity in that.
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Birmingham art scene, what’s your view on that? Next question. No, I don’t know. Just reveal yourselves. Get yourselves out there man and don’t fucking follow. Just don’t follow. Appreciate and take it in. You’ve got your name for a reason; you’ve got your fingerprint for a reason. Show us that.
www.g-anders.co.uk
Is there anybody that excites you at the moment in Birmingham? Or an artist you have taken inspiration from? Zuki, man, for me is a massive one. Like what the fuck is going on there? But as a young kid it’s lines man, colour, format. Zuki is the king, and I’ve said that several times to him and spent a lot of time with him as well. He’s the man for me.
Bunny
How did you spend your teenage years? Birmingham based beatsmith Bunny spent his attending parties, throwing parties and seeking out health & safety shunning places to host secret raves for him and his friends. Bunny has always been surrounded by creative types in his circle of friends; some of them went on to form the break out bands Peace & Swim Deep. Both bands cite iconic Birmingham club night FACE as a major influence on their creative decisions; it was also at FACE that Bunny cut his teeth with some of his first club-based DJ sets. He has kept a close relationship with The Rainbow Venues and is regularly found on their bill of events. Bunny’s work-ethic is mind-boggling. Often he’ll be keeping crowds moving into the early hours of the morning, celebrating the rise of the sun on balconies and roof-tops across the vast expanse of Digbeth. It’s not just Birmingham’s thriving electronic and dance music scenes that he keeps himself a part of either - he is immersed in all aspects of local music and culture regularly flying the flag for local fashion brands, bands and many of Birmingham’s other creative movements. He hasn’t just kept himself busy behind the decks of the clubs either, hosting ‘Bunny’s House’ - a radio show on the influential yet short-lived radio station mytenradio and gaining new residency at Birmingham’s latest tech party addition, Penda. Whilst Bunny’s style of DJing and mixing thrives in the worlds of house and minimalistic dance; he has proven to be a musical chameleon of sorts over his years playing across Birmingham’s cult club nights. You are just as likely to spot Bunny behind the decks at the hip hop hooray of MoHo as you are to see him playing a popup party at independent record shop The Diskery. His taste in other producers’ music, both past and present, keeps each one of his mixes sounding futuristic but his creative spark extends to original mixes too - such as the hypnotic builds of his single Chalk, released by Avotre records of Berlin. The sun never goes down on Bunny’s party; especially if Bunny himself is behind the decks. When the world ends, it’ll only be cockroaches left. They’ll all be queuing up to see Bunny DJ.
soundcloud.com/bunny
Introducing
Words: Jack Parker
Bunny
Images: Gift Gwambe
Introducing
Lauren Ralph
Lauren Ralph
Words: Jack Parker Images: Gift Gwambe
Lauren Ralph AKA Caribbeden AKA Eden Hall depending on what social network you follow him on (and let’s face it - it’s probably all of them) has got chins wagging across the West Midlands. Why? Along with the Blue Room Mafia; Lauren Ralph has been re-shaping classic street rap tropes into a sound altogether a lot more 0121. Lauren Ralph’s production style is a cut and paste collage of dusty jazz samples, trapflavoured snares and low-slung bass drops. Over the top of these trademark productions is where his gang known as the Blue Room Mafia spit wit, grit and slang. Most members are a lot younger than your average MC but make no mistake; their lyrics are far from juvenile. His Soundcloud is a rich tapestry of both half-formed and fully fleshed out musical ideas - various voices zip in and out of the beats like fast moving traffic. Blue Room Mafia’s output is honest, intimate and utterly absorbing. As most rap fans will contest; there is a no greater sensation than that of being let into a musical world completely different to that of your own. Their world is made up of bedroom based recording sessions stretching long into the early hours, skate-boarding around various spots in Birmingham and immersing themselves in the vibrant Second City night life. It is quintessentially about and from the streets. Lauren Ralph has proven himself to not only have a gifted ear for sampling and producing but also as a master curator of sorts. The versatility of the MCs in Blue Room Mafia brings a multi-layered feel to his music. Within just one track; glimpses of grime rub shoulders with trap-style repetition as each MC brings something different to the table. Even at such early doors; the crew look set to have their first break out star in the form of Basta. Lauren Ralph was introduced to rapper Basta through mutual friends on social networking. Their collaboration San Andreas was the moment their musical relationship clicked and is a concrete showcase of Basta’s ability to craft sing-raps made of ear-pricking melodies and street-smart imagery. Blue Room Mafia are named after the blue painted walls of the bedroom that they double up as a vocal booth when recording their tunes. Scroll through Lauren Ralph’s Instagram and you’ll see all the same imagery that is naturally conjured in your head when listening to his music. He’s become a word of mouth legend of sorts around the West Midlands. Soon to be a cult concern no more. Just as BBK broke out of London to invade the rest of the world; we’ll be seeing BRM making a name for themselves beyond the reaches of their beloved 0121 with Lauren Ralph at the helm.
soundcloud.com/lauren-ra1ph 077
Nemrut
KeBabMag
Part 2
Kebabs come in all shapes and sizes. In the last KeBabMag we had a look at the new wave of Turkish and Middle Eastern kebabs in Brum. But really we were just skirting around what we do best in this town, the spice laden kebabs of India and Pakistan. The bright reds of the Punjabi grill; from seekh to shish through tandoori and tikka. These are the flavours that Brummies and Beyond have grown up with. The shami kebab burger from Salt n Pepper in Digbeth at 2am, the mix grill at The Avenue on Green Lane and the lamb chops at Lahore on Ladypool Rd. Every native knows these flavours, the deep penetration of spices, the extravagant seasoning of sometimes mystery “meat�. All have their favourites and to try to review every kebab in Brum would be a lifetimes work, a probably artery hardened short lifetime. Here are just a few of my highlights.
Words: Lap-Fai Lee
The Grove Pub and Grill Tipu Sultan
Images: Lap-Fai Lee
I went to school on Grove Lane way before this pub remodelled itself as a sports pub and grill. I remember sitting in this grotty corner pub back then, now there’s simply no better space in this city in which to watch Sky Sports and eat a Punjabi feast. Sounds niche? Not really, the place is packed with people on TV match days. Order the mix grill (regular size £9 if there’s less than 4 of you), some side curries, masala fries and maybe some paratha. The menu is classic Birmingham curry house, no modern interpretations or anything too authentically regional. The food arrives fast, you order at one hatch, take a buzzer and collect it at the other hatch when called. Your eyes boggle at the size of the regular mix grill served on a hotplate and sizzling on its bed of sliced onion. The best chicken tikka in town for sure and copious chicken wings. The lamb chops are fine but the sheek kebab is always a little disappointing. But that chicken tikka is worth the £9 on its own. Made from chicken thighs so they’re always tender and juicy. Don’t forget to pick up the green sauce at the hatch, it’s the perfect condiment for the grilled meats. The curries and daals are deep and sticky and the breads are great too. I find it hard to think past the The Grove if I’m looking for good cheap South Asian eats, it’s always at the top of the list. The Grove Pub and Grill 279 Grove Lane, Handsworth, B20 2HA 0121 554 3120
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Beer and curry. Curry and beer. The two go hand in hand don’t they? Well it maybe so but this old fashioned drinking culture has also set back the quality of Indian cuisine on our high streets. Tipu Sultan bucks that tradition and is totally dry of alcohol. Ironically it’s in the old Jug of Ale pub Moseley, Birmingham. Something magical has happened to that run down pub, famous for being the city’s best Indie gig venue back in the day (Nirvana played there), it’s now the most lavishly appointed restaurant this side of Dubai. Fit for Tipu Sultan 43 Alcester Road, Birmingham B13 8AA Tel: 0121 449 8539
Moghul emperors and just on the right side of bling. Tipu Sultan does not scrimp on flavour either. Grilled meats are slathered in spice pastes, but does not overwhelm the quality of the meat or the cooking. Their signature Sultani Chops leave your fingers stained and your taste buds singing. They are the best tandoori lamb or mutton chops in town. Deep flavours and tender meat. For £4.95 they’re a generous starter size and you will struggle to fit in a full main afterwards, you’ve been warned.
A Ladypool Rd stalwart. Lahore fulfils all your balti needs but if you look at the menu a little more closely you’ll see authentic Pakistani dishes. A favourite with the locals, you can see them tucking in to maghaz (lamb brain) and ojri (tripe). But if you’re feeling less brave go for the lamb chops or the mix grill. At peak times this place can be heaving, I usually call ahead to pick up on the way home. The chops are not as refined as those from Tipu Sultan, stringier and saltier but tasty all the same. The chicken tikka in the mix grill is made from chicken breast so a tendency to dryness and no chicken wings! But quite a generous portion for £9 that also includes naan bread. It’s not my top choice but Lahore is cheap, cheerful and reliable. Lahore Village 204 Ladypool Rd, Balsall Heath B12 8JS Tel: 0121 766 8477
Lahore Village
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Raja Monkey
Raja Monkey is a little different. From the same guys that run upmarket Lasan and Fiesta Del Asado, this small Indian Street food Café brings interesting regional dishes to the suburbs. In its thali set meals you can venture from the north of the subcontinent with their Rajastani mutton thali to the Southern Indian thali replete with sour fish kari. Raja Monkey has an open kitchen at the front and watching the chefs prepare your food is pure theatre. They have nothing to hide here; from the dosa cook to the tandoor cook they all take great pride in their food. The Raja Monkey 1355 Stratford Rd, Birmingham B28 9HW Tel: 0121 777 9090
Nawabi Kebab Thali is pricey at £14.79 and at first glance doesn’t seem as generous as what you’d get at The Grove or Lahore. It simply isn’t but the quality of the food speaks for itself. After eating the perfect naan bread, daal, aloo, salmon kebab, lamb shish, chicken tikka, chicken wings and salad you’ll realise it’s the complete meal. Knowing that Raja Monkey is there sometimes makes the motivation for cooking at home more difficult.
ARTW ORKB YJ O E BEDROOMS
OFFICES
AND MORE
F A C E B O O K . C O M /A R T W O R K B YJ O E
2016
EVERY FRIDAY, 5PM-LATE
Unit 2 & 3, Lower Trinity Street Birmingham B9 4AG
2017
EVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY MORE DETAILS COMING SOON
Unit 2 & 3, Lower Trinity Street Birmingham B9 4AG
Words: Holly Hollister
Images: Kate Hook
Leftfoot The year 2000 when everyone thought the Y2K virus would create chaos in computer systems and cause a digitally-coded end! Instead of freezing in cyber space Adam Regan and Richard Whittingham were putting their heads together to create an event to fill a void in Birmingham’s night-life at the time. They wanted a night that couldn’t be pigeon-holed into one scene or another, where they had the freedom to play whatever genre took their fancy. Leftfoot in Adam’s words, was “for people who loved underground music and didn’t like wearing shiny shoes and a smart shirt to get into a club.” They hired out the now defunct Medicine Bar for the first Saturday of the month and Leftfoot flew from the millennium bug.
Their first booking, Keb Darge, a DJ credited with coining the term ‘deep funk,’ speaks volumes for their acute ear and muso knowledge. It proved a solid foundation for a night that 16 years on, is still as current as ever - a testament to their “programming what we love” ethos. Fast forward to 2007 and Leftfoot really began to mark its territory in Birmingham. Naming it as the biggest risk he’s taken; Adam bought the Hare & Hounds, which he describes as at the time “a run-down, old man’s boozer that had been neglected for far too long”. He carries on, “the main venue had a sticky carpet, terrible sound system and only really hosted occasional local gig nights. It obviously had masses of potential but we really had to start from scratch.” His blueprint came from early Leftfoot days at the Medicine Bar together with a vision to recreate the atmosphere and attitudes present in some of Adam’s favourite European clubs where “sound was hugely important, the people were very friendly, open-minded and knowledgeable about the music.”
The Hare [& Hounds] is still very much an English pub, but it’s now also a Leftfoot stronghold and the heart of Kings Heath. Since its doors opened it has welcomed a plethora of phenomenal musicians and two additions to the Leftfoot fold, Tom Hopkins and Matt Beck, friends from school years. Tom explained that “playground etiquette dictated we never really mingled,” but the trio of record aficionados haven’t strayed far from the B14 post code so it was only a matter of time before their tastes were more in sync and their paths crossed once more. Tom remarks that even during his time at Leftfoot he has seen “the development and growth of the Hare into a live music venue which has become hugely important for the city’s music scene and is great to see.” At the heart of everything that the three program is soul; from a “deep bass night with Mala, an oldschool reggae night with David Rodigan or a house and disco event with Horse Meat Disco to the live side ... bands like Owiny Sigoma and Hypnotic Brass Band through to Cinematic Orchestra and Go Go Penguin.” A jam, dance and smile is a given at a Leftfoot night.
“I think the big thing [for us] is to always keep artistic integrity, to only ever put on shows that we’d want to see ourselves. Hopefully by being true to what we’re into musically will provide longevity for Leftfoot for many years to come!” - Matt Beck
Adam Regan
Matt Beck
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Adam Regan
One artist that Adam says has been hugely influential over the years is Gilles Peterson. Over the past decade he has graced the Leftfoot decks over 20 times. “He’s so passionate about music and nobody can break a tune like him - he just exudes good vibes when he DJ’s and that is infectious. He’s always been a great supporter of what we do and always keeps me on my toes!” As well as nights at the Hare, Leftfoot are always thinking up ways to further expand Birmingham’s musical brain capacity. Matt notes that “we never rest on our laurels and are always looking to push ourselves as promoters and music lovers, whether that’s bringing an artist that’s never played in Birmingham before or deciding to do a big warehouse show or perhaps using a space that’s never been used for a show before.” This October sees them team up once more with young promoters, Shadow City, to host highly regarded house and techno DJs Move D and Motor City Drum Ensemble at the Rainbow. A big booking which Matt hopes “means as much to Brum as it does to us. They are genuinely two of our favourite DJs and the music they play is very much in keeping with Leftfoot’s musical ethos of music with soul. I actually get butterflies thinking about MCDE playing disco records to 600 Brummies (and beyond) in Blackbox!”
“Another venue is a possibility… but who knows.” - Adam Regan 091
“I think there’s a lot of directions Leftfoot could go in over the next 16 years, but I can’t see it deviating far from what the brand has always done, putting on parties that people want to go to, whether that be at the Hare, clubs or festivals. It’s exciting to be a part of a brand that has the ability to be that diverse.” - Tom Hopkins
The extent of Leftfoot’s musical prowess doesn’t stop at their own events either, Adam and Matt DJ under the Leftfoot alias too having played at Shambala and Garden Festival (now Love International) as well holding down residencies in London, Liverpool and Nottingham. Alongside good friend Steve Nickolls (ex Futureboogie) Adam will be playing at the festival with one of the most carefully curated line-ups, Dimensions, selecting tunes at the opening ceremony in Pula’s prized amphitheatre in between Kamasi Washington, Moodymann and Massive Attack.
The Croatian party doesn’t stop there, Adam disclosed that Leftfoot will be doing an “event at The Garden Brewery in Zagreb throughout Autumn/Winter. The owners (Nick and Charlotte Colgan) are the same people who started the whole Croatian Festival scene with The Garden Festival. They’re also from Birmingham and old friends of mine so it will be lovely to work with them again. Leftfoot hosted the first ever events for them back in 2004/5 so it’s always been a special place for us.”
Tom Hopkins
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Words: Daniel Bridle
Images: Gavin Campbell
Drifting Broken down into its most basic form, drifting is the act of getting the rear tyres of a car to break traction and to slide the rear end through a corner or multiple corners whilst maintaining control of your ride. This non-conventional method of controlling a vehicle has exploded into a whole automotive culture of its own, and for some people, it’s a way of life. Drifting has broken free from the traditional confines of motor-sport, where having the fastest car and beating the other person is all that matters. Here’s a low down of everything you need to know about drift culture accompanied by a series of photographs captured a over a two year period at Wheels, Birmingham. 087
Of course people have been sliding cars around for years, but the roots of what most of us refer to as drifting today start in Japan. Back in the late 60s and 70s street racers were starting to take notice of the driving techniques of a legendary racer named Kunimitsu Takahashi. This man would enter into corners faster than most and would intentionally slide the car through the corner instead of slowing down for it. With careful balance and precision this made him a very fast driver and to racing fans it looked spectacular. After seeing Takahashi’s techniques street racers started attempting what they’d seen on the mountain roads they raced on themselves. Obviously street racing was already dangerous and illegal, but heck, why not spice it up a little. One street racer by the name of Keiichi Tsuchiya had begun making a name for himself within street racing circles for attacking the mountain roads with this technique, so much so it led him to enter the world of professional racing and begin a very successful career in it. In 1987 Tsuchiya released a video with the rather odd name of Plupsy Documents. In this video (which you can find on YouTube) there is over 20 minutes of Tsuchiya drifting on a winding mountain road in his AE86 Toyota Corolla. This video became very popular and influenced many of the street racers and drifters that watched it. Plupsy Documents eventually led to him getting his racing license suspended, as street racing or drifting was not looked upon too highly in the eyes of the law let alone his race sponsors. Despite his temporary ban from racing, the video and his driving helped him to become known as the new “Drift King” and drifting rapidly started to grow in scale. The drifting techniques that he used were being copied by street racers as a way of showing off car control instead of setting faster times or beating rivals. Soon enough organised events began happening at circuits around the country as a way of pushing driver skill and by also giving somewhere for people to practice legally and safely off the streets. Drifters would put their skills to the test through a selection of corners that would be judged with the criteria of how fast, how much angle, smoke, and style the driver would display during their runs. It was an odd way of approaching motorsport, but it worked much like competition skateboarding or other judged extreme sports.
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After two singular events in 2000, Keiichi Tsuchiya and Option Video (a VHS magazine that followed car culture and motorsports in Japan) founder Daijiro Inada decided to put together the All Japan Professional Drift Championship. The aim of which was to pit some of the best drifters around the country against each other. This was soon renamed to the D1 Grand Prix and in turn also introduced the most exciting part of drifting known as “Tsuiso” drifting or “Tandem”. Tsuiso roughly means twin run and as the name suggests this is where two cars will drift together at the same time with the goal being for that chase driver has to get as close as humanly possible without crashing into the lead driver, whilst matching the lead driver’s every move or bettering it. The lead drivers aim is to create a gap between themselves and the chase driver whilst still meeting the judging criteria set for that competition. Drivers will take turns leading and chasing, and the driver who is judged as having the better runs will get the win. Or if it is still too close to call they will move onto a sudden death
and keep running until a winner is chosen. With this format D1 Grand Prix became a massive name in the drifting world and for many people it was their first exposure to drifting. The championship travelled from Japan, to the USA, Ireland, UK, and other places around the world. Some of the most exciting drifting to ever happen was thanks to D1GP and still to this day it displays some of the most talent driving in the world. I myself attended the 2005 exhibition round at Silverstone race circuit, finally seeing drifting up close in person for the first time had a huge effect on my life as a kid. 12 years later I’m still involved with it and I’ve yet to get bored of it. Drifting without a doubt has gone global, and every year there is more and more practice days, events, and championships happening around the world. It’s been featured in films, TV, video games, magazines, comics, and who knows what else. I think it’s safe to say that drifting has become a much bigger beast than a group of young street racers in the mountains back in the 70s could have ever imagined.
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The beginnings of the UK drift scene
Much like it did in Japan, drifting in the UK has snowballed from very small beginnings into something much larger. Car culture has always been a big part of the UK with Japanese cars in particular having a large following since the 90s. In the early 2000s, with the internet growing in popularity and video games such as Gran Turismo becoming more advanced, it was starting to become easier to find more about Japanese car culture. In those first few years of the millennium, through little internet video clips and magazines a small group of people had started to take notice of the way the drifting scene had been gaining popularity in Japan. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when people started to attempt drifting over here, but the very first official drift practice days in the UK were held at Bruntingthorpe and Turweston airfields from 2001 and 2002. With the help of the OPT Drift Club (a part of a tuning business called Option Motorsport) they hired the venues out for people to give drifting a go without worrying about losing their driving license or crashing on the street. Although in the beginning no one really knew what they were doing, drifting is such an adrenaline buzz that once you get a taste you quickly end up wanting more. Practice days started being held more frequently, and slowly small groups began forming teams and driving together more. There was eventually enough interest for a small championship to start called D1UK. This later became the Autoglym Drift Championship and ran on till 2006 before becoming D1 Great Britain, which then became the European Drift Championship, and now in its current form The British Drift Championship. Although the championships have changed hands and evolved into very different events, you’ll still find some of the same drivers competing even now. The bug never leaves you once it’s got you.
It’s important to mention that in this time period another championship had started called Drift UK or Eurodrift, and in 2004 the first round was held at Birmingham Wheels Park. Birmingham Wheels, (formerly Wheels Adventure Park) was constructed in the late seventies near the heart of the city as a place for the youth that lived there to have fun and let off a little steam. At first it was mostly home to speed skating, skateboarding and BMX riding but it later went on to open up to motorsports in the form of oval stock car racing and Go Karting. Back to 2004 and the first official drift event at Birmingham Wheels was being held, and what made this event stand out more than the rest the fact that it was a new circuit for many of the drivers, and quite an intimidating one at that. The oval circuit is surrounded by a ring of armco and has quite aggressive grassy banks in the infield; this made drifting there a little more risky but added to the adrenaline. To add to that pressure the organiser of the event had managed to get a D1 Grand Prix driver named Ken Nomura and some of the Option Video film crew to come to the event and judge it. For the drivers who had spent most of their time watching early Option videos and D1GP it was quite a surreal moment. Although I personally did not attend this event, it happened just around the same time as I started to get into drifting and I soon discovered some pictures from it. Up until that point I had only seen videos from Japan so the prospect that people were drifting in the UK was very exciting for me! Over the years Birmingham Wheels has played host to plenty of drift events and even one of the biggest series in Europe called Drift Allstars has held
rounds there. From 2011, regular drift practice days began and the circuit has cemented itself as an affordable drift day for drivers of all kinds of levels. Whilst I’m on the subject of drifting and Birmingham it’s impossible not to mention Driftworks. In the beginning Driftworks started its life as a section about drifting on the Nissan 200SX Owners Club forum. This was around the same time as that first event at Birmingham Wheels and back in those days internet forums were really the only place people could discuss drifting and often used it to organise events. As drifting became more popular and different types of car that weren’t Nissans started to get used, a Birmingham based drifter named Phil Morison who moderated the section, decided that something independent needed to be set up and along came Driftworks. The Driftworks forum quickly became the go to place for information about drifting and all the latest events happening in the UK. It also provided a place for people to share their car projects, exchange advice, and even buy and sell used parts. After a while though Phil and his team mate James Robinson noticed the increase in demand for performance parts related to drifting. With many options being hard to find or expensive to import from Japan, Phil and James decided to find a way to create and bring new products to the UK in a way that was affordable and readily available. Driftworks has gone from being a small forum with like minded individuals into a multi-million pound business supplying all kinds of components for drift cars and is actually based not too far from Birmingham Wheels itself.
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Drifting in 2016
Over the years there has been some truly incredible drifting events held at circuits across the country and the British Drift Championship itself has become the most professional series the UK has ever seen. The scene has grown stronger with more teams and people driving together for fun more than ever before. Car builds have gotten crazier, and driver skill level has increased phenomenally. But the sad truth is that in the UK it really needs more venues willing to support drifting if it is to become any bigger and driver talent to grow. Fortunately people are coming together more and more to secure new venues and make sure that drivers respect the circuits so they can all drift there for many years to come. It still may be a while before we are at the same level as Japan, but we’ll get there one day.
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