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Save the date The UK celebrates the first ever National Album Day on Saturday 13th October. To mark 70 years of the iconic format, National Album Day will celebrate 70 years of favourite new albums, favourite first albums, the albums that changed your life and the ones you just could not live without. Join in the celebrations at @AlbumDayUK across the socials and using #NationalAlbumDay
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UPFRONT
PUBLISHER Hey Music
EDITOR’S LETTER
EDITOR Lesley Wright lesley@heymusic.com MARKETING DIRECTOR Darren Haynes darren@heymusic.com IN-HOUSE CONTRIBUTORS Chelsea Garwood chelsea@heymusic.com Aiez Mirza Ahmed aiez@heymusic.com CONTRIBUTORS Aasha Bodhani, Jim Butler, Kristan J Caryl, Mosely Trybez, Nick Rice and Sara Raffaghello @heymusicofficial @heymusictweets @heymusicofficial @heymusicofficial www.heymusic.com LOCATION: London Hey Mag is published by Hey Music. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. The publisher regrets that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views within this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. All credits are accurate at the time of writing but may be subject to change.
Where does music take you? Truth is, it can take you anywhere and everywhere. It’s a catalyst for new and never-ending adventures. I’m curious as to which gigs, clubs or festivals have rocked your world recently? My most recent big music adventure was a trip to the legendary – and somewhat intense – Burning Man festival, in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, where I bounced around between stages and camps, bonding with complete strangers over bowel-shaking basslines. Seven days at Burning Man can also be a bit of a physical challenge. After my own experience, I imagine it to be quite like giving birth – painful towards the end but with an extended family once it’s over. My newfound friends and I are now plotting to lock in a reunion at another festival somewhere in the world. It’s music that’s brought us together. But you don’t have to physically travel for music to transport you elsewhere. Oftentimes, music will sweep me off on my own little adventure through my imagination via a number of emotions. And that can be just as powerful. On that note, more power to Paul Weller, who’s still smashing the album charts after 40 glorious years in the music business. Yup, it’s fair to say that cover star Paul Weller and Kathy Sledge, who also features in this issue, are bona fide legends. While we salute their incredible careers, we’re also keeping our ears pinned back for the legends of tomorrow. Have you discovered a hot young artist with that sort of potential? If you have, tip us the wink here at . We’d love to hear from you.
Lesley Wright HEYMUSIC.COM
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PRS for Music members Dreamwife performing at PRS Presents
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FOR MUSIC
Music wouldn’t exist without the work of songwriters, composers and publishers. We’re here to represent them and ensure that they are rewarded for their creations.
BECAUSE MUSIC MATTERS
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UPFRONT
CONTENTS UPFRONT
6 NEWS What’s cooking across the UK and around the world.
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FEATURES
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12 FINDING MEANING British icon Paul Weller reveals what’s on his mind following the recent release of his new album, True Meanings. 18 DIFFERENT CLASS Errollyn Wallen claims classical music belongs to everybody. 22 AIMING HIGHER Arguably one of Liverpool’s most talented sons, Bill Ryder-Jones creates music for elevation. 26 AN IDLE MIND Bristol’s independent record label Idle Hands celebrates its 50th release. 30 MUSIC BY NUMBERS Amazing stats behind the incredible Amsterdam Dance Event.
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32 LOST IN MUSIC Kathy Sledge has music coursing through her veins.
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34 LET’S TALK ABOUT IT Mental health in hip-hop is a growing concern. Mosely Trybez says it’s time to be more vocal on the issue. 36 MAKE BELIEVE It’s been a whirlwind year for Ramz.
BACKSTAGE
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38 BOSSING IT! Nikki Wright-McNeill recaps her road to career satisfaction in music PR. HEYMUSIC.COM
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UPFRONT AROUND THE UK
DISCOVER: AUNTIE FLO Radio Highlife (Brownswood, 2018) Auntie Flo’s latest is his most authentic distillation of afro drums to date. Airy rhythms are run through with collaborators from Senegal, Cuba and London, while tracks range from broken beat to string-laced soul and feature found sounds from Moroccan markets and bustling townships, adding up to an essential and worldwide musical adventure.
BESTIVAL LIVES ON! Good news, party people! Bestival and Camp Bestival live on. Both English music festivals have been snapped up for £1.1 million after the company behind the muchloved events was placed into administration. It’s reported that Richmond Group is buying the festival business, after lending Bestival Group £1.6 million last year. Richmond Group’s James Benamor said he was a long-
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time fan, adding: “We are keen to ensure this fantastic institution goes on.” Launched on the Isle of Wight in 2004 by Rob Da Bank, Bestival relocated to Dorset, in 2017. Chaka Khan and Grace Jones headlined this year. The family-orientated Camp Bestival launched in 2006, with Simple Minds and Rick Astley delighting this year’s crowds.
SWEET LIKE HUNEE London’s XOYO has been reviving the beauty of the DJ residency for a while now and next in line is Hunee. The Rush Hour associate is one of the most loved selectors in the scene. Constantly bemused by his own success, he spreads messages of peace and unity through his persona, as well as his carefully dug out and expertly crafted sets, which never fail to leave a lasting impression From Latin to techno, afro to disco, forgotten soul to rare funk, he can do it all, often in the same set. His 10-week residency starts on 12 October and plays out each Friday until 14 December. Joining him will be an unsurprisingly eclectic mix of DJs who cover house, tropical, Balearic, techno, cosmic, wave music and plenty in between, such as MCDE, Palms Trax, DJ Nobu, Antal, Juju & Jordash, Ruf Dug and Cosmic Slop, amongst a fine list of others.
MASSIVE ATTACK MILESTONE Massive Attack’s first three albums from 1991 to 1998 have to be up there as one of the strongest runs of records any band has ever put out. Each one very much helped to define the trip-hop sound. Dark yet beautiful, intense yet alluring, and oozing standout songs that still sound futuristic today, they continue to inspire and influence generations of music makers. To mark the 20th anniversary of Mezzanine, the latter of the three, the Bristol group has announced that a special double CD and vinyl box-set reissue is planned for November. The double CD includes the original album, with classic tracks like Angel, Risingson and Teardrop newly remastered, plus previously unreleased Mad Professor remixes from the same period (Mad Professor also remixed their 1994 album Protection as No Protection). The triple vinyl box-set, which comes a month later in December, will have a heat-sensitive cover and new imagery from Robert Del Naja and Nick Knight. Earlier this year, the band also revealed that they were encoding the album into DNA with the help of a Swiss firm, which is nothing if not intriguing. HEYMUSIC.COM
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UPFRONT AROUND THE UK
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
NEW AMY DOC ON THE WAY
Keep your eyes peeled for a new film about the life of the late soul singer Amy Winehouse. Called Back to Black, it tells the story behind her final album of the same name and features previously unseen footage and interviews with the likes of Mark Ronson, who produced the album. A bonus feature shows footage of Winehouse playing a small show at Riverside Studios in London, in 2008. Release date is 2 November. 8
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From the synth pop days of The Human League via the IDM movement spearheaded by Warp Records, on through bleeps and bass and The Black Dog’s techno, Sheffield has always had a vital music scene with a unique character. Continuing in that tradition of forward-thinking and experimental music is No Bounds festival. Its debut last year made a real impact, and the 2018 edition, running 12 – 14 October, is worthy of anyone’s attention. Additions for this year include a special Improv Stage, while the rest of the festival plays out over eight venues across the city, including Hope Works, Trafalgar Warehouse and Heeley Swimming Pool. There’s an extensive programme of talks, film screenings, panels and workshops planned, with topics covered including coding and modular synthesis, while thoughtprovoking artists like Aïsha Devi, rhythm innovator Errorsmith (above), New York outfit Machine Woman, China’s live specialist Object Blue, Planet Mu boss Mike Paradinas and Berlin’s Paula Temple all line-up.
MUSE PROMISE EPIC NEW SHOW
With new album Simulation Theory due to drop on 9 November, Muse are promising “something that no-one’s ever seen before” when they hit the road next year. Their highlyanticipated European and North American album tour will stop off at three cities in the UK – Bristol, London and Manchester – although dates had yet to be revealed as this issue went to press.
Teasing fans about the upcoming tour, frontman Matt Bellamy promised it would “blow people’s minds”. He added: “We’re lucky because we’re living through this time where there’s all this new technology. Every time you come to do a tour, there’s always something new you can use.” The album is produced by Mike Elizondo, Rich Costey, Shellback and Timbaland.
REDISCOVER: JOHN BELTRAN Ten Days of Blue (Peacefrog, 1996)
A melancholic electronic masterpiece with moments of breezy bliss, Latin-inspired melodies and sophisticated ambient soundscapes. It’s beatless yet dynamic and compelling, with a fragility and lightness that makes it feel heavenly. Fans of early Four Tet will love its mix of synthetic and instrumental sounds, as will anyone who has ever had their heart broken. range from broken beat to string-laced soul and feature found sounds from Moroccan markets and bustling townships. It adds up to an essential and worldwide musical adventure.
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UPFRONT AROUND THE WORLD
Aya Nakamura
Lxandra
Rosalía
NEW ANNUAL MUSIC PRIZE ANNOUNCED The arrival of the new Music Moves Europe Talent Awards is a positive step for the next generation of artists emerging from Europe. Its aim is to “celebrate emerging artists who represent the European sound of today and tomorrow”. In all, 24 artists have been nominated in six categories including rock, pop, electronic, r&b/urban, hip-hop/rap and singer-songwriter. The nominees include postrels Lxandra from Finland and Danish artist Soleima, with French R&B singer Aya Nakamura and Spain’s Rosalía facing each other in the R&B/urban category.
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Winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony during the opening night of Eurosonic Noordeslag in January 2019. They’ll also each be rewarded with a tailormade training programme and financial support for touring and promotion. There’s also a special public choice award. The awards are implemented in close cooperation with the European Commission and financially supported by Creative Europe. The hope is that the Music Moves Europe Talent Awards will “enhance creativity, diversity and competitiveness” in the years ahead.
BIT OF ROUGH
Parisians can look forward to Rough Trade opening up in the French capital. With music stores in East and West London, Bristol, Nottingham and New York, Rough Trade’s international expansion continues following investment from French media and events company Les Nouvelles Éditions Indépendantes. The French store has been advertising for staff.
GET CARTER
MICRO VIBES IN THE UAE Boasting an “all-encompassing array of immersive environments that showcase the intersection of music, art and innovative technology”, MICRO MUTEK. AE returns to various venues in Dubai for six days of bleeding-edge sounds, in October. ‘Hemisphere 141’ brings a tri-dimensional and high definition dome to Dubai World Trade Centre [14 – 17 October] for a string of 360° immersive live performances in association with the Society for Arts and Technology from Montréal, while Digi Lab offers amateurs and pros the chance to get their hands on the future of music production technology and dip into workshops hosted by legendary electronic producer A Guy Called Gerald. Nocturne 1 & 2 at Stereo Arcade nightclub, on 18 and 19 October, promises “a different slant” on clubbing and there’s more jaw-dropping immersive AV magic from Italy’s Michela Pelusio (pictured below), at Dubai Knowledge Park Amphitheatre, on 19 October. This year’s event is in association with GITEX Future Stars, the fastest-growing start-up event in the region. Mehdi Ansari, co-founder of Dubai’s renowned Analog Room and co-founder of MICRO MUTEK.AE said: “We’d like to shift the emphasis away from clubbing and partying and towards a new perspective on the way electronic music and audiovisual practices can be profound, inspiring and revelatory.”
It’s been a long time coming – four years, in fact – but American rapper Lil Wayne has finally released his Tha Carter V album, after it was locked in a lengthy legal battle with Cash Money Records. Taking to Twitter, Wayne said: “With this album I’m giving you more than me. This is years of work.” Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and the late XXXTentacion make guest appearances on the album. HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE PAUL WELLER
FINDIN MEAN 12
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Words_Andrew Arthur/PA/The Interview People
With The Jam, The Style Council and as a solo artist, Paul Weller is regarded as one of the most influential British musicians of his generation. Following the recent release of his True Meanings album, discovers what’s on his mind
NG ING
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If
there was ever a time in life that I might be reflective, it would be around turning 60. Which is pretty monumental. “I think it’s also quite distressing, I suppose, the thought of my mortality. Without being morbid, which I don’t feel it is. But I can’t help but think about how f****** quick it has all gone, more than anything. And how much more have I got left? “I don’t spend too long pondering on it. There’s no point. But it’s certainly a time when you have to take stock of that.” Having become a sexagenarian this year, ‘The Modfather’ has entered a period of his life where, for once, he is momentarily looking back. Weller acknowledges reaching the milestone did impact upon his latest album, the recently released True Meanings, a collection of intimate, acoustic songs. “It certainly informed some of the themes on the record. I don’t think it’s particularly nostalgic, but it’s definitely reflective.” His fourteenth solo album and twenty-
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FEATURE PAUL WELLER
“If it’s in your blood, it’s a hard thing to stop doing, whatever level we’re talking about” third studio album, True Meanings was sitting at No.2 in the UK Album Charts as this issue went to press. Celebrated for an eclectic body of work over his solo career, his latest longplayer, with its delicate but lush orchestration, has been described in some quarters as “folk-rock”. In a behind-the-scenes mini film about the making of the album, Weller admits: “I don’t know what sort of genre it is, I have no idea. For me, they’re just good songs, you know, lyrically, melodically, quite simplistic. “Whenever you get an acoustic guitar out and some strings, it always sounds kinda sad anyway. But I don’t get a sadness from it. I think it’s quite the opposite for me. It’s just stating where I am at the moment, really. One man’s journey up to this point.” In fact, it’s Weller’s most collaborative album to date, input coming from Rod Ardent of the Zombies [Soul Searchers and White Horses], folk legends Martin Carthy and Danny Thompson [Come Along], Lucy Rose [Books] and Noel Gallagher [White Horses and Books]. After accumulating songs over a five-year period, Weller enlisted the help of co-writers to finish some of them. One of the four joint efforts on True Meanings is Bowie, which Weller composed with singer-songwriter Erland Cooper. The song is a tribute to the late David Bowie – cleverly incorporating some Bowie quotes into the lyrics – as well as a broader reflection on loss. Like Weller, the Starman enjoyed a long-lasting career defined by transformation and Weller confides Bowie’s death in 2016 affected him. “It made me sad for an awful long time. Because he had done so little for so long and then he came out with The Next Day and then a couple years later with Blackstar. 14
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There was all this activity and I thought, ‘Great, he’s well again and he’s back on it’. So it was a shock for me when he died and I was saddened by it. “When me and my wife had twin boys six years ago, he sent us a very nice bunch of flowers and a card saying congratulations. That was really sweet. One of our boys is called Bowie as well, obviously named after him. My wife is an even bigger fan than me.” Age does not seem to have mellowed the fire in Weller’s stomach when it comes to politics. Many of his songs with The Jam
AT A GLANCE 1970s Weller puts together the first incarnation of The Jam in 1972. Their first single, In The City, breaks into the UK Top 40 in 1977. Other tracks also dent the Top 40 but it’s The Eton Rifles that gives the new wave/mod revivalists their first Top 10 hit – peaking at No.3 in 1979. Tom Ford, aka Peverelist,
1980s The band chalks up their first No.1 with Going Underground in early 1980 but The Jam disbands at the end of 1982. They go out in style with Beat Surrender earning them their fourth UK chart topper and sell-out concerts at Wembley Arena and the Brighton Centre. Weller forms The Style Council in 1983 and the band experiments with pop, jazz and blueeyed soul, scoring seven UK Top 10 hits, and performing at Live Aid, Wembley Stadium, in 1985. But the band’s popularity wanes in the late ’80s and they find themselves without a record deal. 1990s Having gone solo, Weller’s 1992 selftitled jazz-guitar album reaches No.8 in the UK album charts. His fourth solo album – 1995’s Stanley Road – marks a return to his more guitar-based style and hits No.1, becoming the best-selling album of his career. Two other albums sit comfortably in the Top 10 before the decade is out.
were noted for lyrics about working class life. The Eton Rifles, released in 1979, offered a withering attack on a privileged social elite. He’s still vocal about the political climate in the UK. “This government is hopeless. All of them. Look at them, they’re like ridiculous caricatures of silly toffs. We’re all sick of it. I think it’s time for a change. But to expect that any one party is going to wave a wand and it’s all going to be different is absurd. I think people have just got to do it for themselves, really.
2000s His Illumination [2004] and 22 Dreams [2008] longplayers both reach the top spot in the UK Album Charts. In 2006 Weller receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BRIT Awards and he’s back in 2009 to pick up the gong for Best Male Solo Artist. 2010s After taking home the Godlike Genius Awards at the 2010 NME Awards, Weller releases his Wake Up The Nation album and is nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in the same year. He’s presented with the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. His Sonic Kicks album hits No.1 in 2012, and another four albums follow before the recent release of True Meanings. HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE PAUL WELLER “Compared to the 1970s and 1980s, there’s a lot of things that are way better now. People’s attitudes in general are better. People are fairer and open-minded; they’re well-travelled. I think, generally speaking, there is less racism. “I don’t believe in the idea of ‘divided Britain’ – I think that’s a lot of boll**ks. I could cite many examples of people being totally united, all colors, all religions, everyone. ‘Divided Britain’ is just another tool of the Tories and right wing propagandists.” From the new album, Books reflects on how governments have twisted and manipulated religion into a catalyst for wars. “The starting phrase for most religions, whatever way it’s phrased, is ‘thy shall not some of that’s down to it being disposable; kill’. Which sounds like a pretty good place you don’t have to pay for it. Music doesn’t to start,” reckons Weller. “Who am I to knock have the same cultural value, possibly.” other people’s faith? I wouldn’t do that. I Had he not become a successful musician, think whatever makes people happy or gets Weller says he’d be “playing in pubs and them through their lives is ultimately a good clubs in Surrey. I’ve got mates who were in thing, I suppose. But the way it’s used and bands at the same time as I was and are the abused and manipulated by the people in control is the antithesis of what it’s supposed same age as me now. They still play gigs at the weekend. They’ve got day jobs but still to be about.” love going out playing. If it’s in your blood, Weller offers a measured response when it’s a hard thing to stop doing, whatever asked if he feels contemporary politics level we’re and society is talking about.” not reflected in For many, Weller popular music “Humility is a quality that is also considered as it was in a fashion icon previous decades. we must find at some but does he find “I don’t think point in our lives. It’s a it unusual seeing that’s true in hipgood thing to learn” men with haircuts hop or grime, is he has inspired. it? Those artists Laughing, he seem to be still says: “Yeah, sometimes. What can I say? I’ve telling it like it is. But in pop or rock? I guess not. I think it’s inevitable, really, after 20 years copied so many of my heroes’ haircuts. Sometimes with success, sometimes it’s a or so of wishy-washy politics. complete disaster. But I don’t walk around “You have to ask, has music still got that thinking I’m a style icon. Humility is a quality cultural force? I think the last shout on all that we must find at some point in our lives. of that was in the 1990s. I don’t think music It’s a good thing to learn.” holds the same place for people. I think 16
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FEATURE ERROLLYN WALLEN
DIFFERE
CLASS Singer-songwriter, classical composer and workaholic, Errollyn Wallen pauses for breath to speak to Words_Jim Butler
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ENT Tom Ford, aka Peverelist,
Anyone
that’s paid attention to British composer and musician Errollyn Wallen’s prolific career would know that her appetite for composing and performing is insatiable. Her love of the creative process – however painstaking and drawn-out it might be – is undiminished. “I’m just loving composing at the minute,” she avows cheerfully from her home. “As you get a bit older you become more aware of the options there are [in composing]. I don’t allow myself to get stuck. I have realised that a composition is a many-layered activity, so even if I’m thinking I don’t know what music should follow here, I can think about the dynamics of the piece, the tempo. I’ve become more patient.” She remains incredibly busy. When we speak, at the beginning of October, she outlines her fertile year to date. She’s already written 13 works, is in the planning process of staging shows for the next two years and just two days ago returned from Wyoming, where she’d been on an artists’ residency. “To be in place where everyone understands artistic endeavour was wonderful,” she
Photos_ Dominic Harris
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“I would love every child to have access to learning a musical instrument for free” HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE ERROLLYN WALLEN
expounds enthusiastically when explaining the premise of the residency. She was surrounded by fellow musicians, writers, painters and the like. Not only did this have the invigorating effect of illuminating the creative spark, the retreat, near the panoramic Bighorn mountains, gave her something even more crucial to any artist: time. “I spend so much time organising things that being at the residency freed me up from the day-to-day drag of shopping and all of that stuff. I had my own log cabin, with a grand piano and my own bedroom and my own facilities, and then I could join everyone later… all our meals were cooked for us, so it freed up so much time.” And while the point of the month-long residency at the Ucross Foundation (Wallen did manage to escape rural Wyoming and make it over to the bright lights of Los Angeles to perform at the American premiere of her Concerto Grosso) was to work productively, she struck up a number of friendships (“some lifelong”) and there’s even talk of collaborative relationships down the line. “There was a singer who was so incredible that I want her to sing on my next album,” she says. “And there were two other artists 20
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– one a visual artist and the other an author – and I was thinking there has to be ways that we can work together in the future.” For Wallen, her work is everything. The beautiful mundanity of everyday life might prevent her from devoting as much time to her searing compositions as she’d like but she remains productive. She’s got better at snatching moments of time to work on her music when they present themselves. She’s nothing if not driven. A cod psychologist might explain her determination away by her upbringing, which while not unconventional, was certainly not
Classical music, she avows, belongs to emblematic of the traditional path trod by everybody. And as someone whose status classical musicians. Born in Belize (then as a black British female composer means British Honduras), her parents brought her to she’s often championed the cause of the London when she was two, where she was underdog and the outsider, she’s being raised by her aunt and uncle in Tottenham. sincere. She was the first black woman to Although the early ’60s are ostensibly defined as a period of colourful pop and rock have a piece – Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra – performed at the Proms back in & roll awakenings, it was orchestral music’s 1998 (“I remember power, drama and its thinking I’d better sense of storytelling remember this that switched a light because no-one else on in Wallen’s head. “Music is the very will,” she modestly “There were so essence of life. recollects). She was many amazing commissioned to colours,” she It’s not an add-on” write for the opening recalls. “I thought ceremony of the it was incredible. I 2012 Paralympics remember going to and alongside her Ivor Novello Award, she’s ballet lessons and dancing to Chopin and also an MBE. loving the music. I got the bug and I liked “I would love every child to have access to the way you could go on a journey with this learning a musical instrument for free,” she music and each journey was so different declares forcefully. “To me, music is the very and each composer would give you a essence of life. It’s not an add-on.” different journey. I had no thought of being a An adjunct to this is her belief that “more composer. Nobody in my family really knew experienced musicians have to look out for what a composer was. I just got on with it in our younger counterparts”, she says. a way.” “We have to realise we’re all in a And yet she was actually composing. When she was just nine years old she wrote a piece continuum together,” concludes Wallen. “It feels good to hand on whatever knowledge I for her class at school to sing and perform. have, and I feel very invigorated by some of At school she learned piano and then the the young composers I’ve been working violin. That’s why she says she’s heartbroken with. I’m very excited about the future of at how the arts – granted, in the face of music, to be honest.” brutal and sweeping government cuts – have been marginalised in British schools. “I learned those instruments back in the days when any child could learn an instrument. For free. So it upsets me more than I can express. Because what it also means is that classical music is, and I see it in the students I teach, becoming, or has become, the preserve of the middle class with extra income. We have lost a whole generation of talented people because music training is very intensive.” HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE BILL RYDER-JONES
WITHOUT MUSIC LIFE WOULD BE A MISTAKE An in-demand producer, composer, multiinstrumentalist and an unfailingly authentic solo artist, Bill RyderJones discusses integrity, his journey with mental health and filling the six hours of silence before bedtime Words_Nick Rice
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The back-terrace garden of the café
in West Kirby where we meet up with Bill Ryder-Jones is lively for a Monday morning. Bill is still bunged up from a cold he caught just before a string of recent live dates. He made it through the gigs though, so an informal chat is no bother. Bill and I have had several long talks since his solo career began in 2011 with If… – the sublime orchestral album conceived as a soundtrack to the
Italo Calvino novel, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller, so with coffee on the table, we’re straight into it. On 2 November Domino release Bill’s fourth LP, Yawn. Like its predecessors, A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart and West Kirby County Primary, one of the most distinctive things about the album’s songs is that as well as making you listen, they make you feel. There’s an emotionally wrought quality that elevates the work. Reflecting on the push and pull between writing songs for pure artistic expression and
the hovering notion of what people might want to hear, Bill says: “I can never write the stock little song that isn’t personal because I think people will now feel short-changed. At the start of every album I get a call from my manager, who says, ‘You know everyone at radio loves you and they’re desperate to play your music,’ so, I think, ‘I’m 35, I own nothing, I never have any money – maybe I should see this a bit more as a career and try and do something that might enable me to learn how to drive or something… adult’. I always do try at the start of a record to do HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE BILL RYDER-JONES
something more accessible, but inevitably I realise that it’s not what I’m good at. Then I make a record based on how I’m feeling – and that’s what the records are always.” This integrity behind Bill’s musical output – which in 2015 saw him scrap an album’s worth of material because it wasn’t right nor honest enough – means that what does make it onto record is redoubtably the artist’s uncompromised intention. While the commercial aspect of his career, and the fact the critical acclaim doesn’t pay the rent may rankle, it doesn’t knock him off course. “I left The Coral with six grand… that was after a huge career with multiple hits. I didn’t have a manager or a lawyer at the time so you can read between the lines there. The real issue in my life though is that six hours before bed. How do I fill that silence?” It’s no small thing to choose artistic integrity over fortune and his stance on the matter prompts a question about philosophical convictions. “The only thing that ever really made sense was existentialism, but I’ve never been able to put it into practice because I care about people too much,” he explains. The reply brings to mind the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who was fundamental to the existentialist movement. “God has given us music so that above all it can lead us upwards. Music unites all qualities: it can exalt us, divert us, cheer us up, or break the hardest of hearts with the softest of its melancholy tones. But its principal task is to lead our thoughts to higher things, to elevate, even to make us tremble,” Nietzsche wrote, aged 13. Bill’s enduring focus, and his appeal, is firmly fixed on creating music for elevation. “I believe wholeheartedly in music and the creation of music and what that does for me,” he says, adding: “Without sounding like a 16-year old that’s just discovered The Smiths, melody is my God. That’s the thing that makes me feel better.” Bill’s struggles with his mental health have been widely covered in the past and he’s always been candid about the episodal dissociative disorder he’s suffered from. 24
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“It’s a bit of a weird time for me,” muses Bill. “I looked at myself last year and I couldn’t really recognise myself, not in any dissociative way, more like, ‘I’m 35 and I remember being 18’. And for a moment I was like, ‘God, remember who you were at 18?’ I was very sensitive and very caring and I think I became quite hardened and quite resentful. Particularly with the money thing… just look at the musicians who are full of money and
Photos_ Ki Price
part of 15 years. And it was a real conscious decision to not be numb. And after six months of it, I’m going ‘Hell! I remember how hard it was to be 18’. I’m really like, ‘S**t, the world is cruel and I’m a delicate little pansy who’s been pretending that they’re hard and weathered for 15 years’.” Whilst he’s coughing and laughing about how hard it is to get by day to day, Bill is actually feeling very positive about the future. “I’m in a mode of thought now where I probably won’t have my opinion changed by anyone… after a long period of numbness I just have to be alive and feel life again. That’s going to take me wherever it does – and that’s who I am – and it’ll be good. “There are a lot of musicians who are similar to me, who do think there is more to being a musician than having the big stage thing and playing a character. Musicians that
“Without sounding like a 16-year old that’s just discovered The Smiths, melody is my God”
void of talent. Or not even talent, just void of any real purpose in the furtherment of art and bringing people together, aside from people who just want to go out and ‘have it.’ “Anyway, I made the conscious decision to be more like I was when I was 18 and subsequently stopped drinking for half a year. I also decided to stop taking my medication because I realised that I’d been numbing myself in various ways for the best
want to be part of the dialogue of humans trying to understand their place in the world. Bill mentions artists such as Gruff Rhys, Eros Childs, Nick Cave and Geoff Barrow, and clarifies: “The people who did what they did regardless… people who did what they did to fill that silence that I talked about.” Those daily six hours of his before bed may soon be filled with work on another orchestral concept album. The inspiration for which is another book, this time a collection of essays by Aldous Huxley. With steely certainty in his clear eyes, Bill winds up our conversation saying: “The Huxley book is called Music at Night but I’m going to title it The Rest is Silence because there’s this beautiful phrase he says, this is not verbatim but it’s, ‘Nothing comes as close to expressing the inexpressible as music… the rest is silence’.” HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE IDLE HANDS
AN I D L E M IN D
Stories of independent record labels and shops closing down are all too commonplace these days. With its 50th milestone release, Bristol’s Idle Hands is bucking that trend. enjoys the journey with founder Chris Farrell Words_Kristan J Caryl
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“ and the late Joni, forme
“Boredom was definitely a factor,” says flame-haired and influential Bristol DJ, producer and record store owner Chris Farrell of the reasons he started his Idle Hands label back in 2009. “Wanting to put a record out that Hardwax stocked was another.” At the time he was working at the Rooted Records shop and doing political organising the rest of the week. “I think I needed something else.” This month, the label puts out its 50th EP, which is a mini miracle in the current climate, where scores of new labels pop up every
month, and the resurgence of vinyl means cutting and pressing records is, conversely, harder than ever. It was his boss at Rooted Records – Tom Ford, aka Peverelist, who produced the first record on the label, and is behind the 50th – who kicked him “up the a***” and gave Farrell the motivation to start the label. Eighteen months later, when Rooted had to close, Farrell also went on to set up a record shop under the same name, and it is now a vital hub in the city. From day one, Idle Hands had a broad remit. The first few releases encompassed technoid dubstep, deep house, tropical UK funky and slo-mo 4/4 beats, and that variation continues to this day. Farrell – a big fan of reggae, sound system culture and post punk, as well as more traditional dance music – says that was always the plan. “I like too much different music to just settle on one thing,” he says, before recognising that he might have had more, and quicker, success had he stuck to one sound, but that the label would have likely gone out of fashion well before getting anywhere near the current milestone. That IDLE50 EP features Left Hand, a joyous, Bristol-style piano house cut with a booming bottom-end, and Right Hand, a dubby techno jam that is pure UK style. HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE IDLE HANDS
I started going out to drum & bass raves in It follows in the label’s tradition of putting the late ’90s it was already a bit sh**. Older out music that’s most often produced by folks would be telling us about how good friends and locals turned globe-trotting the old days were, everything was better talents like Kowton, Hodge, A Sagittariun, and so on. So to see a scene like dubstep Shanti Celeste and Facta. Bumping vocal emerge, being made my people who were house, churning drum rhythms, deep techno, my contemporaries, was really exciting.” ambient albums and sparse drone tracks Because his own tastes remain so broad, have all featured along the way, making the Farrell didn’t personally struggle when the label as diverse and individual as any in spotlight moved on. “If anything, it was fun the scene. watching other people realign,” he says. When Idle Hands started, Bristol was the “The label has always been about the subtle centre of the dance music universe. It was changes that happen in dance music, so it the home of the most exciting dubstep and doesn’t scare me. Dialectical materialism bass-heavy house and techno in the world. taught me that But the fast-moving change is the dance music world only constant takes no prisoners, “Dialectical materialism so you have to and just a few years taught me that change is embrace it.” later the scene One thing that had moved on the only constant so you doesn’t change and artists, record have to embrace it” is the need for stores and labels capital to run were trying to find a label. “The new identities. label, like myself, isn’t primarily motivated “That was an exciting time,” remembers by making money,” says Chris, “but if I don’t Farrell. “I grew up at the tail-end of what have it, I can’t put records out.” you could loosely call acid house and when 28
OCTOBER 2018
THE ART OF SELLING RECORDS
Record stores can be intimidating places. Rumours abound that the quality of music you get tipped on depends on your look and your character. Is that true? We asked Chris for the lowdown...
Tom Ford, aka Peverelist
That might be the thing that’s kept him up at night most often, but it isn’t how he judges the success of the records he releases. “If the artist is happy, I’m happy,” he says. “If it sells well, even better. If people are still playing it a few years later better still.” One record he says was rather slept on, though, was Kung Funk, a B-side cut on Rachael’s You’re Driving Me EP in 2012. “I feel it went a bit unnoticed. It was only ever Harry Midland who got really excited by it, which in fairness was enough.” Running a label is a dark art. Knowing what to sign and when, and just as importantly what not to sign, even if the music is good, is a skill that takes years of practice. “It isn’t a precise science,” reckons Chris. “I’ve spent countless hours in the pub chatting with mates who run other long-standing labels
“I’ve been in enough record shops over the years where people think they are a bit special because they’re behind the counter. I don’t want Idle Hands to be like that. If I have something come in secondhand that I know a regular has been looking for, I’ll put that by for them, but there is no elitism in terms of new releases people get – it’s my job to make sure I have enough copies so that everyone who might want one gets one. “We’ve have had many characters over the years but these days most people through the door are vinyl buyers or curious locals. I still get a kick out of one of my regulars who I’ve been serving for 10 years or more still calling me Marky. I’ve completely given up telling him my name is Chris.”
and we can’t figure it out. I just know when I know. A tune does need to have that ‘Idle Hands’ sound though. I did a podcast last year where they asked it to be all Idle Hands releases, and I was pleased at how much of the back catalogue stands up.” Chris recognises that a lot has changed since the label’s first release. “Bristol has changed, the music industry has changed,” but what hasn’t is his relationship with Peverelist, so it was always going to be he who produced the label’s 50th EP. “Tom is now established as one of the UK’s most forward-thinking producers of the last 20 years,” beams Chris. “When the first record came out, we were both working in a crumbling record shop, maybe smoking too much, and wouldn’t have thought we would still be doing music nearly ten years later.” HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE MUSIC BY NUMBERS
AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT Since its inception, Amsterdam Dance Event has grown and flourished into the king of electronic music conferences. Each year, a who’s who of the dance music world descends on the city for five days crammed with panels, workshops, showcases, tech demonstrations and parties – lots and lots of parties. A networking haven, ADE attracts top-flight DJs, artists, label managers, technology giants, publishers and promoters through to bedroom DJs, unsigned producers and legions of dance music fans. It’s where deals and discussions take place by day and dancefloors are destroyed by night. “We’re almost at the point of reaching the magical 400,000 visitors mark, and we still see lots of opportunities to grow,” says ADE Director Richard Zijlma, as he prepares for this year’s event to kick off on 17 October. “ADE aims to be a world stage for musical talent and the music industry,” he adds. “With visitors from almost 100 countries now you can confidently claim that Amsterdam is truly the beating heart of the worldwide music industry during ADE, while being at the same time a breeding ground for cultural and technological innovation for five days and nights.” Here’s ADE in numbers… 30
OCTOBER 2018
Launched: 1995 Duration of inaugural event: 3 days Attendance at inaugural event: 300 delegates with 30 DJs performing Duration today: 5 days from 17 – 21 October 2018 No. of artists: over 2500 No. of professional delegates: 9000 Number of panels and workshops: 120+ Number of speakers: 550 No. of venues: 140 across Amsterdam’s 5 main districts No. of festival visitors: 395,000 from 90 countries No. of festival visitors expected this year: 400,000 Focus country this year: South Korea – the 8th largest music market in the world, generating $4.7 billion in global sales last year
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FEATURE KATHY SLEDGE
P L AY
Watch the full interview on Hey Music’s YouTube channel
L OST IN M U SIC
Kathy Sledge, of Sister Sledge fame, opens up about her long career and colliding with destiny Words_Aasha Bodhani 32
OCTOBER 2018
“
The
most innovate artists are the ones that write from the heart and follow their passion. You can’t fool your audience, if you try and write songs that aren’t really you, it’s always going to be hard to perform.” With a career spanning five decades, Kathy Sledge is well placed to give advice on how to master the music industry. Philadelphiaborn Kathy and her older siblings Debbie, Kim and the late Joni, formed Sister Sledge in 1971 and became one of the most successful female supergroups of the disco era, a time epitomized by DJ David Sister Sledge: the early years Mancuso’s sets at The Loft and also by New York’s infamous Studio 54. “I remember back then, I was actually a Sledge presents: My Sisters & Me, a concert minor; I got the chance to go [to Studio 54] series where Kathy and an array of singing and our mum was with us,” recalls Kathy. “I ‘sisters’, including Deniece Williams, Karyn wasn’t allowed to drink, but I watched. It was White and CeCe Peniston, perform classic like a movie where the music just brought hits. Kathy also tells her own intimate story, everyone to life. I definitely feel like I grew up dubbed the Sister Sledge Storybook, where in that era...” she performs songs that define her journey. Kathy and her sisters were trained by their “As I’ve been putting these productions opera-singing grandmother, Viola Williams, together, it really is the music that’s the and were first billed as the snappily-named backbone of the most successful plays; Mrs Williams’ Grandchildren. At the age it’s all there, all the mechanics to make it of 14, she took vocal lead on Mama Never happen,” Kathy says with passion. Told Me, which became a Top 20 hit in Though disco lost mainstream popularity, the UK in 1975. plenty of modern After record label day artists have all “It really is the music Atlantic hooked the made a nod to it in girls up with Nile their productions, that’s the backbone Rogers and Bernard including Daft Punk, of the most Edwards, of Chic, Pharrell Williams, their 1979 released Justin Timberlake and successful plays” We Are Family Bruno Mars. “It’s funny album catapulted because disco, dance, them to superstardom. Songs from that whatever you want to call it, has reinvented album – We Are Family, He’s the Greatest itself to a whole new generation. The Dancer and Lost in Music – remain evergreen newness of that is really cool, it’s special,” party classics known around the globe. reflects Kathy.” Kathy, who departed the band in 1989 Looking back, Kathy knows what advice to pursue a solo career, can call herself a she would now give to her younger self. “Be singer, songwriter, author, manager and more daring,” she says. “I would always get producer these days, but the stage still holds offered to do solo projects, but I was like, a certain thrill. ‘No, no, we’re in a group’. But I like the fact She won plaudits for her journey into new that I did the family thing.” terrain with her critically acclaimed show, The most important thing, she says, is The Brighter Side of Day – a tribute to the always to be true to yourself. “A colleague of ’40s and the legendary Billie Holiday, and mine says, ‘When your passion meets your with her sisterhood roots, she created Kathy purpose, you collide with destiny’.” HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE OPINION
LET’S TALK ABOUT IT contributor Mosely Trybez from S4Freshness.com thinks it’s time for more conversation – and action – surrounding the mental health crisis in hip-hop
Kanye West
Over
the past five years, the hip-hop aesthetic has been reimagined. The definition of what it means to be a rapper has been redefined. Artists have become much larger entities outside of music; in some instances the quality of music they release takes a backseat to the social influence they wield over the listener. Standards for those nominated into this industry have been lowered. A blueprint for success has been laid out in order to gain fans’ attention, but it’s not the same blueprint left to us by Jay-Z back in 2001. Sure, rappers like 2Pac Shakur, Chuck D and Queen Latifah transcended their musical careers with social and political impact, but today – in the “microwave era” – the majority of newer artists are able to assemble cultlike followings at lightening speed. Artists who command hip-hop today are getting younger. How do they cope with this responsibility? Are they prepared for the demands? Mental health is a swiftly growing and very real concern. 34
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Kid Cudi
Back in 2016, Drake and Kid Cudi got into a spat that left some questioning Drake’s sympathy toward those who deal with mental and emotional distress. In Drizzy’s track Two Birds One Stone, he rapped at Cudi: “You were the man on the moon/Now you just go through your phases/Life of the angry and famous/Rap like I know I’m the greatest/Then give you the tropical flavours/Still never been on hiatus/You stay Xanned and Perc’d up/So when reality set in you don’t gotta face it.” What was then looked at as a harsh few bars was accompanied by some jarring truth. Drugs have become a trendy remedy to cope
Lil Peep
into drug-infused-rap and the kids love it, streaming platforms allowing consumption without filter. Life imitates art; if our curators are doing what we all love from a destructive mind state, how long before impressionable fans follow suit? All genres of music have this issue to tackle. Earlier this year, international pop star Demi Lovato found herself in the midst of an apparent overdose. She had been battling mental illness and addiction for years. Fortunately, she was immediately hospitalised after overdosing, which saved her life. The electronic dance music scene was sent reeling when world renowned EDM DJ and producer Avicii committed suicide while on holiday in Oman. He was 28. Even
Hip-hop is littered with artists who don’t know they’re suffering
Mac Miller
with the stress and responsibility brought on by the music business. Last November, 21-year-old rapper on the rise Lil Peep died from of drug overdose and, more recently, 26-year-old hip-hop star Mac Miller’s death was drug related. Just as Morpheus told Neo, the rabbit hole is deep. Hip-hop is littered with artists who don’t know they’re suffering; there are music moguls enabling said artists and listeners who are affected directly. Artists like J. Cole, who make a conscious decision to use their music to champion a healthy lifestyle, are outnumbered. Trap-rap has morphed
Kanye West took his own approach to telling the world that he may be in need of help by captioning his June released Ye album cover with the statement: “I hate being bi-polar, it’s awesome.” It’s not uncharacteristic of Ye to be controversial but this message gave a little more cause for pause and reflection. There’s been a concerted effort to bring mental health issues to the fore in the dance scene. The Association for Electronic Music has teamed up with Help Musicians UK to provide a 24/7 support hotline, while last year Pioneer DJ Sounds released Why We DJ – Slaves To The Rhythm, an eye-opening film that illuminates mental health issues in electronic music. More and more artists are now being open about their fight with mental health and drug abuse. But there’s a tonne of work needs to be done to fully address the situation. We need to talk more. We need to continue to have these conversations and ensure they always take precedence over mundane subject matters so we can battle mental health issues in hip-hop more effectively. HEYMUSIC.COM
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FEATURE RAMZ
P L AY
Listen to Ramz’ top tunes on Hey Music’s YouTube channel
MAKE BELIEVE From stacking supermarket shelves to chart success and award nominations, it’s been a whirlwind year for Ramz Words_Chelsea Garwood
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When you released Barking, did you think it would ever reach No.2 in the charts? Not in a million years! Honestly, to see how far the song has grown from performing it at showcases to packed out radio events is an unexplainable feeling, and one I’ll definitely treasure forever.
If
What’s the most important thing you’ve ever there was a great example of learned from experiencing sudden fame? believing in yourself, Ramz is it. When Never take your supporters for granted. There his two nominations in GRM Daily’s Rated is always someone coming up next and your Awards were announced earlier this year – for fans are the reason you will continue to grow, Breakthrough [Artist] of the Year and Track in my opinion. of the Year for Barking – the young artist told his fans on Twitter: “Less than a year ago Being in the public eye can be hard. How someone said to me that I should stop music do you deal with haters and negative because I was embarrassing myself. I told myself I can do anything I want if I put my mind comments? Always surround yourself to it.” with good company and While he might not have ensure you never take walked away with any things too truly. In the gongs from the recent TOP 5 FAVOURITE SONGS? world of social media awards ceremony in 1. MoStack What I Wanna everyone has an opinion London, he can be proud 2. Ella Mai Boo’d Up and as an artist in this era of an incredible year that 3. Raye Confidence you just have to be able to started with his Barking 4. Burna Boy feat J Hus Sekkle Down adapt and remain relevant track peaking at No.2 in the 5. Fredo Never for the right reasons. UK charts in January. catches up with Your track Family Tree [released in April] is the talented young singer, songwriter and about growing up with people you love in rapper from Mitcham, South London… Mitcham. What are your fondest memories of Mitcham? We reckon you’re having a pretty Just the town as a whole. The local football momentous year so far… cages we would play at, the back streets I’m grateful with how everything’s gone. During where we would ride our bikes, and even the the early part of the year everything was going youth club where I dominated at table tennis. so fast, which is nice, but it’s also nice to be It made my friends’ memories and mine and able to have time for new upcoming work you gave us the somewhat togetherness we carry want out. today. Your Two Sides of a Coin EP, released in Who would be your dream collaboration? June, featured Trapped and Get Whatever I J Hus. He is probably the best right now in our Want Or Like. What inspired those? scene. I was at a point where everything was moving so fast as I was still very new, with scenarios in What advice would you give to young the scene both positive or negative. I wanted upcoming artists? to put out how I was feeling at that moment of Always believe in your ability and the process. time and let my supporters see a side of me It won’t be easy but it’ll definitely be worth it. not many see, hence Two Sides of a Coin. The two-single release was essentially put What can we look forward to from you? into in a mini EP format so that was just a A full EP incoming and surprise collaborations. snippet of what’s to come from me.
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BACKSTAGE
BOSSING IT! UK-based Nikki Wright-McNeill runs her own PR company, working with a worldwide network of journalists, broadcasters, bloggers and tastemakers to spread the message about artists, music festivals and events. a quick insight into her route to becoming her own Here, she gives boss in the music industry… “My first job was as a receptionist at V2 around the world to media in the UK and Records, where I actually made tea for internationally. Celebrating 10 years of Global Richard Branson. As a girl, there were limited was a fantastic milestone to reach and gave options to get into the music business at me an incredible sense of achievement with the time and you had to start at the bottom clients such as Secret Solstice [Iceland], Exit as receptionist or PA. After missing out on Festival [Serbia], Amsterdam Dance Event, the marketing assistant job that went to Lowlands [The Netherlands] and Sziget the post boy because I was apparently ‘too Festival [Hungary]. valuable on reception’, I got my first job in “I feel lucky to be in a position to only PR at Pioneer, who were launching their own work with clients I truly believe in, giving me record label. This gave me my first real taste an authentic and trustworthy voice in the of the music business and I was hooked. industry, which I feel is important. I have to “After Pioneer I worked at Neo Records, be true to myself and honest. I also enjoy working on artists constantly learning as such as Darude in I regularly contribute the height of the to industry panels at “I feel lucky to be in trance explosion music conferences. a position to work in the late ’90s, “The industry has before moving to DJ changed since the with clients I truly agency IMD where early days. The biggest believe in” I was lucky to work difference is that when with artists such I started I could just as Pete Tong, Jeff Mills, Danny Rampling concentrate on what I was doing. Now it and Smokin’ Jo. The DJ agency also gave feels like you have to watch your back, with me a taste of how global the industry was more people on the prowl for your clients or and how many amazing clubs and festivals your clients are bought by private equity there were around the world, and that was firms. I still believe there’s enough [work] for something that really excited me. everyone in the industry, but having that “In 2007 I launched my own company, thought in the back of your mind does take Global Publicity, specialising in promoting some of the fun out of it. I just want to work artists, festivals and music-led events with people I like and on projects I love.” 38
OCTOBER 2018
HEY UPFRONT
BRITISH COMPOSER AWARDS 2018 TUESDAY 4 DECEMBER BRITISH MUSEUM LONDON NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED MONDAY 1 NOVEMBER Contact awards@basca.org.uk Website britishcomposerawards.com Twitter @ComposerAwards
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