ISSUE #6 OCTOBER 2019
HELLO. Summer is gone and Uni Sound Music Festival is here! The festival is organised by The MNGR’s Vice President, Joana, with some help from myself. We’ve been working together all summer long organising the festival and planning our last academic year with The MNGR. This issue is in tandem with the festival: it’s released on the same day of the event and our feature star is one of our LCM artists playing for the festival. Our favourite Portuguese artist Luís is a familiar face to The MNGR, but for a good reason! He’s an artist you wish you’d heard about earlier. We reviewed his most recent EP midnight blue in our previous magazine issue, which leads to the colour scheme of this current issue. It’s also a new academic year, which means it’s a new turnover of committee and society members. It’s always unpredictable where a student society will end up when it comes to turnover times, but we have some high hopes since we’re already at the largest numbers The MNGR has ever been! I want to welcome everyone who has already joined us this year, and everyone who has supported us in any way so far. Our momentum from two issues ago have propelled us at full speed and we have (maybe overambitiously) planned a lot for the following months, and we want as many students to get involved. We hope that you stay tuned and keep supporting.
Eethan Bello PRESIDENT OF THE MNGR (2019-2020)
The MNGR is a student-led multimedia and events platform which aims to support UWL/LCM talent and UK’s emerging acts. All students involved are members of the University of West London’s Student Union. Most are studying in the London College of Music and London School of Film, Media, and Design.
All of our magazine issues are available to read online. This issue is available as an extended digital version. Scan the QR code below or head to ISSUU.COM/THEMNGRMAG.
Though an affiliate of the University of West London, London College of Music, and the University of West London’s Student Union, all opinions and views expressed in The MNGR are solely ours/those of the writers with no direct conjunction to the university.
COVER FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHER Marie Junker IG / @PICTUREMARIEH
COVER DESIGN
Harrison Lloyd IG / @HL8UK
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & GRAPHIC DESIGN Eethan Bello IG / @EETHANBELLO
Email us at THEMNGRMAG@GMAIL.COM if you would like to be featured on our following magazine issues, monthly website artist or producer spotlights, social media promotion, Spotify playlists, Believe the Hype podcast, or Grey Area acoustic lounge sessions.
The MNGR is divided between teams of Editorial, Digital Marketing & Social Media, and Events. If you would like to know more about what we do, email us THEMNGRMAG@GMAIL.COM.
ANA BULNES CASTILLO
IG / @ANABULNESMUSIC
BEN JAMIESON
WEBSITE
JOANA PEREIRA CARVALHO
FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, & TWITTER
RUDOLF AROCH
SPOTIFY & YOUTUBE
IG / @JAMIESONBEN12 IG / @JOANAPEREIRACARVALHO IG / @RUDYMANAGER
TUDOR CRISAN
IG / @_TUDORCRISAN
TJ OKIKI
IG / @CHUNE2CHUNE
THEMNGRMAG.COM @THEMNGRMAG @THEMNGR
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ISSUE 6 PG. 01
UNI SOUND MUSIC FESTIVAL
PG. 05
COVER ARTIST: LUÍS
PG. 13
INTERVIEW: KNOX BROWN
OCTOBER 2019
N T E N TS PG. 03
LONDON COLLEGE OF MUSIC: ARTISTS & PRODUCERS
PG. 09
PROJECT H BY HL8
PG. 10 PG. 16
WHEN SWITCHING STYLES PAYS OFF
PG. 17
POWER PLAYLIST [VOL. 2]
PG. 11
INTERVIEW INTRODUCING KDALI
ISSUE #6
TOP BOY: THE SOUNDTRACK
ISSUE #6 OCTOBER 2019
19TH OCTOBER 2019 SHOREDITCH, LONDON
WRITTEN BY EETHAN BELLO
UNI SOUND MUSIC FESTIVAL is a brand-new multi-venue festival organised by thirdyear Music Management student, Joana Pereira Carvalho, for her final year project. What sets this festival apart from all the rest is the focus on university students - it aims to highlight and showcase the talent that can be found from current university students and recent graduates from 2015. The festival will launch as a diverse and all genre festival.
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The festival also aims to promote the independent venues that will be hosting the performances. During the day, there will be speaker panels at The Macbeth of Hoxton. The main stage will be located in Hoxton Underbelly, with other stages located in Roadtrip and the Workshop, ROTATE, The Red Lion of Hoxton, and The Lighthouse Bar & Club.
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AndCo is one of Uni Sound Music Festival’s proud sponsors! The company is partnered with the best cafes, bars, restaurants & hotel lobbies which are turned into hot-desk spaces for freelancers in central London with free fast wifi, desks and meeting rooms. AndCo is a great solution if you’re unable to afford co-working spaces, and they provide the same benefits. When you join AndCo, you get access to their member network to meet other professionals and belong in a community. Let your creativity flow and enjoy the comfort of knowing there’s always somewhere you can go with AndCo.
SPEAKER PANELS ARTIST MANAGEMENT DIY
Cherryl Ignacio (Artist Manager at Ripple Red) DR!FTWOOD (Band) Ian Titchener (Artist Manager at Music Creatives) Mitch Wade Cole (Digital Marketing at Manager Believe Digital)
LIVE EVENTS
Marco Santesso (Founder of Gigride) Oscar Chu Ortega (Founder of Gigride) Elliott Harrison (Stage Manager at Festival Republic) Natasha Hill (Senior Talent Agent at MN2S)
CREATIVE CONTENT
Josh Saunders (Head of Tech and Creative at Warner Music) Chris Price (Founder of Current Future PR Agency) Cherryl Ignacio (Artist Manager at Ripple Red) Joseph Murphy (Lead Vocals at Little Grim) Fin Ryan (Promoter and Digital Marketing at Heard This?) Jordan Scudder (Amazing Radio and Music Box Radio)
MODERATORS
Antonia Kunzel (Music Journalist at 1883 Magazine) Denzil Bell (Contributor to RWD Magazine and Radar Radio)
LINEUP Aftershock Annabel Maria Baby Husband Bear Shoe Fey Militia From August Iolanda Itay Mason Joshua James
Kaisanova The Kanz KingFast Kizzie LAGIOIA Lina Simons LuÃs Mary Shanker Matilde NATA
Natalie Lindi Razz Reiwaa Rens Sasha Lillie Sully Gravity Tazrian Haq & James Bentall Vincent Bugozi William Bishop
IG / @THEBURNTTONGUES
CLAYM writes and performs unique, fresh music which blurs the lines between the commercial and underground sounds, blending rap & alternative beats with quirky R&B vocals and hard-hitting lyrics. Claym only started his music career 5 months ago when he decided to create an artistic image under the name Claym - his USP being “an original fusion of the R&B, trap, pop, and alternative styles”. Inspired by the likes of Future, The Weeknd, Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Lana Del Rey, Two Door Cinema Club, Linkin Park, Sia and more. Clay Jefford is a Level 5 Music Management student.
IG / @ASH.WAV
Oluwatosin Olufemi Alabi, known professionally as 705, is a Nigerian artist and producer. He moved to London in 2001 and is currently studying Music Technology Mixing & Mastering. Artists such as King Sunny Adé, Fela Kuti, Michael Jackson, Tupac, 50 Cent, Wiz Kid, Wande Coal and D’banj are a few of the great influences in 705’s music and life. He has performed at numerous events including open mics, private functions and has shared the stage with numerous acts like Naira Marley, Radar Stanna, Djonez, Passmark and many others. Expect to hear a fusion of African afrobeat, R&B and hip hop genres when listening to 705’s music, a mixture he likes to call afro-fusion, infusing his African heritage with his western knowledge. 705 recently signed with Luxus Records. His recent releases include single and music video for ‘Killin Em’ as well as the latest infectious ‘Gbese’ track, which was taken from his forthcoming EP title 7 O’Clock which is due for release on the 7th November 2019.
ARTISTS & PRODUCERS ISSUE #6
The recently formed trio, BURNT TONGUES, offer an infectious amalgamation of new-age pop singalongs, alongside the quintessence of punk cynicism. Their musical style unites the animosity of The Clash, the flamboyance of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era with a modern pop style cadence. Formed in January 2019, the band consists of Level 5 Music Performance & Recording student Piers Berryman on drums, alumni Chris Kelsey on vocals and bass, and alumni Jack William Charles on guitar. Through ambitious live performances, Burnt Tongues have built a loyal fanbase before they even released their debut single ‘Twist & Shake’. The band are working continuously with upcoming producers; they are set to release a stream of singles and collaborations throughout the year and anticipate their debut album in early 2020.
OCTOBER 2019
IG / @CLAYMPO
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ASHZONE is a self-taught bedroom music producer and illustrator whose music has been heavily influenced by soundtracks in various childhood video games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Ridge Racer, WipEout & Jet Set Radio. He tries to include those styles into different modern music genres, creating a distinctive music style that includes a heavy use of sampling, sound manipulation and very catchy synth melodies. AshZone is a Level 6 Electronic Music Production student.
04 IG / @705BEATS
ISSUE #6
AN INTERVIEW WITH
LUÍS
THEMNGRMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2019
INTERVIEW BY ANA BULNES CASTILLO PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIE JUNKER
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FROM A PRODUCTION PERSPECTIVE: WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE THAT YOU’VE EVER HAD? On my first EP LOVEFOOL there’s a song called ‘Better’ which went through 13 different versions. I was still new to the production world and had a really specific production style in mind for this song, and I couldn’t get it right for so long. One of the problems of being a DIY artist is that you have all of these different ideas and you can’t really pinpoint which ones are good and which ones are terrible. BEING A DIY ARTIST PROVIDES MORE ARTISTIC FREEDOM THAN BEING SIGNED TO A MAJOR RECORD LABEL, BUT IF YOU HAD THE OFFER TO BE SIGNED TO ANY OF THE TOP THREE MAJORS WORLDWIDE, WOULD YOU SAY YES? I’d say yes, as long as I could have artistic freedom and ability to make my own decisions to some degree, of course. Obviously record labels provide you with opportunities you wouldn’t have while being an independent artist, but having room to experiment musically is very important to me. DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR MUSIC TONALITY HAS CHANGED AFTER YOUR FIRST YEAR STUDYING AT LCM? Definitely, I’m much more comfortable with
my production techniques and with the way I sing as well. I’ve always struggled with my sound and how I want to express myself musically, so throughout the year I allowed myself to play around with different styles and I think I’ve settled on a genre that best represents me. IF YOU HAD A BIG BUDGET FOR THE CREATION OF A MUSIC VIDEO FOR ONE OF YOUR SONGS, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? I have a song called ‘bright blue’ that as soon as I finished, I could immediately see a visual element in my head. I think the song is cinematic in a way and has this “blue” and melancholic feel to it, so I’d really love to do a music video for it one day. HAVE YOU EVER ENCOUNTERED WRITERS BLOCK WHILE WRITING YOUR MUSIC? IF YOU HAVE, HOW DO YOU OVERCOME IT? I definitely have, and I usually go for a walk or just wander off into the city. One of the reasons I came to London is because I love how big the city is and its metropolitan spirit. WHAT IS ONE THING THAT YOU DO TO EVERY MIX? I put a vinyl crackle tucked behind almost every mix. I do it because it adds warmth and a lo-fi vibe to the track.
LuĂs is a Portuguese musician, currently going into his 2nd year at LCM. He began his music journey at 6 years old when he first started studying classical piano, and after learning how to play guitar at age 12, LuĂs began writing and producing his own material. In 2017, he started releasing songs on Spotify and Apple Music, putting out his first EP LOVEFOOL. His most recent project is a 2 track EP called midnight blue, a combination of 2 dream-pop and alternative songs, reminiscent of artists such as Jeremy Zucker and LANY. He is currently working on writing new material and gigging around London, spreading his music to as many people as possible.
ISSUE #6 OCTOBER 2019 THEMNGRMAG.COM
DO YOU EVER WRITE SONGS BASED ON MADE UP SCENARIOS OR ARE THEY ALL REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS? Songwriting is really the fundamental core of my music, so almost everything needs to have an autobiographical truth to it. But I also love storytelling and I get inspired by everything in my life, whether it’s a friend going through a breakup or a movie I saw. I pick apart these people and write in what would be their perspective.
how to do something. I was so used to doing everything by myself that I’d often be ashamed to ask for help.
WHO OR WHAT MOTIVATES YOU AT THIS CURRENT POINT IN TIME? I’m just trying to work as hard as I can and learn as much as possible. Coming from a small town, there weren’t many opportunities coming my way, so now I really want to take advantage of the endless options that I have.
WHAT INSTRUMENTS CAN YOU PLAY AT THE MOMENT? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN LEARNING HOW TO PLAY ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS? I play guitar, piano and various traditional Portuguese instruments. I’d love to learn how to play the trumpet and drums as well.
IF YOU COULD WORK WITH A WELLKNOWN OR HIGH-PROFILE ARTIST, WHO WOULD IT BE? That would have to be Jack Antonoff. I’m just in love with his producing style and how he’s able to capture an emotion so effortlessly. He’s also really creative with how he approaches his songs, so it would be a dream to work with him.
WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE OUT TO YOUR FANS AND PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW YOU? I’d just want to say thank you to everyone that listens to my music and supports me, it really means the world!
IF THERE’S ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN CHANGE ABOUT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Just how money hungry people are and how the sole focus of music these days is making money and profiting off of artists. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THE HARD WAY WHILE BEING IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? That you can’t know everything, and that it’s okay to ask for help when you don’t know
HAVE YOU EVER DEALT WITH PERFORMANCE ANXIETY? HOW? I started studying classical piano when I was 6, so I got used to being on stage and playing for people at a very young age. I do still get nervous when I have a gig but it’s more due to excitement than uneasiness.
WILL YOU RELEASE AN ALBUM ANYTIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE? I’ve been writing a lot and although I don’t really know what I want to release next, I definitely want to put out some songs before the year is over so we’ll see! WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU NEXT? I have some shows coming up and the best way to know about all of that is via my instagram page (@ffmluis). Music-wise, I really want to start collaborating with other musicians/ producers and play around with various types of genres.
STAY UPDATED WITH LUÍS Facebook & Instagram: @FFMLUIS Twitter: @LUIISMFF
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PROJECT H BY HL8 OUT IN NOVEMBER
Project H will be available to stream on all major Digital Streaming Platforms. For more information, go to hl8uk.com.
ISSUE #6
TOP BOY THE SOUNDTRACK
The return of Netflix’s Top Boy for it’s third season was exciting and didn’t disappoint me any bit - although it had a few critics. The plot surrounding a known tyrant rising back into power is thrilling to watch. With such a great cast to support the writing, it was only right that the Top Boy soundtrack would be curated and produced in the same level.
The soundtrack brings many of the UK’s hip-hop, drill, and R&B artists together on
The main characters of the show include Ashley Walters (Asher D) as Dushane and Kane Robinson (Kano) as Sully. Both artists originally started their entertainment careers in music, with Walters rising to fame when he was only 18-years-old as a member of So Solid Crew and Robinson is considered as one of the pioneers of grime music and culture. New characters include rappers Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (Little Simz) and David Orobosa Omoregie (Dave). Both are on the rise and set to have an illustrious career, their acting involvement in Top Boy was impressively on point. Casting characters who have grown up in the same environment as what’s portrayed in the series proved to be the best decision the producers have made.
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After watching the new series twice and listening to the soundtrack on replay, it’s safe to say that the executive producers of the soundtrack are in tune with the UK urban music scene. The album isn’t as cohesive as a record created by one producer or artist, but the soundtrack includes many tracks that that portray several nail-biting scenes from the series. The soundtrack is released on all major DSP’s as Top Boy (A Selection of Music Inspired by the Series) by Drake’s record label OVO Sound, which is a subsidiary within Warner Music Group.
one project. Some heavyweight features include Giggs in ‘My Town’ by Baka Not Nice and Quada in ‘Billions’ by Popcaan. Other noteworthy tracks include ‘Hard to Believe’ by Headie One and ‘Professor X’ by Dave. The OVO CEO included a bonus track featuring his own Link Up TV Behind Barz freestyle.
OCTOBER 2019
WRITTEN BY TJ OKIKI
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ISSUE #6
INTRODUCING
KDALI
THEMNGRMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2019
WRITTEN BY JOANA PEREIRA CARVALHO
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TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF Born and raised in Hackney. Grew up under hardworking Ghanaian parents. I’m the oldest of 3. I feel like being the oldest was what gave me the leadership qualities that I have. Had to step up and lead by example. Long story short, life wasn’t always pretty. But that’s what drew me to creativity. Creativity was a way I
could express myself nonverbally. It was also a form of escapism that I gravitated to. Eventually, I fell in love with music and decided that this was something I wanted to pursue. And now I’m here. HOW DID YOU GET INTO MUSIC? I remember when I was 13 and just surfing YouTube for Kanye
West videos and I saw one of him making beats in the studio. Watching him chopping up samples and making a whole song in a matter of minutes inspired me. At 14 years old, I chose to do Music Production for my BTEC. Even though I was trash at first, I fell in love with it. I was so addicted that I would skip lunch break with my mates to stay in the music room and just cook up beats and melodies. WHICH ARTISTS HAVE YOU WORKED WITH AND WHO ARE YOU WORKING WITH NOW? Skinny Malone, Professor Green, Solo Mario, and Stana. I’ve got some stuff in the pipeline with R.A.E., Locvl Goon and various underground talent. I’ve also been in talks with some mainstream artist that I can’t disclose as of yet. WHICH DAW DO YOU USE AND WHY? I started off with Logic Pro X but progressed to FL Studio 11. I felt that it suited my production style more. HOW DO YOU APPROACH ARTISTS THAT YOU WORK WITH WHEN IT COMES TO ARRANGEMENTS AND MODIFICATIONS? I like to be in the studio, or at least in the same room, with artists when I produce something. That way there’s more clarity in regard to what they’re looking for and what I’m looking for when I work with them. I really hate that email stuff! I use it as a last resort. HOW INVOLVED SHOULD THE ARTIST BE IN THE RECORDING AND POSTPRODUCTION STAGES? I’m very hands-on creatively, so I like it when an artist is also very hands-on. Even if we may disagree sometimes, it’s admirable that I’m working with someone that is just as passionate about the art as I am. HAVE YOU EVER CHANGED YOUR STYLE JUST TO WORK WITH AN ARTIST? OR DO YOU LIKE TO STAY TRUE TO YOUR OWN STYLE? I wouldn’t say I’ve changed my style, but I’m able to adapt to any artist that I work with. It wouldn’t make sense to send a drill beat
to House Of Pharaohs or a boom bap beat to Octavian, but the core KDALI aesthetic is always there. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT? Producing a whole project and getting a placement with a major artist. HAVE YOU EVER RAN INTO ANY DIFFICULTIES AS A PROFESSIONAL? None really. The journey has been smooth. So far, so good. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG PRODUCERS WHO ARE JUST BEGINNING THEIR CAREERS? Build your brand, network, know your business, work smart - not hard, and most importantly, stay positive. CURRENTLY, WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RECORD OR SINGLE IN REGARD TO PRODUCTION STYLE? Hard to say. Changes every time, haha! WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST PRODUCER OF ALL TIME AND WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST PRODUCER NOWADAYS? Greatest producer of all time? Quincy Jones. Greatest right now other than myself? That’s a long list but one current producer that inspires me is Boi1da. DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC PROJECT THAT YOU’VE WORKED ON? HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT BY SKINNY MALONE OUT NOW!! WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH IN THE FUTURE? In terms of UK artists: Yxng Bane, Skepta, A2, and Suspect. On the American side: A$AP Ferg, Travis Scott, Denzel Curry, and Ty Dolla $ign. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES OUTSIDE OF MUSIC? I hit the gym a lot. Reading books is also something I like to do in my downtime.
STAY UPDATED WITH KDALI Instagram: @KDALILDN
A CHAT WITH
KNOX BROWN INTERVIEW BY RUDOLF AROCH & TUDOR CRISAN WRITTEN BY JOANA PEREIRA CARVALHO
A Solid Student Logic society invited artist and Grammy-award winning producer Knox Brown for an exclusive event in the flagship studio of the London College of Music on 1st April 2019. Brown shared a lot of behind the scenes expertise about being a successful artist, his creative process, discussing how production camps work, and providing advice to aspiring artists and producers.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO MUSIC? When I was a little kid, my mum and dad bought me instruments, and I always had that passion for playing. When I moved to England in 2000, I had piano lessons, and where I’m from in Jamaica, music is not compulsory. We don’t have that, and when I saw it, I was thrown into the piano, and it mainly started from there. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST BY BEING A PRODUCER AND ARTIST? I guess I don’t have to wake up and go to a 9 to 5! Some days, I might wake up and watch a movie and hope for the best. The first single I put out through Virgin, was inspired by me watching a show called Dexter and he lived by a code, and I did a song based on that. I always say to people to watch films which will inspire you and get inspiration from anywhere and make money from it. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING PRODUCERS, ARTISTS, AND MANAGERS? If you want to be successful, you need to love music and love to make music. There are times I needed to clear samples and get to an artist, and I need to go back to redo the work, and it doesn’t work. But if I didn’t love music, I probably would quit after that. When you are working with some artists like H.E.R, how does the communication work between you and the artist? H.E.R is a very skilled musician, so we talked in musical terms. She
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ON SPOTIFY SHIFTING TOWARDS MORE STREAMING AND LESS PHYSICAL AUDIO FORMATS? It’s sad because I remember going to Virgin megastores and staying there for hours standing with the headphones listening to whatever came out and that used to be an event for me. When I put an album out, I want to make it a vinyl, because I think that’s kind of cool to have it these days, but you don’t get that nowadays until an artist wants to do a vinyl virgin. I mean on the flip side, it’s okay
HOW DOES IT WORK FROM A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WORKING ON A SONG SIMULTANEOUSLY? When I put my first EP out, I needed to let people know who did which part because I had a few musicians doing certain parts, like bass, guitar, etc. You tell people who did what and the label gets in touch with them. For instance, I produced the record, but there are multiple writers, and they can’t agree on which percentage and it slows the process of the album to come out because you must have an agreement before the record comes out. PRS needs to know who is who, what percentage to distribute, so… there is a solution. When you go to sessions, get your phone, record what you do, because you can revert saying and proving which parts you did and prove that you deserve that 25%.
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FOR ASPIRING PRODUCERS WHO HAVE NO CONNECTIONS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THEM IF THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PLACEMENTS? The way I did was I started to work with Jacob Banks, and he would go back and forth to London to perform music that he created and got attention from who is my manager now, Zeon which is also Wretch 32’s manager. I’d say probably try to work with someone that wants to get out there because they can help to take your creative signatures wherever you want to get to and work with as many people as you can. Maybe you can post beats online, even finish or unfinished, because someone might have a different perspective and sound fresh for them.
DO YOU THINK THE PAYMENT THAT COMES FROM THESE STREAMING SERVICES ARE FAIR? If you do a lot, it comes to a whole amount, but to someone independent they don’t have to give percentages to management or publishing companies and record labels. For me, I know that these people are in place to help me and I need to provide them with a cut, but they deserve it because they do their work. It would be annoying me if I would give a percentage to people that wouldn’t put their weight, but as soon as people play their role and their part, it’s fair.
OCTOBER 2019
HOW DO YOU CREATE A BALANCE WHEN YOU’RE SIMULTANEOUSLY WRITING FOR YOURSELF AND SOMEONE ELSE? I have loads of ideas that I record, and one of them might turn into one of my songs. I like to create little album art to inspire me, and when I send it to my manager it inspires him as well to send to other people and see if someone likes them. What I usually do is add vocals and melody ideas into the beat, I might not be saying anything, but if we are going to send the beat to an artist, they can hear how they’re going to sound.
because it means that people don’t have to go to the market to buy your records, they can be at home, buy it on iTunes or stream it.
ISSUE #6
would play bass, but we go back and forth with ideas while I’m starting with the drums... Maybe to give a Prince vibe and we build the song based on how we feel, with some conversations in between, a concept for the song and get inspired by the moment.
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ISSUE #6 THEMNGRMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2019
AS SOMEONE WHO WORKS WITH BOTH US AND UK ARTISTS, HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF UK ARTISTS BREAKING THROUGH IN AMERICA? London is already doing that; Dua Lipa already did it. If you ask Americans who these artists are, they probably know now, but Skepta is breaking as well. The whole Drill UK scene is, and Americans are starting to respect it. I used to ask those questions, “Why don’t they like UK rappers, such as Wretch 32?” and the answers would be, “It’s the accent.” They don’t believe it. It’s just something that they aren’t used to, so as the time goes on and Drake coming over to the UK, he lets them know that it’s incredible to work with UK artists. The right thing to do now is making them believe. When we see an artist doing something big, they all say, “it’s cool to do that”, but it takes those guys to break the walls down and try to be successful. I see a very near future, and I can see a lot of UK artists being bigger than they are now in America. It just takes time.
STAY UPDATED WITH KNOX BROWN Instagram & Twitter: @KNOXBROWN
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WHEN SWITCHING STYLES PAYS OFF WRITTEN BY BEN JAMIESON
‘I Hope You Suffer’ by AFI stands proudly at the top of my Spoitfy ‘On Repeat’ playlist. To say that I’m obsessed with this song would be an understatement. We’re having a spring wedding and we’ll both be wearing black. I love the song so much in fact, that I actually took time out to listen to the rest of the album. But I found myself disappointed when the rest of the album just wasn’t what I’d expected. The jump between ‘I Hope You Suffer’ and the song it precedes (‘A Deep Slow Panic’) is immense, switching dramatically between an awesome goth rock ballad and some kind of emo Two Door Cinema Club affair. As much as I’d have liked to, I just couldn’t get behind the rest of the album. This ultimately got me thinking, which other bands have had their most major stylistic departures become their most popular singles? In 1997, Blur released their fifth studio album named simply Blur. In an effort to revitalise the band’s image, or as Graham Coxon said ‘make music that scared people again’, the band drew influence from American rock and grunge music. ‘Song 2’, the album’s headline single, was a far cry from the band’s former dreamy, storytelling based style. The song reached number two on the UK singles chart, and sixth on the US Billboard alternative music chart. Because of the records dramatic change in style, and because the album reached previously unseen success in the US, many American’s first exposure to Blur was a grunge parody entire unlike the rest of the band’s discography.
Green Day are known today as one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time. But one of their most well known songs, ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’, is as far from punk rock as a song could be. The second to last track on Nimrod, the band’s fourth and most varied album to date, the song is a melancholy ballad reflecting on the loss of a loved one. Although the band was rather well known at the time, it wasn’t until ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ and the song’s use in a multitude of films and television series (most notably the finale of Seinfield) that Green Day was really thrown into superstardom. The story goes that KISS wrote ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ entirely to prove that anyone could write a hit disco song, after mounting pressure from their producers to shift towards a more mainstream, easily marketable sound. Even more unlikely, the original demo was said to have been produced ‘within mere hours’. Maybe those stories are true, or maybe KISS just sold out, I’m certainly sure which one they’d rather you believe. The song would go on to sell over a million copies, and become the bands’ second Gold single. Although many fans still write the song off as a sign of the band selling out, it remains a concert regular, albeit with production that diminishes the disco aspects of the song.
power playlist_vol.2 iron lung – arxx stop thinking about tomorrow – baby husband go out with you – bloxx sunday – emotional oranges control – hazel english back to you - kllo fuck it i love you – lana del rey navy blue - muna dream of you – mxmtoon better than you - petal listen on our spotify at ‘themngr’
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22 OCTOBER Launch Series #6: Open Mic Night at Freddie’s Bar 24 O C T O B E R MNGR x Solid Student Logic: Interview with Novelist 01 NOVEMBER Believe the Hype 05, Uni Sound Music Festival Recap 15 NOVEMBER Gig at Freddie’s Bar 01 December Believe the Hype 06, Current Future PR Agency 13 DECEMBER MNGR x ACS: Open Mic at Freddie’s Bar 16 December Issue #7 Release [Print] 17 DECEMBER MNGR x Gaming Society: Gig at Freddie’s Bar
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