Issue06April2012

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/FREE

DEREK HENDERSON/DAN MCLAREN/KEVIN YEE/MAXIME GENOUD ALABAMA SHAKES/MAPS AND ATLASES/BUTTERCLOCK

Huoratron: Socio-political techno

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 03

Contents 06 07

08 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 28 30 36 38 40 43 44 48 52 56 60 62 63

Firsts: Josh Glowicki Five Albums that Changed my Life: Obi Trice Laced Kathryn Williams Ivan Narez Alabama Shakes Kevin Lapierre Yuri Botelho Json Adriani Nick Waterhouse Derek Henderson Butterclock Kevin Yee Maps and Atlases Huoratron Kenny Scherf Lower Dens Maxime Genoud Dan McLaren Stefan Brandow Danny Jensen Album Reviews Fun Page Wake Schepman

Issue 06 April 2012 (c) Wheel Scene Ltd. Editor David McNamara Sub-Editor Chris Delaney Designers Gareth Lindsay Graham Patrick Web Design Ewan McDonald Stuart Chown Words Louis Flood, Fiona Slimmon, Nina Glencross, Dan O’Neal, Jeanie Rogers, David McNamara, Chris Purnell, Matt Mickey, Ryan Daily, Henry Wilkinson, Carne Webb, Cal Baker, Nina Glencross, Justin J. Jackson Photos Kuba Urbanczyk, Duncan Clarke, Somyun Guy, Brandon Smith, John Wozniak, Guillaume Latrompette, Guillaume Roy, Andres Miguel, Miriam Montiel Macho, Pietro Firrincieli, Nicholas Smith, Jared Petersen, Matthew Rice, Arthur O’maleh, Julien Pousaz, David Morra, Claudio Bohli, Pierrick Dind, Sam Cooper, Jacob Maine, Hayden Golder Wheel Scene is the UK’s largest rollerblading and music publication, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

Online www.wheelscene.co.uk www.facebook.com/wheelsceneblading Email info@wheelscene.co.uk Address: Wheel Scene 54U Wyndford Road Glasgow Scotland G20 8ES All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or publisher.

Printed by Mortons Print Limited, Horncastle.

Introduction Since our last issue, we have been to the smoke-filled paradise that is the Netherlands to attend Winterclash. It was a great experience, as always, and we got to spread the word about Wheel Scene by handing out copies to anyone that had an empty hand. However, it was also quite a humbling experience. Despite the fact that we have been working tirelessly on the publication for a year, very few people were actually aware that it existed and many people thought that it was: • A one-off publication that we had just created for Winterclash.

• Something they would have to part ways with some cash to pick up a copy.

• Just a “British” thing, as one cheeky little monkey suggested.

Well, we were happy to advise that Wheel Scene is completely free and always will be, we will endeavour to make sure we release a new issue every couple of months (give or take a couple of weeks) and it features rollerblading and music from all over the world. If you want some proof, just take a look through these pages. We have interviews with bladers from England, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil and Australia, as well as features on some of the best up-andcoming acts from all over the world. Our cover boy, and what a striking cover boy he is, comes all the way from Finland and he makes the kind of intense techno that was designed to make you defecate all over your

underwear. That’s right, it’s that brutal.

Anyway, enough with the romance, let’s get down to business. Wheel Scene Issue 6 has over 16 interviews. That’s right folks, sixteen and counting. We’re not holding back on content because we believe you should have enough to last you until the next copy of our beloved publication falls into your hands.

Plus, we’ve got the usual columns and album reviews thrown in for good measure. Don’t try to read it all once, it might cause a brain embolism.

Steak and blowjob night for the following lovelies: X Fest VIHMIRU Hedonskate Tri-State Skate Unit 23 Skatepark Demon Xtreme/ Park DX Satisfaction guaranteed. Slurp, slurp!

Firsts: Josh Glowicki Last year, the international rollerblading community witnessed the ongoing spectacle that was Fritz and Glow Invade Europe, the online video series that documented the travels of close friends Fritz Peitzner and Josh Glowicki as they embarked upon a huge journey in search of great places to skate and even better places to party. The duo descended upon some of Europe’s most famous blading locations including Barcelona, Amsterdam, Lyon and Katowice. The Texans even made a brief trip to Russia as well. All of their antics were documented through regular edits for Razors, and each one proved to be even more entertaining than the last, as they teamed up with some of the continent’s most exciting bladers and attended some of the biggest events on the European rollerblading calendar.

Peitzner has returned to the Lone Star State but Glowicki does not seem to want to give up the nomadic lifestyle just yet.

When we last bumped into him he was in Eindhoven for Winterclash 2012 and since then he has been spotted in Sweden with The Conference’s Fredrik Andersson, no doubt stacking even more footage for forthcoming online videos. Considering the fact that Glow seems to be more elusive than a baby rabbit, it is a miracle that we managed to pin him down for five minutes so that he could answer a few questions for the latest edition of Firsts before he jumps on board another plane. Although, considering how brief some of his responses were, you could be forgiven for thinking he answered these prompts on his phone in the departure lounge.

First time you saw blading: My older brother and his group of friends were around from the start. I saw him and wanted to try!

First blades: A pair of three-wheeled hockey skates with the middle wheels removed. My first pair of real aggressive blades were K2 Backyards.

First skate video: Harvesting the Crust.

First skater you looked up to: Randy Spizer.

First blading event you attended: NISS 97 in Dallas, Texas.

First European event: Winterclash 2010 Berlin.

First competition win: Austin Texas street contest; team battle with John Sullivan.

First sponsor: Relic Clothing, a local Texas company, sent myself and six homies out to Cali for the ASA World Finals in 2002.

First serious injury: Left ankle tweak on a gap. I still have a little gap anxiety because of this fall.

First bit of trouble through blading: Skating at a football stadium, we all got trespassing tickets for jumping the gate.

Photos:Kuba Urbanczyk

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 07

Five Albums that Changed my Life: Obie Trice Beanie Sigel - The Truth The Truth was just authentic. With it being Bean’s debit album, it had a lot of great material. I really liked the Roc-A-Fella movement and Beanie Sigel played a part in that. Tracks like the ‘The Truth’ and ‘Raw and Uncut’ were a just a few of the many records that are still classics today. This album came out in early 2000, shortly before I signed with Shady Records, and I was getting a good buzz in the Detroit underground scene - so I could relate to the music and desire.

Jay-Z - The Blueprint The Blueprint was just marvelous from front to back. Jay-Z took everyone along on a journey from the statement making ‘Takeover’ to the soulful ‘Heart of the City’ and back to ‘Never Change’. Another one of my favorite tracks is ‘Renegade’, which featured my good friend Eminem, and that song became a real hip hop staple. Kanye West and Just Blaze laced the album with some groundbreaking production. This album dropped on September 11, 2001 which was a sad day in American history, but the album prevailed and turned out to be a certified classic.

Detroit rapper Obie Trice rose to prominence in 2003 after signing a deal with Eminem’s Shady Records imprint and releasing the critically-acclaimed debut Cheers, which featured collaborations with Dr. Dre, Timbaland, 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes. Trice has since parted ways with Slim Shady’s record label to start his own venture, Black Market Entertainment, and this year will mark the release of his third solo effort, Bottoms Up, which will again include appearances from Eminem and Dr. Dre. In preparation for his latest release, the rapper and entrepreneur sits down to discuss some of his biggest influences and betrays a fixation with the term “certified classic”.

Nas - It Was Written It Was Written really introduced us to Nas Escobar, with several classic lines throughout the album. ‘Street Dreams’ is such a classic record with so many great lines and, as a lyricist myself, I appreciate cohesive content that’s still realistic. This album also introduced us to one of the best collaborations on the song ‘If I Ruled the World’, featuring Lauren Hill, which was an enormous record that had a lot of meaning - certified classic.

Redman – Whut? Thee Album Whut? Thee Album was a fun album I enjoyed listening to. We got introduced to so many great characters in the album, like “Sooperman Lover” and Reggie Noble aka Redman. I’m a fan of Redman’s music and appreciate his rhyme style. The production by Eric Sermon really fit the album and the skits throughout the album are hilarious - certified classic.

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP The Marshall Mathers LP was an instant classic. Eminem showed the world that he is one of the greatest to ever make music. The album had everything you could want in an album and I love that it represented our city, Detroit.

Obviously Em’s wordplay was out of this world and the production was just amazing.

The album was just full of hit records and definitely one of the top hip hop albums of all time. I was fortunate enough to get signed by Eminem and go on to make my own classics with Eminem, like ‘Hey Lady’, ‘Drips’, ‘Love Me’ and several others, including ‘Richard’, which is on my upcoming album, Bottoms Up. It all started with the influence this album had on me and this is absolutely a certified classic.

Laced

Rampworx in Liverpool plays host to another landmark in rollerblading and kicks off the 2012 competition season with a bang.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 09 On February 4, 2012, the first ever Laced Comp took place at Rampworx Skatepark in Liverpool. The event was masterminded by Matthew Dearden, who hopes to breathe new life into the rollerblading competition circuit in the UK now that the Chaz Sands Invitational will not be going ahead this year. In order to do so, Dearden worked closely with X Fest, a new extreme sports festival which looks set to become the biggest of its kind in the UK, to create a two-part competition series that will culminate in an inline event at Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire during the May bank holiday weekend.

The one-day event attracted some of the best bladers in the UK and quite a few of the world’s most respected professionals made the trip to England just a week before Winterclash. With a rider list that boasts home grown talent including Nick Lomax, Steve Swain, Elliot Stevens and Chaz Sands, as well as European powerhouses Adrien Anne, Julien Cudot and Edwin Wieringh, there was little doubt that the event was going to start off the 2012 competition season with one hell of a spectacle. Throw visiting Razors riders Brian Aragon and Dre Powell, alongside female rollerblading sensation Fallon Heffernan, in the mix and it becomes clear why so many people travelled from all over the UK and beyond despite severe weather conditions to witness another epic rollerblading event at Rampworx.

Let the Battle Commence

While the pro event is arguably the main attraction of the day, there is no question that the amateur event was a sight to behold as some of the finest bladers in the UK did battle on Rampworx’s constantly evolving selection of obstacles. Razors UK rider Andy Spary put in a fine performance that consisted of fast skating, big 540 airs and stylish grinds, and Lee Devereux threw down some impressive switch-ups on the rail box, including top acid to truespin top acid back to top acid. In the end, it came down to Scotland’s James Keyte, England’s Jack Swindles and Poland’s Piotrek Combrzynksi. Despite valiant efforts from Keyte and Swindles, Combrzynksi walked away with top honours by laying down some flawless big spins and risky disaster grinds, but it is slightly controversial that the Hedonskate rider was even allowed to compete in the amateur event considering he has went up against some of the best professionals in the world at other European events in the past and wiped the floor with them. Once again, it raises the question of how the sport of rollerblading is meant to differentiate between professional and amateur when the level of blading is so high across the board.

The girl’s event provided very little in the way of surprises, as Jenna Downing took first place, closely followed by Fallon Heffernan. The pair may sometimes take alternate positions on the top three podium, but it is very rare that they are absent from it

altogether. Their monopoly over the female event is starting to make it seem slightly monotonous. Rosie O’Donoghue is rapidly rising through the ranks of the female blading scene and will pose a serious threat in a couple of years, but she sometimes struggles when it comes to performing in a high pressure competition environment. However, it was a pleasant surprise to see Frieda Reisch earn a respectable third place. She definitely seems like one of the few female athletes that can steal the thunder from Downing and Fallon when she is on top form.

When the pro event kicked off, it became instantly apparent that this event was not merely a warm up for WInterclash; this was a title that a lot of people wanted to take home.

Maxime Genoud had made the journey all the way from Switzerland and it looked like he stood a good chance of winning after landing a clean 900 up the wave ramp and some fast switch-ups on the newly-installed rainbow box. Elliot Stevens impressed the crowds with some big spins to disaster grinds on the rail box and a couple of clever switch-ups, but he got hung up on the rainbow box and took a hard slam straight to the cold, concrete floor. This is the second consecutive trip to Rampworx that has resulted in a fall that has left him struggling to walk away – it’s beginning to seem like a curse!

Andy Gilbert and Nils Jansons were quite evenly matched throughout the event, as both riders threw down some big spins and wildly technical spin to disaster grinds on the rail box, with Jansons landing hurricane fishbrain and Gilbert stomping down a big 540 kind grind in response.

Third place went to Holland’s Edwin Wieringh, who always puts in a solid performance at skate competitions by combining a high number of spin-to-grind combinations and a nice selection of spins, but the main battle of the day took place between Razors riders Brian Aragon and Alex Burston. Colorado-born blading Zeitgeist Aragon put up a good fight, landing his infamous fakie 540 to grind variations and huge, stylish flatspins, but Stockport wunderkind Burston has been on a roll since taking first place at the amateur event at NASS last year, and with runs that included high 720s, 900s and technical switch-ups thrown in for good measure, there were very few surprised faces in the room when he was announced the winner. It will be very surprising if this is the last accolade the Burston picks up this year, as his rapid progression seems to be relentless at the moment.

Words: Louis Flood Photos: Duncan Clarke

More to Come

One of Britain’s most endearing female songwriters, Kathryn Williams, manages to overcome screaming children and a pet with bowel problems to discuss her incredible career to date.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 11 It is International Woman’s Day and Kathryn Williams is sitting at home feeling pretty sceptical about it all. The first telephone call to her home is interrupted by her children who are screaming down the house and refusing to go to bed, and the second call almost suffers the same fate when her aging cat decides to, as she advises, “try to take a shit on the carpet”. Williams can’t even turn to her husband for support in this situation as he is currently at work. Still, she manages to find the funny side of things and between nervous laughter she apologies for the disruption her personal life is causing to the interview. Little does she know that it is these interruptions that make speaking with her infinitely more interesting than talking to, or not as is most often the case, with the majority of bedroom producers that seem to keep popping up from every orifice of the world. It is refreshing to take a brief sabbatical from speaking with reclusive computer geeks that cannot discuss their music because, in most cases, they seem to have stumbled upon it by chance, to talk with a genuine singer-songwriter with a fascinating story to tell.

The world was first introduced to Kathryn Williams’ intimate storytelling through her self-released 1999 debut, Dog Leap Stairs and the Liverpool-born performer earned a Mercury nomination for the excellent follow-up, Little Black Numbers, just one year later. Since then she has maintained a prolific recording career, releasing seven albums, including a covers album and a collection of alternative children’s songs with Anna Spencer from Newcastle punk rock trio, Delicate Vomit, under the moniker The Crayonettes. This year promises to be even busier for the songwriter as she has six forthcoming albums in that works (that’s right, six), starting with The Pond, a group she has formed with close friends and long term collaborators Simon Edwards and Ginny Clee, who are set to release their eponymous debut album later this year.

After her children are tucked up tightly in bed and there is no longer a threat of her cat emptying its intestines all over the living room rug, Williams recounts some of the landmarks in her career so far and advises that there are many more projects in the works.

Wheel Scene: Tell us about your new project, The Pond?

Kathryn Williams: It’s a band with Simon Edwards and Ginny Clee, so I’m just one third. Simon was the bass player on my last three records and I often stay at his house when I’m in London. We have just been hanging around and writing, so I have been sending them tunes and they have been messing around with them. It’s been a two year project.

It was quite an organic process then?

Yeah, it wasn’t planned. As soon as we started getting an idea of what we wanted we realised what was Pondlike and what wasn’t. We quickly had an idea of the identity of the music we wanted and this spurred us on to make a body of work.

And what does The Pond sound like?

I come from a folky background, even though I never sang traditional folk songs. I always just considered myself a singer-songwriter, but because I am quiet and I look a bit scruffy people think I am folk! Simon used to be in Fairground Attraction and he used to play with Billy Bragg and he does a lot with the Bristol lot – Adrian Utley from Portishead mixed the record for us.

And then Ginny used to be in a band called The Dear Janes that were signed to Geffen and sold shitloads over in America. We’re all from different backgrounds but we liked the idea of making interesting, lyrical songs backed up by little intricacies and putting lots of things in the pot, like Arabic and African flavours – like fusion food! Although, when anyone ever says fusion food, I usually think, “Fuck off!”

How has the collaboration aspect of it all worked?

I really like collaborations because I am normally such a control freak. It is nice to give the songs away and let someone else take the flack.

You have been working with other artists a lot recently. Have you taken a step back from solo work?

Things just change over time. I have started doing more writing with other people and for other people. If you get a good line in the first five minutes of working with someone you’re like, “That’s a killer line!” You don’t get that when you are alone in your garage writing a song. The most I get is, I think to myself, “Ohhh!” When you get a compliment straight off it’s fucking brilliant! I am a bit drunk with that.

Does this mean you are going to continue with collaborations in the future?

I have written most of another record with Neill Maccoll. I’ve got another band that I’m in and I’ve got an album with one of my musicians that’s really intimate jazz songs. I’ve also got an album with a bloke called David, but

then I’ve got my next two solo records written but not recorded.

You have just listed six forthcoming albums.

Where do you find the time?

I have a work day on a Monday that I go into my studio and I work. I write two or three songs every Monday. Not all of them are good, but they go into the pot. When you’ve got kids, if you are away from them you want to make it count, so you work really hard. On a Monday, I do more work than I used to do in a few weeks. Time has become really precious. I have become more ambitious and more prolific to try and squeeze things in.

You have been releasing albums for over a decade. What have been some of the highlights so far?

I have always wanted a long career where I try to do better with each release and I have been lucky. Each album has been little chapters of that journey. With Dog Leap Stairs, I remember where I was and what I was learning – I remember those times.

One of those tracks was recorded in Newcastle with a microphone out of the window to get the street sounds. Little Black Numbers was the first proper album in a studio. The Quickening was the first time I had done everything all live. You could pretty much hear the record as it was after a take - it was incredible.

Is it true that you managed to record The Quickening in just four days?

Yeah, but I don’t take any credit for that.

The musicians that I had chosen came to the residential studio and all they got was the lyrics on paper - that was all I wanted them to know until we went in. When we set the mics up, I didn’t give them any demos, I just played the songs through. We never did more than four takes of each song. It was down to the musicians finding their way around the songs and that was amazing for me. It was fresh, and they were brilliant musicians so they knew what to do even though they were thrown into a vulnerable situation where they didn’t quite know where they were.

That does sound pretty amazing. Have there been any other highlights?

I used to have stage fright, agoraphobia and panic attacks. In the studio where I used to sing I couldn’t have anyone else there. I wouldn’t even let the engineer have the light on to see me singing because I was so self-conscious and a wreck really. When we made The Quickening I was in a booth singing and recording with people around and it was a fantastic feeling.

You had crippling shyness when you were younger but chose a profession where, if successful, you would have to perform in front of thousands of people? That seems like a bit of a stupid career choice!

People used to come up to me after shows and they thought it was a stage persona. I didn’t want to be a fearful person, so I used to sit down during performances because if I blacked out I could just compose myself and carry on. When I was pregnant with my oldest son I felt like I had a companion on stage for support, plus it made me realise I was not the most important person in the world. I was going to be responsible for someone else, so I sorted out my nerves. Once you have had a human head come out of your arse it puts things into perspective.

That was probably one of the most disgusting ways I have heard someone describe pregnancy!

Haha! Sorry!

Despite finding it incredibly difficult to perform in front of an audience, there surely must have been some performances that were special to you?

I often have buttock clenching times between songs when I am thinking to myself, “What the hell are you talking about?” There was a gig I did just before Relations in Regent’s Park which was nice. It was open air and I was singing a song about the sky and just then a flock of swans flew overhead and a cat got in the auditorium and was running around. It was the hottest day of the year and it had just started to cool down and it just felt like a perfect moment. I felt really happy.

Anyone that pays close attention to your lyrics will notice that there is a darker side to your personality. Does that surprise people when they meet you in person?

It’s funny because the music is truthful and, with my nerves, I would try and make people laugh. I wouldn’t show my dark side, that’s what my music does. The songs are not diaries but it does allow me to feel that I can say what I like without boundaries. We are multifaceted people and we are always refracted in different lights.

Thank you for your time, Kathryn.

Do you wanna have a glass of wine and we’ll sit down and watch some crap telly?

Sounds good!

“I didn’t want to be a fearful person, so I used to sit down during performances because if I blacked out I could just compose myself and carry on.”

Words: Louis Flood Photo: Somyun Guy

Behind the lens: Ivan Narez San Francisco filmmaker Ivan Narez gives us a little insight into the filming process for the fifth Valo team video and explains how his moustache got him into trouble in Mexico.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 13 Don’t be fooled by the incredible facial hair and fierce Latin stare, Ivan Narez may look like a stereotypical South American criminal mastermind but he has never been involved with an international narcotics ring or people smuggling – that we know of. He has, however, been responsible for some pretty amazing rollerblading videos over the past nine years including the highly popular Hyphy trilogy, which he created with one of the Bay Area’s most recognisable professional bladers, Vinny Minton.

Since their last video venture in 2006, Minton has started his own company, Imperial Productions, and Narez has proven himself to be one of the most talented videographers in the rollerblading industry. In 2009, he released Shred ‘Til You’re Dead, an engaging tour video that followed Jeff Stockwell, Erik Bailey, Chris Haffey and a selection of other gifted park bladers as they travelled more than 3,000 miles in search of the best outdoor facilities California, Idaho and Oregon has to offer. Just one year later, he released the fourth Valo team video, Valo4Life, which is arguably the brand’s most accomplished offering to date.

This year will see the release of not one, but two videos from the California filmmaker, as he is currently working on V, the fifth Valo team video, and he has already finished production on Shred ‘Til You’re Dead 2. It looks like it going to be a busy year for Narez, so we decided to find out how it is all going so far.

Wheel Scene: How did you get into making rollerblading videos?

Ivan Narez: I started blading when I was like 12-years-old. When I hit about 14, I saved enough dough to buy this little Sony camera from Sears. The funny part is that I actually bought the fisheye on eBay before I even had the camera, so I had this fisheye chillin’ with me for a few months just to keep me with the hopes of buying the camera. Eventually I did and started filming all of my friends for the local NorCal videos. It worked out that my friends were Vinny Minton and Victor Arias, especially Vinny. He was almost pro by then, so I was contributing to Salomon and big-timers like Joe Navran. I was helping film for real videos when I was so small. It eventually got me juiced on doing my own thing, and now I’m here working on V. Have you had any formal training?

I didn’t have much formal training other than the fact that Justin Lomax went to school and graduated in the field and started his business. I than started working with him a bunch and he told me what I was doing in my work that sucked, so it helped me a lot to learn from a friend who I could take seriously and looked up to.

How is filming for V going so far?

Things are going really good. We just got back from Barcelona a bit ago and before that we spent a few weeks

in Mexico. While out in Mexico with Brandon and Victor, we were checking out this spot at night time when, all of a sudden, these undercover cops come out with these massive assault rifles and made us get against the wall and all that shit. It’s probably because I look like some sort of Mexican drug cartel lord.

They thought we were bad dudes, but when we told them we were just there to blade, they were down.

How will this video differ from the last release, Valo4Life?

Right now, it’s really hard to say because we still have a whole year. I know there will be a good number of fresh faces. We did an am tour last year with a bunch of the guys you don’t get to see as much and got a lot of good footage there.

Can you give us any insights into what we can expect from V? Well, you can expect nothing less than two year’s worth of hard blading from everyone on the team. If that doesn’t get you psyched then I don’t know what will.

Which countries will you be travelling to this time around?

This past year we did a pretty good amount of cruising. In the past month, I have been to the airport more than ten times, if that tells you anything. We went to Barcelona, Munich, Denmark, Holland, Poland, Mexico, New York - and that’s just half of it. This year we plan on hitting things even harder. I gave up my apartment back in October of last year.

I used to live in San Francisco but then decided to move out and hit the road for good. I currently don’t have a place of my own, just cruising on the tours and sleeping around. Sometimes I go to my parent’s house, sometimes I stay at Jon’s house and sometimes I sleep in tents.

I wasn’t too sure where I was going when I left but seeing Adam Johnson do all these things inspired me to get out and do more while I still can. Where am I going? Not really sure, but at least I know what I’m here to do.

What do you think makes a good blading video?

A good blading video makes me want to go out and blade. Something shot well, but it doesn’t have to be exactly the best, like sliders and dollies and stuff. Too much of anything gets boring, but something that gives you the same feeling as when you started doing it. It’s hard to really put that into words, but if you’ve done it long enough, you know the feeling.

You have worked with a lot of bladers over the years. Who are your favourites to film with and why?

Well, I would say my favourites to film with are the people that I’m filming with now—all the Valo guys and the Shred guys. I love the Shred trips because it’s like this whole thing I am doing condensed into two or so weeks, and it’s

about the best two weeks of the year. So, not to have to name drop or anything, but you probably know who I am talking about.

Is making blading videos a full-time occupation for you or do you have other projects that help you pay the bills?

I suppose at the moment, yes, it is my full-time occupation, because I am fully dedicated to making videos and doing things with blading. I was working a bunch during Valo4Life and some of V, but then I slowly started to diminish my ties with other employers - mainly because I think when I am fully-focused on a project I do my best. I may not be making the most dough I’ve ever made, but I’m just here to try to make some cool shit. I’ll make some dough later. I feel like, right now, with the support of Valo, I have this chance to do everything I’ve wanted to do in blading. I’m going to ride the train as long as possible and, when it runs out of gas, you can be sure I’m going to get out and push that son of a bitch ‘til I can’t anymore.

Is there any chance of a sequel to Shred ‘Til You’re Dead?

Of course, Shred ‘Til You’re Dead is one of my favourite tours to go on. We went on the trip about a year ago and are currently working on finishing the STYD book. The film is all done so we will be releasing a book/film combo as well as the film by itself and free online, of course. We have been working on it for a long time, but it is coming to a close soon. It should be out around May. I’m excited for this project because it has so many great people involved in it. Jero came along on the trip to shoot the photos, Brandon shot as well, Justin Hertel is doing the design, Brian Krans wrote the book and my dad is helping with the woodworking of the packaging for the book. It’s pretty much people involved who are down for the cause, and you can’t go wrong with that.

For all the technology addicts out there, what equipment do you use and why?

I keep it basic with my Panasonic HVX and fisheye. I like the idea of being able to zoom and the feeling of the speed.

For STYD2 I shot a bit more with the Mark II as well. I’m not too fond of where things are right now with sliders and dollies and DOF and Glidecams. Call me old-fashioned, but I’m not here to be a professional cinematographer, not yet at least. I just wanna make some sick blading shit and call it a day. I would prefer to tell a story and make you go out and blade and take a road trip with all your homies, rather than make you want to go outside, smell the flowers, count the stars and look at rainbows.

Words: Fiona Slimmon Photo: Brandon Smith

Southern Charm

Alabama Shakes lead singer Brittany Howard talks about winning over hearts on both sides of the Atlantic and maintaining the momentum throughout 2012.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 15 Since forming in their hometown of Athens, Alabama in 2009, Alabama Shakes have gone from strength to strength. The birth of the band is a typical yet genuine story, but beyond that, the band have experienced what many other bands could only dream of. After singer Brittany Howard approached bassist Zac Cockrell during a psychology lesson at high school, the pair began writing and playing music together. Steve Johnson, who was working at a local record store at the time, later joined as the band’s drummer while guitarist Heath Fogg joined after asking the trio to open for his band, which they agreed to on the condition that he play with them. With their line-up complete, the blues rock band went on to release a self-titled EP in September last year which led to the band gaining widespread media attention, being included in several ‘Ones To Watch 2012’ lists, such as MTV and NME and being invited to perform on Conan in February this year, their first ever US television appearance. In their short time together, the band were selected by Jack White’s Third Man Records to kick off its series of live 45 releases and were asked to open for the Drive-by Truckers.

Having signed to Rough Trade Records last November, the band are now set to release their debut album, Boys And Girls, this month. Taking to Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio to record the album, frontwoman and vocal powerhouse Brittany Howard explains that the band “started over a year ago and did several sessions throughout the year until it was completed.”

The group recorded and produced the 11track album themselves, allowing them to make it on their own terms, leading to the creation of what Howard describes as, “a very organic sounding record”.

All four members of the band share a wide variety of personal music tastes, “from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings to Daft Punk to Kings of Leon and My Morning Jacket,” explains Howard.

This diversity is reflected on the album, with the band collecting all their influences and personal styles together to create their own signature blend of blues, soul and good old rock and roll. “We don’t really sit down and say, ‘Let’s write a soul song or let’s write a rock song,’” says Howard. “Our songs just generally contain a blend of it all.”

However, after being stamped countless times with the “retro soul” label, the band, though honoured to be described as such, are adamant that it’s not what they’re about.

“We consider ourselves a rock and roll band,” states Howard, very quick and to the point.

Upon the release of Boys And Girls, the band are in for a crazy time in the coming months. “We plan on hitting the road pretty hard when the record comes out,” she explains. “First a US tour and then a European tour.” The band are known for their amazing live shows and the electric atmosphere that they create, so it’s no big

surprise that their recent sold-out shows in London proved to be a great success and saw the band greeted with a fantastic reception from their new British fans. “We had such a blast in London, the shows were so much fun and we were able to meet so many cool people,” recalls Howard. “That is part of what makes this all so exciting, getting to play in front of and meet so many great folks.” Speaking to Howard, it’s clear that performing is, for this band, their raison d’être as she explains: “Playing live is like nothing else, there is an electricity that cannot be topped.” But it’s not just about what they get from playing live, what they give is just as important. “We want people to leave their troubles at home and just have a good time,” exclaims Howard. “We surely do!”

After the band’s relentless post-album release touring, they show no signs of slowing down, having been invited to a whole host of summer festivals across America and Europe, from Sasquatch and Bonnaroo to Latitude, T in The Park and End Of The Road, with many more to be announced. Beyond that, the band are keen to just keep doing what they love. Having achieved the level of success that Alabama Shakes have in such a short space of time, it’s great that this grassroots band have no intention of losing face. “We just want to be able to write more and make more records,” confirms Howard. “We just try to make authentic music and play our hearts out live.”

Words: Nina Glencross Photo: John Wozniak

Nothing Else Matters Kevin Lapierre, the new face of Canadian rollerblading, has a passion for the sport that borders on obsession.

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It looks like the resurgence of Canadian rollerblading is well under way. Roll Toronto has been providing the world with regular online edits for quite some time now, Richie Eisler has done some amazing work with The Conference over the last twelve months and released some ground-breaking material of his own, and young Kevin Lapierre appears to be at the forefront of the new generation of progressive bladers to emerge from the country. The 19-year-old has been making a name for himself over the past year with over five online edits that clearly highlight a rapid progression in style and technicality.

His section in the Montreal scene film, Family Matters 2, is full of fast, solid skating, big gaps and technical grind combinations, and his entry into the ‘Fan Favourite’ WRS Uploaded World Finals received over 9,000 views. Yes, he lost out to Matthias Silhan, but there are many seasoned professionals that would have met the same fate had they gone up against the French legend.

Lapierre grew up in Drummondville, which is situated 100 miles east of Montreal, giving the blader a thriving metropolis full of skate spots within driving distance to develop his talents. He first discovered the sport at 13-years-old, when he decided that he wanted to try something different from all of his friends who were involved in mainstream team sports. It took just one experience on a pair of rollerblades for him to decide that this was something he wanted to commit a lot of time to so that he could

master the craft. In the space of six short years, he is well on his way.

In 2011, Lapierre was spotted at many of North America’s biggest blade gatherings, including the Panhandle Pow Wow in Jacksonville, Florida. He also took to the streets and caused some havoc in Philadelphia and owned some of the spots made famous by Jeff Dalnas in Rhode Island.

This year, he has already attended Bitter Cold Showdown XII and plans to return to Pow Wow and compete at all Canadian events. He is also seriously considering attending one of the FISE events in France. However, he does not consider competitions a priority because he believes them to be “too competitive” not kidding, Sherlock.

When he is not out filming for projects to increase his profile within the blading industry, Lapierre can be found touring with Jagger, a stunt team that travels across Canada, performing shows at music festivals and other mainstream events. He also works at the newly-opened Shop-Task in Montreal and organises small events for the younger bladers at his local park. It seems pretty safe to say that Lapierre’s whole world is blading at the moment and, with impressive skills like his, it is easy to understand why he would want to try and taking it as far as he can. When asked about what he hopes to do with his future now that he has finished high school, he responds: “My plan is mainly to collect the most money possible to make more contests and street skating events

around the world - and to make good edits.”

Sometimes the simplest plans can be the most effective.

It is easy to see why some people have compared Lapierre to Atlanta’s David Sizemore in the past. They are both incredibly gifted skaters that like to attack rails and gaps with a lot of speed, both sponsored by Rollerblade and, until recently, both skaters wore helmets. However, in recent years Sizemore has ditched his lid and, if his newest edits are anything to go by, so too has Lapierre. He claims that he started wearing a helmet after he sustained a serious head injury three years ago, but now that he has regained his confidence he no longer feels the need for it. Looking at some of the huge gaps and roof-high rails this kid goes for, perhaps some form of protection would be a wise choice.

When discussing who he believes is at the forefront of the sport at the moment, Lapierre instantly references Valo poster boy Erik Bailey and his reasons for doing so hint at the modern consensus among young rollerbladers that feel their favourite professionals should release regular online promotion in order to fuel their fans’ need to see fresh footage of them as much as possible. “Right now, Eric Bailey does a great job of representing rollerblading because he puts out a lot of edits and skates well in contests.” Regardless of the blading community’s polarised views on whether or not a good professional should release

several edits and a year and perform well at contests is justified, one thing is certain: Kevin Lapierre has what it takes to go far in this sport, and he is just getting started.

Words: Dan O’Neal Photos: Guillaume Latrompette and Guillaume Roy Above: Stale 180 Opposite: Backslide

Best Laid Plans

The interview didn’t go exactly to plan, but at least Yuri Botelho came through with some great photos.

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Sometimes resistance is futile, you just have to admit when you are defeated. This interview is a perfect example: We have been a huge fan of Yuri Botelho’s skating for many years and the fact that he is one of only two Brazilian professional rollerbladers to receive a pro skate from a major boot manufacturer is an accomplishment in itself. Then there is the fact that he lands some truly jawdropping tricks in the debut Ground Control team video, GC.1. However, this interview was destined to fail from the very beginning.

You see, Botelho grew up in Belo Horizonte, the largest city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and moved to Bilbao in northern Spain at the tender age of ten-years-old, so he is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, but English is not one of his strengths. Hell, who can blame him? He has already learned two languages, why the hell should he need to learn a third?

Unfortunately, this made the actual interview process for his profile extremely laborious and, sensing that the language barrier would be too great, we tried to enlist the services of

someone that was close enough to Botelho to conduct the interview but also proficient enough in the English language to translate his responses – no such joy. We could not simply abandon the interview as the Botelho worked extremely hard to get some great shots, so what you will find if you read beyond this point is the few remaining scraps of salvageable text from the broken conversations that took place with the dreadlock warrior. If it all gets too painful, just look at the pretty photos.

Wheel Scene: How did you get into blading and what year was that?

Yuri Botelho: I started skating when I came from Brazil to Spain in 1999 when I was 10 and it was the first time that I saw a skatepark in my life. In my first week my mother bought me a pair of skates then I practiced in the skate park every day. I learned so many tricks and met many friends there.

How did you get sponsored by Razors and Ground Control?

When I was 15 I started skating in some contests and I got good results and started travelling. Razors Spain then decided to sponsor me.

You had quite a few clips in the Ground Control video. Were you happy with them?

It was ok but I filmed many more clips for the GC video than what appears.

The clips that weren’t used will appear in the next Spanish video, One Love Rolling.

What was your favourite section in the Ground Control video?

Brian Aragon’s section – it’s so great Are you working or studying at the moment?

Right now, I’m working on my own projects. For example: the Yuri Botelho Ungravity Camps. It’s a rollerblading camp for kids. It’s a real good project for the Spanish scene.

What is your local scene like?

My local scene is really good. There are so many good skaters and kids but we don’t have good skateparks for skating every day. Sometimes it’s a little boring,

always skating at the same spots or bad skateparks for skateboarders.

Are you filming for any video sections at the moment?

Right now I am filming for the next Razors video.

Would you like to thank anyone?

Thanks to Wheel Scene for this interview and to my sponsors for helping me (Razors, Topsoul, Ground Control, Frontiside Shop, Jug, Mad Powder).

Words: Jeanie Rogers Photos: Andres Miguel and Miriam Montiel Macho Above: Fishbrain Opposite: Soul grind to roll-in

Taking Charge

Json Adriani is a man on a mission and he won’t stop until he sees bladers “kill the streets” all over Italy.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 21 One of the main reasons why rollerblading has continued to thrive despite little or no mainstream exposure since its exclusion from the X Games is mainly due to the fact that many skaters have become pro-active about promoting the sport and building national scenes in order to ensure growth.

When it comes to the Italian rollerblading community, Json Adriani is doing an incredible job of maintaining interest in the sport and introducing new people into the fold. Along with several of his closest friends, Adriani has established the Italian Rollerblading League, a grass roots organisation that strives to promote the sport at a national level and connect bladers from every part of the country.

“It is a project involving me, Nicola Fiorenza, Pietro Firrincieli and Marco Valere,” he begins. “We would like to create something for the new generation, to connect even more of the local scenes and to motivate all of the young fellas here in Italy to travel, as we were doing eight or nine years ago. I still remember the first time I went to Naples; we were 15 or 16 and the train took 12 hours to get there but it was really cool!”

Adriani observes that there is a steady rise in the number of people taking up the sport in his local area, but he feels that many of the younger generation are missing out on the adventure that street skating provides by going on city-wide expeditions looking for spots and exploring the different ways to approach an obstacle that was not purposebuilt for rollerblading.

“Milan is quite good. I mean, we have a lot of skateparks now and in each park you can find two or three rollerbladers, so it is not that bad. I’m trying to bring back skating to the streets in Milan. Most of the bladers love skateparks, which is good, but we need to kill the streets!”

The 26-year-old first encountered rollerblading in 2000 at a local skatepark that he frequented on a skateboard before his passion for eight wheels took hold. “I got into blading because I wanted to drop into a quarter pipe with my skateboard, then a guy told me: “Hey, why don’t you try it before with rollerblades?” I did it and since that moment the love for this game started.”

After 11 years of solid skating, Adriani has become one of the most recognisable figures of the Italian rollerblading scene and has an enviable list of sponsors that include Razors, Jug, Grindhouse and Ground Control. He features in regular online edits at various locations in his home country and appears at many of Europe’s high profile rollerblading events, including annual excursions to Winterclash. His enthusiasm for the sport is infectious and it makes him an incredible ambassador for the sport because every time he skates he looks like he is having the time of his life. He makes an effort to travel to as many competitions as possible, but he advises that he is not particularly interested in the actual event

rather than the opportunity it provides to meet up with friends from all over the world.

“I love competitions, not for competing but for the vibe and the atmosphere it brings. I love to skate with a lot of people.

I used to skate alone most of the time, so when I’m at a comp I feel really happy even if I don’t really care about the comp itself.

I’m not the kind of guy that wants to win.

I just want to have a great time with my friends!”

It is surprising that the Milan-based blader finds time to attend any events at all. Many people find it difficult to maintain their blading skills and stay active within the community when the responsibilities of adult life take hold, especially the timeconsuming necessity of holding down a steady job in order to ensure financial security. Adriani knows about this more than most, as he is currently holding down two. However, at least he is passionate about both of them – it’s not easy to find employment that actually makes a person want to get up in the morning.

“The first one is as a filmmaker for a communication agency called Sportmaker, which consists of promotional videos and events for brands like Sportiva, Vibram, Mizuno, Casio and New Era. My boss is a really good person, he believes in rollerblading and he would like to bring it to the same media level that it was 15 years ago. The other job that I’m doing is for an office that looks after foreign people. We help them get the right documents, like identification and permits to stay in the country.”

When Adriani is not putting in the hours at either work place, blading, trying to rally the troops with the Italian Rollerblading League or travelling around the world to attend various events, he likes to jump on his bike and explore his local area, which just so happens to be one of the largest cities in Italy and home to some of the most stunning tourist locations in the world, which provides quite an exceptional view as he cruises around listening to Notorious B.I.G., Justice and Bon Iver on his iPod. Some might say Adriani has an enviable life at the moment, but he seems to be constantly striving for more, especially when it comes to blading. With his infectious character and strength of conviction, you wouldn’t bet against him.

“I would like to see our sport at the level that it deserves,” he says. “I would like to bring rollerblading back to the golden age. I have the chance to do something here in Italy with my friends and I would like to see rollerblading on TV, like the X Games.

There’s a lot of work to do but we can do it.

We believe in what we are doing, we love this sport. It’s our sport and I’m so proud to be part of it. I hope to skate as much as I can, give motivation as much as I can and travel all over the planet.”

Words: David McNamara Photo: Pietro Firrincieli

A Form of Escape

Nick Waterhouse began making music as a child because he felt disconnected from his peers, but it seems that now his art could project him into the mainstream.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 23 Nick Waterhouse is an artist whose approach to making music is similar to many of his contemporaries sixty years ago. But, as he clearly tires of telling interviewers, his sound is not a homage to R&B and American music of the past any more than Blur is a homage to The Kinks. His sound is something new, which evokes the feel of the old, but with a contemporary flair. Think of the output produced by DJ Premiere and Mark Ronson and you are on the right track.

The 25-year-old DJ, producer and artist has been gaining a lot of attention on both sides of the Atlantic for his organic approach to making music, and his sincere love for the analogue 45s of his 1950s predecessors, which seeps from his work on the aggressively up-beat tracks and soulful R&B rhythms to the emotional lyrics and clear-cut pop sensibility. His breakout track, and also the first track he ever recorded, ‘Some Place,’ demonstrates everything seamlessly working together, and why Nick is worth the media and record company attention he is getting.

Speaking from his home in LA, Nick opened proceedings by revealing what it is like to be a rising star living in LA: “It is what you imagine it’s like, and so much more.”

However, his tone suggests otherwise. “It’s like any other city, but you do meet a lot of interesting people.”

Wheel Scene: Is being surrounded by interesting people the benefit of living in LA? Nick Waterhouse: This is a culture hub, and it has this self-fulfilling prophecy where people come here to make stuff because other people have made stuff here, and so you end up meeting a lot of like-minded folks. It’s a totally different thing than the whole Guns n’ Roses “I’m moving to LA to make it, I’m going to hang out on the Sunset Strip” kind of thing. That’s a lot sadder and less vibrant than a lot of arts and culture communities in LA. Could you make music anywhere, or does it have to be LA? I specifically make my music in a studio that I grew up around that’s down here - The Distillery. It has a lot of equipment that I was raised on and it’s pretty unique in that it’s not like modern studios. There are no computers, no Pro Tools - I didn’t learn how to use that stuff. I just know how to use the tape machine there and the board. I could record somewhere else, but I’d have to learn for a while.

Is your sound a homage to the fifties?

It’s a medium, it’s not a homage. I recorded it the way I did because I liked how that sounded, and I play songs the way I play them, and I sing the words because I like the way they are. I have plenty of influences, everybody does.

If you start looking for influences in every form of art I’m sure you can get

to whatever homage statement you want to. But I understand why you’d think that, and it’s not insulting. What’s funny for me is when people tell me that I sound like something, and usually what they tend to compare me to is way off base. That just leads me to believe that they’re going on a superficial level.

I can’t tell you how many interviewers have mentioned Buddy Holly, and I wonder if they ever listen to my music - it’s so far off base. Again, you’re just fixating on superficial things. My sound is just informed by the records that I loved and grew up listening to, but you could say the same thing about Black Flag or Elvis Presley. - it’s just a question of what someone’s influences are.

You must get that question quite a lot.

I do, but it’s fine. You’re just trying to inform. I sometimes will get a little upset if I feel someone is being dismissive, but I’ve realised that a lot of people don’t have a wide base for reference, so it’s fine.

How would you describe your sound?

I just say it’s American music, with a rhythm and blues element to it. It’s made for 45.

Where do you think your need to make music came from?

When I was a kid it was the only thing I could really identify with and stuck with me through the years. I’ve been buying records since I was fifteen and now I’m twenty five. It’s just something important to me.

For many, music is a form of escapism. Do you relate to that at all?

I do. I think the nice thing about music, like film or novels, is that it functions the same way. It’s like this other space that you can go into and not only that but, unlike novels and movies, it can run parallel to your actual life and your activities. So it can be going on while your life is happening. You don’t have to escape into it but you have a choice and in turn it’s drug-like. It can heighten experiences in addition to being an experience, and I think that that’s... yeah, it’s an escape man. I grew up in an environment that was hard to deal with at times, so it was cool. It was a good thing.

Did you have a happy childhood?

I didn’t really fit in where I grew up, so you have a good time, and then sometimes you can clash with your environment - I think that’s kind of what I was alluding to. I was a kid in the Limp Bizkit era; a time of naked male aggression, intolerance and anger. It was a weird place to be and if you didn’t really tow the line with that sort of lifestyle you were like a weirdo. It’s the same story over and over again with any

sensitive, creative individual, I guess.

When did you get out of that situation?

It started shaping when I was in high school. I had started a group and we played a lot of shows. That was when I realised that this was what I really wanted but it was not a responsible option.

What was the responsible option?

To go to college and get a job that had a salary and health benefits.

How did that sound to you at the time?

Not very good. Still doesn’t sound very good.

What made you take the more ambitious route?

Well I didn’t take the more ambitious route for a few years, and I was just miserable and I couldn’t figure out why.

What were you doing at the time?

I worked at a coffee shop, I worked at a clothing store and I worked at an office for three and a half years. I always secretly had the ambition to make music.

I think, subconsciously, I knew I wanted to do it, so I finally tried. I was visiting that studio I was telling you about and I was kind of depressed, so I called some of the guys that were in a group with me in high school and just some friends of mine who were in another band in LA while I was visiting from San Francisco and I said, “I have these songs, let’s cut a 45”, and it all kind of just came peachy.

So we did it in a day, and that ended up being ‘Some Place’. That song was really spontaneous.

When people listen to your music, what do you want them to take away from it?

I’m a believer in art, like music, film, books, whatever, and the person who creates it, it’s theirs until it’s out in the world and then people are free to do whatever they want with it. You can’t ever control what somebody is going to think or how somebody is going to interpret it.

Doesn’t that scare you?

It’s like having a child. You have to accept that they’re going to go into the world on their own at some point.

To me, there’s a lot more going on in these songs than most people will give the time of day, because they will immediately stop at like, “Oh, it’s a retro thing, and it’s the same as any other song,” but there’s a lot of feeling in those songs. I just hope that someone will identify with it, even one percent, and if you do that then that’s great - my job is done.

Words: Chris Purnell Photo: Nicholas Smith

Derek Henderson Intuition owner Matt Mickey enlists the services of rollerblading’s elite to describe Fresno, California’s burliest blader, Derek Henderson.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 25 Derek Henderson is not your typical up-andcoming rollerblader. In fact, he’s already arrived. A metal head with iron fists, the heart of a lion and built like a cage fighter, Derek’s skating is unmistakable. He is intensely loyal to his family and friends, dedicated to his sponsors and not afraid to stand up for rollerblading. Being remarkably agile for a man of his stature, Derek has developed the ability to dominate the tallest and gnarliest spots. He cares what his skating looks like and puts refreshing thought into spot and trick selection when shooting photos or filming for his next section. Derek has grown into a force to be reckoned with on and off blades. If anyone is up to the task of shouldering rollerblading and helping carry it into the future, it’s Derek Henderson. For someone with such a vast trick vocabulary, he is a man of few words and, as fate would have it, that is just fine.

Because instead of the usual interview format, we decided to ask several of his contemporaries what they think of him.

Chris Haffey on Derek Henderson Matt Mickey: For some people this is going to be the world’s first impression of Derek, he’s never had a print magazine feature. So what do you think of Derek’s skating, and what do you think people are going to think of Derek’s skating?

Chris Haffey: I mean, whenever I think of Derek’s skating, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘man blading’, ‘cause that dude does some manly ass shit on skates. That’s pretty much what comes to mind, you know? It’s not necessarily always the biggest hammer or the craziest thing, or whatever, but just the way he does it is powerful. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. You kind of have to experience it. When you see him skate, you kind of know how strong he is - if that makes any sense. He does everything in a powerful way, so it’s kind of like a strong, manly blading kind of thing, for a lack of a better way to describe it.

Nick Wood Matt Mickey: I want you to give me five words that describe Derek Henderson’s skating.

Nick Wood: You want me to give you five words that describe Derek Henderson’s skating? Well, like, he’s a big white trash motherfucker. Is that five, or is that four?

Matt Mickey: Oh my God. Describe his skating, not his appearance, you ass!

Nick Wood: Oh. I don’t know. Well, he’s a man skater. He’s a big, tough man skating machine.

Matt Mickey: OK. Nick Wood: You sure as hell put me on the spot, you cocksucker.

Matt Mickey: Say you’ve never seen Derek Henderson’s skating before. What do you think people’s reactions are going to be?

Nick Wood: He’s scarier than a Nazi.

Derek Henderson appeals to us because he’s a man and we’re tired of all these little boy skaters, skating around like a bunch of Nancy pants. He’s a man. He’s a man skater. We want men skaters.

Jon Elliot Matt Mickey: Hi Jon, I just want to know if you have anything to say about Derek Henderson’s skating?

Jon Elliot: (After a few seconds of silence…) Beast. Let me think… That was the first word that came to mind, ‘beast.’ A little bit of a beast, yeah.

Definitely not the kid you want to mess with at the skatepark, that’s for sure. I don’t know… I have yet to spend a lot of time with him.

Matt Mickey: It’s not a big deal. We’re just calling people out of the blue, and seeing what they think.

Jon Elliot: Well, hey, I wish I could come up with something a little better than that. But that was the first word that came to mind.

Joey Chase Matt Mickey: Hey, we’re calling people and asking questions about Derek Henderson.

Joey Chase: What do you want to know?

Matt Mickey: Give me five words that describe Derek’s skating.

Joey Chase: Badass, impossible, kick ass, fuck yeah, shit yeah.

Matt Mickey: Okay. What do you think people’s reactions are going to be if they’ve never seen Derek Henderson’s skating, like, in a magazine before?

Joey Chase: I would say, “Wow. How’d he do that?”

Matt Mickey: Okay.

Joey Chase: And uh… wait. I got to do five things?

Matt Mickey: No, you already did five things.

One last question: What does it mean to you to have Derek Henderson riding with you on Fester?

Joey Chase: To have a man riding for the company. A straight up man!

Matt Mickey: Okay, say you get in a bar fight.

What rollerbladers do you want on your team?

Joey Chase: To back me up in a bar fight?

Matt Mickey: Yes. Pick three.

Joey Chase: Jon Elliott, Derek Henderson, and, uh, my brother, Sammy Chase, dude. He’s always got my back.

Matt Mickey: Alright, son. Well hey, any last words? If Derek was listening right now, what would you tell him?

Joey Chase: I would tell him, “Fuck yeah, kick ass.”

Facts Age: 23-years-old Years blading: 14 Sponsors: Razors, Ground Control, Fester, Intuition Skate Shop

Damien Wilson Matt Mickey: I want to ask you a question about Derek Henderson. Why did you put Above: Stale grab wall stall Opposite: Rocket fishbrain

this honky on Fester?

Damien Wilson: Because Fester was actually designed after men who actually are men who do things, and are, like, men, not just like boys who wear skinny jeans or boys who do whatever. The company is by men, for men who rollerblade. And Derek is manly, so he’s on the damn team.

Matt Mickey: Okay, let’s flip the script. If there was one thing you could change about Derek Henderson’s skating, what would that be?

Damien Wilson: Well, that’s a tough question. I don’t know. To be honest with you, nothing, because Derek Henderson’s skating and his personality fit hand in hand, pretty much. Derek Henderson makes Derek Henderson.

Matt Mickey: One last question: What do you think some people’s first impressions of Derek Henderson are going to be?

Damien Wilson: Well, I’m hoping their first impression will be like kind of Chuck Lidell’s when he stepped on the scene. He’s kind of got the Chuck look and Chuck personality, just a little more mellow. So, I’m thinking that the kids that don’t know him are just going to think, “Alright, this dude’s badass.”

He does man shit on his skates, looks tough as hell, and I guess that’s pretty much it.

“I heard Derek once got out of a car at a red light and stomped out some guy for calling him a fruitbooter and casually got back in his car before the light turned green” – Victor Arias

Chris Farmer Matt Mickey: Hey, we’re just calling people and asking them what they think of Derek Henderson. You’re one of the guys on the list, so I figured I’d hit you up and see if I could ask you a couple questions about Derek Henderson.

Chris Farmer: I’m in a cab right now. Do you want to do it right now?

Matt Mickey: The more spontaneous, the better.

Chris Farmer: Okay. I’m gong to be in this cab for another maybe ten minutes.

Matt Mickey: Okay, we can do it. If I asked you to use five words to describe Derek Henderson’s skating, what would you say?

Chris Farmer: Holy shit. Does that count as two? Uh… Solid, rough, controlled and raw as shit. There you go, there’s five.

Matt Mickey: Okay, now, for somebody like you who has a very definitive personality in rollerblading, does Derek Henderson have what it takes, or could he potentially be molded into something to make it in rollerblading. Not just for skating, but also his image, his persona and his personality?

Chris Farmer: There’s no need to mold, he’s his own dude. He definitely… He’s the shit. People will definitely… They should appreciate him for who he is no need to mold him into anything, you know? He’s got his own thing going and people should appreciate that.

Matt Mickey: Okay. If there was one thing in particular that you like about Derek’s skating, what would that be? And if there was one

thing that you would change about Derek’s skating, what would that be?

Chris Farmer: I wouldn’t change anything. I just appreciate how fucking raw he is.

Rachard Johnson Matt Mickey: We’re doing this little reverse interview thing about Derek Henderson. I’m going to ask you a couple of questions about him and you just say whatever comes to mind.

Rachard Johnson: Alright.

Matt Mickey: Okay. If you could use five words to describe Derek’s skating, what would they be?

Rachard Johnson: Raw, intense, controlled, swagged out and uh… I can’t think of another word - just crazy.

Matt Mickey: Say you’re a kid and you’ve never seen Derek Henderson skating. What do you think people’s first impressions of him are going to be?

Rachard Johnson: Well, I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people that relate to him. You know, he’s different.

Matt Mickey: Is there anything you’d tell him that you like about his skating? Or is there anything you would change about his skating?

Rachard Johnson: I wouldn’t change shit. First of all, he’s one of the most controlled skaters I’ve ever seen and his tricks are mad solid - like there’s no flaws. I love his skating, I always have.

Stefan Horngacher Matt Mickey: I am working on a Derek Henderson profile. It is going to be like the anti-interview, where his peers speak about him. Can you write a few words about his skating?

Stefan Horngacher: OK, I can do that.

Derek is the fucking man. I could tell some funny or interesting stories, but I just saw him a few times. He is a warrior on skates and he even looks like one. His trick vocabulary is huge and the way he does his tricks is real grown up shit. His individualism and his powerful skating made me a fan of him. Derek is a great inspiration and somebody who has his heart in the right place.

Josh Petty Matt Mickey: I wanted to know if you could write a little something about Derek Henderson. I’m working on a profile for him and wanted to get a few people to say what they think of him.

Josh Petty: Yeah, I can definitely write something for him - he’s sick. There’s nothing I like seeing more than a skater who does solid tricks and has an attitude to go with it. I have always said you don’t need to do as many spins as possible to a disaster x grind to be a great skater.

Topside acid

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 27 He reminds me of the kind of guy who is so gnarly that everyone stays out of his way at the skatepark ‘cause they are afraid he is gonna kick their ass.

He looks like a hockey hooligan on rollerblades - sick boy.

Victor Arias Matt Mickey: I am working on a Derek Henderson profile for a magazine from the UK, and I’m asking fellow rollerbladers about him. Can you write a few words about his skating? Whatever you want to say about the cowboy from hell - maybe a crazy Derek story that people have never heard?

Victor Arias: The first time I went to Fresno on a blade trip was around the summer of 2003. That was the first time I had ever met Derek. The first night we were there, we went to a buddy’s house to have some beers and hang out. Within two hours, our buddy’s roommate came home from a Fresno state football game, annoying and drunk. This guy said one too many things to our beloved Derek and, in the blink of an eye, Derek proceeded to beat the shit out of this guy until he was laying on the floor motionless with blood coming out of everywhere on his face! Mind you, Derek was 16 at the time and the guy was probably 23/24?

I heard Derek once got out of a car at a red light and stomped out some guy for calling him a fruitbooter and casually got back in his car before the light turned green. Other than fighting, he’s also pretty good at rollerblading and drinking beer - and he has a bunch of tattoos! Derek is down for the homies and down for blading. I got his back any day, even though he can clearly hold his own!

Rob Guerrero Matt Mickey: Rob, I wanted to know if you’d be down to write a little something about Derek Henderson for an upcoming profile on him?

Robert Guerrero: Sure! Derek Henderson is the only blader I know that skates like a grown man. I would have never thought that the skinny little shaved head kid from Fresno I met back in the Late ‘90s would turn out to be one of the most solid, controlled, and powerful bladers in the game. I often find myself saying about Derek that when he falls it’s the concrete that gets hurt. There really is no one else that skates with such raw power and steeze, and although he looks like he would eat you if you looked at him wrong, deep down he really is a great guy and I hope he keeps progressing as the years unfold.

Words: Matt Mickey Photos: Jared Petersen Saftey grab gap over rail into bank

Mystery and Intrigue

Up-and-coming female producer Laura Clock aka Butterclock offers a rather unique outlook on life and advises why there are no witches in her house.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 29 Butterclock is an enigma. The Berlin-based female producer/singer requested that this interview be conducted via email, instead of a simple telephone conversation, then replaced the capital I at the beginning of each sentence with a lower case l so that they appeared similar but triggered Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar check function.

Then there is the fact that she refers to Paris as “Disneyland for culture” and advises that she couldn’t possibly imagine ever having a normal job or understand how anyone can handle it. In short, this young woman has a fascinating story to tell if you can actually find a way to prise it out of her.

Butterclock first popped up on our radar after collaborating with San Francisco producer oOoOO on ‘Hustling’ and has worked with him on his forthcoming EP, Our Love Is Killing Us. She may only have a limited collection of tracks available online at the moment, but they are full of promise.

‘Boy’ is a growling bass anthem that nods to chopped and screwed hip hop, complete with gothic synths and Clock’s haunting vocals, and ‘Underworld’ proves that the producer has the ability to execute restraint by combining delicate harmonies over the top of minimal, stuttering drum patterns and glittering samples. Plus, she certainly knows how to subvert the intended meaning of a well-known pop song with her menacing remix talents. The Timbaland-produced Nelly Furtado hit ‘Say It Right’ sounds as if it has been dropped down a cold, dark well and left to die, and her cover of the popular Jennifer Paige ballad, ‘Crush’, is plagued with sloweddown vocals that have suffered a serious octave drop. In other words, the track no longer sounds like it’s trying to be sexy; it sounds like it is trying to survive a murder attempt.

Butterclock and oOoOO have toured extensively together over the past year and their sounds share aesthetic similarities, as both tend to combine R&B influences with haunting vocals and ethereal samples. It has been suggested that the two producers are part of the rapidly emerging drag or witch house movement that includes Salem, White Ring and Balam Acab, but Butterclock refuses to acknowledge any similarities between the afore-mentioned artists. She claims that any notion of genre is simply a fabrication of the press. There is certainly evidence to suggest otherwise, as oOoOO and White Ring obviously had enough in common to release a split 7” together back in 2010 and White Ring have close ties with Salem. Then there is the fact that many of these acts are affiliated with Tri-Angle Records, the New York label that seems to be at the forefront of the supposed drag movement. Whatever she wants to call it, there is no denying that Butterclock’s music is dark, mysterious and thoroughly intoxicating, so we decided to find out more.

Wheel Scene: How did you get into making your own music and who were some of your biggest influences growing up?

Butterclock: I started making music very early. I was recording myself on little tapes with instrumental versions of my favourite songs - mostly pop music of the 90s like TLC, Whitney Houston or Enigma. I was very much into American rap, too. Then I had an embarrassing folk phase where I was only playing guitar. I finally had a revelation when l started messing around with music programs like Pro Tools and Logic two years ago and got caught up in electronic sounds.

Your subversion of the Jennifer Paige hit ‘Crush’ drains the life out of the original sultry pop ballad. Is that how you view pop music – a slightly soulless entity? Or do you simply like messing with the feeling of wellknown songs?

I am fascinated by pop music and don’t see it as soulless entity at all. I admire how these producers and singers are able touch millions of people. I wish l could work with people like The Dream, for example. All of the pop covers l make are an homage, filtered after Valium.

You have been touring all over the world quite a lot. Have there been any memorable experiences that you would like to share?

I’ve been very lucky in the last few months, it’s true. I enjoyed touring in California last summer, playing in odd places like Santa Cruz after driving for hours in the desert with dust in my hair. Traumatizing experiences were interesting, too, like losing my microphone during my set while l was performing at a festival in Holland.

Moscow was pretty intense too, a scary place for sure.

Which country have you enjoyed the most so far and why?

I really love Sweden. Even though l only stayed for a very short time, l would move there if l could. It’s a magical and very inspiring place.

Your SoundCloud states that you are based in Berlin/Brooklyn but your Facebook reads that you are from Nevada. Where are you based at the moment?

Well, l am kinda based in Berlin now, but l am very scared to stay at the same place for too long, it makes me anxious.

I am planning to move to Bushwick/ Brooklyn soon. For some odd reason it feels like home, even though it’s not. I was born in Paris but feel like a stranger there. It feels like Disneyland for culture - it’s not a very interesting place to live.

Scandinavia and Eastern Europe are much more fascinating.

Where does the inspiration for your mysterious artwork come from?

Visuals are a huge part of my work they sometimes come before sounds. I visualise “things” abstract, or not, and

then write songs. The sounds illustrate the images and not the other way around.

You worked on oOoOO’s new EP. How did you two meet and what was it like working with him?

We first met through the Internet, then in real life in New York. We have never stopped touring since then - it’s been almost a year. We both work better separately, sending each other stuff through the Internet, and get together to work on the live set. We fight a lot but in the end we’re usually both happy with our collaborations, but it’s kind of a struggle ‘cause we are both very much “in our heads” and wanna be in control of everything. Being in a “band” is not for us - we both have our separate projects. Nevertheless, we can never stop working and playing together ‘cause we love it.

Is Butterclock a full-time project now or do you have to do other work to support yourself financially?

Touring took up a lot of time last year so l didn’t have time to work on the side - luckily. I hope I’ll never have to have a ‘normal job’ again - I don’t think l could handle it. I admire people who are able to do it.

Why do you think acts like yourself, oOoOO, Balam Acab and Salem have risen to prominence over the past few years?

Well, l don’t identify really with other bands. oOoOO is a collaborator and we obviously have a lot in common.

I love Balam Acab’s music and he is a very nice person, but l never really understood the link between all these artists. The idea of a new genre was created by the media. I think we are all doing our thing, alone, without really thinking about the rest. Well, this is what l feel.

What are your plans for 2012? Are you working on an EP or an album at the moment?

Yes, l will finally release an EP at the end of April. It’s a very slow process for me ‘cause l can’t sit somewhere and finish a record. I am too scattered, always moving around. It’s hard for me to refuse shows and l must admit that it’s my favourite thing. I’d rather release songs on the Internet myself and put them on free download. I don’t really see the point of having a label when l can do everything myself. But this time l will release an EP for real. The label is still a secret for a now, but you will hear about it very soon.

Words: Fiona Slimmon

Against the One Way Rollerblading’s resident intellectual discusses the journey that led him to San Francisco and defends one of the most controversial characters in the sport.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 31 Kevin Yee is not your average rollerblader.

For starters, the guy has a degree in

philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, one of the most respected and highest ranking further education institutions in the United States. Let’s face it; most rollerbladers struggle to spell the word Berkeley without the aid of a laptop. If you don’t agree, simply have a glance at the comments on Rollernews or some of the posts on Be-mag – it will make any admirer of the English language shake their head in disbelief. Then there is the fact that he practices yoga and quotes passages from books like he has a photographic memory – it’s a little weird. Some might argue that Kevin Yee is a geek, and this may be true, but he is a geek that will make you look very stupid if you run your mouth in his presence and you don’t know what you are talking about.

When it comes to blading, his approach is definitely against the grain compared to the current trends in the sport. While most skaters are lurking through their local area looking for rails and ledges and constantly thinking of grind variations and switch-ups to impress their friends or capture for an online edit, Yee is scanning the sides of buildings for drain pipes that can take his weight and eyeing up the skinny wooden rail coming down from his neighbour’s house to see if it is possible to roll down. Basically, Kevin Yee skates like he has never seen a blading video before and simply looks at the wheels beneath his feet as a way to make the most out of anomalies in modern architecture.

Growing up in Minnesota, Yee comes from a state with a rich blading history thanks to the progressive spirit of first generation icons like Steve Thomas, John Schmidt, Jon Robinson and John Glynn, who were at the forefront of the sport during its rapid growth spurt in the nineties. However, Yee did not spend much time in their company as he was almost a decade younger and refused to leave the confines of his local skatepark.

“I met some of them at the local skatepark,” he says. “They were a bit older so I didn’t really kick it with them outside of the skatepark. I was a park rat for my first few years of blading. To the park and back, unaware of the streets - like a good little church boy! Granted, the energy that those pioneers set into motion was alive and well when I entered the scene and it took hold of me just as it did the rest of my peers.”

Yee may not have spent much time with the original Minnesota street skaters, but he did form a friendship with the state’s most recognisable professional rollerblader, Chris Farmer, after the pair met at 4-Down Skatepark and cites the icon as a big influence during his formative years. The pair would later join forces with several friends, including Kai and Anders-Carlson Wee, to form skate crew SNF, which you may remember if you saw VG Battle My Crew.

Growing up around Farmer, who has found a way to skate pretty much any obstacle, and

the Carlson-Wee brothers, who were known for their wildly experimental approach to blading, it is no wonder that Yee has an incredibly unique viewpoint on how to use rollerblades as artistic expression. Reflecting on those years spent in the Midwest, Yee says:

“I have had skates since I was a little boy but I started doing tricks in 1997 because my family moved to Minnesota and there happened to be a mini ramp at the end of my street. I was fascinated by it so my dad took me to the sporting goods store and I got my first pair of aggressive skates - Roces Street.

I remember the guy selling them talking about ‘soul grinds’. I didn’t actually know what he was talking about at all but I went out of there on a mission to find out.”

Despite the fact that Yee was fortunate enough to grow up with an individual who has become one of the most respected professionals in the sport, he advises that Farmer has had very little impact on his perception of rollerblading over the past few years. According to the 27-year old, his current outlook on the sport has been shaped by watching old videos of Nick Riggle, Andy Kruse and Erik Burke, as well as the influence of Tommyboy, Pat Lennon and Sean Sea, the group of friends he inherited when he moved to San Francisco to live with Lennon in the Mission District of the city after graduating from university. Now a permanent resident in the Bay Area, Yee is a part of the highly entertaining, and sometimes controversial, SHOCK collective that provides regular online content and released their first video at the end of last year.

“I partnered up with Tommyboy three years ago to help bring his vision into reality,” he begins. “To some extent it became my vision, with the in-depth interviews I held with various figures in our community. From the beginning, we wanted to make a video. We finished the video for Christmas of last year. Boom!”

The second trailer for the SHOCK video raised many eyebrows, and provoked a lot of criticism, when it was released earlier this year, as it featured a pretty harrowing scene of extreme violence and ended with a clip of Sean Sea (Cullen) holding a knife to professional female rollerblader Fallon Heffernan’s throat and threatening her. Mr. Sea caused more controversy when he released several parts of the INRI video, The Rebirth, online and two filmers claimed that the footage in the Gav Drumm and Aaron Feinberg sections were used without permission. There have also been rumours that Sea has defrauded several shops by taking their money for clothing orders and never sending the actual items. Regardless of how much truth exists to these claims, Yee is adamant that his close friend has nothing to be ashamed of and that he is simply misunderstood by many who fail to see the charm in his extrovert behavior.

Above: Zero spin gap over rail Opposite: Soul to drop soul, gap over rail

Kevin Yee — Negative Makio

“Let me share you a quote that Ryan Schude wrote about Sean in the last Daily Bread: “Because he is so unique, and because humans tend to fear what they don’t understand, Sean is constantly left in a bind, and basically left alone to choose between not giving a fuck what people think, or hoping that they suspend their own reality long enough to comprehend his unique lifestyle.”

“I think there is still a lot of truth to this,” continues Yee. “Of course, since this was written, Sean has grown up a lot. Sean is truly a dinosaur in the blading industry, we are lucky to still have him around and still ripping!”

In a recent interview with One, Yee declared that he should be riding professionally for a boot company. Of course, there are many elements to becoming a professional that extent beyond the skater’s ability, such as his marketability as a character, how much the rollerblading community holds him in high regard and the most obvious: can his name sell a product?

Hours could be spent contemplating the legitimacy of this claim, especially as there is so little footage of Yee’s skating available to the general public, but it seems much more interesting to explore his motivations behind such a remark and query if he felt at all worried that there would be a backlash against such a bold statement.

“It sucks that out of all the words I shared in that interview and the tricks I did, people seem to only really react to that statement. I don’t think Josh Petty woke up every day and read about what kids thought of him - and it showed in his skating. Maybe the pros need to start talking to drown out the anonymous hate on message boards.

In The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho writes: ‘When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.’ By saying what I did, I was letting the universe know so that it can conspire to help me achieve it.”

Will 2012 be the year that the universe provides Kevin Yee with a spot on a pro team roster? It certainly seems that he is doing everything in his power to assist the greater power’s work. In addition to his recent section in The SHOCK Video, Yee has been busy filming for the upcoming Xsjado video and he will also have a section on Matt Rice’s website www.dealwithitsf.com later this year.

Aside from that, he would like to see the future bring a plague of bladers to every city in the United States with the sole purpose of highlighting the country’s inadequacies. No one can ever say he doesn’t dream big.

Blue bump to topside soul

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 35 “I started reading a new book called A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. It’s so fucked up what greed has done to this world. I have been dreaming of bladers who attack cities with a sense of this political-historical reality as opposed to something lame like outfits or HD or notHD. For my skating, I am in a very fertile period so my plan is to not hold back at all this year and be extremely productive. As a person, I am enjoying life more and more in my own way.”

Words: David McNamara Photos: Matthew Rice One Foot Roll

Venturing into the Unknown

Pop experimentalists Maps & Atlases get excited about breaking new ground and finding out what their fans think of their music.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 37 Should you be familiar with Maps & Atlases and their music, you’ll no doubt agree that it defies easy categorisation.

Their debut album, Perch Patchwork, is as much experimental and progressive as it is intimate and personal. So difficult to pin down is their sound that even frontman Dave Davison finds it hard. “It’s always tough to come up with a good description,” he admits, “but if asked, we usually describe our music as technical or experimental pop music, because I think that at least accurately describes our approach to music.” Although it sounds very vague, it’s probably the closest and most accurate description you’ll hear.

The key word is “experimental”, and with the band’s second long player, Beware And Be Grateful, released this month, the boundaries are being pushed further as the Chicago four-piece challenge themselves and their sound to create something they can be truly proud of. “We tried to make an album that builds upon our previous work and to make the most focused, expressive and interesting record that we could,” explains Davison, and the result is an album which is more sonically expansive and technically challenging. “It includes a lot of new types of experimentation for us such as improvisation and the use of effects, to name a few,” continues Davison. Improvisation seems to be something which is key to the new record.

Each track is given its own spontaneous energy and Davison is quick to affirm that “many classic albums have that feel and we wanted to have the best of both worlds: a deliberate, good sounding album, with spontaneity and a lot of live energy.”

Going a little deeper, Davison reveals that throughout the album there is a continuous feel of weight. Musically, there is an expansion on their use of texture, while the lyrics focus on the important and the meaningful. He explains: “Some songs are heavy and others are light feeling, sometimes in regards to the same subject.”

More interestingly is how Davison explains his personal geographic references within the album. Many of the songs were written while walking and the lyrics reference certain locations so, for Davison, “listening back to the songs often makes me visualise those locations.”

Similar to their debut record, the preliminary tracking and demoing of Beware And Be Grateful mostly took place in Dave’s parent’s basement and, even during these early planning stages, the band’s long time friend and producer Jason Cupp was heavily involved. “Jason and I came upon this guy selling a pile of Casio keyboards on the street and thought that it could be fun to play around with them a bit in the recording process, so we ended up buying all of them,” recalls Dave. “We used them quite a bit when planning and demoing and, although there is barely any keyboard on the album, I feel that it did inform the final sound.”

The band would later head to Omaha,

Nebraska with Cupp to record the album at ARC studios, a decision based simply on a desire to actually put together a record in the studio setting, which was a first for them. “It was a great experience,” says Davison. “The studio provided us with a lot of new sounds and instruments to experiment with.”

But it wasn’t just the record that Omaha had a positive effect on. “It is a fantastic studio,” he acknowledges, “but I think that just having all of us hanging out all day in that new environment was significant in itself.” And, needless to say, the band were more than thrilled to be working with Cupp again, citing him as “extremely talented”.

“It’s excellent to work with someone who is so capable of helping to realise ideas,” says Davison. “I especially appreciate the momentum that we are able to get going when we both get really excited about what’s happening, allowing us to go further down different musical paths working together than we might on our own.”

With the new record due for release this month, the band are dropping down on British soil, something which they are indescribably excited about given the success of their 2010 UK tour which was a complete sell out. “It is always incredible to travel to new places and have there actually be people at the shows and we feel really fortunate that we’re able to do that,” exclaims Davison. “Each time that we’ve come to the UK we have felt comfortable and people have been very hospitable to us, so we’re looking forward to returning.”

This hospitality spreads across Maps & Atlases’ worldwide fan base whose sheer dedication always leaves the band incredibly humbled. “I’m always really excited to have conversations with people while we’re on tour and often there are times when I feel surprised and excited by the insightful things they have to say about our music,” admits Davison. “I think that it takes a lot of dedication to listen carefully and internalise music and it makes me excited, because I love listening to music in that way.” Beyond touring the new record, the band have no set plans as of yet, simply taking things as they come. This could mean anything from more touring to festival slots, you name it. But one thing is for sure: with the release of such an ambitious, experimental record and a hugely devoted fan base, Maps & Atlases have a huge year ahead of them.

Words: Nina Glencross

Socio-political Techno

Huoratron makes electronic music that signifies the end of the world as we know it, and he has a few ideas about how it is going to happen.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 39 Finnish producer Aku Raski cut his teeth crafting 8-bit Game Boy inspired beats back in the mid-noughties but his creations haven taken a decidedly darker turn over the past few years. In 2010, he signed with trend-setting Canadian label Last Gang Records under the moniker of Huoratron after being discovered at a music festival in Holland and unleashed Prevenge EP, a collection of chaotic, distortion-heavy techno assaults that attracted hedonistic ravers and circle pit enthusiasts in equal measure.

The evil genius has previously stated that his frenzied take on dance music sounds “like bending metal” but, to be honest, it sounds much more like being chased through an abandoned industrial wasteland at night by an angry mob armed with metal – sharp metal. The combination of growling, deformed samples and hammering beats creates such an overwhelming feeling of urgency that the listener does not know whether to stand tall and fight or run for their life – and it is incredibly exhilarating.

The relatively-unknown producer was propelled to cult fame after the runaway success of the music video for ‘Corporate Occult’, a horrific short film directed by Cédric Blaisbois that followed the antics of a young couple returning home from a club for a night of passion only for it to take a violent twist when the attractive woman turns out to be a monster with tentacles and a craving for human flesh. Considering the alias Raski has adopted and its potential implications, his inclination towards violent imagery in his music videos and the fact that many of his tracks have such delightfully sinister titles (‘Sea of Meat’ and ‘New Wave of Mutilation’ are particular favourites), you could be forgiven for thinking the guy is a bit of a sadist with a fetish for violence. After all, he does come from a country that is credited with producing the first wave of black metal and the title for his forthcoming debut album, Cryptocracy, is a term associated with murder in Satanic symbology. However, Huoratron’s use of the word stems from the political term which has equally sinister connotations.

“By definition, Cryptocracy refers to a type of rule where the real leaders are hidden, or merely unknown. Do you choose to interpret this as referring to concrete and mundane structures of dominance and power or as a reference to a more philosophical viewpoint? Either way, it encompasses all interaction, from the societal macro level to personal micro level.”

Huoratron is by no means the generic electronic producer that adheres to a certain formula in order to ensure that his music is easily accessible and the dancefloor is always filled. His music challenges the notion of dance music as a disposable commodity and offers a challenging alternative to the chart-topping novelty acts that simply view success in terms of singles sales. His debut album explores the degradation of modern society, reduction in

civic freedom and the blind trust that people put in their governments – all the while melting your face off.

“Each song holds within it a strong idea or theme that, to me, determined its final form. When you bring all these ideas together in the form of an album, you have a theme. In this case it’s Cryptocracy. There are a number of questions that are looked at, but most prevalent are perhaps the erosion of privacy, as well as police corruption. As you can imagine, bringing those two together can have a disastrous impact on the world.”

If Prevenge was merely a glimpse at Huoratron’s vision for electronic music, Cryptocracy is a fully-realised exploration of a world where hard rock and industrial influences collide to create a series of antagonistic, thought-provoking call to arms.

The producer is the first to admit that he was never much of a musician in the classical sense of the term, but with the assistance of high end audio electronics he is able to create something which he hopes will have the same impact on others as the acts that made an impression on him growing up.

It comes as very little surprise to find that some of the brands that influenced him the most had quite strong agendas of their own.

“The first time I really had my mind blown on a permanent basis by music, it was noisy and discordant guitar rock in the early 90s - Sonic Youth, Big Black and all that Alternative Tentacles stuff. Also loads of bands from Bad Vugum. As far as the industrial stuff, there’s stuff by Ministry, Lard, Skatenings, Godflesh and others that I really like. In the winter I get as little sunlight and vitamin D as some of the guys who make that stuff, so it’s more like a shared impact.

The sun influences all our productions. Here via its absence.”

During live performances, Huoratron certainly seems to transcend the traditional dynamic of DJ and crowd as separate entities. When he takes to the stage, he ensures that every available amount of energy is spent violently thrashing around and punching his apparatus like he is trying to destroy it. There is no option of mere cursor clicking for this bearded protagonist.

His performances are so all-consuming that they regularly result in the crowd invading the stage to feed off his enthusiasm and videos of these spectacles have amassed over 100,000 views on Youtube. According to the producer, his performances are as much about his cathartic release as the crowd’s.

He must give his all in order to ensure that the crowd does the same - sounds pretty reasonable.

“In live situations I look for conflict and release - for absolution - for myself and for the audience. That’s not going to happen if I just twiddle a couple of knobs. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I throw myself out there and if the audience responds, something great happens. A good audience is worth its own weight in gold.”

Considering the extreme form of

electronic music that he creates, the imagery that coincides with it and his strong beliefs, it would be easy to see why Huoratron might attract some quite bizarre followers.

However, he believes that it is not the fans of this aggressive form of music that are the ones to be viewed with suspicion; it’s the idiots that have no interest in the music and simply want a venue and a soundtrack to get wasted and take out their frustrations at the world. “My experience has been that people who are into extreme music tend to be quite mellow and well-behaved,” he says. “It’s those jokers with white pants that get drunk and listen to chart cheese that you wish to watch out for.”

There is very little chance of Huoratron storming the pop charts any time soon.

In fact, there is very little chance of him appearing in any charts, and he seems perfectly at ease with his place in music. He has been quite vocal in the past about his distaste for artists that simply adhere to a certain formula for electronic music without any comprehension of where it may have stemmed from and it seems fairly safe to say that he will not be offering to play alongside the likes of David Guetta anytime in the foreseeable future. In his opinion, such acts are only contributing to the degradation of music as a viable form of art.

“It’s not the act of looking for a hit, per se, that deserves my contempt. You can do that with a big heart, too, and make a big noise. The people I tend to despise are the people who make meaningless and useless music without understanding it themselves.

The world is full of shit already. Why take a musical dump in it, too?

“In live situations I look for conflict and release - for absolution - for myself and for the audience. That’s not going to happen if I just twiddle a couple of knobs.”

Words: Fiona Slimmon

Hometown Glory

One of Arizona’s most underrated talents, Kenny Scherf, discusses his plans for the future and explains why Dave Lang is responsible for his re-occurring ankle injuries.

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Rollerblading is not about pro skaters, videos and competitions. Sure, all of these aspects are important to the sport. After all, the pro skaters offer inspiration and give the younger generation figures to look up to. Videos are useful in that they provide entertainment and allow people to see what different scenes are like around the world and competitions give our favourite professionals the opportunity to earn some money and hungry amateurs the chance to prove themselves to their peers. However, this is not where the sport’s main appeal lies for most lifetime bladers in waiting that just don’t know it yet.

People like Kenny Scherf are the individuals that develop our sport on an everyday basis at a grassroots level. Many people first discover rollerblading by witnessing someone on skates in their town or city, seeing a person they recognise from their school skating a handrail or tearing up a local skatepark. This is where the appeal in rollerblading lies, because when someone picks up a pair of skates they instantly have

a connection with that individual and it allows them to develop a friendship based on a shared interest. It is local heroes, like Kenny Scherf, that provide the main source of inspiration that is needed to help young skaters in the community develop their talents.

Scherf has never been sponsored and there is very little chance of him taking home top honours at Winterclash or Bitter Cold Showdown any time soon, but every time he straps on a pair of blades he shows dedication to his craft and his obvious ability on blades is a source of encouragement for kids in his local area. He is not simply an icon that bladers in their formative years can watch in videos and events, but a real-life mentor that they interact with on a regular basis at their local skate spots and seek encouragement from to develop their blading talents. The 20-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona has been going strong for years and released an impressive section in the local scene video, Creep, but, more importantly, he is still there, on the streets,

despite limited free time due to working towards kick-starting his career in business management. Let’s just hope that grocery industry doesn’t steal Scherf from us for another few years.

Above: Backside royale Opposite: Sweatstance

Wheel Scene: How did you get into rollerblading and what year was that?

Kenny Scherf: When I was about nine I was a skateboarder, and I always had a far-from-par skateboard. It would always chip and break, so it seemed like I was going nowhere. One day I decided to steal my brother’s (Andrew Scherf) skates when he was at a friend’s house, and then begged for a pair for my birthday. It had to have been March of 2001.

What do you think about competitions? Do you enjoy skating in them?

I honestly love competitions. I wish I could go to them all, but there always seems to be something that stops me from going. My main problem is getting the time off work.

You have been injured recently. Can you tell us about that?

I initially hurt my ankle about two years ago on a stair gap, and I re-injured it at AIL 2011. Shout out to Dave Lang, who I “blame” for the re injury. I was messing around in warm ups and doing

cork 900s over the fly box and Dave told me to do it again. I slipped out when I launched up, under rotated and somehow flat bottomed to my back and slammed my right foot to the ground.

It’s never been the same since - almost there though.

Damn, that doesn’t sound very good.

I have injured it on and off for about the past five years.

Moving on, what is your local skate scene like?

The Arizona scene has had its ups and downs, but somehow one person has managed to keep a somewhat segregated scene from crumbling.

Ever since the dawn of Thursday Night Skate the pieces were put back together. Thanks James and Gretchen at Revolution Skate.

Are you working or studying at the moment?

I do plan on going to a University starting in the Fall and my job has somehow managed to turn into a career. I have invested a lot of time into the Kroger Company and plan to

continue my career path with them. The only drawback to these responsibilities is I can’t skate as much I used to.

What is the Kroger Company and what would you like to study at university?

The Kroger Company is a grocery industry giant in the USA. They go from coast to coast with over 3,500 stores.

My studies at the university will be aimed toward business management, because of Kroger’s generous tuition reimbursement. After it all they will have contributed more than 40% of my tuition.

What do you like to do when you are not skating?

I’ll be one of the few to admit that Call of Duty may have affected my skating, that’s one of the things I do when I’m not skating. Driving and just hanging out with friends doing dumb shit would sum up my life outside of skating.

When can we expect to see new Kenny Scherf footage?

Look forward to seeing me in the upcoming video You Become a

Monster, set to premier this summer.

I’ve worked really hard on my section for the past year.

If you could pick one rollerblader to represent our sport, who would it be and why?

I could name a few, but one would have to be Brian Aragon. He’s kinda done his own thing with skating that makes his shit appealing. He’s capable of laying it down one minute and playing around the next. His tricks always seem to flow together and his style is his own.

To the outside eye, or someone who’s been skating for years, it is hard not to be impressed with the shit he throws down.

Words: David McNamara Photos: Ryan Daily Fishbrain to fakie

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The Art of Restraint Lower Dens guitarist Will Adams discusses the delicate approach to their sophomore album and the band’s relationship with technology.

“Nootropics” is the collective term for drugs used to help enhance cognitive functions such as memory, intelligence, attention and motivation. It is also the title of Lower Dens’ second album. “We had the name sitting around for a long time. We thought it was fitting with the theme of the record and it looks really nice written out, it’s a great word to look at,” says guitarist Will Adams.

It certainly is a fitting title, not only hinting at front woman Jana Hunter’s interest in trans-humanism (the use of technology to extend human capabilities, apparently) but also chosen for its simpler aesthetic value.

This is a record awash with meditative jams on the complexities of mankind’s relationship with technology but one that also possesses an instinctive melodic drive that, more importantly, makes it a great listen, too.

Following on from 2010’s captivating debut Twin Hand Movement, Nootropics possesses the same intimacy and subdued shoe gaze, but swaps the beguiling for the brooding and sees the band achieve an altogether sharper sound. “I feel like Twin Hand Movement was the punk record we made when we were eighteen, although we weren’t eighteen,” explains Adams. Eighteen months later and after relentless touring with the likes of Deerhunter and fellow Baltimore residents Beach House, it’s a wonder the band had time to write and record a follow up at all.

“The album was written on tour - a lot of it in the UK. We’d work on the stuff in sound checks when we had a second.” Or indeed in the back of the tour van: “Instead of sitting in a room with loud amps we would have a little computer with a music program on it; it was a very quiet process.”

As a result the album is even more measured than its predecessor; guitars, bass, keyboard, percussion and Hunter’s elegant vocals melting together to produce an absorbing yet understated album, an album that the band is clearly very proud of.

“It’s nice to have people enjoy what you do and it’s nice to play a show and have someone really excited when you start a particular song but do I sound like an ass when I say making the album you want to make is a reward in itself?” Not at all. In Nootropics Lower Dens have created a world that is entirely their own, one that is sparse and unnerving, but nevertheless one to get lost in. It would be doing them a disservice to compare the record to other bands, and you get the impression influences and similarities are irrelevant or accidental such is the singularity and strength of the band’s vision.

“In the studio where we were recording they had a living room owned by this couple and a lot of the time we would just pick out the records they had lying around there and not go to our own iPods. It wasn’t intentional but I think a little bit of that stuff crept into our album…pretty run of the mill stuff, nothing that abstract…Pink Floyd albums and Cheap Trick albums and a Suzi Quatro record that got played a lot. Maybe I can hear that stuff in there better because I was there and people will say ‘there’s not a bit of music there that sounds like Suzi Quatro.’” And, not wanting to disappoint, there isn’t.

Regardless of what it is you think you can hear in Nootropics there is a timeless originality to it. A band underrated for a few years now, Lower Dens have learnt to trust their own impulses and record what they want to record. It just so happens to be a second brilliant album.

Words: Henry Wilkinson

The Future is Now

The rapidly-evolving European rollerblading scene has given birth to another exceptional talent in the form of Switzerland’s Maxime Genoud.

There is a fine line between arrogance and self-confidence, and the all-time greats of our sport have always been skilled at staying on the right side. After all, it takes a lot of belief in one’s abilities for a skater to confidently approach a handrail with a huge drop on one side or charge at a gap that is the equivalent to jumping over a sizable bungalow house.

The skater must truly believe they are going to land the trick they are attempting if it is ever going to work - otherwise they are simply sacrificing their bodies with nothing but reckless abandon and capricious youth on their side.

Maxime Genoud is a perfect example of a blader that is capable of treading this line.

I discovered this after meeting him for the first time at Winterclash 2012. He approached the Wheel Scene booth at the tradeshow and introduced himself. The young blader was softly spoken, polite and had a welcoming smile on his face. However, after the amateur qualifiers, I saw him again upstairs during the video premier of The Breakfast Club and there was a notable difference in him.

I asked him how he got on and he simply replied: “I think I qualified first”. Out of context, these could sound like the words of a cocky teenager who thinks a little too highly of himself, but the way Genoud said it, with such deadpan conviction, as if it was not merely his opinion but already a widelyknown fact, made me believe him even though I hadn’t seen any of the heats. Sure enough, Genoud had qualified first and he went on to win the amateur event by outclassing the rest of the competition.

“The atmosphere at the ‘clash was amazing and winning was the best that I could hope for,” says Genoud when asked if he was surprised that he took first place. “I knew that it would be possible but I wasn’t sure, even after the finals.”

The past year has seen a serious rise in the profile of the young Swiss blader.

He has produced regular online edits that display his ability to skate park and street with the same high level of skill and his joint online section with Winterclash 2011 AM winner Anthony Pottier was an impressive watch considering the duo filmed the entire thing in just one week. He has also been collecting sponsors with rapid succession and boasts six endorsement deals with Rollerblade, Fenfanix, Urban Kreation, HS36 Skatepark, Rolling Rock and Mood – not bad for someone who has only been blading for eight years.

Genoud first discovered rollerblading after witnessing the annual inline extravaganza that is International Roller Contest Lausanne, specifically the infamous downhill event that sees hundreds of skaters take to the streets of the country’s fifth largest city to make use of the concrete slopes, with many adorned in fancy dress and carrying torches. After seeing such a spectacle, it was only a matter of time before Genoud strapped on a pair of blades to see what all the fuss was about.

“I spent all of my childhood in Lausanne and every year I was able to see the IRCL downhill from my balcony,” he says. “It interested me a lot, so my dad took me to the competition to have a look. In 2002, for my 11th birthday, my dad bought me the Salomon ST60 skates. I went to the skate park one day and saw Diego Luppi. He took me under his wing and I’ve never stopped skating with him.”

The 19-year-old has been rolling hard ever since and making quite an impression on the European rollerblading scene due to his raw street skating talents and consistent competition performances. The Lausanne native is currently dividing his time between blading and studying photography at CEPV, a local high school that specialises in the arts.

Do his parents worry that his passion for rollerblading and regular globe-trotting antics will impede his studies? More importantly, does his father regret getting him those first pair of rollerblades? “My parents are still pushing me a lot,” responds Genoud.”My dad is happy that I can split my time between my studies and rollerblading.”

Striking a balance between rollerblading and school may become harder for the blading prodigy as the year progresses, with planned appearances on the Balkan Tour and several European blading competitions scheduled for later in the year. However, he is most excited about attending the annual event that is held in his home city, the LSBC in Lausanne, mainly due to the fact that he gets to spend time with all of his close friends. When asked about the local scene, Genoud says: “Lausanne has a huge blader family! There are a lot of bladers, but some of them should be better known, like Diego Luppi and Geoffroy Dubreuil.”

Despite the fact that his local scene is flourishing, he is the first to admit that it is not as vibrant as it was in the nineties when the Lausanne rollerblading competition was one of the most highly anticipated events in the international rollerblading calendar.

However, Genoud is happy to wait for the sport’s return to mainstream acceptance.

He just wishes that one of the newer action sports would take blading’s place on the cultural scrapheap.

“I think that the past few years have been quite hard for our sport, but a lot of motivated people are trying to bring it on top again. When kids become bored with those stupid scoters, the world will be a much nicer place to live for bladers.”

In addition to attending various events and hoping to capitalise on his impressive performance at Winterclash, Genoud will also be filming a section for close friend Geoffroy Debreuil’s forthcoming blading video, T.O.E., which he advises is “gonna be sick”. Considering how accurate he has been with his predictions so far this year, it would be foolish to doubt him. While on the topic of blading DVDs, Genoud offers his views on his favourite release from the last twelve months, Jonas Hansson’s Traitement.

“It’s not about, ‘Here we are, we are the best, we’ve got swag!’ When I saw it I just suddenly wanted to go out and skate around.

I think those kinds of videos are way better than oversaturated videos with sunburns every 20 seconds.”

Genoud is not entirely sure what he wants to do once he finishes high school.

In fact, he has no idea at all. The only thing he is certain about is that he wants to see as much of the world as possible and take some beautiful photographs along the way. In his words: “I don’t have plans for the moment, only ideas.” Fortunately for him, that is how most great adventures begin.

Words: David McNamara Photos: Arthur O’maleh, Julien Pousaz, David Morra, Claudio Bohli and Pierrick Dind

Backslide

Back torque

Back from the Dead Dan McLaren may not have been in the public eye for a few years, but that doesn’t mean he’s still not blading hard.

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Within the confines of the tight-knit UK rollerblading community where everyone seems to know everyone, either by name or by face, Dan McLaren was well known to most. He was a member of the Razors UK team for three years, after being invited to join the ranks in 2008, and could regularly be spotted in online edits with close friend Carne Webb and at real street events across the country. In 2011, he was dropped from the Razors team without any warning and, as he puts it, without justifiable cause. Since losing his boot sponsor, McLaren was hardly ever seen at events and many people had come to the conclusion that he had simply stopped blading.

In 2011, McLaren proved that this was definitely not the case when he showed up at the Milton Keynes stop of A Chosen Few’s international street skating contest series and came second, narrowly losing out to Alex Burston after landing some impressive feats, including a series of truespin variations down the notorious “Brown” rail, which really should be called the casualty rail because it is pretty steep, the stair set is falling apart and then landing is not smooth

by any means. According to McLaren, this was not a comeback as he has never stopped skating, he simply has no interest in attending most competitions anymore (with the exception of real street events) because he has no desire to compete. We caught up with the Northamptonshire blading veteran to find out what really happened with Razors and what he has been doing with himself since.

Note From Cal Baker One of my earliest memories of skating with Dan was at a school in Northampton. We were all just watching the “bigger boys” skate a square down rail. All of a sudden, a 4ft nothing, size ten skate wearing Dan laces the most perfect top soul, much to the astonishment of us and the bigger boys also.

Since then, I can honestly say I have had the pleasure of seeing Dan progress every time he skates. He is one of those skaters that will instantly catch your attention at a session. He skates hard and fast without any hesitation or fear of falling, He also possesses a really gritty street skater style.

This wasn’t so much an interview as a chat between friends and a chance for Dan to set the record straight on a couple of things.

After a lot of goading we finally got him to open up about being dropped by Razors and asked him why he thinks it is that most people thought he had quit rollerblading.

Above: Disaster topside soul Opposite: Topside pornstar

Cal Baker: For the kids that don’t know, introduce yourself.

Dan McLaren: My name is Dan McLaren, I’m 26 and live in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire not Milton Keynes, as everyone seems to think.

Cal Baker: You got dropped by your boot sponsor, Razors, a while back. I remember you telling me at the time that, when they called, you thought they were calling you to give you some new blades. How did you feel when you got dropped?

Dan McLaren: I was gutted, for sure, and I was wondering why I got the boot.

Carne Webb: Yeah, you got the boot alright, not a pro boot, not new boots - just the boot!

Dan McLaren: Haha! Yeah, exactly, I was thinking to myself that I didn’t do anything less than anyone else on the team and, at the time, didn’t think it was about my skating ability either.

For them to expect me to give them a certain amount of clips and pictures

each month is unfair. Who takes these photos? Who films me? Do I have to pay a photographer or buy a camera myself?

Carne Webb: It’s like you got there by proving how good you are and then, when you get on the team, they were kind of like, “Well you don’t live locally and we don’t see enough of you and, to be honest, I can kind of see their point - but it does seem unfair.

Dan McLaren: Yeah, me too. That’s why the Razors and Powerslide houses work so well; because you have all the team in one house with a videographer and photographer on hand to capture everything, so nothing is missed.

Cal Baker: As I’m sure people will notice, even though you were dropped you have continued to skate the skates, whereas most skaters tend to change brand when they get dropped. Was this a conscious decision on your part?

Dan McLaren: Well, I skated that skate for ten years and was only on the team for maybe four years. If I never got

hooked up by them I probably would have still skated those skates forever anyway.

Carne Webb: So what was your main drive for doing this Wheel Scene profile?

Dan McLaren: Well, when Sam (Cooper) put that picture of me doing the royale on a kink on Be-Mag, I had a few comments from people saying it’s good to see me back skating again – I never stopped! I mainly want to let people know that, just because you don’t see me at comps or the cool places to skate, doesn’t mean I stopped skating or stopped progressing.

Cal Baker: Do you think that the fact you don’t attend competitions is the main reason for this?

Dan McLaren: Well, maybe, but we do go to some comps - we went to the Liverpool IMYTA! Cal Baker: That was in 2006 - we have been to a few since then.

Dan McLaren: Yeah, we went to Amsterdam and stuff like that but in the 270 topside soyale

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last two years I’ve been going to less and less.

Cal Baker: Do you think that if you entered comps you would probably go to more?

Dan McLaren: No, not really, because me and my friends are not into that sort of thing. The only competitive thing we have is with ourselves, and that’s like a joke. I think that you only need to go to all the comps and things if you’re intending to make something out of skating, like a job. If you wanna make money out of rollerblading, comp skating is the only way to be.

Cal Baker: Do you wish your skating had gone down that route?

Dan McLaren: No, not necessarily, because I would have had to do it on my own as none of my friends would have done it.

Cal Baker: Who do you think is the best in the UK? Dan McLaren: Probably Lomax, because he seems to win most competitions he enters.

Cal Baker: Who is your favourite in the UK?

Dan McLaren: Well, either Quinny or Alex Burston. Burston probably because I have seen him grow from a little kid to one of the top international professionals and I like to see people taking their skating seriously if they want to make a full-time job of it.

Cal Baker: As we discussed earlier, we went for years without having cameras or people to film, now we have four cameras and everyone and their dog has a 550d at least.

Does being filmed or having your photo taken encourage you to skate harder?

Dan McLaren: Yeah, to a certain extent.

I mean, with the Wheel Scene thing, I don’t want to waste any one’s time. If I get hurt that day, I’ll just keep skating and recover the next day.

Cal Baker: Whilst getting the pictures you would rock up to a new a spot, get it done and leave. Is this how you like your skating to work?

Dan McLaren: No, not always, but for the purpose of taking photos or filming clips, I think it’s best like that.

Carne Webb: Do you think the right people

are in charge of skating in the UK? Dan McLaren: No! It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. I also don’t see how being a skater for a few years means you have the experience needed to be a manager or something like that.

With Unity (now defunct UK blading magazine), it was all Bristol-based at the start then it turned to Manchester, so if you lived near the photographer or knew the editor your pictures got ran.

That’s why I think Wheel Scene is good; because it’s free there is no need to rush it out and they can take the time to cover the whole UK.

Introduction and interview: Carne Webb and Cal Baker Photos: Sam Cooper Backslide

Real Talk

Stefan Brandow isn’t afraid to speak his mind and call it like it is – even if that means ruffling a few feathers.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 53 If you don’t recognise the name Stefan Brandow, you have clearly overlooked the 56 online edits he has created, or featured in, over the last four years, but there is a distinct possibility that you have worn one of his logos. The 24-year-old has lent his graphic design expertise to numerous brands including Havok, Con Artist, Scribe, Bulletprufe Denim and Southern Scum.

That’s right, without even realising, you have a small piece of Brandow hanging up in your closet. In addition to being a prolific filmer and designer, he is also a pretty gifted blader. At least, Bulletprufe Denim and M1 certainly seem to think so, as they have added the North Carolina resident to their respective amateur team rosters.

Going past his obvious creative talents and ability of blades, Stefan Brandow is an absolute pleasure to talk to. It is refreshing to speak to someone in rollerblading that doesn’t circle around a topic or maintain a diplomatic attitude for the sake of keeping the peace, no sir. Brandow will happily call out anyone that he believes is in dire need of being put in their place. During the following discussion, his main grievance lies with the rollerblading industry. In particular, the companies that currently dominate the sport and dictate how it is seen by the general public. Regardless of whether or not Brandow has a valid point, it is difficult to fault his conviction. The drifter explains why he believes rollerblading has become “a stagnant industry” and tells us about his journey from growing up in New York to currently living in North Carolina.

Wheel Scene: Okay, let’s start with the basics. How old are you and where are you from?

Stefan Brandow: I’m 24-years-young and born in a tiny town in the western part of New York state. I went to college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and currently reside in Raleigh, North Carolina.

You recently moved to North Carolina, is that right? What are you doing there?

After I graduated from college in Pittsburgh I worked for a year, but decided it wasn’t where I wanted to be at the time. I tried moving home to New York for a while, but that wasn’t working either. When I left Pittsburgh my girlfriend had moved to Charlotte to be with her family. I decided to move to Charlotte with her and figure out where we wanted to go and ended up in Raleigh.

What did you study in college?

I went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for Graphic Design. I loved going to that school!

What are you doing with yourself these days?

Funny you ask; as of yesterday quite a few things have really changed for me.

Right now, I’m looking into where I’m going to be living next, whether that is Above: Fishbrain Opposite: Unity

here in Raleigh or somewhere else - I haven’t decided. Nothing has really gone my way since moving to North Carolina and things have got worse and worse to the point where it’s time for a big change. I just haven’t had the time to really decide what that is yet. I know for sure I’m trying to film another DVD this year, as well as do more design work for blading and scooting companies.

Tell us a little about your work with blading and scooting companies.

A buddy of mine from California, Bill Hedrick, got into a scootering brand with a good friend of his that is a huge pro out there and I’ve been their whole art department. We sold out of the first line in three days. Their industry is a lot larger, obviously, so things move at a quicker pace. ... and blading?

As far as blading work goes, I’ve been working with Dan Fabiano at Scribe/Con Artist for a while, doing their tee’s and wheel designs. I did a few tee designs for my great friend Chad Anthony and his brand Southern Scum. It is looking like I’m going to be doing their whole next line. I have been doing a lot of work with Bulletprufe Denim on designs, as well as helping redesign a new pro model jean we have coming out in a few months. I did the last Havok line before they went under, too.

It sounds like you could quite easily start your own brand?

I’ve always wanted to start my own brand, just never had the money. I can’t count the number of people that have told me that I need to. I am hoping I can finally get that going this year.

So, at the moment, are you looking for a job or hoping to do more freelance work?

It’s really going to depend on what happens with my living situation.

If I stay in Raleigh I’ll probably just keep doing freelance and work parttime wherever I can make money. If I happen to move somewhere I definitely wouldn’t mind finding something fulltime. My big thing is being able to have creative freedom. I don’t want to work somewhere doing design work I don’t enjoy doing.

That’s fair enough. What is the blading scene like in Raleigh compared to Pittsburgh?

Spot wise, it’s extremely different.

Pittsburgh is an old factory town.

The city and spots are gritty, rugged and raw. Raleigh has more of a neighbourhood feel to it. It has three of the biggest colleges in the United States all within 20 minutes of each other, as well as a tonne of other smaller colleges and schools, so that is what mostly gets skated. Not only was Pittsburgh quite a bit larger, but its downtown area is very tight and all the buildings are very close to each Zerospin alleyoop topside acid

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 55 other. Raleigh is very spread out and there are a bunch of other smaller cities close to it. Every rolleblader is different, so any city you go to there’s going to be different personalities and skating styles, so you can’t compare the two cities there.

It sounds great. What is it about Raleigh that you are not enjoying at the moment?

It’s not necessarily the city itself, it’s a wonderful place: Clean, great spots and great people. Businessweek actually voted Raleigh America’s Best City.

I have just had the worst luck since moving to North Carolina. In all facets of life, nothing has gone my way. I can’t stay unhappy so I’m going to make whatever changes it may take to make things better and that may mean moving somewhere else. I’d love to travel and skate as much as possible before I’m too old and have to get a “real job”, so I have a feeling that’s what is going to happen.

Worst luck is pretty vague!

Things with my girlfriend and I went south. The current job I’m at is quite terrible and doesn’t make me enough money to make rent some months, even with freelance work. The act of rollerblading itself hasn’t been bad lately, but all the things that can come along with being involved in the industry have made it very frustrating.

All the plans I had have gone down the drain and I’ve gotten in a rut. It’s been very upsetting. I used to never compromise when it came to the things I wanted to do, and unfortunately I have let that slide. I don’t want to have to live day to day anymore. I want to be excited about the things I’m doing and follow my dreams.

So, who are your sponsors and how did you get hooked up with them?

Right now, I’m riding for Bulletprufe and M1. My good friend Casey came to me when I moved to Charlotte and told me an old school dude from the area was looking to start a jean company and might need design work.

I obviously jumped at the chance as it sounded like a cool venture; making jeans that were truly made for skating.

After a while of doing work and testing the jeans, he asked if I wanted to join the team. It’s taken a lot of work and I still don’t think we’re at the point we want to be, but it’s growing day by day.

How did you get hooked up with M1?

I’ve been friends with Ed at M1 for quite a while. He and I had talked about a flow spot a few years back, but it just never happened. I stopped skating for a little while when moving from New York to North Carolina and quit riding for all the companies I was with at the time. After I got back into it, Ed asked me if I wanted to be on the am team for M1. I had been skating the wheels

long before he and I had been friends so I was obviously down, plus they had a lot of great ideas for future projects I wanted to be involved with. Will, Wally and Ed are all stand-up guys who I fully support.

What do you think about the current state of the sport?

I think the sport is at the craziest level it’s ever been at. There’s so many different styles of rollerblading that people push so far beyond expectations, and it’s really, really set us apart from other action sports. ...and the industry?

As far as the industry goes, I think it’s an absolute fucking joke. There are only a handful of companies that I feel are doing things right. There’s a big difference between taking things seriously, and being professional.

There’s also a big difference between being real and blindly hating. Blading companies need to start being more professional and rollerbladers need to start being more real. I understand that things will get better as more money comes into the sport, but when is that money coming and where is it going to come from? I know a lot of people have different feelings and ideas on this, but I feel like companies are more worried about their current image instead of getting blading to the outside eye and new rollerbladers. We’ve been such a stagnant industry for years. We’re only going to grow by going out of our way and getting kids on blades. If that means giving them some blades, giving them some old DVD’s and mags and taking a few hours out of your week to shred with them, then it needs to happen! No outsider is going to come to rollerblading and give us our shot.

We have to bust our asses and go out of our way to show people what we’re doing and how amazing it is.

“Blading companies need to start being more professional and rollerbladers need to start being more real.”

Words: Louis Flood Photos: Jacob Maine Mute grab gap to ledge roll

Method in the Madness

Danny Jensen tries, and fails, to explain what propels him to try the life-threatening stunts that have resulted in many trips to A&E.

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 57 After featuring Melbourne’s Gav Drumm in Wheel Scene Issue 3, we have been in constant contact with Hayden Golder, one of Australia’s finest blading photographers, to discuss who else we could give muchneeded coverage to. You see, the capital city in the state of Victoria has an incredible scene that boasts a wealth of talent and if there is one man that is in a position to give us ignorant British peasants a master class in blading from the south-east of Australia, it is Golder. The first name that he mentioned was Danny Jensen. Trusting the flame-haired photographer’s judgement beyond all doubt, I instantly agreed. However, I did spend several weeks wondering if I had made a wise decision by giving a random blader I had never heard of a full-length feature when there are many up-and-comers that I do know that are worthy of the exposure, then I watched Seven Rats.

The Melbourne scene film, which was lovingly crafted by Craig Smith, features some outstanding performances from relatively-unknown locals Josh Nielsen, Andy Plumridge and Isaac Callen, as well as an appearance from one of Germany’s greatest exports, Matthias Ogger. But it is Jensen that steals the show by landing one huge stunt followed by another. There must be at least five “ender” clips in his profile. You know, the kind of monumental feat that most filmers leave until the end of the section to give the viewer an idea of how incredibly dangerous or difficult the trick is. Well, Jensen has a bunch of them that include huge kink rails with a high drop on the other side, technical transfers from a handrail to a curb three feet below at breakneck speed and steep drop ledges that don’t look like they have been skated by anyone apart from him. That’s before you get to the final shot that features Jensen clearing a pretty big stair set before landing a disaster topsoul on a rail going down the second stair set. In short, the guy skates like he is not afraid to die and it is both terrifying and exhilarating to watch.

“I don’t think about the consequences most of the time,” says Jensen when asked if he ever considers what might happen if any of these stunts don’t go according to plan.

However, he then contradicts himself, saying: “I am fully aware of what could happen. If I wasn’t 100% confident that I could land the trick, I wouldn’t attempt it.”

Jensen’s disposition is an obvious one: He is an adrenaline junkie that is constantly searching for the next big stunt – he just can’t help himself. While this is undoubtedly incredible to watch and probably one of the main reasons that Razors decided to add him to their Australian roster, it seems necessary to assert just how many of these stunts have landed him in the accident and emergency ward. “I have been pretty lucky that I haven’t had a massive injury,” he offers. “I have fractured my sternum, broken arms, my nose, a few fingers, and plenty of swellbows (swollen elbows). The worst was probably my knee that put me out for about six months.

I didn’t ever go to the doctor so I don’t even know what it was!” It seems quite clear that Jensen’s definition of “lucky” is in no way similar to that of the rest of the human race. Most people would consider broken arms and the inability to walk as relativelymassive injuries.

Despite a clear disregard for his own well-being, there is a lot to be said for the 26-year-old’s strength of character and commitment to progress his vision for the sport that makes him gravitate towards huge tricks despite enduring some pretty severe injuries. After all, it’s not like he is a slacker that lives off state benefits and fills his days by throwing himself off massive obstacles just for the hell of it. Jensen is currently splitting his time between studying for a diploma in business management and working as a branch manager at a plumbing supplies store, yet he still finds enough time in his schedule to maintain a disturbingly high standard of skating.

Jensen is currently living in Melbourne, but he is originally from Auckland, New Zealand, which is where he discovered rollerblading approximately 15 years ago.

Maybe it’s his Kiwi roots that make him skate the way he does. After all, he is from the home of the All Blacks, one of the most feared national rugby teams in the world.

Perhaps he’s got some of that Maori spirit lurking inside of him, or it could just be the fact that he has spent most of his life on skates and now they simply feel like a natural extension of his limbs. “My mum got me and my brother into ice skating when I was about three-years-old,” he begins. “When I was about ten, we decided to get some rollerblades and skated to a vert ramp every day after school. I have never stopped skating since.”

Then again, maybe Jensen is simply a result of his environment. Sydney is recognised as having one of the strongest scenes in the world as a result of Dom West’s video, Vine St, and the fact that it is home to the immensely talented Rian Arnold and 2011 WRS World Champion CJ Wellsmore, but Melbourne is rapidly developing its own selection of national blading heroes and Jensen appears to be at the forefront of that movement.

“The scene here in Melbourne is crazy, possibly one of the best in the world. We have great street spots and parks, the weather is good and there is always someone to skate with any day of the week.”

Regardless of what it is that drives Jensen, his future is looking bright. He already has a stable career with an employer that is paying his way through further education and, if he shows as much commitment to his working life as he does to the development of his rollerblading skills, there is no doubt that he will have a successful career. The only question is: How long is he going to continue to put his physical safety on the line once he has graduated and commences full-time employment?

“I am going to keep doing what I am doing for as long as physically possible. I would like to compete in the Chaz Sands Invitational and NASS one day, if all goes well.”

Words: David McNamara Photos: Hayden Golder

Back royale 450 out

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 59

Royale alleyoop topsoul revert out

Album Reviews

Coming off the back of last year’s brilliant Peep EP, Pinkunoizu’s debut album Free Time takes the listener on a psychedelic pilgrimage across the borders of folk, country, progressive pop and kraut-rock. As a meditation on the concept of time it is perhaps fitting that tracks extend to over eight minutes, while the metronomic ticking of a clock provides the backbone to many of these cosmic compositions. ‘Time Is Like A Melody’ begins the epic journey, lulling the listener into a hypnotic stupor before waking up in the funked-up mosque of ‘Myriad Pyramid’. The album is absorbing from start to finish, culminating in the irresistible Bowie-style groove at the end of ‘Death Is Not A Lover’, and the refrain from ‘Everything Is Broken Or Stolen’ re-emerging out of the chaos of ‘Somber Ground’, bringing the album almost full circle - stunning.

Artist: Pinkunoizu Album: Free Time Label: Full Time Hobby

(Henry Wilkinson)

Rating: 5/5

In the past, the Chicago four-piece have been labelled

Nootropics is not so much timeless as belonging to

post-rock, math-rock, experimental folk pop but these

a time that has yet to pass. After a shift in personnel

only serve to give a very general sense of the band’s

(now a five-piece with added keyboardist Carter

overall sound. Their latest album sees the group delve

Tanton) and an appropriate shift in sensibilities, Lower

deeper into their experimental side. Opener ‘Old

Dens retain all the characteristic measured shoegaze

& Grey’ is a dreamy number, with Dave Davison’s

that made their debut so entrancing, but have added

distinctive vocals layered to create weird and wonderful

an electronic influence and a penchant for Dadaism,

harmonies. The track defies conventional song

artificial intelligence and science-fiction. A bleak and

structure, which is refreshing as you don’t know where

brooding piece of futuristic drone pop, its highlights

it’s going to go until all that’s left is Dave testing his

include the revelatory rumbling of ‘Brains’ as front

own vocal strength and talent, leading nicely into track

woman Hunter boldly proclaims “everything will

two. ‘Fever’ is the first of many catchy late 80s style

change while you’re asleep”, and both parts of ‘Lion

synth pop tracks on the album, with others including

in Winter’, the first being an experimental noise jam,

‘Winter’, ‘Silver Self’, ‘Vampires’ and ‘Bugs’. This

the second a Joy Division inspired laboratory pop

perky, upbeat, playful side to the band is contrasted

song. Hunter’s vocals are exquisite throughout while

only by the likes of ‘Remote And Dark Years’, which

the instrumentation is masterfully understated. As an

seems the closest Maps & Atlases would come to

album this is up there with anything released this year.

Artist: Maps & Atlases Album: Beware and Be Grateful Label: FatCat

a ballad, and final track ‘Important’, which is quite looking for?”.

Artist: Lower Dens Album: Nootropics Label: Domino

Rating: 4/5

(Nina Glencross)

Rating: 4/5

dark with just synth and vocals asking “What are you

Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore are undoubtedly the

This highly anticipated debut album from Alabama’s

most popular members of Sonic Youth. However, on

soulful rock and roll four piece is powerfully dynamic,

Between the Times and Tides, it becomes apparent

from its intimate Acapella moments to its full on rock

that Sonic Youth’s sound has a great deal to do with

and roll knock outs. Opener, ‘Hold On’, is laid back

guitarist Lee Ranaldo. The album effortlessly blends

and mellow, gently drawing the listener in as Brittany

unorthodox components to create a haunting musical

Howard’s strong, soulful vocals grow more powerful

landscape that is both distant and intimate. ‘Waiting

throughout. Besides the lighter, more playful tracks

on a Dream’, the lead-off track, is an eerie psychedelic

such as ‘Hang Loose’, ‘Goin’ To The Party’ and ‘I Ain’t

number that sets the tone for what’s to come; Its effect

The Same’, there is a side to the album which is more

is sparse, opulent, and nefarious. A lot of the numbers

emotional and introspective. Songs such as ‘I Found You’

on the record start seemingly innocuously but leave

and ‘Heartbreaker’ tug on the heartstrings as title track

an unsettling feeling of malaise when they finish. Both

‘Boys & Girls’ lulls and caresses. But Brittany can rock

fans of Sonic Youth and newcomers to Ranaldo will

out as much as she can belt it out, as proven on ‘Rise

experience an increased appreciation for Ranaldo’s

To The Sun’ with its crazy rock and roll edge, ‘You Ain’t

influence on contemporary rock music after listening

Alone’ with its explosive outro and ‘Be Mine’, one of

to the album. Between the Times and Tides is not the

the band’s live favourites. Closing track ‘On Your Way’

most accomplished solo record in his back catalogue,

Artist: Lee Ranaldo Album: Between the Times and the Tides Label: Matador

(Henry Wilkinson)

but it is a worthy addition.

(Justin J. Jackson)

is a big one. It starts off quietly, but there’s a strong

Artist: Alabama Shakes Album: Boys & Girls Label: Rough Trade

sense that it’s going to get bigger and bigger with driving drums and lyrics telling the story of a journey. A killer guitar solo kicks in as the track, and the whole record, plays out with a bang. If this excellently self-produced

Rating: 4/5

Rating: 4/5

debut record is anything to go by, Alabama Shakes are a must see live act.

(Nina Glencross)

ISSUE 06/APRIL 2012/WWW.WHEELSCENE.CO.UK/PAGE 61

Anathema has had quite an evolution since the

Brooklyn-based duo Sleigh Bells’ 2010 debut, Treats,

Liverpool-based outfit began in the mid 90s. What was

was a refreshing noise pop record full of pleasant

once a doom metal band full of gothic distortion has

surprises. The guitars were loud, the beats were huge

turned into a group with Radiohead-esque tendencies

and the samples bounced between crunk and dub with

that adds equal doses of ambience and orchestral

relative ease. The only weakness appeared to be lead

flares to their music. One of the most original complex,

singer Alexis Krauss. Her often child-like vocals worked

and emotional pieces of music from 2010, We’re

well but the lyrical content was extremely limited.

Here Because We’re Here understandably raised

After repeating one-line choruses over and over, all

expectations for the group’s latest album, Weather

she was left with was panting, screaming and obvious

Systems. Does the new record match the previous

harmonies. Sophomore album opener ‘True Shred

effort? Yes and no. While Weather Systems takes the

Guitar’ commences with a pointless live intro followed

emotional direction even further than its predecessor

by Krauss once again wittering on about guitars and

– adding more vocal interplay alongside experimental

the alarm bells start ringing. Oh no, it’s a re-hashed

instrumentation – the recurring motifs dominating

‘Infinity Guitars’. Fortunately, this track turns out to

the album of arpeggiated acoustic guitars and pianos

be a red herring. The tone on Reign of Terror is darker

paradoxically create a disjointed rather than cohesive

and more introspective than its predecessor, with less

effect. The music on Weather Systems is emotional,

Artist: Anathema Album: Weather Systems Label: Kscope

playful samples and Krauss appearing to develop her

that is often challenging, though ultimately rewarding.

Artist: Sleigh Bells Album: Reign of Terror Label: Mom + Pop

(Justin L. Jackson)

Rating: 3/5

complex, ambient, and ethereal. Despite its flaws, it is a very enjoyable and intricate listening experience, one

songwriting ability. This is not a great departure from their debut but, hey, if it ain’t broke...

(Jeanie Rogers)

Rating: 3.5/5

Retro soul is very big right now, and it has been

Melbourne-based quartet Husky’s debut album stinks

for several years. Hell, X Factor reject Oli Murs has

of promise. The album is full of cleverly-crafted indie

miraculously managed to score a UK number one

pop gems, complete with enchanting arrangements

with his heinous take on golden era Motown. Nick

and drums that sound like horses galloping in the

Waterhouse is infinitely more talented than Murs.

distance. Lead singer Husky Gawenda completes the

He writes his own songs and actually possesses

winning formula with delicate vocals that are endearing

musical talent, but it doesn’t take away from the

and haunting in equal measure. His soft delivery is not

fact that nostalgia for this genre is rapidly wearing

a million miles away from Nada Surf frontman Matthew

thin. Fortunately, he counters this by adding a classic

Caws, but his song writing ability is infinitely superior.

American rock and roll element to his sound. His

Album opener, ‘Tidal Wave’, sets the tone with

breakthrough single, ‘Some Place’ references 1960s

some engaging storytelling that remains consistent

garage rock with dancefloor friendly rhythms and

throughout the album. ‘History’s Door’ has sleeper

howling vocals. The main problem with Waterhouse

hit written all over it, with rolling drums providing the

is that, unlike many of his contemporaries that are

backdrop for Gawenda’s disarming vocals. ‘Don’t Tell

currently benefitting from re-imagining the past, he

Your Mother’ provides a small, but effective, dose of

doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It just sounds

venom as Gawenda tells the story of a couple running

like an old album from an old artist and it seems silly to

Artist: Nick Waterhouse Album: Time’s All Gone Label: Innovative Leisure

invest in this when the original artists do it just as well.

(Fiona Slimmon)

Rating: 2.5/5

away from their problems. Think Mumford & Sons,

Artist: Husky Album: Forever So Label: Sub Pop

Four times DMC Winners C2C return with their latest

Finnish producer Huoratron burst onto the electronic

EP and it is a pretty mixed bag. The French quartet has

scene in 2010 with Prevenge EP, an astounding

proved that they can scratch with the best of them, but

collection of violent techno that possessed considerable

that does not always make for an engaging listening

industrial and hard rock influences. The tracks ‘Corporate

experience. On the first track they set to work adding

Occult’ and ‘$$ Troopers’ gained widespread online

as many elements as possible, placing sample over

attention due to their striking, and slightly terrifying,

sample and looping the hell out of the vocals on top

promo videos. Earlier this year, the bearded techno villain

of a stomping electro beat and ‘The Beat’ is a B-Boy’s

released another stunning visual for ‘Cryptocracy’, the

wet dream but it will not sustain repeated listening.

first single from his debut album of the same name,

Both tracks are impressive, no question, but there is an

which consisted of a disturbing forest rave that turns into

overriding feeling that they are just showing off. When

a blood bath as a menacing voice advises the listener

the group take a rest from displaying how intricate

to “choke”. Huoratron’s main appeal lies in the fact

they can make their productions, the results are pretty

that he seems more intent on punishing his audience

satisfying. ‘Someday’ is delightful, contemporary soul

than encouraging them to dance. His productions are

with affecting vocals and a relaxed, summertime

unconventional, antagonistic and undeniably aggressive.

beat and ‘Arcades’ sounds like a Ratatat track, for all

‘New Wave of Mutilation’ features a relentless,

energy. Standout track, F-U-Y-A, proves that the outfit can execute clever instrumental hip hop without going overboard, showing rare restraint with mixing and some

pounding rhythm and distorted siren effects and ‘A699f’

Artist: Huoratron Album: Cryptocracy Label: Last Gang

clever sample choices. The may be able to astound crowds at competitions, but C2C have got a lot to learn

Rating: 3/5

(David McNamara)

Rating: 4/5

the right reasons, with an injection of much-needed

Artist: C2C EP: Down the Road Label: On and On

minus the cheese.

sounds like a series of automatic rifles being directed at the listener. Huoratron has created a niche within the electronic scene for those that like the techno aesthetic but simply want something with more bite. French

Rating: 4/5

producer Vitalic has explored similar territory before, but

about creating music with a long shelf life.

not with this much fury.

(Jeanie Rogers)

(David McNamara)

Acoss

Down

bearings

techno

grind

industrial

2. California based music and arts festival

1. German porn star and rollerblader

chimera

riggler

blackjack

hardline

3. Now defunct grind plate company

adapt

roadhouse

huoratron

butterclock

4. Johnny Rotten’s real name

domino

backslide

flatspin

grommet

7. Jon Julio’s frame company

5. Another word for frame

dubstep

fise

helmet

drag

10. Adam Johnston’s latest digi flick

8. Trevor Tahiem Smith’s rap alias

hyperdub

vihmiru

11. Oxygen Argon pro model

9. Debut Nas album

12. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta

12. Death from Above 1979’s record label

14. VG 10

13. Tattoo on 2Pac’s stomach

15. Alleyoop unity

16. Venue for Bitter Cold Showdown

18. Mindgame distribution company

17. Film by Hype Williams starring DMX and Method

6. John Densmore wasthe stickman for this LA rock band

Man

19. Fungus Amongus

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Coming up Fast: Wake Schepman

The 15-year-old with the best back garden in the world is making ripples on the US competition circuit, and he is just getting started.

As with any sport, we are constantly looking to the younger generation to see who will pick up the torch from our current group of pioneering professionals and continue to push the sport forwards in new and exciting directions. There is little doubt that Wake Schepman is set to be one of those individuals as he is already beginning to show signs of great promise. He may only be in his mid-teens, but in the short space of time since he first came to our attention through online edits, it is incredible (if not a little worrying) to see how far he has come already.

Schepman’s recent Drawing Lines edit for Be-mag showed how much the Pennsylvania native has progressed in just a few short years. In the edit filmed on his backyard ramp set-up, the blading prodigy links together seamless lines that consist of truespin alley-oop topsides and full cab alleyoop topsides both ways. The annoying part is, it is very difficult to tell which way is his natural, as he makes both approaches look really relaxed.

The 15-year-old is regularly referred to as the blading’s next star in waiting and it is easy to see why. In addition to his undeniable talent on skates, he has the

marketability factor or being an extremely well-mannered young man with an obvious drive to better himself. At the tender age of 12-years-old, Wake qualified fourth at the AIL World Championships which meant that he automatically turns pro. At this year’s Bitter Cold Showdown XII in Detroit, Michigan, the young ripper skated like a seasoned professional, landing pretty much every full cab alley-oop trick you can think of on the tombstone, as well as textbook perfect 900s over the launch box and high flatspins that looked startlingly similar to the ones performed by Brian Aragon. It came as little surprise that Schepman walked away with second place in the amateur event, narrowly losing out to Michael Garlinghouse who, in Schepman’s defence, is significantly older and more experienced. The podium favourites at US competitions need to watch their backs, because this kid is coming up fast and it looks like he is hungry for glory.

Under the watchful guidance of his loving parents and sponsors, Razors, Denial and Neglected Truth, there is no doubt that Schepman will go far in this sport if he continues to progress at his current rate. Hell, even if he doesn’t continue to develop his trick vocabulary he is already lacing admirable stunts with impressive consistency. After all, how many professionals can you name that have 900s and flatspins on lock?