Music Monday: New Music Cities- South London

'New Music Cities - South London' is a nice short film directed by Jamie Jessett featuring local musical luminaries singing the praises of the Southlands. There's street scenes from Brixton and Peckham (by the library), and the green hill looking over London at the start is Nunhead Reservoir - next to the cemetery. Featured artists include Mount Kimbie, Kwes, Katy B (recalling bashment parties in Peckham and nights at Croydub) and Mirachu & Tirzah . Best quote is the opening one from Roots Manuva, who says:

'If I could duplicate the sound of South London it would sound like Irish music on top of Nigerian music on top of reggae on top of Gospel, cars with too loud sound systems going past, people speaking Urdu, Nigerian, Cockney, everything all going off at the same time'.


New Music Cities I South London from AllSaints on Vimeo.

Music Monday: Katy B 'Crying for No Reason'

Katy B photographed in Peckham by Katherine Rose

Katy B's second album, Little Red, is out on 14 February and there was big interview with her in yesterday's Observer, conducted in the cafe in Peckham Rye:

'A January afternoon in Peckham Rye, south London. Clouds cluster and part over muddy green grass, pouring occasional light on the post-lunch dog-walkers. A 24-year-old is among them, balancing on perilous black wedges, clasping her white coat, on loan from Topshop, against the cold...

Here, in her old manor, doing the old stuff, is Kathleen Brien, aka Katy B, who returns next month with her second album, Little Red. It's been nearly three years since her debut LP, On a Mission, came out, blending the sounds of rave and dubstep into high-octane pop. Made on a shoestring, it got to No 2 in the album charts, and was nominated for the Mercury prize and the Ivor Novellos. It also put strong female vocalists centre-stage in mainstream dance music again; Jessie Ware and AlunaGeorge have a lot to thank her for.

Although Brien now lives in east London, everything began here in SE15, an area slowly succumbing to gentrification. "I quite like that in a way," Brien says, Ruby dragging her along. "I mean, I had a 40-year-old man taking my phone here when I was a teenager. And some crackhead snatching my bag." We walk past the kids' 1 o'clock club Brien attended as a child, a few streets from the house where her plumber dad and postwoman mum brought her up. "Maybe that doesn't happen now because I look older, and can handle myself a bit better." She bites her lip, has a think. "Yeah, that's it. Plus I like to be able to go get a coffee with a friend somewhere other than McDonald's."'

(full interview here- the newspaper version includes a nice photo of her sitting on a bench in the park, but that doesn't seem to be online)

Meanwhile in Time Out (23 January 2014), Katy is interviewed.photographed in the Big Red Pizza bus in Deptford next to the Birds Nest pub, where she talks about playing football for Peckham Town United and nights out in Brixton: 'I’ve had so many good nights in Brixton. It satisfies every part of my personality. I remember UK Funky nights at Fridge Bar, then cocktails at Satay Bar, then Hootananny where everyone’s shocking out to live music. Outside someone’s cooking chicken on a grill. That, for me, feels like London.’

'Katy on the buses' - at the Big Red Pizza bus in Deptford

The first single from the album, Crying for No Reason, is out now. It's a big ballad, but there's plenty of remixes out there if like me you prefer some dance beats.

Previously at Transpontine:

Katy B, ex-Goldsmiths student, South London Pop Star of the Year 2010
Katy B used to work in JD Sports Lewisham
Katy B, Ikonika and Ayres Bakers in Nunhead

As well as a period at BRITS school in Croydon, Katy went to Lyndhurst Primary School in Peckham and Haberdashers Askes in New Cross,going on to do the Popular Music course at Goldsmiths at the same time as James Blake.

Ikonika, Mr Cake & Nunhead

Hyperdub artist Ikonika has a new album out later this month, Aerotropolis. Rob Walker's video for the track Mr Cake features a virtual city that seems to owe more to LA or Las Vegas than London, but in an interview in The Fader, Ikonika reveals that inspiration for the track title came from Nunhead:

“Mr Cake” is a funny title for a song. Where did it come from? 
'I saw it in a shop one day, but I didn’t buy it. It was a small cake at the counter in a shop in Nunhead. It looked shit'.

Ikonika

I guess she must be referring to Ayres the bakers, though it could have been a cake in another non-cake shop. But note she said the cake looked shit, not the shop. Everyone knows that Ayres is a great bread/cake shop, 'Master Bakers of Nunhead since 1955' no less. Katy B once chose it as one of her top shops in an Evening Standard 'My London' interview, saying: 'Ayres the Bakers in Nunhead Lane, SE15, sells amazing sausage rolls'.

Katy B

Not sure what Ikonika was doing locally, she is usually described as a 'West London producer', but I know she played out at Peckham Palais earlier this year. Whatever she thought of the cake, it is pretty clear that with her and Katy B both coming through the doors, Ayres can claim to be the number one bakers for the London post-dubstep scene. Watch out for Kode9 buying an apple danish there soon (actually I think he does or did live in Camberwell), or Benga waiting for his rye loaf to be sliced.

update: Ikonika has now cleared Ayres of all charges of stocking shit cakes - apparently Mr Cake was actually in Nunhead newsagent:

Later Ikonika confirmed on twitter '@ayres_the_baker I've just been told I've eaten your cakes loads for family members' bdays :)'

Mr Cake is a great summer track by the way.