Music Monday:Jude Woodhead

Forest Hill based Jude Woodhead has a new EP out (available here on bandcamp and on soundcloud). 'Deep Transport' includes five of Jude's own tracks plus a remix of a King Krule track. 17-year-old Jude, who plays keyboards and trumpet as well as producing, is also one of the contributors to the new photography/art/music blog Essy (SE, gettit?). There's a bit of a Burial influence on some tracks, but the soundscape is more diverse than that might suggest. 'Ambient', 'Electronic', 'Hip Hop' are some of the tags that Jude uses to describe his music, I would add 'Cinematic', with samples including a speech from US radical black activist Angela Davis.

Jude's previous EP, last year's Nights in the City, included a couple of SE-referencing tracks - 'New Cross, LEWI' and 'Night Bus. N171'. Another track on that EP, Finger to the Moon, has recently been used as the basis for a track by 'influential in Brockley' grime artist Koder. The track Hand of Gold, which also includes singing from Pia Morris, has been getting played on BBC1Xtra and is included on Koder's new Naked EP. The start of this collaboration was when Koder introduced himself to Jude when the latter was playing the piano outside Forest Hill station!

London Weekend Radio - mid-1980s pirate

London Weekend Radio, later known as plain LWR, was a London pirate radio station in the mid-1980s broadcasting from Sydenham, Catford and Peckham (among other places). I came across this article which has the main story:

'London Weekend Radio started life broadcasting from Lawrie Park Road in Sydenham over bank holiday weekends in 1981 and was controlled by Jonny Haywood (Station Manager) and Keith Green (Engineering) prior to going full time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a basement in Brownhill Road, Catford London SE6 where they were joined on the engineering team by Pat Sinclair and the station amended the station id name tag to simply LWR and broadcasting on 92.5MHz. Unlike many of its counterparts LWR decided to play new pop music between 06.00 and 18.00 weekdays with the evenings and weekends centring on specialist shows.

Many famous names got a good grounding at LWR with Radio Luxemborg's Peter Anthony working under the guise of Oscar J Jennings (who was pioneering REM in 1984), Radio 1 presenter's Pete Tong and Tim Westwood in the lineup that included the late Robbie May (BFBS) on breakfast duty, a daily afternoon show from Paul Stafford (Invicta/Coast AM) now in Australia, alongside Martin James, Ton Tom, Steve Edwards, Ricky King, John Dawson, Perry Daniels, Dave Shirt and Jonny Haywood himself with guest hosts including World Snooker Champion Sir Steve Davis OBE, Legendary Jazzman Roy Ayers, Imagination singer Leee Johns and Brit Funk band Total Contrast.

The station closed temporarily in August 1984 when changes were made to the law giving greater powers of seizure/confiscation to the DTI. A new frontman, Zac re-activated the station which ran till the early ninties when it finally closed down'.

Comments at that article state that original studio was in basement of 25 Lawrie Park Road SE26  with transmitters variously located in New Addington, Pepys Estate (Deptford), Balfron Tower in Poplar, Shooters Hill, and Church road in Crystal Palace. In its later days it had a studio in 42 Gautrey Road, Nunhead SE15 upstairs from Mad Professor's studio (mentioned here before). Intrigued that Roy Ayers might have made it from California to Catford!

Here's the young Tim Westwood broadcasting on LWR in 1984



... and some more LWR extracts:

The Summer of '84: Reggae & Hip Hop

Back in July 1984 there was actual sunshine in South London, and some fine music too.

Reggae Sunsplash

On 7 July Capital Radio sponsored a Reggae Sunsplash festival at Crystal Palace football ground.

'Crystal Palace had its biggest crowd for years at the weekend - but not for football! Instead, 28,000 music lovers enjoyed a six-hour feast of reggae, featuring both Jamaican acts and homegrown talent at Selhurst Park. Reggae Sunsplash came to town - and brought some of the hottest weather this summer with it. There were rastas in shorts, toddlers with dreadlocks, bare-chested punks and skimpily-clad females providing a vivid splash of colour. The park itself was jammed with bodies - sitting, reclining or dancing to the sounds coming from the massive stage'.

'Police deliberately kept a low profile, turning a blind eye to the widespread use of "sensimilia" (marijuana) which is part of the Rastafarian faith. But the high quality of the performances needed no stimulants' (Jaswinder Bancil, South London Press, 13 July 1984).

The line-up included the Skatalites, Aswad, Black Uhuru, Sly & Robbie, Musical Youth, Dennis Brown, Leroy Sibbles and King Sunny Ade, plus DJs David Rodigan and Barry G.



Breakdown Spectacular
 
1984 also saw the spreading influence of hip and electro culture in the UK, with the release of the film 'Beat Street' and the popularity of Morgan Khan's Street Sounds compilations. Amidst all this the South London Press put on a two day 'Breakdown Spectacular' at the end of July at the Albany Empire in Deptford. It was enthusiastically promoted by Jaswinder Bancil  who announced 'Attention, all B-Boys and Girls! You have been invited to the most comprehensive celebration of hip-hop seen on this side of the river... For two nights at the Albany, rappers, scratchers, mixers, breakers and poppers will rub shoulders and gain the chance to win super prizes - including Phillips beat boxes, Nike trainers, records and much more. Any crew will be allowed to get up and challenge the skills of the Broken Glass posse from Manchester'.
 
He later reported that 'Hundreds of youngsters from all over London' joined the 'hip hop celebration nights at the Albany Empire' on 27 and 28 July. There was New York DJ Whiz Kid, graffiti art from Dean and Dolby D and  'crews, individual performers and B-girl posses - all popping, locking, cracking and breaking to great effect' (SLP, 3 August 1984).

Jungle Brothers in Peckham

Now I have bought my tickets I can safely publicise this without worrying whether it's going to sell out. So let's just say The Jungle Brothers are playing in Peckham!

'Fri April 13th - An Exhibition of Sound continues with Chapter 3 / Hip Hop - Featuring the Mighty JUNGLE BROTHERS LIVE + a special DJ set from the one and only DJ SAMMY B. The JBS one of the most famous and celebrated Hip Hop groups of all time returning with a career-spanning set dropped loud, hard and fast at The Bussey Building / CLF Art Cafe.

The JUNGLE BROTHERS have been around since Hip Hop's Golden Age... They first appeared on the NYC Hip Hop scene with the release of the groundbreaking “Straight Out The Jungle” in 1988.  This recording was the birthplace of the NATIVE TONGUES POSSE a triumvirate of innovative Rap groups (including De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love and later Mos Def) and was instrumental in influencing later envelope pushing artists like the Roots, Arrested Development, Pharcyde, Madlip, Common, Kanye West and others.

Following up their raw, energetic debut, the group went into the studio with NYC underground club and house producer Todd Terry, and Hip house was born. "I'll House You" became a bona fide international hit, making Terry one of the most in-demand remixers to this day...  the Jungle Brothers subsequently signed to Warner Bros. Free to sample and manipulate in a more sophisticated setting, the JBs mixed up breaks and beats that recalled the Bronx block parties of their youth, incorporating elements from jazz, soul, and funk classics.The resulting album: “Done By The Forces Of Nature”, ranks with other masterpieces of the era like the Beastie Boys “Paul's Boutique” and De La Soul's seminal “Three Feet High And Rising”'.

'

Advance tickets available here (buy before 5 pm Friday if you can, as prices then go up)

Throbbing Gristle in New Cross (So Long Sleazy 2)

The death of Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson was mentioned here yesterday, and here's another local connection. Christopherson played at Goldsmiths College Student Union in New Cross twice with the pioneering industrial/electronic band Throbbing Gristle.

The first gig was on 18 May 1978, the second on Thursday March 13 1980 (flyer below). Both were recorded and can be heard on the box set TG24 (cover from cassette release of 1978 gig above).

Incidentally, prior to Throbbing Gristle band members Geneis P.Orridge and Cosi Fanni Tutti were in the performance art group COUM Transmissions. They staged their pieces 'Birth of Liquid Desires' (1974) and 'After Cease to Exist' (1976) at Goldsmiths, the latter in the same year that they were denounced by an MP as ‘wreckers of civilization’ following their famous ‘Prostitution’ exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

Later, P.Orridge and others founded Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth (TOPY). In 1991, Fred Carter of TOPY had a performance called ‘Shock, Information and the Negation of Control’ stopped short by the Student Union at Goldsmiths. It involved self-mutilation, with Carter cutting himself to a soundtrack of drones, industrial rhythms and hymns.

Joe Grind

More South London rap, this time from Joe Grind (think Giggs is his brother). Step Back features the Aylesbury Estate, Portland Street, Bells Garden Estate, Peckham Hill Street and various other Pecknam and Walworth locations.

Won't repeat what I said about Giggs here before, but same applies.

(thanks to B. for spotting this)

Tinie Tempah - South East of the Thames

When I described Blak Twang as London's best rapper earlier this week I guess I was thinking of the older UK Hip Hop generation. Obviously there's a whole lot of younger rappers coming through working more at the grime/hip hop interface. Which brings us on to Tinie Tempah, currently number one in the UK singles chart with Pass Out.

Tempah lived in Peckham and then moved to Plumstead, but gives the whole of the southlands a shout out in his early (2005) track South East of the Thames - 'Shout out to Brockley... Catford... Sydenham... New Cross... Peckham... Woolwich... Croydon... Deptford... Norwood.... Thamesmead.... yeah it;s all good' (similar vibe to Southside All Stars 'Southside').



Tinie Tempah is playing at the Coronet at Elephant & Castle this Friday 12th March at Together, and at Rar! underage club at the Albany in Deptford on Friday 19th March.

Also check out his take on the Chris Ofili exhibition at Tate Britain.

Blak Twang: Good work London SE8

Blak Twang has been mentioned in passing on this site a couple of times, but haven't really given full dues to the Deptford wordsmith who is arguably London's best rapper. He's been at it for 15 years or so, from his classic - but never commercially released - debut Dettwork South East in 1995 to his 2008 album Speaking From Xpercience.

Tony Olabode (his real name) was actually born in Manchester, but grew up in Deptford on the Tanners Hill Estate. For a while Roots Manuva - the other contender for best London hip hop artist - shared his flat there. The place gets mentioned on Blak Twang's early track Real Esate:

'Yeah, yeah. Tanner's Hill in your area, ya nah mean?
It's gettin' scarier. The real estate.

Oi! I'm in the house like a squatter, my gate's in New Cross
Home of the original muggers, psychopathic nutters
And plain clothes undercovers, crazy trainspotters
With grass cutters and choppers, eatin' sens' for supper

...I live in SE8 on the run-down estate
With the highest unemployment rate and crime rate'

Several SE London locations also get a mention on his London rudeboy anthem Dettwork South East (1996):

'Dettwork South East, Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Original south London trooper,
Blak Twang, live from the big smoke,
Thameslink, London Connections,
Watch the ride or watch the bus.

Its like this and this and that,
All across the map,
I chit-chat with a UK-Blak twang when I rap,
laying down facts like British rail tracks,
Cockney rhyming slang, and black conundrums dem pun the dungeon.
This is how we function in London,
From New Cross to Piccadilly Circus

From tower blocks across the circuit,
No surplus no deficit,
No more no less,
If it's Southeast or Northwest or Shredded Wheat or East,
From Old Kent Road to Ladbroke Grove,
I Lay Low,
Handle most of my biz on my cellular dog and bone,
We pass through Elephant and Castle,
Take the back streets to save the hastle,
Delivering a parcel, Over
The bridge and through the tunnel,
Beyond the horizon,
Where the sky scrapers meet the sky lining....

Good work London SE8'.

In an interview a couple of years ago, Twang said: 'South London has been influential in pretty much everything I've talked about: it really has influenced my music. South London, when it comes to black culture, is the mecca. The place even influenced my called myself Blak Twang - it was based on South London because we had a certain way of speaking and we used a lot of slang' (South London Press, 26 September 2008).

He's still going strong, living in Croydon I believe, and apparently planning to finally officially release the lost Dettwork South East, vanished amidst record company politics in the mid-1990s.

Here's his track Fearless, a defiant response in the aftermath of the murder of Stephen Lawrence: 'you can bring your baseball bats, bricks, bottles and Union Jacks, it's all crap like "Immigrants out, No Irish, No blacks"'.



Can anybody listen to this and say there's no such things as decent UK Hip Hop?

Skeme

A couple of great tracks coming up featuring Deptford rapper Skeme. But first, a bit about him from his myspace site:

'Hailing from Deptford, South East London, Skeme had a hunger for the mic from an early age. With sound systems like Saxon and Spectra holding jams at the bottom of his road every Sunday getting on the mic was soon became second nature to the ghetto star. Whilst still at primary school the big players allowed him to ride the riddim, which was highly unusual for someone of his young years and MCing became a natural progression, which eventually lead into rap. Skeme hooked up with three fellow local rappers and became part of an outfit aptly named The Money Programme. The crew approached lifelong Saxon member D.Rowe for musical support and guidance and began using Saxons studio to record their hard-hitting material. As always Skeme shone out with his distinctive vocal style and made the wise decision to go solo...

Skeme is currently working with popular garage outfit K2 family, Lethal and Destruction, Passing Trade and award-winning Estelle. Estelle and Skemes track Just Because received major airplay on BBCs 1xtra. Other tunes playlisted on the airwaves of Radio 1, Kiss 100 and Choice are 'Bling Bling', 'Herbman Hustling', 'Turning' and 'UK Bubblers'...

Skeme runs a workshop in partnership with NDC providing the opportunities for the young people in his area to hone their skills as an MC and to improve their lyrical content in the form of a weekly Lyric Writing and MCing session. The workshop is for 14-25 year olds from a deprived area of South London. He also works in close proximity with and is a regular speaker for Love Music Hate Racism (organized by the Anti-Nazi League) using the positive energy of the music scene to fight back against the racism being pushed by Nazi organisations such as the British National Party, National Front and Combat 18'.



This Is London - MAS P ft Skeme & BIG P - 'I'm a bad boy talker from the Deptford blocks'. Coldharbour Lane is also name-checked



Fusion - The Greatest Show featuring verbal gymnastics from Shabba D, Det, MC D, and Skeme. From 2005, 'Give me the ragga, give me the hip hop, give me the jungle techno... and the Twins dem Ragga up on Kool FM'. Got me thinking about the debates still raging about Simon Reynolds' notion of the Hardcore Continuum- the musical line from hardcore through jungle to speed garage, 2 step and grime. This track is in some ways a celebration of that continuum, but it also made me think about how many people tend to ignore UK hip hop when they talk about this, and perhaps underplay the influence of reggae sound system culture (pertinent in the case of Skema with his youthful links with Saxon). Though to be fair to Reynolds himself he sees the birth of the 'Nuum itself as resulting from 'The four-way collision of house/reggae/techno/hip hop'.