Stevie Hyper D Documentory

For those that have seen me perform before, there's a good chance you will have heard this piece, Jungle Warfare. In it, I make reference to legendary Jungle & Drum and Bass MC, Stevie Hyper D.

I first heard him not long after he sadly passed away. My brother would speak of this legendary rave MC, and when I first heard a few sets from a One Nation tape pack in about 1998, his name was constantly shouted out, and has been, pretty much ever since. 

Not long after that, I heard THIS particular set, which I also reference in Jungle Warfare. My brother had a copy of this tape, from a Helter Skelter event, which I used to play when he wasn't around. The guy blew me away. And still does today.

Whilst on twitter today, I happened to see a tweet for this documentary by The Audio Compund about a documentary they have made, called The Junglist Soldier - The Life And Times of Stevie Hyper D. It's a great listen, and only further depend my respect for this man and what he has done for UK rappers and MC's. I used to copy his lyrics when I first started out. Pure passion. A massive influence on me. 

The Junglist Soldier- The Life and Times of Stevie Hyper D by Matthew Gale on Mixcloud

Cirus Plans

Easy

So I've had a nice couple of months of late. I've been lucky enough to perform at some really enjoyable gigs, One Taste, Talia Randal's 3 Mile Radius EP Launch (which I will speak more about very soon!), Bang Said The Gun and Pigeon Poetry as well as playing the drums for rODIUM. It brings an end to what has been a pretty good year. As for next year, I'm currently working on 2 projects which will be, all going well, coming to fruition in the first half of next year, both of which I'm pretty excited about! More to follow...

On a quick note, I just wanted to give up some space on here, as I tend to talk about what I'm doing a bit too much, and shine some light on a guy who's doing some really exciting things at the moment. He goes by the name of Cirus and is a member of Roundhouse associate collective Elephant where I first met him. I'm not really one to try and intellectualize on what other people are doing with their own art, I don't tend too make any sence even when I do. All I know is that I like what Cirus is doing, with his voice, his words, his sounds and his pen. 
I first heard him doing spoken word, back last year at Meadowlands, I remember being taken aback by his voice and his presence. I've recently come across some of the music he's making and I'm able to pay a lot more attention to his content.
 I had a mad chat with him back in the summer at the Lounge On The Farm Festival and we both had similar interests music wise and hearing the stuff he's making hasn't disappointed, he's clearly doing on his own thing. It's inspiring.  

 

rODIUM Blind, live session video.

A couple of weeks back I had another session with rODIUM playing drums again. Things are getting tighter, I think (hope!), well anyway, here's links to 2 of the songs Take Me Away and Blind, big up Monique who filmed, Matt on guitar, who you can't see in the first video and of course Dean (Boggaloo Dee), who is a very old friend a mine who came in on bass for his first session and smashed it. Enjoy

P.S You download the latest rODIUM single You're A Star from Itunes HERE

Lenzez and rODIUM Jam 'fly' live

Yo.

So I was back again on the drums recently for rODIUM . I'm still getting into the swing of things with this and I'll probably take a while to get up to a good playing standard but again it was fun. Check the vid...

One Taste!

Tomorrow (Sunday 10th November) I'll be dong a set at the One Taste Festival in the Bedord in Balham. I'm pretty excited about it, there's sqillionsof acts on the day, music, theatre and of course spoken word. My dad played a gig there many years ago and so has my older brother.

Peep the line up:

Talia Randall: 3 mile Radius EP Launch

Tuesday 20th at the Roundhouse is the launch of Talia Randall's debut EP 3 Mile Radius.

I've known Talia now for over 3 years and have worked with her many times from Roundhouse Poetry Collective through to Rubix and also many different shows and also a workshop program we devised together. She's hands down one of my favorite writers out there at the moment, in a league of her own and this summer at Camp Bestival blew me away with one of the best Spoken Word sets I've ever seen, mostly of which, I believe, is the material which will be appearing on the EP.

I know she has spent a long time crafting all the pieces for this EP and she is working with some don musicians in the form of Elian Grey, Jamie and Noemie Ducimetiere, all who are from the banging Emergeing Species record label who are putting the EP out, copies of which will be available on the night. 

Support on the night comes in the from of Sean Mahoney, Rob Auton, Kaite Bonna and myself, and I'll probably be drawing for some of my music related stuff, I'm looking foreword to it!

You can get you're self a ticket HERE  for a mere £5, I believe all the early bird £3 squid tickets are sold out. Reach if you can, it should be a banger!

The Purest of Pride

It's a war cry

that make the hairs on the end of my neck

stand to attention.

The purest of pride.

A misunderstood force of nature,

sensationalized it summons fear in the uninitiated,

An unrivaled passion passed through generations,

stood shoulder to shoulder,

the undiluted liquid of the Thames,

refusing to be watered down on prescription for the masses,

via oligarchs, Sheiks and American sports magnates.

A whole city pulsates in the passion it generates,

enough to wake the distant memories of docks and ships,

from which it came.

Bricked over by the demands for luxury living,

which forgets as fast as it's built.

But this war cry will never die.

It is the undisputed king of the urban jungle.

For it is the Lions roar

of SE16.

Grow A Pair

Now
You can be
A good bloke
Honest
And trustworthy
Whilst
Still owning 
A
Pair
Of 
Bollox

But

If
Someone says 
You're
A nice person
They
May well
Think 
You are a melt
Who
(still)
Cuts
Off the crusts
From
A Sandwich.

They're probably
Just  
Being nice.     

John Berkavitch: The Power of Being Embaressed

In the last year or two I've become a fan of talks. Subscribing to both TEDx and RSA.  There always seems to be someone worth listening too, maybe I'm getting old.

This summer at Camp Bestival, I got to meet the Spoken Word Artist and all round don John Berkavitch. He was a very cool guy and gave me some good words, but he's known for good words. So good in fact, that last year, he did a TED talk about the power of embarrassment. The subject he speaks about is something I encounter a lot, not just in my work with young people, but something I've come across in people (me included) from as far back as I can remember. I think he's hit the nail on the head, this whole loosing face business is'nt worth the energy put in to shut out the embarrassment.

It's well worth a look, and if you like the look of John (how can you not, the geezer is bare foot on stage at a TED talk!), he's performing at One Taste on the 11th of November.

Rubix In The Booth

   

So now that the Rubix: The Red (Click for a listen) is out in the digital supermarket of cyber space, here's a few pictures from the day we went into the EMI Studio at Roundhouse to record...

Rubix Red

Yes, it's here at last!
  
This the album I have featured on as part of Rubix. It's our very first album together, which has come courtesy of Roundhouse Records

As you may have guessed, we all wrote tracks on the theme of Red, and will be slowly working through the colours of the aptly named cube.

Have a look at the trailer, there are links and stuff to buy it if you're interested, hope you enjoy...

CrossRoads

Have a wee listen.

If you like here's a link to the VIDEO

At Least Your Nails Looks Nice

There's
No way in
For now

I'm 
Locked out

It's cold

Until
I see
A light-bulb 
Yellow the air
Through the front door 
I'll sit
In The porch waiting
Measuring sucess
By the length of your arm
 

A Pale Shade of White

On Wednesday this week, whilst at the launch for the Ryming Thunder   book, my friend and fellow Rubix member Bridget Minamore performed a poem called Melanie. It's a very good piece of writing and inspired me to dig this one out, which isn't actually that old, I'd just forgotten about it 

You can read and see more of Bridget right HERE 

No Need To Apologise

Having recently given up using Facebook (it's been about 4 weeks now...), I've taken to Twitter a lot more than I ever have. I found Facebook becoming more and more intrusive and counter productive, despite being for me, easily the best way to promote an event or something I'm doing (which, by the way I really dislike promoting myself, but I have too, you understand...) but I like Twitter though. When I log in, I generally get a good stream of information and conversation that is mostly of interest to me (and I get a little buzz knowing everytime I retweet something about Millwall it appears on people's timelines who probably wonder how an earth that just happened!)

This week, whilst in the middle of an extensive procrastination workout, I was aimlessly scrolling through Twitter when I noticed someone began following me under the name of @quillbomb. The curious Cat inside of me wanted to follow the trail to the source, thus further distancing myself even further from what I was supposed to be doing. Turns out there was a website listed in the profile, and @quillbomb.is a very very don writer and poet, whom I'm sure most people in the circles I rotate in probably know about, making me, a mug. (well that's nothing new).

I wanted to share a bit of her work which I found very inspiring, as someone who apologies a lot (I don't think it's because I'm English, I'm just insecure) and this is only on the "About" section of the blog, which is called Deapologize and you should check the rest because it's banging!

deapologize’ is a collection of prose and poetry written, simultaneously, in jest and in complete stony-faced seriousness.

Some of the pieces were formulated in a state of half-blind panic. Some phrases strayed into thoughtspace while the writer was in the limbo between sleep and wake. Some were written self-assuringly, some ironically, some in desperation. Most were written in bed while in her pajamas.
deapologize has been an alphabet soup brewing on the poetry stove for a while now. If there should be a single essence to the collection, it is heralded by the needless human instinct to apologize for simply being. Thanks to this spirit-crushing society of zombies, we are made to feel sorry for our quirks, and idiosyncracies and essentially for everything that makes up our entirely unique disposition.
It is a way of being unapologetic. Of reclaiming our over-expelled ‘sorry’s and simply holding our heads high instead. Of forgoing the compulsion to meekly submit to ideas that suggest we are doing something wrong just by living however we choose to. (Some circumstances are exempt from the state of Not Being Sorry: like if you deliberately set someone’s house on fire – also known as arson, look it up mate, it’s totally illegal – then you should be sorry).
If you enjoy the writing here, you can drop the writer an email [nabilah.husna@gmail.com]. If you don’t, you, too, may drop me her email. She like emails.

Mid Afternoon Sunset

As I've been posting up a lot of old stuff recently, here's a little something that is recent. I've been writing a lot of short poems of late, and I must say, I'm enjoying it. I reminds of a few years ago when I was just trying it out, mostly for my own amusement.

Mid Afternoon Sunset

It's always

This

Time of year.

Where

Something

Keeps putting the potato

Up the exhaust

Of

my dreams.

Ruby Wax

Was leading

Hymn practice

At the packed Catholic church

I visit

at Christmas

And the odd

Easter.

There was instructions

for hand

movements.

I couldn't take it.

To the disappoint

Of

My Dad

As

I walked

Out

Into

The quiet evening

Feeling

Guilty

But glad

Of the 

air.

Rhyming Thunder

 Tomorrow night see's the London launch of a new anthology called Rhyming Thunder in which I have 2 poems, for the first ever time, in print! There are 21 of us all in all and I must say it is an excellent line up for a book, and also for a LAUNCH (the criteria being that we were all performance poets, therefore less likely to be in print).

It should be a great night and a great book, which you can purchase for a mere £10 from HERE

Words From The Archives: #5 Knackered

Hello Again

Pulled this one of the hardrive this week. I'd completely forgotten I'd written it. At the time, I probably would have hated it, it never got performed. It was the sort of thing I wrote a lot of, but never showed anyone.

As with all the other peices I've out up, I've left it exactly how it was on the screen, ie with spelling and grammer errors etc. This would have been been written around March 2010. I would have been living an ex council flat in Fulham at the time. which was quite stressful. The park and bench mentioned would have been 1 of possibly 2. Either the park / gardens behind the Houses of Parliament, or the small green area off of Vauxhall bridge Road. I don't remember any of their names...


KNACKERED

Lunchbreak.
He rises from his seat and walks away from his desk
heading out the office he avoids the lifts and taks the steps
Existing the building turning right
All the shops, cafe's, cash machine and pub, are on the left

A 5 minute walk to the park he finds a bench.
He takes his book Out of his bag and begins to write.
When he's not writing he recites.
Pacing up and down the perimiter of the park trying to get his words right.
He repeats this 5 days a week.
Monday to Friday.
Day in.
Day out.

He doesnt think he's better than anyone else.
He doesn't thnik he's special.
He's got nothing aaginst his collegues.
He likes them.
he envys them.
What he does think,
is that he doesnt expect them to undetstand.
Is that bad?

Not that there's anything wrong in...........

You know what?

This is bollox.

Treading over old ground.
Repeatedley.
Again,
and again.

I've been here.
Done this before.
On the same park bench.
2 years ago.
A thousand times.
Where's it going?

Ok.
I finally got to meet some really inspireing people.
Even made a few moves.
I feel like it's pushed me on.
A lot.
A hell of a lot,
and I'm gratefull.
Honestly.
Now though,
after a lot of post work grinding.
5 days a week.
Day in.
Day out.
The adrenline's gone.
The ideas have gone.
The spark has gone.
I'm completley knackered.

I'm still sitting on the same bench.
Writing the same tired self obsessed crap.
When I return back to my desk.
I know I've got a shit load of stuff to do.
I've fallen behind.
Again.
This time I don't have the energy.
The patience is gone.

All I'm left with is me.
My job.
Judgeing by the emails I get most days about stats
I'm edging ever closer to the sack.
The flat.
I don't even know who i'm living with now.
the revolving door policy has seen me live with 9 peoplle in 3 months,
at the last count.

What the fuck am I supposed to do?

If I make myself I'll,
then at least I tried.

Sometimes I just wish I was normal

Words From The Archives: #4 Coffee Shop

Around about this time, in 2008, whilst on a work / birthday doo at the roller disco in Vauxhall, I fell over, fractured my elbow, got put in plaster and was signed off work for 2 weeks. Despite the inconvenience of not having the use of my right arm for a while and some extremely intense physio afterwards (I was in tears every week) it was one of the best 2 weeks I'd had in years...

I was living in Brixton at the time and had borrowed 2 books from Brixton library which were on the required reading list for this creative writing course I was due to attend at Birkbeck college. The cafe in the poem was on acre lane and had only recently opened.

The poem itself was typical of the kind of stuff I used to write back then and does make me cringe a little bit. The course I took marked the beginning of the end of this sort of thing for me, for now anyway...

COFFEE SHOP

IM OFF WORK ON THE SICK
I WAS IN THE FLAT WANTING TO ESCAPE
IM STARTING A COURSE IN A WEEK
GOT BOOKS FROM A LIST THAT I NEED TO READ

SO TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THOSE FOUR
I STEPPED OUT MY DOOR
PUT MY FEET TO THE STREET

NEAR WHERE I RESIDE
SITUATED ON A CORNER
IS A LITTLE COFFEE SHOP
WHICH I'VE NEVER TRIED

NOW IM NOT MR CULTURE
AND CERTINLY NOT SPOHISTICATED
BUT I'VE TRIED A FEW THINGS
HERBAL TEAS AND SOYA BEANS

ONE OR TWO VEGGIES DISHES
AND FROM MY FREINDS I'VE HAD MANY SNIGGERS
I JUST TRY KEEP ON OPEN MIND
BUT I DON'T WISH TO LEAVE CERTAIN THINGS BEHIND
IM NOT ADVERSE TO A GEASEY SPOON

BUT COFFEE SHOPS?
ONCE OR TWICE MAYBE
DUNNO 
I GIVE EM A WIDE BERTH REALLY
I DONT DRINK COFFEE

BUT IM OFF WORK
AND I NEED TO READ 
AND I DO LIKE
A NICE CUP OF TEA

SO WHY NOT?
I ENTERED IN
ASKED FOR A CUP OF TEA
THE LADY BEHIND THE COUNTER
THEN ASKED ME
CAMMOLILE, FRUIT, EARL GREY, BEAKFAST OR GREEN?

IN MY HEAD I REPLIED "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?"
"I WANT A CUPPA!!" BUT THAT WAS IN MY DREAMS
I POLITLEY REPLIED "BREAKFAST PLEASE"
SHE THEN SAID "WOULD YOU LIKE MILK WITH THAT?"
IN MY HEAD I SAID "THATS A STUPID QUESTION YOU SILLY PRAT"

BUT IM NOT LIKE THAT
SO I POLLITLEY REPLIED "YES PLEASE"
I UNDERTAND THESE COFFEE SHOPS CATER FOR A DEMOGRAPHIC
FAR WIDEER THAN THE LIKES OF ME
FROM A SMALL INWARD LOOKING A TOWN AT THE ARSE END OF SURREY

I THEN HAD A QUICK GLANCE
AT THE FOOD ON THE MENU
NOW IT OFTEN BAFFLED ME AS A CHILD IN CHURCH
THE PROCESS OF A WAFER SUDDENLY BECOMING 
A SMALL SLICE FROM THE BODY OF CHRIST
I BELIVE THEY CALL THIS TRANSUBSTANTIATION

CURIOUS AGAIN I WONDERED HOW
SOME CHEAP WHITE BREAD, OLIVES AND PESTO
MAGICLALLY BECOMES MEDITERIANIAN
AND £4.50

SO WHEN THE WOMAN SAID "ANYTHING ELSE?"
I SAID NO THANKYOU AND PAID FOR MY TEA


SO I GOT MY TEA
AND SAT ON THIS AKWARDELEY HIGH
UNCOMFORTABLE STOOL
WITHOUT A BACK
ON A BENCH SURFACE
BY A WINDOW
AND PROCEEDED TO GET MY BOOK OUT OF MY BAG

TEN MINUTIES PAST,
AND THAT STOOL WAS HURTING MY ARSE
AND THAT LACK OF A BACK WAS HURTING MY BACK
NOW I UNDERSTAND THEY WANT AN INTELLIGANT CLINETLLE
AND TO DISCOURAGE THE RIFF RAFF
BUT DO THEY REALLY HAVE TO INSIST ON PLAYING THIS PONCY JAZZ

I LIKE MUSIC BUT NOT THIS
ITS GETTING ON MY NERVS
IM TRYING TO READ 
BUT I CAND CONCENTRATE ON THE FLIPPIN WORDS

HONESTLEY,
THIS COFEE CULTURE
WHATS IT ALL ABOUT
A COFEFE HOUSE
ITS A CAFE

BOLLOX TO AN OPEN MIND THIS IS CRAP

THE WHOLE THINGS A PARADOX, A MUG OFF
FUCK THIS
IM NOT A MUG
SO I FINISHED MY TEA
POLLITLEY SAID
"THANKYOU"
AND WENT TO THE PUB

Music, it's all gone full circle!

Greetings!

This is a little update to let you know about some music projects I've been working on of late...

For anyone that's known me for a while, or for that matter has ever listened to me talk about myself, which, I do, erm, probably a bit more than I should... the'l know prior to entering the world of Poetry and Spoken Word, I was a rapper and an MC, prior to that I was a drummer, prior to that I was a fan of music! I've been lucky enough to be born into a family of music and have had many different influences around me my whole life.

So about 18 months ago I was offered the chance to go into the studio of Conrad Murray aka Cakey Monkey. I knew Con through working on theatre projects at BAC, and together with Dani Marshall whom I also know from BAC (but did'nt know at the time she possessed the voice of an angel) we put this track together (the working title is Outcast) as a little experiment, it was the first time I'd been 'in the booth' rapping for a few years

We all clicked pretty quickly and soon enough a whole project was born. At the moment, a lot of it is still under wraps but here's another work in progress track (Working title Time, Blood Sweat and Tears). 



and then finally, as if going back to rapping wasn't enough, I was just last week invited to play drums on the video shoot for Conrad's Hip Hop group Rodium (Cakey Monkey, Joypad B and Killer PLO). I must say, I was a bit rusty too begin with but it was a lot of fun in a dirty old studio round the back of the legendary Tin Pan Alley!
Here's a sneaky behind the scenes video for the track You're A Star.



To top it all off, I've been working on my self produced EP which I hope at some point will see the light of day! Who knows...

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Cross Roads

Greetings!

Last night I saw a screening of a very amazing documentary about the London riots called Riot From Wrong made by a group of very talented young people, in fact, just people. It's a mugg off calling them Young People because the documentary would more than stand on its own against anything  I've seen or read so far on the riots. I was very moved by it! If you get a chance, watch!

I was a fortunate enough to be asked to perform as part of the screening which was a real pleasure. Funnily enough, I'd just finished recording the video to Crossroads last week when I got the email asking me to take part in the screening. 

The video below was filmed by Mellow 9 Productions. Hope you enjoy!

Words From The Archive: #3 Gill's secret Santa

So this one here I must have wrote back in 2006. It was before I'd ever gone to a single poetry night because I read it out the first time I performed at Poetry Unplugged, and that was in April 2007.
I have a whole file of these poems, mostly quite silly and generally with punchlines at the end and nearly all with unimagintaive titles like this one. 
It was written for a lady called Gill, unsurprisingly, who was the manager of the accounts department of a small finance company I used to work for. In that great office Christmas tradition we all did a Secret Santa and I drew her name. Instead of going for the usual wacky presents in the £10 region, like dildo's or penis enlargement kits, I opted to write her this and stick in a frame. I think I put some nice bath salts in with in with it as well so it was not a complete cop out. Anyway, she laughed when she read it and actually rang the number at the bottom, suffice to say I wasn't comedy enough to have used to a real one....


GILL'S SECRET SANTA

YOU SIT THERE WORKING HARD WITH ALL THE FIGURES AND THE FACTS
LOTS OF DIFFERENT NUMBERS MUST EQUATE TO A LOT OF MATHS
YOU SOUND LIKE YOU MUST KNOW KNOW YOUR JOB,
AND WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
BUT IF YOU ASK ME WHAT YOU DO,
I REALLY HAVANT GOT A CLUE
WITHIN YOUR DEARTMENT
IBET YOUR INDESPNSEABLE
BUT YOUR ALSO ROCK'N ROLL
YOU WENT TO A FESTIVAL
YOU WONDANT DO NO DRUGS
'COS THATS AGAINST THE LAW
BUT IF YOU EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND
0774 - 503 - 7 - 44

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Words From The Archives: #2 The Boy

Continuing on from last week, here's another old one I have drawn for.
Again, I wrote this during the 1st term I did back in 2009 with The Roundhouse Poetry Collective guided by Polabear. We were specially asked to write a piece, from the 3rd person, purely descriptive and without giving a voice to the characters thoughts.The Leisure centre and snooker room I was trying to describe was based on the old Crawley Leisure Centre, which is now long since gone and made way for a new build development.  
This was still around the time when I used to write entirely in capitals. 



3RD PERSON (THE BOY)


THE BOY WALKS THROUGH THE AUTOMATIC DOORS
TAKING NOTE OF THE WHITE STICKER'S ON BOTH DOORS,
THEY SAY "AUTOMATIC DOORS"
AS BOTH DOORS GO TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT RESPECTIVLY 
THE PARTING OF THE DOORS LIKE THE PARTING OF THE SEAS


THE SMELL OF CHORLINE HITS HIS NOSE,
AND THE DISTANT NOISE OF ADOLESCANT SCREAMS
TICKLES HIS EARS DRUMS


DRESSED IN JEANS AND A JUMPER
THE JUMPER FAILING TO DISGUISE THE EXCESS WEIGHT ROUND HIS WAISTE
HARDLY THE ATTIRE OF A LESIURE CENTRE GOER
HE HEADS FOR THE YOUNG LADY AT THE RECEPTION DESK


THE LADY BEHIND THE DESK,
DRESSED,
IN A SPORTS POLO AND TRACKSUIT BOTTOMS
ANSERWS THE BOYS REQUEST,
TO COMMANDEER THE SNOOKER TABLE FOR THE NEXT 2 HOURS


THE BOY COLLECTS,
THEN INSPECTS
THE BLACK TRAY OF SPINNING BALLS,
2 QUES AND A BLOCK OF CHALK
AS HIS PODGY FINGERS PART WITH HIS CASH


THE BOYS TAKES A GLANCE BACK,
 TOWARDS THE ENTRENCE THEN HE DRAWS A DEEP BREATH


THE YOUNG LADY BEHIND RECEPTION,
THEN BEGINS TO ISSUE THE INSTRUCTIONS,
DIRECTING THE BOY TO THE SNOOKER ROOM
BEFORE SHE HAS EVEN FINISHED,
THE BOY IS A QUATER OF THE WAY UP THE STAIRS


FACE CONCENTRATED LIKE A MAN ON A MISSION
HOLDING THE TRAY FULL OF SPINNING BALLS
LIKE A WAITER BALANCING A DELICATE PLATE
THE BOY MAKES HIS WAY


HE WALKS DOWN A CORRIDOR
THROUGH THE BROWN FIRE DOOR  DOUBLE DOORS
AND OUT ONTO THE NEXT CORRIDOOR
WHICH SERVS AS A PROMENADE
OVER LOOKING THE SWIMMING POOL


THE BOY LOOKS OVER THE EDGE,
4 VERICAL LINES OF SEGREGATION SLICE THROUGH THE POOL
PARTITNIONED ACCORDING TO LEVEL OF PRACTICE
THE LANE AT THE FAR END SEEMS TO CATCH HIS EYE,
BEGINNERS,
SMALL GROUPS OF MOTHERS AND FATHERS, 
SPLASHING ROUND WITH RELUCTANT  INFLATABLE ARM BAND CLAD KIDS
WHILST THE REST OF THE PEOPLE JUST GO UP AND DOWN, 
BACK AND FORTH


THE BOY JUST TUTS AND TWISTS
THE TWO SNOOKER QUES GRIPPED IN HIS RIGHT HAND,
AS THE PROMENADE ENDS,
AND JUST BECOMES ANOTHER STERILE CORRIDOR
3 WALLS TURNED BACK TO 4
ORDER RESTORED


THE BOY WALKS FORWARDS,
AND SEEMS TO IGNOIRE
THE POSTER CLAD WALLS OF KICKBOXAISE, KEEP FIT AND PILATES
UNTIL HE STOPES AT THE DOOR THAT INDICATES "ROOM 19, SNOOKER"


HE WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR AND ENTERS THE ROOM,
HE CASTS A GLANCE LEFT AND RIGHT
ALL HE SEES IS TWO FULL SISE SNOOKER TABLES,
DOMINATING THE SPACE


HE HEADS TO THE TABLE ON HIS LEFT
AND RESTING THE QUE'S UP AGAINST THE EDGE
HE PLACES THE BALLS AND CHALK ONTO THE GREEN FELT
THE BOY THEN HEADS TOWADRS THE SCOREBORAD,
AND THEN SLIDES ALL THE GOLD SQUARES BACK TO 0


HE WAITS
THEN HESITATES
HIS EYES MOVE BACK AND FORTH TOWARDS THE DOOR
THE BOY TUTS AND THEN MUMBLES AN EXPLITIVE
AND TAKES A RED BALL FROM THE TRAY,
AND LINES IT UP ON THE D


HE PLACES THE WHITE BALL,
AT THE OPPOSIYE END OF THE TABLE
AND ASSUMES HIS QUEING POSITION
THE BOY SMAHES THE WHITE TOWARDS THE RED
THE RED AND WHITE COLLIDE WITH FORCE
AND RIQUOET OFF INTO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS


THE BOY THEN REPEATS THIS SEVERAL TIMES
WITH EACH STRIKE MORE AGGRESIVE THAN THE LAST
UNTIL FINALLY
HE MIS-QUES HIS LAST HIT
ONLY SKIMMING THE TOP OF THE WHITE BALL
THE WHITE THEN FEEBLY ROLLS TOWARDS THE RED
POSITIONED NEAR TO A CORNER AT THE FAR END
THE WHITE MISSES THE RED
AND ROLLS INTO THE EMPTY POCKET,
SUNK

Words From The Archives: #1 Dial SOS For Mum

Today I was looking though my files trying to find an old piece I used to perform and came across a lot of old stuff I'd written that I thought would be nice to post up. Reading through this one, I can't help thinking how much has changed, my circumstances, the way I write etc.


This peice was written in the first term I did under Polabear at The Roundhouse, somewhere between September and December 2009. I've mentioned before when posting old stuff, that I used to always write in capitols back then. I think it was just a habit I somehow got into and was scared to break, for that reason though, I've left it as it is. 

DIAL SOS FOR MUM

SAT ON THE KITCHEN TABLE

PHONE IN MY HAND READY TO DIAL

EAGER TO TELL ANOTHER TALE

A SIMILAR STORY DIFFERENT PREDICAMENT

SAME THEME OF STRUGGLE AND STRESS

KEEPING UP WITH THE REST AND STAYING AFLOAT

I'D LOVE TO PHONE MUM MORE OFTEN

AND TELL OF HER SUCCESS

THAT I'M NOT SKINT, I'M HAPPY IN MY JOB

 AND I'M ABOUT TO SETTLE WITH A LOVLEY GIRL

BUT AT PRESENT

I DON'T

SO I DIAL AND MUM ANSWERS

CARM AND REASSURING AS EVER

HER WORDS GENTLY ENTER MY HEAD,

THOUGH MY EARS AND INTO MY OVERACTIE MIND

SHE'S LIKE A VERBEL RADOX, 

WARM 

AND NICE

I TELL HER WHAT I'M UP TOO AND WHAT I'BE BEEN DOING

I'M FINDING IT HARD AND THAT I'M PRETTY FED UP

MUM SAYS "YOUR DOING REALLY WELL, IT'S LOVLEY TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN,

PLEASE PHONE MORE OFTEN"

26 GOING ON 6

LIKE I'VE DROPPED MY LOLLY STICK SO I GO SCREMING TO MY MUM

MY HOLYWOOD TEARS POSE THE QUESTION

OF BEGGING MY MUM TO PRODUCE ANOTHER ONE

SO I'M TELLING MUM OF ANOTHER PENING ADDRESS CHANGE

BOTH ELBOWS ON THE TABLE TORSO BENT FOREWARD

I THINK OF THE ADDRESS BOOK MUM KEEPS BY THE PHONE

AND ALL THOESE ADDRESSESS UNDER MY NAME

EACH ONE WITH AN ARROW STRIKING THOUGH THEM

LIKE THE GRIM REAPER CAME TO VISIT EACH TIME

JUST AFTER I LEFT TOO MOVE TO YET ANOTHER ADDRESS

I WONDER IF MUM EVER THINKS WITH EACH NEW ADDRESS

"WILL HE EVER GET SETTLED"

GOD KNOWS I'M TRYING

MUM KNOWS I'M TRYING

BUT MUM ALSO KNOWS THAT THE ADDRESS BOOK,

IS RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT OF SPACE

AND I'M RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT OF FAITH

AND I'M RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT OF PATEIENCE

AND I'M RAPIDLY RUNNING OUT OF TIME

THE GRIM REPERS WAITING

26 GOING ON 6

LIKE I'VE DROPPED MY LOLLY STICK SO I GO SCREMING TO MY MUM

MY HOLYWOOD TEARS POSE THE QUESTION

OF BEGGING MY MUM TO PRODUCE ANOTHER ONE

I HAVE TO QUESTION MYSELF AS TO WHY I'M EVEN PHONING MUM

'COS I KNOW MUM AND DAD CAN'T PRODUCE ANOTHER LOLLYSTICK

IN THE FORM OF THOUSANDS OF QUIDS

AS MUM TELLS ME WHAT SHE'S UP

ENJOYING HER WELL EARHNED RETIREMENT

I CAN'T HELP THINKING THE REASON I'M PHONING

IS JUST A DEALY TACTIC TO SUPRESS THE REALITY

THE REASURANCE, WISDOM AND COMFORT THAT MY MUMS VOICE BRINGS

SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH

BUT IT'S LIKE I'M EXPECTING MY MUM'S VOICE,

TO HAVE SOME SORT OF POWER LIKE A SONIC MAJIC WAND

AND MAKE EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE ALLRIGHT

LIKE A NEVER ENDING LOLLYSTICK THAT EACH TIME I LICK

IT DOESNT REDUCE IN SISE IT JUST GETS MORE SWEET

SO I FINISH THE CALL

TELL MUM I'LL PHONE HER MORE OFTEN

AND THEN WONDER HOW MANY MORE KITCHENS I'VE GOTTA SIT IN

BEFORE I CAN PHONE HOME WITHOUT AN AGENDA AND JUST SAY

"HELLO ARE YOU"?

A Visual Blast from the Past

 A few days ago, an old friend of mine from school sent me an email saying he'd come across some DTP pictures and did I want to have a look. As soon as I saw them a had a wee chuckle to myself, not just because I had a shaved eyebrow, how serious the pictures are and the fact that I still wear that blue Nike hoody (though most of the blue has by now faded) but it made me realise how much has changed since then (I think the pictures must have been from 2002), but also, how much hasn't!


DTP (Digital Transition Promotions) was a little crew set up myself and a guy I was at Crawley College with called Mike (Mickey T, though back then his DJ name was Delusion), we're still very good mates now and speak often.


He was a DJ, I was an MC and we both wanted to perform. They were quite a lot of people doing it back then in the Crawley, Horley, Redhill and Croydon areas but not many places to do it at. Looking back, we wanted to create a small local scene for underground music, but in hindsight, having London half an hour north and Brighton half an hour south, it was wishful thinking!


Anyway, we eventually got a monthly event at this little nightclub in Horley called the Liquid Lounge (which over the years had several name changes and often had it's licence revoked but it was always the same family owning it, just a different brother!). The venue had possibly the most 2 bob soundsystem I have ever come across and was certainly not in anyway equipped to handle sub heavy Garage and Drum and Bass. There weren't many nights that didn't have some kind of punch up either during or after (having lots of different rude boys, and not many girls, from a series of small towns in the same space was never a good idea) but I learnt a lot from doing those and we drove on. We eventually ran 2 nights down in Brighton and forged links in London and many other places. We set up a website, had a bank account, T shirts and business cards, banners and we owned a bit of equipment. Not bad a for a pair of 18/19 year olds, I'm quite proud (There was also a 3rd guy for a while, another old mate called Marc, who was also a DJ, the 3 of us are at the front of 2 of the pictures).


We wanted to run events where it wasn't just the same style of Music all night long. Myself and Mike both had a passion for most forms of underground dance music and wanted to push it all, as well   as give ourselves and others a platform to perform, as gigs were to hard to come by.


In the end, it didn't quite work and it all died down. I realised event running weren't really for me, and often at our events we found some people to be very closed minded about other genres of music, even between Garage and Drum and Bass. However, low and behold, with this new umbrella term of "UK Bass" or whatever it is, DJ's now seem to be drawing for tune across the board. It's not uncommon to hear Garage, Jungle,  House, Dubstep and Techno all blended in to sets now which I think is wicked.


What hasn't changed is my own drive. Back then, all I thought about (apart form girls of course) was how we could push DTP. What was the next thing we could do, lyrics I could MC with, should we set up a record label etc etc, it's never stopped and has continued, in my head, through every job, lunch break, bed time and holiday I've had since. I learnt a lot doing all that back then, one day, I hope, it might just pay off!