ATFTB: Round 2 Complete!

 Hello again

Last week, I was attempting to justify my addiction to both Peep Show and Don't Flop (which you can now add King Of The Dot, Smack URL and Grind Time too) by writing about what I've been up too, including what I was currently working on, A Tale From The Bedsit, which is what I'm going to talk about...

...now. So the comic you see there is The Foolkiller, which I talk about in the show. Now the show, is set in a bedsit, in which the audience come in and sit with me whilst I tell the story, about a bedsit I lived in Brighton and some of the things that went on whilst I was there, with a few mild moments of interaction that we've been playing with.

So Stef O'Driscol, who is directing me, and I had 2 weeks of development back in January at the Roundhouse. This Monday, after 3 scratch performances, we've just completed another 6 days, this time with a sound designer named Phil Davies. Battersea Arts Center kindly put us up for the week and we did a scratch there on the Friday, and then 2 at Roundhouse this Monday just gone. It all went pretty well and we tried out some things, there's been several more edits to the script (which has now gone though about a zillion drafts) and we got some really good feedback from the people that came along.

So the next stage of development will be in June, and all going well we will have a set designer on board who is going to make the show, which is all quite exciting, for when the full show happens in November!
Here's some pics...

 The BAC Bedsit.

The Roudhouse bedsit feat. Stef

Paul, where have you been and what are you doing?

Well, I hear you (don't) ask...

I've been a bit slack with updating this, but I guess that means that in-between watching reruns of Peep Show and Don't Flop rap battles I have actually been doing some stuff. So before I mention what’s coming up, I think it only nice I mention a few things that I've been up too.

Since February gigs wise I've been lucky enough to feature at The Patchwork Club, Platform @ The Ritzy, Come Rhyme With Me in both Brighton and London, and also at Look Mum No Hands as a fund-raiser for the charity CALM. I also did a weeks run, for the third time, of The Great Escape (A Borrowers Tale) as part of the Imagine Children s Festival at The Southbank Centre, which of course was a lot of fun.

I've also been working on some more workshop projects with Battersea Arts Centre as part of their Homegrown young people's program for 18-25 year olds, for the Brave New World festival. I also worked with Farnham Maltings Art Centre in a spoken word project working with some Traveller children from Cranleigh Primary school which was ace, working in part of Surrey that I'd never been to before, and quite different form Horley where I grew up in.

And so to the future! It's been a very long time in my head, and in carious forms and drafts on my PC, but since January my first ever solo project A Tale From The Bedsit is now currently being made and is in it's second stage of development, which I'm very excited about. It's essentially me telling a story about a bedsit I actually lived in Brighton a few years ago, and some of the things that went on. I say it's a solo project, but in reality, it isn’t, as it firstly took the Roundhouse to commission me to do it, and produce it, and for them to bring in a director, which is Stef O'Driscoll who's quite frankly breathed a whole new lease of life into it as a project and really helped me to shape the writing. Were currently rehearsing all this week at Battersea Arts Centre, and have bought in a sound designer, Phil Davies who's a don! There's going to be 2 scratches coming up at the Roundhouse on 22^nd April.

I'm also working on a show that will be heading to the Lattitude festival with Poejazzi, called 1990BPM, so, along with, Joshua Iduhen, Chimene Sullymen and Bridget Minamore, were all busy working on pieces to do with the 90's...and to top it all off, in conjuction with the bedsit show, I'm working on a EP with Conrad Murray called The Dice That Rolled A 3.

Hopefully it won't be so long until I update this again

Until next time

Paul

Come Rhyme With Me 2012

Happy New Year and all that. Have a wee look at the fresh E-Flyers for CMWM, which is a wicked event run by fellow Rubix members Deanna Rodger and Dean Atta. They theme the night around a menu and there is also the option of having a Caribbean meal. The night started back in July 2010 and I was lucky enough to be "The Starer" on the menu, it was also the day I left my old job, so fond memories. Since then, theve now expanded into Brighton, and this year I will be performing at both events in March, on the 15th (Brighton) and 29th (London). They line-ups are always top notch and the food is wicked too!

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