Monday 28 October 2013

Zia Ahmed @ Tounge Fu

In terms of blogs and the fast moving world of the internet, I guess this is old. It's from last year I believe. I don't really care though. I'm not a blogger in that respect, I just like putting stuff up here that means something too me, in the hope that someone else might like it too and it affects them in the same way. Anyway...

Zia Ahmed is a poet. As far as I know he does other things to, like theater, but I know him as a poet and he's someone that I really respect and enjoy listening too. In this little world of writers and what not, people speak a lot about authenticity, whatever the actual meaning in that context is, I think it's this. I've listened to it many times and it still moves me. I'm not even going to attempt to break down what he's saying, I'm not really into that. There are people who like doing that and are into that. I'm not really one of them. Have a listen and make up your own mind. For me, it propably ranks as one of my favorite peices of spoken word and I really like the whole live recording, it makes it even better for me.

The piece was recorded at the Roundhouse (which is where I know Zia from) as part of an excellent night called Tongue Fu, where the performers (normally poets, writers, comedians etc) go on stage and have a very good backing band improvise to them. It's a bit of an institution and is run by well known poet Chris Redmond.

Zia is part of a spoken word ensemble show happening at Roundhouse called Run by A Cloud of Foxes. The show is part of the The Last Word Festival which my show is also part of. I havant sen Run yet, but Zia and a whole host of decent poets and writers are involved so it should be sick.

Peace

Sunday 20 October 2013

Loefah: Last time I listened...

Continuing my never-intentional tradition of being late to many things (I got a Megadrive as most kids in my year had Playstations. I started watching Sopranoes this summer etc etc). I've been listening to Loefah and his Swamp 81 label. Music is a bit different though, underground wise, it's something I've been into and been involved with, on and off, for a long time. I've probably mentioned it before but when I started MCing, UK Garage was commercially big and in the charts but the underground was taking a turn to the darker side of things. I followed that turn and it's various manifestations into Dubstep and Grime etc. Then I dropped off the radar for a bit, or my internet connection was lost or something, because the whole Dubstep thing got massive, seemingly overnight. Thing was, it wasn't the sound that I was hearing in those early trips to FWD and DMZ with my mate Jazz, or the trips to Bristol I'd make to see my brother and all his producing mates. I just wasn't, and still don't, feel it, much (I don't mind the odd tear-out track or whatever they were calling it). Anyway, one of my favorite early producers and DJ's was Loefah, and over the last few years, I just about managed to keep my toe in these things through my mate Jazz and my brother, who reliably inform me of his activities, like his label Swamp 81. I finally sat down to listen to some of his new (to me anyway) stuff, as apposed to routinely going through his early DMZ releases. Here's a pretty decent Boiler Room mix form August this year. It's sick


Tuesday 15 October 2013

The Bedsit Is HERE!

...Technically it never went away, but I did, I moved away, into a flat and then about 8 years later I've made a show about living in that Bedsit and you can come and see that show, next month, at the Roundhouse, look, here's is a LINK where you can purchase a ticket! (can you tell I'm excited??!..and nervous!)

Approximately 2 years ago I'd written the first segment of the show, which I sent via some muggy audio clip to my mate and don of dons Talia Randal, later that summer I attended a workshop session at the Roundhouse where you could pitch an idea for a show, after speaking with Roundhouse legend Sylvia Harrison, she then put the wheels in motion and set up a meeting for me with another Roundhouse legend Lucy Aitkinson, who's been producing the show ever since. This time last year I was finishing the second part of the show and starting the third. (It was originally a trilogy of stories) I then joined forces with the mighty Stef O' Driscol  in January and almost a year later, several scratches, feedback sessions, meetings and god knows how many versions and script amendments later, here we are with one big hour long show, A Tale From The Bedsit. Completing what has now become a wicked little team, there is a banging sound design by Phil Davies, an amazing set design by India Banks and Lucy Mcgowan, and another Roundhouse legend Liz Counsell!

It's a site specific thing, all the shows (bar the final one on the Sunday which will be in the studio theater for a bigger audiance) will take place in the Camden Lock Hotel over the road. It will be small groups in with me, nice and intimate, just like it was back in the real bedsit!

Yep, that's me


The show forms part of a 2 week long festival the Roundhouse have curated called The Last Word and as far as I know, is the first spoken word festival, of sorts, in London and features work form the likes of Kate Tempest, John Berkavitch, Poejazzi, Talia Randal, Sean Mahoney, Katie Bonna, Lemm Sissay, Roundhouse Poetry Collective and MORE!
This is what it states on the website:


THE LAST WORD

"A Festival of Spoken Word, Storytelling and Live Performance

16 Nov - 1 Dec
London’s first ever spoken word festival, The Last Word is two weeks of words, live performances and storytelling.
The UK’s leading spoken word performers alongside an new generation of artists bring an unmissable line up of shows, installations, take-away poetry, opportunities to get involved with master classes and panel discussions."

Here's the You Tube trailer which I got my mug on outside a record shop in Soho (I wanted Blackmarket Records but the noise coming of it was too loud..) All of us in the video were asked to read a poem written especially by Jess Green...


 



If you're interested, I've put a link up where you can see a few other blogs I've put up over the last few months about the show, just click on the right where it says A Tale From The Bedsit

Then, COME AND SEE IT! It runs from Nov 26th to Dec 1st.

Hope to see you there!

Paul







Tuesday 8 October 2013

The Little People Return


  Autumn is here. So is October. I guess those two together are like Millwall and the bottom half of the Championship (and possibly League 1 if they don't stop letting goals in!) I'm drinking a lot of tea, but then again, I always do. Alas, it is not all doom and gloom for me...

This half term, 30th October till the 3rd November, I'll be once again, for the 4th time, be donning the white lab coat and comedy glasses in my role as Executive for The Great Escape (A Borrowers Tale). It's almost 2 years since we did the first run at Battersea Arts Center, it's since been to Chat's Palace, The Southbank Center (Imagaine Children's Festival), and now returns to Battersea Arts again. As ever, I'm looking forward to it, it's a lot of fun and really engages children's imaginations as we lead them on on interactive adventure around the building. It's a really good team to work with, I've learned a lot from these doing shows and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again!



 In other news I confirmed a gig this week for The Wordhouse which be will next month on the 16th November at the Blueberry Bar  near Old street.The main acts that night are none other than Polabear and Indigo Willmas I've never done this gig before, but it's celebrating it's 2nd birthday and has a really good reputation. Amy Stratton, who runs it, I met a few years ago and she's really passionate about the whole spoken word thing and seems to be putting on some really good nights. 

I took this quote form the facebook event page but you get my point .. "It has become an East End institution” God is in the TV magazine

Friday 4 October 2013

My Activites: New vid and National Poetry Day

Been a busy old week this week. A few firsts. First first, was a visit to a new poetry and hip hop night on Tuesday called Spit It Out, which is run by Of The Red Productions utilizing their skills with film, each performer gets a video as part of it. There were a whole heap of performers there so it was nice to kick back and take it in, I did an old piece, which you see below called London Calling, felt it was appropriate seeing as I have recently moved back to London, at last.


So second first, and onto last night, I performed as part of national poetry day celebration, down in Havant in Hampshire, at a venue called The Spring Arts & Heritage center.
It was a wicked night called Strictly Speaking, which was part of a local literature festival (I even saw my mug on a few posters in the shopping center!) and I was on a mighty fine bill, which was put together by Apples and Snakes  with Megan Beech, Indigo Williams and Simon Mole. There were a lot of young people in the audience, comprised from 2 local schools, it was a really nice vibe. Everyone stepped up and smashed it, the audience were great, venue was great, can't ask for much more really...


I'm off today to go and film a promo video for the Last Word festival, which is the festival my show A Tale From The Bedsit, will be featured in... 

Until next time

Paul