Hip Hop at its best! The Science of Speech Tour

Manchester has seen a lot of great hip hop gigs recently, and many of my favourite MCs have rolled through our city. The crowning glory to this occured on Wednesday May 11th when the 'Science of Speech Tour' came to the Academy.

Originally billed as Black Star, De La Soul and Rakim- when I first read about this gig I couldn't believe it- unfortunately, on the night we discovered the De La Soul had been dropped from the bill. I was a bit gutted, but then I still got to see Rakim, Talib Kweli and Mos Def, so to complain would be a bit rich!

Local collective Murkage kicked things off, raising the energy levels from 0 to Party in a full on set. Although they have just started out I see a lot of promise in these guys- watch this space!

Rakim was next up, and, as expected, did not fail to deliver! Dropping classic hits, new material, a story about his boat trip to the UK and a huge crowd participation bit which overran his set (but no-one cared).

Finally, after what seemed like forever- the icing on the cake. I have seen both Mos Def & Talib Kweli separately but together they become an unstoppable force and a massive crowd pleaser. The way they bounce off each other is perfect and hearing all those collab tracks live was something special. We're even treated so a couple of solo efforts from both guys.

 This gig should have been attended by anyone with an interest in hip hop- a clear demonstration of what this genre is all about. The only downer was that it pointed out how much American hip hop has lost its way recently. I'm still praying for a return to form, but for now I'll stick with my old Mos, Kweli, The Roots & Common albums.

Check out more pictures & full review soon at Example Magazine

Super Saturday- Warpaint & Drum Clinic

Saturday 14th May was the climax of Manchester's FutureEverything festival, the final day, and also the day of the Festivals best gigs. Warpaint are a girl band (in the loosest use of the term) from L.A. who play ethereal, ambient indie rock. Highly recommended- just don't expect to be rocking out too hard to them!

After watching Warpaint bring the house down at the last live gig the Ritz will see all summer. I made my way over to Jabez Clegg for Drum Clinic & Selective Hearing, who had joined forces to put on a fantastic showcase of electronic music, featuring Martyn, Daedalus, Kyle Hall. To top this all off, room 2 featured a Planet Mu showcase featuring DJ Spinn & DJ Rashad.

 It was an awesome night played out to a packed Jabez and a fitting finish to the festival. Drum Clinic has been putting on some of the most forward thinking nights & line-ups this year and I'm hoping they get continued support because they really deserve it!

 

For more shots and a full review on FutureEverything festival, keep an eye on Example Magazine.

Unlucky for some? Das Racist & Just Skank w/ DMZ - 13/5/11

I'm not really one for superstition, in fact, I completely forgot about the unlucky connotations of the day the 13th May fell on, an it took until the following week for me to think back and decide that, I had an awesome Friday 13th!

I got to watch Das Racist at the Roadhouse- an American hip-hop collective who, through one Youtube video viral, have carved themselves a niche in the comedy-hip-hop market, which isn't easy to do well! They also had the inspired idea of playing their first UK gig in Manchester, so I could take pictures- nice one!

After the gig I rolled over to Moho's for another Just Skank epic. This time it was their 1st Birthday Bash and they pulled out all the stops- booking Mala & Coki, b2b for what seemed like forever.

With SGT Pokes rocking the mic, the DMZ crew were in full force and absolutely smashed it! The night was finished off by some other guy named Pinch- he's alright too (please read into the intended sarcasm there if you don't know Pinch- incredible artist & DJ!). Nice work and if thats what all Friday 13ths are like, I'll continue not to worry.







Das Racist played as part of Future Everything Festival- my full review of that, along with more shots from both these gigs, will be online soon on Example Magazine

DREAMING BIG & Fun with Light!!

So I did a shoot a couple of weeks back, with clothing designer, loving philosopher, and all round bundle of joy, Zara Khalique. You have probably seen some of Manchester's finest rocking her cool and customised streetwear and striking designs. Check out her WEBSITE for designs and stuff.

While we're on this, I have to also point you towards her other site - KEEP IT BRIGHT - Joyous and uplifting don't even begin to describe how the mantras and messages can make you feel! Check it out and spread the word to your people.

Back to the shoot and the basic premise I was coming with was spending a lovely Sunday afternoon running around in a darkened room with lights of different colours while my good friend, Emma Dixon, modelled Zara's amazing designs. Emma's stunnning make-up was, again, applied by the very talented Bev Crawford- I have ran out of superlatives to describe just how good Bev is. Just hire her for any photo/bridal needs you have.

I thought the light painting theme of the shoot suited Zara's colourful designs really well- and we all got in on the fun, coming up with various silly ideas to try out, and in the end I even ended up modelling for a shot- though I'm not going to take over from Emma anytime soon. I'll stick to my side of the camera!

Me & Yu - Summer 2011 Shoot

Following on from my shoot for Me&Yu in February. We decided another collaboration was in order. This time we were shooting their Summer collection, and so we needed a suitable bright, outdoor location to suit the vibes of the collection. Luckily, theres a wonderful area of greenery near where I live called 'Fletcher Moss Gardens'. If you live in South Manchester and haven't been, go and catch a chill on the next free, sunny day.




So, with the location sorted we needed a team. Luckily for me, the makeup artist from our first shoot, Bev Crawford (http://www.facebook.com/beverleycrawfordmakeup) was free, willing and more than able. I can't recommend her enough to anyone after make up for photoshoots, weddings or special events. Not only is she extremely talented at her calling, she is also brilliant to get on with and full of enthusiasm and ideas on a shoot- which is the ideal type of person to have around.

Styling duties were taken up by the good friend of Me&Yu Roxanne, who turned up with a big bag of clothes for us to play with. Finally the two lucky models were Elora B (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elora-B-Model/192234484147136), who's vibrant hair matched the plum and purple tones of some of the new garments perfectly, and Andrew, who some of you may recognise from my previous Me & Yu shoot.

So, onto the shoot, which mainly entailed running around a dry storm drain, playing with dandelions and the odd can of cider- not a bad way to spend a sunny afternoon! I was happy with the resulting shots and gave them all a warm, vintagey colour treatment, which I felt reflected the clothes and the summer theme of the shoot perfectly.