For many, the name Stereo MC’s will bring back flashback nostalgia from the Nineties, where the funk influenced breaks, cheeky rap and baggy attitude were rife.
For people of this young Journalists age, however, it will be merely a distant blur. Obviously familiar with ‘Connected’ and ‘Get On It’, I’ve been chasing my brother down, raiding his tapes and mini discs for Stereo MC’s tunes. But as I came to interview the legendary band, it had become a fruitless exercise. The MC’s have created a fresher identity altogether, deeming those classic slices merely dusty evidence of a bands evolution. Frontman Rob sits with me and talks reinvention and technology, new albums, free download bundles and first and foremost, his cultural inspiration: Brixton.
Brixton will always be Brixton
Have you been based in Brixton all this time?
Yeah, we’ve been here since about 1991. We’ve been based south of the river since we moved here from Nottingham in the early eighties.
You’ve seen the areas change thanks to gentrification and modernization?
Yeah, and also places like Battersea. When we lived over there, it was totally different to what it is now, you know, full of burnt out cars in the street and stuff like that. They’ve definitely tried to make places like this more up-market, but thankfully, Brixton will always be Brixton.
Do you think Brixton is still a creative and sub-cultural area?
I reckon it is, because it’s a bit like an energy core for me. A lot of the clubs are genre limited but I think Brixton draws people to be creative, and I think that effects music. And it’s such a diverse mix of cultures, experiences and vibes. A lot of people think Brixton is a really heavy place, but it’s a social smokescreen, a rumour. It’s like any other area of London, just more vibrant and energetic.
What has changed personally and musically for you between your last recording and recording the new album?
A lot has changed for us because we’ve been doing a lot of DJing. We took along time to put things together. But we were going out and playing a lot of contemporary music; the way it was before was we would play an old-school rap set, but really our set is now completely different. We play records that we’ve picked up in the last six months, right up to the last six minutes! We wanted to get a harder and more energetic feel to our new record, a harder edge to the dance-floor. Lyrically, we wanted to edge out further too, because I felt we felt we wanted to step out with more up-to-date viewpoints.
So on the reinvention tip then, after being messed about yourself by companies in he past, do you find going back to grass root is helping?
It’s very exciting, and like you say, it’s more DIY. Like pressing up your twelve’s and that whole ‘if you want I’ll sell it to you’ mentality. And borrowing decks and gig slots, word of mouth promotion, that sort of thing. We’ve been playing gigs in Europe, but we came back to London we found it pretty tough. But it was great to play in South London and get such a great response, people wanting autographs and a chat at the end. We’ve played loads of gigs in our area, and I feel we could make a mark here. We’ve got that lively, in your face style. We’re coming from the underground again, and it’s been a real pleasure getting fresh tracks down. It’s been wicked man.
…we just thought we’d give it to people
A big piece of news is you’re releasing not just a track, but rather a bundle of live material that’s available for free download…
The way it came about, they were filming our first show of new material. They thought the footage was spot on and we had some great live visuals going as well. We got the live recordings down the studio, mixed it and it sounded great. And we just thought we’d give it to people. Its great quality for live footage, and it looks good, sounds amazing; it’s some of the best live recordings we’ve ever done.
How do you feel about digital culture as a whole?
Once you get past the stumbling blocks and your own inhibitions, and vinyl junky-ness, you realize what a brilliant thing it actually all is. You can take your laptop on tour and work pretty much anywhere, even on the beach. You can download tracks ten minutes before a set…it’s wicked. My laptop is a prize treasure; you can achieve so much on it.
Back in your heyday, none of this was imaginable was it?
You have to embrace creative tools if you want to move forward. You can make any kind of music you like, but you have to except that there are these brilliant inventions out there and you can be very creative. It’s great fun man!!
Finally, what’s planned rest of the year?
Well, we’re releasing our new studio album, and then I think we’re renovating our studio and reassembling the working environment’, as we’ll be touring around Europe in October and November. I’m mostly looking forward to making more fresh music, Djing and keeping the wheels turning. It’s an exciting period at the moment. We’ve re-punctured the surface, but we want to dig deeper and explore and evolve further.
