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Interview: Dr Syntax
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As Mex said, all eyes in Brighton are fixed on Dr Syntax right now. Following his heavyweight contributions to the Foreign Beggars 2003 debut ‘Asylum Speakers’ and ‘Let Go’ EP, he’s been a regular feature of their blockbusting live shows and has quickly become the toast of UK underground hip hop. Riding a wave of expectation he’s risen to the top of the pile in his adopted hometown of Brighton, from where he’s putting the finishing touches to a solo album, pencilled in for an autumn release. We thought we’d get a word in before things got too hectic.
How’s tricks?
Not to bad thanks man, I’ve got a 12” coming out on the 21st August, that’s what I’ve been promoting recently. We had a Brighton hip hop festival down here a couple of weeks ago, we have a live day here once a year now down on the beach. All the local acts do a performance.
How long has that been running?
About three years, and it’s been getting bigger every year. It started off as an initiative to get the scene together; it was a little bit divided. Now it’s developed into something -we’ve got workshops for kids, with break dancing, emceeing, graffiti, DJing. There are a lot of things happening during the July sort of time.
Are you happy with the response you’ve had so far for the single?
Yeah, absolutely. It’s early stages so far, but early feedback has been pretty good. It’s getting a review in hip hop connection next month, we’ve had the single as a cover mount already so I’ve received a bit of feedback directly from people without the single actually coming out yet and it’s been pretty positive.
How long have you had your mind on a solo release?
It’s been there for a while. I’m not a fully fledged member of Foreign Beggars, I’ve always been a collaborator and have just popped up in their live shows. I’m a member of two other crews in Brighton called The Menagerie and Imagineers. I’ve got projects coming with them as well. As far as solo stuff goes I’ve always liked it because it’s easier to be in control of what you’re doing. It’s always been there.
What can we expect from the album?
It’s coming out in October hopefully. The album’s called ‘Self Taught’; the name comes from the fact that when I started doing this I was all on my own. I’m from Banbury, Oxfordshire which is right out in the sticks. I wasn’t brought up surrounded by hip hop, so that’s a premise of the album. It’s been put together over the last few years and I’ve taken the pick of what I’ve done with producers here in Brighton. It’s mainly produced by two new producers, Ido and Evil Son, big talents that are going to be heard about soon. There’s also the one track by Dag Nabbit, ‘Sub-Cultures’, which is the single. I’ve tried to do a lot more conceptual raps on it. A lot of the stuff with Foreign Beggars was just spitting on tracks - that’s just an advert for what I’m doing now. The album’s got more depth.
What’s the best thing about doing what you do?
You can deny getting older, do tours and shows and just act like a kid. Also having a product realised after a lot of work, putting it out and seeing what the response is. Getting feedback from people has got to be up there as well.
What’s your favourite memory so far as a working musician?
The first time I ever got onto a stage, when I was 16 years old. It was a Company Flow show in Frankfurt. They called for an open mic at the end, so I got up and was mad nervous. That was mind blowing, especially with the band standing in the background. That was the starting point that drove me to do what I’m doing now.
There’s a buzz surrounding you at the moment. Are you starting to feel any pressure from your peers and the media?
Yeah, I would say so. I’ve come out with the original stuff that’s created a buzz, but I’m yet to prove myself in my own right as a solo artist that can consistently put work out. That creates a lot of pressure. Also, because of the nature of hip hop in the country, there’s a lot of new talent coming out. Even in the few years that I’ve been putting stuff out a lot of new stuff has come along. You have to work very hard and have a high standard. But it’s those people which inspire you and stop you getting lazy.
What brought you to Brighton?
I was studying down here, but I had it in my mind to come here anyway because I had friends that were already working with music. I thought that if I came here then things would fall into place which luckily they did. There are a lot of people that follow the same route, who come here because there’s a lot of music going on.
What is it about Brighton that makes it such a hotbed of musical talent?
Like I said, a lot of people are drawn to come here. Certainly in the last couple of years a lot of people have sprung up. There’s a constant flow of people coming through. I can speak about the hip hop scene, and people are enthusiastic about coming to see some hip hop. Big acts come through that people can learn from – a lot of the time when a big act comes to London someone will book them for Brighton as well. We’ve had Big Daddy Kane down here, which is pretty mad considering the size of the place. The self contained scene can be a bit of a problem though, it can become a bit of a bubble, and some people don’t see the bigger picture. People should be looking outside Brighton, trying to get noticed nationally.
Where do you go to relax in Brighton?
The whole place is pretty chilled out. You can just wander about. Whilst I’ve been on the phone to you I’ve seen Hinse – he’s a rapper from down here – and DJ Newborn walk past. Everyone just bimbles around here quite lethargically when they got the time to!
What’s your favourite club?
Well, speaking of DJ Newborn, he runs a night called Beer and Rap, which emerged from a pub here called The Albert. It started as a monthly free hip hop night with local acts, but gradually acts from around the country who are fairly well known in the underground started coming down to play. There have been a lot of hip hop nights come and go in recent years. Maybe people were ill informed, they came down from London thinking they could put on a UK night midweek, and although there’s a lot of enthusiasm down here the town’s still small enough to rely on students to fill a place. You have to time your events well. What makes Beer and Rap good is that it’s like a reaction to that, it’s a free night in pub that you can fill with 80 to 100 people. Now it’s starting to move into a club. It’s interesting how it’s developed.
So what’s next for you?
I’m trying to get some shows for a tour going in September, October, to promote the 12” and lead up to the album’s release. I want to go to Bristol, Leeds, a few London, do as much as I can to get my stuff put around.
_______________________________
Dr Syntax, ‘Sub Cultures’ single is released on August 21 on Dented and Beer and Rap.
www.dentedrecords.com
www.beerandraprecords.com
www.myspace.com/drsyntax
www.drsyntax.co.uk
As Mex said, all eyes in Brighton are fixed on Dr Syntax right now. Following his heavyweight contributions to the Foreign Beggars 2003 debut ‘Asylum Speakers’ and ‘Let Go’ EP, he’s been a regular feature of their blockbusting live shows and has quickly become the toast of UK underground hip hop. Riding a wave of expectation he’s risen to the top of the pile in his adopted hometown of Brighton, from where he’s putting the finishing touches to a solo album, pencilled in for an autumn release. We thought we’d get a word in before things got too hectic.
How’s tricks?
Not to bad thanks man, I’ve got a 12” coming out on the 21st August, that’s what I’ve been promoting recently. We had a Brighton hip hop festival down here a couple of weeks ago, we have a live day here once a year now down on the beach. All the local acts do a performance.
How long has that been running?
About three years, and it’s been getting bigger every year. It started off as an initiative to get the scene together; it was a little bit divided. Now it’s developed into something -we’ve got workshops for kids, with break dancing, emceeing, graffiti, DJing. There are a lot of things happening during the July sort of time.
Are you happy with the response you’ve had so far for the single?
Yeah, absolutely. It’s early stages so far, but early feedback has been pretty good. It’s getting a review in hip hop connection next month, we’ve had the single as a cover mount already so I’ve received a bit of feedback directly from people without the single actually coming out yet and it’s been pretty positive.
How long have you had your mind on a solo release?
It’s been there for a while. I’m not a fully fledged member of Foreign Beggars, I’ve always been a collaborator and have just popped up in their live shows. I’m a member of two other crews in Brighton called The Menagerie and Imagineers. I’ve got projects coming with them as well. As far as solo stuff goes I’ve always liked it because it’s easier to be in control of what you’re doing. It’s always been there.
What can we expect from the album?
It’s coming out in October hopefully. The album’s called ‘Self Taught’; the name comes from the fact that when I started doing this I was all on my own. I’m from Banbury, Oxfordshire which is right out in the sticks. I wasn’t brought up surrounded by hip hop, so that’s a premise of the album. It’s been put together over the last few years and I’ve taken the pick of what I’ve done with producers here in Brighton. It’s mainly produced by two new producers, Ido and Evil Son, big talents that are going to be heard about soon. There’s also the one track by Dag Nabbit, ‘Sub-Cultures’, which is the single. I’ve tried to do a lot more conceptual raps on it. A lot of the stuff with Foreign Beggars was just spitting on tracks - that’s just an advert for what I’m doing now. The album’s got more depth.
What’s the best thing about doing what you do?
You can deny getting older, do tours and shows and just act like a kid. Also having a product realised after a lot of work, putting it out and seeing what the response is. Getting feedback from people has got to be up there as well.
What’s your favourite memory so far as a working musician?
The first time I ever got onto a stage, when I was 16 years old. It was a Company Flow show in Frankfurt. They called for an open mic at the end, so I got up and was mad nervous. That was mind blowing, especially with the band standing in the background. That was the starting point that drove me to do what I’m doing now.
There’s a buzz surrounding you at the moment. Are you starting to feel any pressure from your peers and the media?
Yeah, I would say so. I’ve come out with the original stuff that’s created a buzz, but I’m yet to prove myself in my own right as a solo artist that can consistently put work out. That creates a lot of pressure. Also, because of the nature of hip hop in the country, there’s a lot of new talent coming out. Even in the few years that I’ve been putting stuff out a lot of new stuff has come along. You have to work very hard and have a high standard. But it’s those people which inspire you and stop you getting lazy.
What brought you to Brighton?
I was studying down here, but I had it in my mind to come here anyway because I had friends that were already working with music. I thought that if I came here then things would fall into place which luckily they did. There are a lot of people that follow the same route, who come here because there’s a lot of music going on.
What is it about Brighton that makes it such a hotbed of musical talent?
Like I said, a lot of people are drawn to come here. Certainly in the last couple of years a lot of people have sprung up. There’s a constant flow of people coming through. I can speak about the hip hop scene, and people are enthusiastic about coming to see some hip hop. Big acts come through that people can learn from – a lot of the time when a big act comes to London someone will book them for Brighton as well. We’ve had Big Daddy Kane down here, which is pretty mad considering the size of the place. The self contained scene can be a bit of a problem though, it can become a bit of a bubble, and some people don’t see the bigger picture. People should be looking outside Brighton, trying to get noticed nationally.
Where do you go to relax in Brighton?
The whole place is pretty chilled out. You can just wander about. Whilst I’ve been on the phone to you I’ve seen Hinse – he’s a rapper from down here – and DJ Newborn walk past. Everyone just bimbles around here quite lethargically when they got the time to!
What’s your favourite club?
Well, speaking of DJ Newborn, he runs a night called Beer and Rap, which emerged from a pub here called The Albert. It started as a monthly free hip hop night with local acts, but gradually acts from around the country who are fairly well known in the underground started coming down to play. There have been a lot of hip hop nights come and go in recent years. Maybe people were ill informed, they came down from London thinking they could put on a UK night midweek, and although there’s a lot of enthusiasm down here the town’s still small enough to rely on students to fill a place. You have to time your events well. What makes Beer and Rap good is that it’s like a reaction to that, it’s a free night in pub that you can fill with 80 to 100 people. Now it’s starting to move into a club. It’s interesting how it’s developed.
So what’s next for you?
I’m trying to get some shows for a tour going in September, October, to promote the 12” and lead up to the album’s release. I want to go to Bristol, Leeds, a few London, do as much as I can to get my stuff put around.
_______________________________
Dr Syntax, ‘Sub Cultures’ single is released on August 21 on Dented and Beer and Rap.
www.dentedrecords.com
www.beerandraprecords.com
www.myspace.com/drsyntax
www.drsyntax.co.uk
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