That's right - we're running a competition about a competition. It doesn't get any more meta than that, comrade.
Anyway, Rizla are currently getting in on the Large Brand Promotes Music act, and have combined a remix competition with a series of large events, and, more interestingly to these jaded eyes, production workshops / masterclasses too. I can't think of anyone else who's done that before, but it's a great idea. You enter the remix competition, and then head down to the workshop which is in the afternoon before the big show, where MJ Cole will be giving a demonstration of studio techniques, doing a Q&A, etc - it's probably worth entering just for that - and then there's the evening showcase, which as you can see features the likes of Kele, Fake Blood, MJ Cole, LVis1990 with, er, "MC Scadz" and more. For details on how to enter, prizes and so on, check the Rizla Recrafted website. After Bristol this week, the show rolls on to Manchester and Sheffield so keep your eyes peeled.
So anyway - our competition; we have two pairs of guestlists to give away. We all know that smoking is cool and makes you attractive to women. The only problem is that you often have to go to the all night garage for a packet of king-size blues and a family pack of chocolate croissants. What's your best late night garage mission anecdote? Surely it can't beat my mate Alex who went to the garage with a water pistol, only to later have the house raided by armed police (a prison sentence ensued. Glad I wasn't there that night) - but hit me with your best shot anyway.
The best two entries get a plus one to Motion this Saturday. Go!
Tectonic have just upped their game once more, and dropped this new album from New York producer and vocalist Pursuit Grooves. It's a step away from the dubstep they're usually known for, but marks a neat, broken beats kind of follow on from the 2562 album of last year, I'd say. They're also running a competition to win 10 copies of the CD, so check out the tracks below, shove your email address into the widget, and if you really can't wait, you can always buy it now. *edit - for some reason that widget isn't showing properly on here all of a sudden. It was a minute ago. You can also enter by going to www.tectonicrecordings.com and entering your details there....
Our friends over at Wellgosh are just turning 21, and to celebrate they've got a whole bunch of stuff going on - a party featuring Rattus Rattus and Deadly Avenger, special edition collaborative T-shirts with Stussy, Carhatt and мишка, competitions, mixes, the works. We hit them up to get in on the action, and they've given us this wicked mix, as well as an interview, and a bunch of great stuff to give away.
So, for your chance to win a pair of Puma Suede trainers, an exclusive, limited edition Mishka vs Wellgosh Tee and a goodie goodies, just answer this question:
How many brands do Wellgosh stock?
Hint: you may wish to refer to www.wellgosh.com to help. This is an open book test; answers to the email address on the right, please.
To follow all that up, check this exclusive mix house and funky mix from head dude Tehran, and while you're getting your listening gear round that, check the interview too. Phew!
Aight, so Wellgosh is 21 years old... Can you give us a brief history of the shop? The roots go right back to the start of rave culture, right?
Well, twenty one years is a long time! The shop started in the late ‘80s with Pete selling select brands and vintage clothing in a small shop in a Victorian arcade in Leicester. By the early nineties, it was selling brands like Carhartt and Duffer alongside Stussy: the whole rave culture was just blowing up and with a lot of the big parties happening around Leicester, I think that the shops clothes just reflected that scene. Plus Mastersafe [editor's note: Mastersafe was a local rave legend, who had some pretty big DnB releases out on Formation Records back in the 1990s] worked in the shop, which helped cement that link.
In the mid-nineties the arcade had to shut, so the shop moved to a larger unit on silver street... Round about that time, I remember Temper coming down and painting a canvas outside! The story goes that Pete gave it to a friend and now it’s worth quite a bit of money - we keep all of our paintings now! The shop successfully outgrew its unit after around 7 years and moved to the the shop we are in now on the high street. It’s really the same shop it always has been, we just have access to a lot more brands. We’re still selling up and coming labels but now we’ve bought in some big hitters like Nike and Vans - you have to have creps don't you!
You mention Temper...Does WG have some pretty strong links with the Graf scene then?
Not with the Graff scene particularly, but we have always had art coming into the shop – we’ve been given lots of things to hang on our wall by artists like Stash, She One, Kid Acne, Futura and Shepard Fairly. So in one sense we have a link to interesting, street-oriented art, but not in any kind of thought out, directed way.
WG have done some pretty big tings over the years – you were saying it was one of the first places to get Stussy outside London I believe...
Yeah that’s right man, pretty impressive for a little shop in a small city! Legend has it that the first manager of the store had an original stussy crew jacket, although that might just be shop boy legend... But yeah the shop has always brought through brands when they are just starting up - labels like Silas and the now massive Evisu; I even remember Carhartt being in the shop before 1994.
What have you got planned for the 21st Birthday? Exclusives, events etc.?
Oh man we’ve got so much planned, there’s the three collaborative T-Shirts by Stussy, Mishka and Carhartt - which I’ve got to say have all came out amazing! We have the three mixtapes by Rattus Rattus, the Trouble Vision boys and us. We did the mixtapes to represent the music we play in the shop, or at least a small portion of it - we tried to get the Beastie Boys and Minnie Ripperton to do us a mixtape but they were currently unavailable...
We have our party this weekend, which by all accounts should be a smasher – we’ve got Rattus Rattus plus special secret guest coming down, as well as Kid Acne, Deadly Avenger (who used to work in the shop), Benjamin (who used to do all the graphics for the shop), Kish (streetwear legend – distributes Mishka, 10 Deep, Staple and a bunch more brands, and is one of the biggest trainer collectors around)... plus Coop and me who still work in the shop.
On the clothing front, all the labels have got together and have given us so much stuff to give away – it’s been amazing the amount of support we’ve had. Nike, Pointer, Puma, Stussy, Carhartt, Obey and Mishka have all lent a massive helping hand.
Speaking of being outside London, how’s the Leicester music scene these days? Despite possibly being not being the most glamorous location in many people’s minds, there’s actually a fair amount of big tings coming from The L (as no one calls it) – do you have Leicester pride, musically?
Yeah we've got pride, a lot of good music comes out of our little city! We have thriving bassline, drum and bass and party scenes and you’re able to go out most nights of the week to see something. In the last couple of weeks we've had Drop The Lime, Dead Prez, Kissy Sell Out, Scratch Perverts, Tomb Crew, Ratpack, Caspa plus a few more, and now there’s a lot of local producers putting on their own nights to push their sound. Honestly, it’s pretty dope, it’s just that no-one ever believes you! But that’s Leicester right there – it’s the same with the shop – I’m always meeting people who say things like ‘oh you work at Wellgosh? The website is so dope, which part of London are you in?’... And no-one ever believes me that we’re based in Leicester! But we don't mind, we'll just keep pushing along as usual.
How important do you feel the link between music and fashion is? How easy is it to notice things changing over the years, and how does WG stay up on this?
The link between music and fashion is so strong; in many ways they can be seen as almost two sides of the same thing - all musics have their particular fashion, and it’s all art! As far as the shop goes, changing with the times has been a natural process due to the staff throughout the years being heavily involved in the local music scenes: in the early days Mastersafe worked in the shop and later on Deadly Avenger was a shop boy. Pete the owner has always been into new music, so while it’s something that has never been consciously in people’s minds, evolution has just happened naturally. For me, I’d say that yeah fashion changes, music changes, but it’s all basically hip hop.
Biggups for the mixtape, wickednessss! I understand you’re an original hip-hop head from day, so you’ve clearly come a long way from that sound... What is working for you musically at the moment?
Well, as I said in the last question, I see it all as hip hop! But honestly, Douster and his Jurassic thing is amazing - have you seen that video of the dinosaurs? Julio Bashmore has a great sound as well – it’s all bass with nice light drum patterns over the top... Plus of course anything that sounds like a carnival - we are suckers for the whistle and the horn!
What brand do you see blowing up a la Mishka? Any hot tips we should be on?
I think a.in.t is a good one to look out for - Charlie and his team really have good forward-thinking ideas; then there’s Obey, which might be familiar to alot of people but really still hasn't reached its full potential; and also I think 10 deep will follow hot on the heels of Mishka - the quality is there, and the range as a whole is getting to be very strong.
Finally, as one Clipse fan to another... When are you getting Play Cloths in!!!
It’s just come in! We should have it online in the next few days, so I'll save a couple of XLs for you!
DJ Sytefrom OpenEarz got in touch lately and gave us two TP's of their next release by Indigo to give away. Indigo has been doing some wicked stuff lately, from 2-step deepness to harder wobblingness, and this 3 tracker covers all the bases. Check the tunes here....
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