Stereo MC’s are back! After huge hits in the early 90’s, major festivals around the world, and a couple of albums, the UK band is ready to do it again with their new album Double Bubble (Graffiti Recordings/Southern Fried), which they are currently promoting with a Euro tour. We had a chance to grab an exclusive dj mix and a few live tracks from them!

What’s your mix about?
I sent you a short mixtape and a live track cause right now we just finished a new LP (Double Bubble) which we’re performing live as a band round Europe and we’re also DJing as always. The live track’Gringo (Ragged and Ruthless)’ was recorded live at the Electronic Beats Festival in Bonne a couple of months ago. The track started out as a beat we made for baille funk MC Gringo in Brazil, we kinda liked it ourselves and we developed it more musically and put it out as an instrumental on our Hot Plate 1 12inch we released in March. Then we got vocally inspired on it and the end result made it to the LP, a right little journey. Our mixtape is called ‘Timestretch’ cause it starts with some of our root inspirations from back in the day, right up to present day tracks that we’re just adding to our set-file under rap-ghetto tech-electronica-dub-funk!!!

What’s goin’ on in Stereo Mc’s world right now? You got your sixth album coming out soon too, tell us about it.
Right now Stereo MC’s are playing live around Europe,releasing a new LP (Double Bubble) on Graffiti through Southern Fried Records on 28th July stretching a shoestring promo budget kinda like going back to our roots, taking 12’s round West End spreading the word any way we can cause this is our second release on an indepedent since our departure from Island/Universal. A lot of our new record was born from the inspiration got from DJing, seeing what works on the dancefloor,and feeling connected to the newer dirtier club vibes that are going on right now. We had a great summer in Brixton last year when loads of tracks took shape and a young producer (Tic-Toc) lived with us and our songs and took us on a musical learning curve which we’re still riding now. The record was written and recorded at our Frontline studio in Brixton-, at 30 000 feet in planes, in airports, hotels and back rooms anywhere thanks to our lap tops. It’s harder lyrically and musically and we feel it has moved forward light years sonically…and it grooves.

It’s on Graffiti Records, your own label, did you create it to get full control on your releases?
Yeah that’s right–when Island was bought by Universal the whole vibe changed there and artist development was given up for one off hit singles so we neede a place to go where we could make records how we wanted when we wanted and feel in control of artwork / visuals and go back to having a small nucleus of people committed to our goal so things could happen quicker and everyone feeling some love and responsability for the music.

Selling physical is pretty hard today and free mp3 are easy to grab anywhere, where are we going?
We are going to a place less governed by major label muscle and more controlled by artist creativity effort, hard graft and word of mouth via the internet / Myspace etc. People can discover music for themselves and eventually some kind of system will emerge that will enable artists to get paid and punters can get exactly what suits them far easier.

How is the Hiphop scene in London at the moment? Newcomers to look for?
Charlie Sloth, Dizzee, Lethal Bizzle, Sway, Roots Manuva, Wiley, Klshnekoff…seems to me that UK rap has too many divisions but the real energy of it comes from true originals and emerges in grime, drum and bass, hip hop, dubstep, and now even ghetto tech and electro.

Do you consider yourself a hip hop act? It seems you are always evolving, experimenting with new sounds and format.
We were inspired by late 80’s hi energy rap-motivated lyrics, groovy beats, hghi energy attitude and through that and our searching for new beats we discovered many other forms of music. We always felt we needed to make an original sound and concept as a group and I think you’ll find that mostUK music that gets anywhere has had a melting pot mentality where many influences are taken to create something new, so, no we are not a straight up rap group yet rap is an important part of our foundations and future growth.

You started in the late 80’s, an era of musical revolution in the UK, emerging house scene and hiphop acts like Public Enemy meeting in huge illegal raves parties, how did you live it and did this affect your sound?
We were running our own clubs in the 80’s with Gee Street Records and in those days you had one stage where rap-acid-house-rare groove and reggae/dancehall would all get a play. After that you’d go to the early ours raves where acid rave and later on breaks and drum n’bass would come. Ecstacy was only just starting to happen so the drug culture of today was far less visible and people might just puff a bit of weed in a corner and get a groove on and couples would be getting it on on the dancefloor. All the music was groundbreaking and unseparated and a mutual respect was there. We would do a full band live gig and then go to some rave and perform a track DJ/MC style over an acetate backing track. Things have moved on a lot, when we started we would take a mic, and casette tape of rhythm tracks, get on the night bus and try and bust it in clubs.

How important is the internet for you and where do you see it going?
The internet is home these days, it’s where you connect, promote, inform, get informed, communicate, build a following and put your craft on the open market place for all to see who are interested and let em know where they can catch you in the flesh.

What was you best night out and what would be your dream team line up for a party?
Best night out? Eric B and Rakim/Beastie Boys/Public Enemy 1986 Brixton Fridge.
Dreamteam line up: Modeselektor/Digitalism/Damien marley/The Roots/Crookers/Sinden/Lyrics Born/and Stereo MC’s of course!

Thanks a lot for your time Rob!

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