Interview with Brighton’s Cassette Lord

Over the last year I’ve seen more and more graffiti emerging in Brighton and one artist has stood out more than others. He goes by the name of Cassette Lord.

To me what makes his artwork stand out is his creative use of existing bland dark green phone boxes and transforms them into bright cassette tapes. The idea is so unique idea and works really well and I think does improves the scenery.

I interviewed him to find out more about his artwork and inspirations…. and here it is

Pictures courtesy of KrisBMitchell aka AMooseinBrighton

How old are you?

I’m 35…

Where are you based?

I’ve been based in Brighton since 2001. I moved up here from Portsmouth.

When did you begin painting graffiti?

Since an early age… I actually moved up here to run the Artscape Project – That’s where the Artscape name comes from – It’s a project I was hired to run which is all about teaching & creating graffiti art on walls & murals to young offenders as community service.

How did you get into graffiti and what made you start painting?

I did a few little things in Portsmouth really, some teaching & stuff also did a lot of youth work and it seemed to be a natural development from that because young people are interested in graffiti so it was something to tie my hands to and I got good at it so I thought I might as well teach it to young people that see it as a cool art form.

How did you choose the name Cassette Lord?

That goes back a while when I used to live with 6 or 7 other people – It was a bit of a party house and we had a “invent your own superhero night” so I got all these tapes and knitted them all together like a cassette uniform with belt, hat & everything … I was Cassette Lord! It’s a nickname that kinda stuck. I kinda had to resurrect the name a little bit as I was doing the stencil project (Tapes) as it seemed to work really well with it. Cassette tapes have had a real renaissance in recently. I make sculptures out of tapes, spray them white, red, blue and yellow and put them together to get a pixelated retro image… so yeah that’s Cassette Lord!

Do you write under any other names?

I have a few, M-Cube – just think N64 logo using a 3D M instead of an N, I also write a Gatchaman symbol as well as a diamond. And I can’t forget the Transformers Autobot Symbol as well… It’s all retro!

Do you write with any crews and if so which ones?

I have done work with a few other artists along the south coast but that’s not just graffiti it’s all kinds of urban artwork, sculptures, community/public artwork. I’m lined up to do some stuff with The Beautiful & The Canned soon which is Guy (CHOPPER) Harris’s Crew who did lots of stuff last year – Check out their work at the Brighton Youth Centre on the basketball court just off Edward Street, Brighton.

How would you describe your style?

Definitely Retro! All my artwork, even the freestyle pieces, all of them references objects, shapes & things people recognise from their childhood. It’s high contrast constructivist retro. I like dynamic lines!

Where did you paint your first piece?

My 1st piece was in Gosport near Portsmouth. My 1st piece in Brighton was in Woodingdean.

Have you done many collaborations with artists overseas or travelled abroad for your art and if so then where is the most exciting or interesting place you have painted?

Yeah I did Optimus Prime breaking through a wall in Barcelona with a break-dancer mate of mine. Years ago I went to the Benicassim Festival in Valencia and we had a few days spare in Barcelona. So we got a couple of cans from a local shop and over there you can just rock up to the walls, put your cans down and start painting.

What are your feelings on the graffiti and street art scenes in the UK at present?

When I first moved here in 2001, there was a real explosion of graffiti. It’s really good at the moment… It’s a brilliant scene in Brighton! It has kind of dipped in the last couple of years when the Brighton hip-hop festival lost funding from the arts council unfortunately. I can only describe the scene as tarmacing over weeds and it just starts growing back again! It’s a nice attitude in Brighton and the fact that the council have given me all the phone boxes to do, progressive is the word I would use as they try to manage it instead of fighting and pushing it underground.

Have you done much commercial work and if so what would you say was your most well known piece?

The tapes I suppose. A few of them are on Flickr and I’ve noticed that some people are collecting them which to me are really encouraging so I quite like it when people feel they can take ownership of them. The tapes are probably the most popular work to date. When I’m painting murals and stuff with young people we always get members of the public of all ages saying “that looks better”, “that looks nice” but just in terms of pure feedback I would say it’s the tapes because it’s a small object that suits the shape of the box and people tend to like the tactile bright colours and shape. I suppose it’s pretty different too as most of the time, stencils are at the bottom of a wall. I think it’s rare to find something really well chosen and the image perfectly suits what it is on. I remember I did a piece in Portsmouth in an alley where it’s difficult to put stuff up due to CCTV. So I got a ladder, got right underneath the camera and painted a robot using the camera as its head. It’s rare you see graffiti that uses these objects so well.

Is there any one point in your career you would class as ‘your big break’?

Coming to Brighton and running the Artscape project. Being out there in the height of summer with others…

Have you ever had your work displayed in a gallery and if so is there any one show which stands out from all the rest?

Yeah, we had an exhibition of all the tape sculptures in a charity shop as they provided all the tapes. I have a few pieces in pubs & bars, usually manga artwork.

Do you see yourself as an artist or a graffiti writer?

I see myself as artist as the term is more encompassing. Saying graffiti writer confines you a bit. I see graffiti art as art not vandalism.

Do you see graffiti writers as writers that have a message to share?

I find most graffiti writers are mainly about style. They try to empty all their ideas out of their head, trying to get the latest freshest idea out or finding the latest shape to work with their piece. Finding new ways to apply their ideas. Basically getting something out before someone else thinks of it!

There seems to have been a sudden surge of interest in graffiti and street art recently, why do you think this is?

It’s becoming part of the mainstream culture. Sheer persistence has helped graffiti artists get recognised and become accepted as an art movement in its own right.

There is a very fine line between those who see graffiti as art and those who see it as vandalism, what are your views on this?

That’s a difficult question! It’s a grey area. I would have to say the 3 C’s: Consent, Context & Content are all key. I’m not very keen on tagging, like when someone walks home and decides to tag every wall. If you are going to do it, do it properly! Find a good wall which isn’t someone’s property. Try to think about it rather than drag the scene down for everyone.

Have you ever felt the long arm of the law because of your art and if so can you tell us about it?

Yes. A CCTV police van was parked outside a club one night and I thought it would be really big of me to be able to do the van. The fact that it was a surveillance van and I would get away with it and it had the infamous words “smile you are on CCTV” so I wrote “Smile” on the sides of the van. But I got spotted and had to get out of there pretty sharpish.

When I was spray painting some of the boxes in Brighton, we had the police come up to us a few times not very happy. This was because my colleague on the council did not inform them of the project. But once the council informed them about the project they had to walk away.

There was an occasion when the police still didn’t want to desist and wanted to take down everyone’s names. The young offenders group I was with got really angry as they do not have to divulge this information so it was a tricky one.

Do you try to keep your identity anonymous where possible?

Artscape is a legal project so no. Although in the past yes but I no longer need to remain anonymous

Which other artists work do you admire?

I went to Zurich to see Diam’s work. It’s what I aspire to, amazingly light sourced shadowed 3D. I also like Claes Oldenburg, the American artist, takes a tiny object and makes a massive sculpture. I’m very inspired by pop art and i think the tapes fit the pop art style.

Which other artist would you most like to work with if you were given the chance?

Alex young who did the Tron Piece – He’s a brilliant illustrator as well as graffiti artist.

What is your preferred medium for making marks with?

Fat Markers!

What is your colour of choice?

Red

What is your favourite surface to paint on?

A nice piece of concrete wall preferable or good bit of framed wood.

Do you have a favourite piece of all time?

The Super Tanker that Diam did.

Can you tell us one thing about you which most people wouldn’t know?

I used to do Capoeira.

What kind of music are you into?

All kinds really, I’m into Beck, Jazz, Old School Hip-Hop, Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash etc…

What are you working on currently and what plans do you have for the future?

Well as I mention the The Beautiful & The Canned as well as displaying my cassette based artwork at an open house (12A Springfield Road, Brighton).

Flickr Gallery of Cassette Lord’s artwork courtesy of KrisBMitchell aka AMooseinBrighton

Our new offices

We have moved!

For those of you that don’t know who the “we” i’m referring to is, let me tell you. I work for a company called Pure360, an email & SMS marketing software provider. A digital marketing hub based in Brighton if you will. I’ve been with Pure360 for over 5 years now and have seen it evolve from a business that employed 17 people working in a converted house on the Old Steine to the plush new office we are now in which houses just under 90 staff.

Before the move to our current office, often referred to as “Level 3″, we were located in the same building New England House on the 7th floor aka “Level 7″, which served us well for a couple of years expect we were running out of space fast.

When it was first announced that Pure360 were going to move to new offices, there was a sense of excitement, joy & intrigue as the architect drawing circulated amongst us. The Pure360 brand had been well established and was being reflected in the architect’s vision but this comes at a cost. A few months pass and a company announcement by the MD confirmed that the move was canned. Hearts sank as the dreams of working a a Googlesque environment vanished. Senior management at Pure360 had alternative plans for an office expansion but they didn’t & couldn’t compare to the original proposals made.

A couple of months go by and I’m unofficially told that the plans to build new offices on Level 3 have been re-ignited. I was made responsible for the IT & Telephony infrastructure move. Exciting times for my inner geek! The Marketing department was responsible for the look & feel of “Level 3″ and I can say they got it bang on!

Now that the short history lesson is over, let’s talk about the new office “Level 3″.

A lot of thought has been made to the new offices, from the colours used to the raised floors with moveable floorports, many little aspects of Level 3 make it a great place to work in.

So instead of describing the new office, let me show you after all a picture is worth a thousand words!

Here are some pics that show Level 3 from start to finish.

Making Brighton & Hove an “open-data city”

Last night I attended a meetup all about making Brighton & Hove an open-data city.

The event was organised & hosted by Greg Hadfield, the strategic director at digital agency Cogapp & one of the 12 TedxBrighton speakers, who has started a movement. He has a vision of Brighton & Hove future where council information is made more freely available and in ways that make it simple for businesses to collect and use.

There have already been a few articles on this Brighton & Hove open data and I’m just jotting down a few notes that struck a chord (The Argus & CogApp Blog) .

Last night Greg issued out to everyone an agenda for the meetup which started with 4 “simple” questions:-

• What is an “open-data city”?
• Who benefits in and/or from an “open-data city”?
• Which organisations/institutions in Brighton & Hove hold data that should be made openly available?
• How do we involve organisations/institutions? And individual?

We were split into groups according to how close you were to a particular table and we deliberated the topic of what “open-data city” is. Needless to say that we all had a different perception & interpretation of what it is.

What does an “open-data city” mean to you?

To me open means transparency. Data suggests that it is in the rawest form, it is not information yet as context has not been applied. City suggests to me a community. So to some it up an “open-data city” to me is a community that has access to the rawest form of data.

Having access to the data is only one half of the solution. But what data is needed?

I was lucky enough to sit 2 individuals that work for the Brighton & Hove council, one of them was the CIO (Chief Information officer). They shed some light on how requests for information came through and the barriers they faced in releasing the data as well as explaining the most common issue when they are ask “what data do you want?” they usually get the response “What data do you have?”. This is a vicious circle that leads to nowhere.

Knowing what data is being requested is an important step to take. Perhaps this could be as simple as having a site that allows individuals to make a request for data? After a certain time, this information would certainly provide a clear indication of what data is commonly asked for.

Also the mechanism of getting this data needs to be reviewed and made easier for individuals to request data.

It is then up to the individuals in the city to be creative & innovative with the data…. perhaps as a useful app?

The next Brighton & Hove “open-data city” meetup is on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 7:30 PM.

There is also the CityCampBTN event on the 4th to the 6th March which is about reimagining the way the web, technology and participation will shape the future of our city.

The potential in what can be achieved through open-data is truly astonishing and I would highly recommend attending these meetups to anyone that is interested in making Brighton & Hove a better place to live through open-data.

TEDxBrighton – Part Deux

The 2nd half of the day featured another 6 speakers: Jake Spicer, Sue Bradley, Prof Angie Hart, Sarah Angliss, Will McInnes & Sally Kettle.

A lot was said in the second half and here are my highlights:-

Jake Spicer kicked off the 2nd half with his talk on “Drawing out wonder”. He’s interest in life drawing goes beyond just a hobby but allows him to inject into others that passion for drawing. He explains how drawing can re-ignite a new sense of wonder of the world akin to what you experienced as a child. We all have the ability to re-engage with our creative side and we must not forget that drawing is a form of communication that, if focussed on properly, can have the same effect as meditation; it also fulfills a human need to create and will eventually change the way you see the world.

Sarah Angliss spoke about “loving the machine”. It was a great talk on how music (especially new age music) has been influenced by machines. She explained how clog dancing came about as the factory working women could not leave their posts, nor could they hear each other over the mechanical sounds of the factory so they start moving their legs in rhythm with the machinery, stomping at each beat. This became clog dancing. Some fascinating information on how Detroit, the automation capital at the time, produced techno & electro music that incorporated the mechanical rhythm of the environment.

Sally Kettle, the 1st woman to have rowed the Atlantic East-West twice, talked about her personal journey heading out to sea in a 23ft wooden rowing boat (that comes flat packed for you to build). Her talk was very inspirational as she had many set backs along her way and she produced one of the most inspirational quotes from the TEDxBrighton conference “Sometimes it’s not what you do but what you inspire!”.

And finally onto Will McInnes, who talked about Happiness, Openness & Participation. He also included E for Energy but only to satisfy his acronym ocd. He explained in his talk that when you think of Business in a bad way, you tend to think about extraction, stripping the world of its resources & assets, every last ounce of goodness from its people. It’s not good & this form of business is not sustainable.

However there is something magical about business for Will; there’s something about independence, freedom and getting things done to achieve the results you want & following our passion. He is very optimistic & cheerful about business and wants to share some key principles of this movement that is occurring.

Happiness – Will was asked “What is the meaning of life?” and was answered by a colleague “to be happy” (“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence). However in life, business & happiness are not usually synonymous with one another – We have all experienced the sunday night feeling or waking up on a monday to go to work having to take public transport to a place you hate. This is not good enough & things are changing – It needs to change!

Will goes onto to talk about Bhutan and they are in the top 20 happiest places in the world but they are amongst the most under developed.

To measure happiness at work, Will used a simple method involving 2 buckets: the happy & unhappy buckets. Every day staff would get a ball and place it in the appropriate bucket. This produces a visual awareness of happiness in the workplace that can then be compared to for example profit.

Openness – lots of undisclosed information in business; there seems to be a notion in business to keep employees in the dark or as Will puts it the seagull treatment: Come in, flap, crap over everyone & fly out again leaving the rest to clean up the mess. Like the inventor of Linux software said “Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” which means if enough try to solve a problem, we can do it together.

So why not harness openness in business?

There are things that holds us all back from divulging everything – this could be embarrassment, the fear of rejection or even modesty. But imagine a world where openness is normal. If we are all thinking the same questions then why not get them out there and get on with the job.

Participation – Against the backdrop of recession and difficult times in business, great things are happening! Will uses the example of a cardboard box company that uses participative management, democratic management to get the edge over competitors. This company opened their books and made key decisions together sometimes against the decision of management, sometimes even against their own interests but for the greater good. Through tough economic storms, the company survived & still thrives.  The book by Vineer Nayar entitled “Employee first, customer second” which goes against the grain of standard business practice. But this actually puts the company’s people first and the direct consequence of this is better service for the customer. Democratic companies are surfacing, this movement is happening now and is unstoppable!

Finally…

Energy – We need to stand up and make the change & we can!

The TEDxBrighton conference exceeded my expectations and I would recommend attending a TED conference to anyone! A big thanks to all the speakers, sponsors and organisers. Job very well done! Thanks!

Half way through TEDxBrighton…

It’s lunchtime! To be fair, considering we have just listened to 5 speakers and 3 TED Talks videos, it’s been surprising effortless to sit back an soak in the information.

So far we have had talks from Greg Hadfield, Dr Judith Good, David Bramwell, George MacKerron, Prof Darrell Evans & Antony Mayfield. All talks have approached the topic “Reasons to be cheerful” from different perspectives which has been great.

To me, Greg Hadfield’s talk on “2015: The road to a digital Brighton” & Antony Mayfield’s talk on “Superskills: Three things to learn from the web” have been the highlight so far.

Greg spoke about making Brighton & Hove an open-data city &  the concept of “globalisation”  which tends to makes us forget about the local aspect of things. The term “Global village” where village is the wrong metaphor as it is not a small world we live in but instead the networks have got bigger. He continues on to explain that just through the rule of 6 degrees of separation, one individual in Brighton can reach the whole of Brighton just through a few close connections.

Antony’s talk was right up my street as it covered the web and our interactions with it and more specifically the skills required to get the most out of it. He compared the internet to the book The hitchiker’s guide to the galaxy which in many ways it is – a fountain of information. His talked then focused on social networks and how to use them efficiently which was a true gem of information.

Like learning most things technical, it takes around 30 to 40 hrs to truly learn how to use twitter which might explain why a lot that Twitter newbies complain that they are not getting the results they expect from Twitter – It isn’t as simple as it looks but Twitter, with the right training, can makes it very easy and efficient to find or get the relevant information.

Antony covered the 3 superskills required to master these social networks: Networks, Sharing and Focus & Flow

Networks was about understanding how the web works as a whole, the different interactions within it. Social networks are important to not only the web but human beings. Networks have a mind of their own.

Sharing – with us living in the digital age, sharing has become easier and almost a normality. We no longer are faced with the challenge of how to share but instead it has now been replaced what to share.

Focus & Flow was probably the most interesting out of the 3 superskills mentioned. Antony explained how he used to create his presentations which would involve flicking between Google & Powerpoint which took quite sometime. But now he uses the Pomodoro Technique which turns time into a valuable ally to accomplish what we want to do and chart continuous improvement in the way we do it. I highly recommend you look into it!

But by no means do these 2 speakers belittle the talks given by the others.

David Bramwell whose talk concluded that pursuing your utopia starts from home and that it is the connections with people that resonates with us (oh and hot tubs apparently) he also shed light on a local community project called Zocalo which brings individuals closer to their community & neighbours.

George MacKerron spoke about “mapping happiness across space & time” and the issue of quantifying happiness. He created an iPhone app called erm… mappiness, which allows him to collect data that is more relevant & accurate than it has ever been to plot trends and stats on happiness. Some fascinating stuff!

A Prelude to TEDxBrighton

TEDxBrighton is coming soon and some, like myself, have been fortunate enough to get tickets and others well not so much. This blog will try to cover as much of the event as possible but before that let’s lay some foundations down….and for those that may not know, lets find out what TED is.

Better known as TED Talks, TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences curated by the American private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate “ideas worth spreading.”

A few stats…

Since June 2006, the talks have been offered for free viewing online, under a Creative Commons license, through TED.com. As of July 2010, over 700 talks are available free online. By January 2009 they had been viewed 50
million times. In July 2010, the viewing figure stood at more than 290 million, reflecting a still growing global audience. So TED Talks has gained popularity through its credible speakers (well maybe 99% of their speakers) and is now seen as focal point for discussing Technology, Entertainment and Design topics.

So what’s TEDx?

TEDx is a program that enables schools, businesses, libraries or just groups of friends to enjoy a TED-like experience with events they themselves organize, design and host. Examples of events include TEDxDubai, TEDxJakarta and TEDxConcordia.As of 2010, some 750 TEDx events are scheduled to happen in over 60 countries…. and
Brighton is now one of them!!

Okay so now the official blurb is out-of-the-way let’s talk about TEDxBrighton

The day-long conference will be on Friday 21st January 2011, and present a fantastic programme of live speakers from a range of backgrounds, disciplines, and perspectives which reflect the exciting diversity of our fair City, alongside some classic TED talks.

The day will be divided into four sessions; two in the morning and two in the afternoon and all TEDxBrighton talks will also be filmed and added to an online archive, here, following the event. Originally the organisers had imagined the first TEDxBrighton to be an open call for speakers with an interesting perspective, a unique viewpoint, or a proven ability to inspire. Then, in the democratic spirit of TEDx, we planned to open out the selection of the next events theme to the first TEDx guests – a simple crowd sourced system. And so it may still be.

However, as they began the search for the first line up of speakers, reaching out to individuals who have long been on our list, along with some trusted recommendations and people who they know to operate within sprawling networks of busy, interesting, inspiring, and unusual people, it became clear that the lack of a theme made this first TEDxBrighton sound a little vague.

Deciding on a theme was surprisingly easy… “Reasons to be cheerful – an optimistic look forward”

TED talks most often look forward, even when assessing historical phenomenon. Whether speakers are looking at new insights, emerging technologies, themes, occurrences, inventions, or thoughts, the focus is mainly to consider their implications now, and in the future. So it had to be a look forward.

The optimism is because the other is too easy. We have much to be fearful of: the economic crisis and our seeming inability to consider alternatives to the current model, the effect of technology on our ability to concentrate, and to relate to each other, the widening gaps within our society and across international borders, our inability to mount an effective collective response to the threat of climate change, and so on, and so on, and so on. All of these things are important, but every generation faces its own crises, and there is also much to be excited about. To be able to share in a speakers’ wonder on a given subject has always been what we’ve enjoyed the most. Almost to the point where if the speaker is passionate and articulate, it doesn’t matter what the subject is. The spreading of this excitement is what makes TED so important, and enjoyable, as a resource.

It is in this spirit, and with a theme that remains broad enough to encompass all comers, that they hope produce a little of that excited optimism at TEDxBrighton. TEDxBrighton will feature twelve live speakers representing a broad mix of perspectives, ideas, voices, and passions, alongside some classic TED talks.

Who arethe speakers?

• Sue Bradley talks about Crarrogance
• Will McInnes talks about The Human Future of Business
• Sarah Angliss talks about Loving the Machine
• Dr David Bramwell talks about The Number 9 Bus to Utopia
• Sally Kettle talks about A Drop in the Ocean
• George MacKerron talks about Mapping happiness across space and time
• Jake Spicer talks about Drawing out Wonder
• Prof Angie Hart talks about Making resilient moves
• Greg Hadfield talks about 2015: The road to a digital Brighton
• Prof Darrell Evans talks about Scanning for Gold: the making of a high performance athlete
• Dr Judith Good talks about Learners for Change
  
• Antony Mayfield talks about Social superpowers: please take one

I’m looking forward to all these talks (especially Will McInnes, Antony Mayfield & Greg Hadfield) which range from a talk on a profound catalyst for social change to how much our immediate environment affect the way we feel. All these talks aim to inspire & trigger new thoughts & concepts as well as to gauge a real & personal understanding of them. I am really looking forward to attending TEDxBrighton on the 21st Jan 2011 and hope to see you there too!

Thanks for reading

Social Media this Social Media that … but what does it all mean?

If you haven’t already heard the term Social Media then you must be living under a rock; it’s unavoidable like bad weather in England or tweets about the factor on Twitter. This grouping of words is not new however it’s being used more & more and has made it into the mainstream which means it has gained more exposure especially with the rise of FaceBook & Twitter. But what does the term mean and when should it be used?

As far as I see it, Social Media is a label, a categorisation of online tools but nothing more. It’s the latest generic label that we as a collective have just accepted; just like the label Al-Qaeda which translates to The List and groups terrorists with an Islamic background under one name but most of these groups have different ideals and goals. This is the same with social media tools like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the rest all grouped under the social media umbrella.

These tools all serve different purposes albeit that some have similar features but all of them centre around 2 notions: social & media.

Social just means it can be posted on the Internet and be made visible to the public or a select group.

Media just indicates that it is legible or visual information. Since mostly everything we view on the Internet is media so I find the term redundant.

So in summary, Social Media to me is a term representing a certain type of information networking. I think the term should only be used when referring to the “bigger picture” and shouldn’t be used when talking about specific network interactions as each each network behaves differently so should be used differently. So when we are writing our next blog posts on “social media” strategies let’s try to use the specific network names for example Facebook networking instead of this generic almost meaningless term Social Media.

Introducing @Sk8Brighton

For some time now in Paris, there has been a scheme called “Pari-Roller” which was setup to organize, promote and to encourage skating as a leisure activity, as a sport or as a means of transportation. I’ve always thought that it’s an amazing idea and wanted to start the same scheme in Brighton. The tour is of course free and open to anyone who can skate.

Introducing Sk8Brighton

Sk8Brighton‘s mission mimics it’s French counterpart. The aim is to start small and build up a following and hopefully one day the Brighton & Hove council will endorse the scheme.

I highly recommend that you have a look at the Pari-Roller Website to find out more.

Where to start…

I’m in the process of creating a “trip” using Gowalla (a geo-location app similar to Foursquare) to plot the skate tour and participants can check-in along the way.

There will be a Schmap setup to confirm the dates & start location of the Sk8Brighton tours.

There are no planned dates…yet and your input is needed! I was thinking of doing it weekly every Saturday or Sunday.

Please follow @Sk8Brighton on Twitter & provide me with some feedback

Thanks

GR3GD

The Benefits of Social Media Training

Social media encompasses many different tool such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. and they are great tools for business. They are popular, they are engaging & best of all they are free! Twitter, a personal favourite of mine, is very easy to use and can boost a company’s profile with minimum effort in comparison to other marketing tools out there.

However with great power comes great responsibility! A single tweet can have an detrimental effect on a company’s reputation & since social media is now essential part of marketing, staff must learn the appropriate Netiquette (Internet etiquette) – a good case for this is the Vodafone Twittergate.

On the other hand, good use of social media can boost a company’s online profile and a great example of this is Brighton’s Local Tea Salon – Metrodeco. They have great online presence in Brighton and use the latest social media tools like Foursquare to promote their business – they are currently organising a Foursquare Flashmob to achieve the coveted but difficult to come by Swarm Badge which will be a UK first.

Providing your staff/brand ambassadors with Social Media Training is a great way to ensure that they understand the foreseeable impact when using Social Media content as well as improve brand awareness & increase sells. Social Media like SEO is a constantly evolving medium with new techniques & strategies being created all the time. Empowering your staff or brand ambassador with the latest tricks of the trade will invaluable to your business.

Social media experience is mainly gained on the job and the Social Media Training provides an extra boost to efficiently climb up the search rankings without causing negative ripples in the virtual water.

#BrightonSEO 23rd July 2010

I attended the #BrightonSEO on Friday 23rd July 2010 which featured several guest speakers on topics centered around all things SEO.  I love the internet, social media and their engaging ways and work in email marketing but not with SEO in any way (yet). I attended the event to learn more about today’s SEO practices. This write up isn’t about what was said in detail but what I’ve taken away from it all. For more info on the talks themselves check out the July 2010 BrightonSEO Conf Roundup.

I really enjoyed the talks and took away some great information but there were two talks that stood out from the others; the first was Rishi Lakhani (@rishil) talking about what makes a good SEO or as he put it “Getting Sh*t Done”. From the get go I knew this wasn’t going to be boring. From his talk I learnt that SEO is a constantly evolving science and even calling it science is questionable. SOE requires you to really understand the crucial aims in the campaigns and being able to adapt to different audiences and as Rishil said “SEO isn’t just SEO anymore, you need to be a politician, marketer, public speaker and a lobbyist too”. SEO is more than following a text book process. A different approach must be taken for each SEO campaign as the goals are different, the products are different etc.

The 2nd talk engrained in my brain came from Zachary Colbert (@zacharycolbert) talking about Lev Manovich’s theory of Linking & Association – “are hyperlinks making us stupid?”. This is my cup of tea! It was more of an open question than a set answer. Zach gave his opinion on the matter but what I really took away is that we seem to be limiting the way we & the future generations think by having a limited number of keywords to associate links with but also that easy internet searches could be making us more forgetful of information (a bit like calculators & maths). The effects may not be apparent right now but will the future generations that know only these ways of obtaining information be affected? All in all a great talk.

Well that’s it from me on #BrightonSEO and I would like to thank Kevin Newman for organising the event for gratis! Great Work from all that contributed.

Interview with Yellow Wiva D

I’m an avid fan of all that is real Hip-Hop and especially UK Hip-Hop as it is easier to relate to. Now I’m quite picky about who I listen to and some of these artists include Jehst, Micall Parknsun, Lowkey, Asaviour, Dubbledge, Pete Rock, J Dilla, KRS One to name just a few. So when I heard Brighton rapper Yellow Wiva D aka Lee Dellow spit on a track called “Whatz That Sound” and just had to find out more so I interviewed him…

What is your name, and name your group or label?

My performance name is Yellow Wiva D and I roll with Multifinish which is a collective and that’s under Bangarang Records which is an independent label. Multifinish got it’s name because Antzilla used to work with Pig for a plastering firm hence Multifinish but it also reflects multiple points of view coming together.

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Where are the artists from?  What is their talent in the group?

We’re all from Brighton, we’re all MCs but we also have lots of producers that work with us like Freddy P in the USA, Antzilla who’s in Australia and we even have a French producer that sends us some beats. I only get involved with the vocals and not with producing.

How did you get your name YellowWivaD?

Well my actual name is Lee Dellow and as I work in sales in my daytime job I obviously  give a bit of the double 0 selling with my Clark Kent persona so I gave it the Dellow treatment… I used to say “it’s Dellow, like yellow but with a D.” and it just stuck, Yellow Wiva D

Do you play any instruments at all?

Yeah I play the guitar, I can bash out a melody on the keyboard but I wouldn’t go as far as to say I can go on stage and smash out an Elton John hit. However I did contemplate the Plan B style of music but thought it would be best that I just concentrate on my lyrics & vocals and then aspire to go down that road later on.

How would you describe your music for the public audience if they have never seen you before?

I would say it’s like your typical everyday hip-hop, one of your 5 a day (hint on the new album name coming soon), everyday life observation with an undertone of realism. It’s just generally looking at life through a fun lense. The listener can choose to read between the lines as I always leave subtle hints & metaphors on deeper issues.

How long have you been performing live or making music?

It’s difficult for me to give you a figure but I guess around 6 years but I started off like most at college having a cheeky smoke and freestylin’. I then got into freestyle battlin’ and eventually moved into performing on stage. So yeah, I would say I’ve been doing it for about 6 years now.

I love freestylin’ and I was better at it back then than I am now. I wanted to start writing my own lyrics so I pushed myself away from the freestylin’ into writing my own material.

What do you feel distinguishes “an artist” from just a musician?

I saw Jay-Z the other day performing with a full orchestra and although he didn’t play an instrument himself, I would consider him on that day to be a musician as his vocals were part of the music. I see myself as just an artist who paints lyrical pictures to be interpreted by the listener. I would go on stage to perform with a DJ or just a track playing in the background.

Where did you meet your group and how long have you been together now?

Multifinish has been together for 4 years now. I’m in Patcham and Pig who’s also in Multifinish is in Westdean and in our early teens people said we should collaborate. We did meet though at a Klashnekoff gig where we both freestyled and from there we decided to record a track in a studio in Plumpton called “Check Your Heart Rate” with DJ Madness who’s now known as Antzilla and Multifinish went on from there and just expanded. The Group now includes Pig, Rubberman, Bigredcap, JB and myself.

What has been the biggest challenge for you or the group?

I would have to say that pushing out into Brighton is still the biggest challenge. We been played on the equivalent of Radio One in Australia and we recently did a video feature for Lithuanian MTV for a program called The Intern. So it’s been easier for us to break into international countries but the hardest part is to stand out of the crowd & get same recognition in the UK but there’s a lot of competition out there.

You’ve heard of the term “starving artists” before, how do you cope with major obstacles?

Well I’ve always kept a 9 to 5 job and never dropped out of my job to pursue my rap career which maybe I should have done. Most obstacles are financial so whenever they come about I just work harder in my 9 to 5 & sleep less.

Do you feel the economic crunch has hurt the industry, or do you have some other promotional tips to help support your music?

The credit crunch has definitely affected the industry but not me personally. Tips-wise I would recommend new artists to get onto the social networks, upload your tracks and get your friends & followers to promote them. Give ‘em something for free to get them listening. Also get involved in any competitions you can & push your music to local radio stations. I would recommend to check out NooStar, which I won in April last year. It’s a weekly chart based on videos where users vote for you.

What does your family & friends think of your performance and do they support you?

They love it & loved it from day one. They actually moan at me when I’ve been slack and not sent material off to radio stations. They really support me and keep motivating me to move forward.

What has been your strong influence to continue performing?

Every time I think to myself I’m going to take some time out for a bit, you get  a big track come along  and you just think…This  is what it’s about!

Does anyone in particular influence your artistic/musical talent and inspires you?

Well obviously Multifinish as we bounce of each other and we all strive to be the best lyricist on the track so it pushes everyone forward. In terms of famous people, like I mentioned before, Jay-Z purely because you can listen to any of his tracks from his career and he is just so consistent. Eminem as he’s so sick in the way he flows & constructs sentences. But also Professor Green who I think is absolutely amazing and can’t believe that in 3 years he’s moved from freestyle battlin’ to being a well known name in the game. Also Kano, Wiley and Dizzy.

Who writes most of the lyrics?

We all write our own lyrics & concoct the hooks together or someone comes up with the hook but usually Bigredcap is the main hook man hit maker.

What image do you think your music conveys?

Me personally I think it’s music for the pissed & reckless really, your everyday guys.If you had to change one thing about your music/group what do you feel would be the best change to benefit the group overall and why?

I really want to get into big beat stuff similar to Wiley’s Wearing My Rolex tune. I love hip-hop and want to integrate it with these bigger beats like dubstep & bassline grime with a focus on the lyrical content.

Where would you like to see yourself within the next five years as an artist?

I want to be established on the UK hip-hop scene under Bangarang Records and have a few other artists signed to the label.

Tell us about your most embarrassing moment if you care to share it with us?

We did the Ultimate Car Show last summer where we opened up for Goldie Lookin Chain. On the first day I got carried away, got absolutely wasted and passed out on the raceway and no one found me for a couple of hours. I had mud all over my face proper embarrassing. I woke up the next day when 2 of the car show girls broke into my tent and took picture while flashing me.

What has been the most bizarre thing (thrown) on the stage with you?

Just insults really!

What are your up-to-date performance plans?  New releases?  Tours? News?

At the moment we haven’t got any dates yet as we have 2 albums about to be released but still require some work, mine’s called “One of your 5 a day” which is out at the end of next month. Rubberman & Bigredcap are also releasing an album but it’s under wraps at the moment. Once this new material is released we can then perform it in future shows.

If you could perform with anyone in the world, either dead or alive who would it be? Why?

So many people but I guess it would have to be Jay-Z, Eminem & Kurt Cobain. Jay-Z like I mentioned before he’s extremely talented rapper, Eminem was one of the main reasons I started rapping & Kurt Cobain simply because he’s the reason I learn to play the guitar. Also Girls Aloud ‘cos they are fit!

How do you feel about file swapping?

Well obviously once a track is put online it’s gonna be downloaded! But I’m very much like Robin Hood, steal from the rich & give to the poor so my theory is jack my music as much as you want but if you like it next time you see me drop me a tenner.

Have you been involved in any benefit performances?  What was it and how did you become involved?

Yeah I did Strawberry Circus a couple of years back in aid of building schools in Africa and it was huge.

How do you think you would like to be remembered by everyone?

Yellow Wiva D……….Yeah, he loved it!

As an artist, is there anything special you hope to be able to accomplish?

I just want to make one of those tracks that in a few decades time that is considered a cult classic. I basically want to make an immortal track.

What do you attribute to your “drive as an artist”?

I’m really into graphics, art & music. I love imagery and I create imagery through writing and I like to surround myself with these elements.

If you had to think of a slogan that could leave a positive impact for everyone what would your slogan be?

Life’s short. Stand tall.

Is this your first interview or do you have some other articles/stories about you posted somewhere for public viewing?

I was interviewed not long ago by a Lithuanian Blogger who’s apparently quite popular over there. We did the title track for Edge Media TV, that was cool. Also I got interviewed by Noostar which is an online talent show that was opened by Graham Norton where they interviewed & filmed me for the series.

Do you have any video links where people can see you?

Do you have a website of any type?

http://www.bangarangrecords.com/

http://www.myspace.com/multifinish