URBAN ACADEMIA

Government agencies, music industry and educational institutions such as Collage Arts, Musictank, AIM, Creative London (North), London Development Agency, etc has some excellent programmes going on at the Collage Arts’ Karamel Club in Wood Green, north London. The Academy Of Urban Music (AUM ) launches November 7-8. 1) MOBO 2005 winning MC/producer Sway will be appearing with legendary James Brown funk arranger Pee Wee Ellis and New York Mos Def collaborator DJ Logic to perform and offer advice. The artists will trace the evolution of hip hop from an eye-witness perspective - from Pee Wee giving birth to the funk to Sway writing the hip hop lyrics of the future. The event is unique in that it offers young North London talent the chance to interact with these urban music stars and jam with them on stage, learning direct from the masters. 2) The AUM is going beyond bog-standard community arts programmes by offering local musical talent and businesses a structured route to success in the industry via partners such as AIM and the MBF. For the first time there appears to be a thought-through plan to get the talent of tomorrow onto a wider stage as soon as possible, i.e. while their music is still fresh and vital.

Sway’s new single, ‘Download’, is out on Monday November 7 – his first post-MOBO release and a taster of his full debut album, ‘This Is My Demo’, due in February 2006. The Academy of Urban Music forms part of a pilot scheme to offer artists and entrepreneurs a platform to gain exposure, access business support and forge valuable contacts with a view to kick-starting new businesses and careers. The AUM Academy of Urban Music boasts strong practical links to industry-level partners through AIM chairman Alison Wenham.  Alison, who chairs the Small Business Group of the Music Business Forum, has brokered substantial links between the AUM and the industry, who are guiding the programme and can help build enthusiastic urban artists and micro-businesses into vital new music providers on a national and international level.

7th November, 6pm – DJ Skills Workshop With DJ Logic: DJ Logic will demonstrate the core skills that have placed him on speed-dial with major hip-hop and jazz producers worldwide. Aspiring London DJs will witness first-hand: advanced scratching skills: how to combine turntables and CDs; DJ as orchestra conductor: how to play along with a live band, mixing instruments on-the-fly; working with samplers: how to get the best out of the MPC 2000 and other FX machines; cutting the record: how to produce in the studio. Attentive attendees will then have the chance to step up and test their new-found skills alongside DJ Logic on stage.

8th November, 6pm – Exploring The Roots Of Hip Hop: This session will open with a word from the wise: Pee Wee Ellis will conduct a musical workshop exploring the roots of hip-hop culture in 1960s funk music based on insider knowledge  - Pee Wee’s work with James Brown was heavily sampled on hits by Public Enemy, LL Cool J, NWA, Ice T, Run DMC and even Nine Inch Nails. DJ Logic will give an eyewitness account of the original 1980s hip-hop revolution in the Bronx and demonstrate how old-school producers used JB’s beats to build up their tracks. He will also be dishing out tips on how to produce beats "in concert" using live musicians, samplers and FX. Sway will offer on-the-button advice about how to start out in British hip-hop and carve independent success from home-taught skills. He will discuss lyrical techniques and how an MC’s lyrics can affect a positive change in the Hip Hop audience. Live On Stage: The Pee Wee Ellis Band, DJ Logic and…  The UMA launch will culminate in an opportunity for local MCs to deliver their skits live alongside two living legends. Lyrics should be based on the on-going celebration of Black Music Month (that’s history-focused and conscious) and will feature over an unprecedented live session blending funk, hip-hop and pure North London flava!

Apart from the knowledge and networking opportunities, the sessions are all £free. The November  programme includes: Nov. 5: Love In The Community urban music showcase/club night. 8.15pm; Cuban rhumba and bata drumming sessions: Nov. 12. 5pm; Setting Up An Indie Record Company workshop Nov. 21. 6-9pm. Karamel Club, 4 Coburg Road, Wood Green, London N22. To reserve a place for either or both events, contact Tania on 0208 829 8907 or email tania@collage-arts.org.