Soul Suvivaz: "Down Here" Video
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The Trombone gang is rollin' down the street looking for trouble.
Panic Cell decided to re-release "Away From Here" as a follow up to Thousand Words. As the band's look had changed they needed a new video for this re-mixed version. Set in a club during Panic Cell's performance, the narrative follows a girl as she meets her apparent assailant. We had an industrial niteclub location in mind when writing the script but decided to recreate the club in a studio which was logistically beneficial and kept costs down. We hired the loading bay at Black Island Studios. The set for the narrative was built adjacent to the bay where the band were performing, enabling crew to jump between sets so the band's performance could be shot while the actors were going through make up changes. We achieved the look for the club by using long lenses and low key lighting, shooting on an Arri 435 from Panavision so we could easily adjust the shutter angle between shots. Robin Brigham had lit the original version and has a great gift for getting creative under pressure, managing to keep up with our tight shooting schedule. Our two production dynamos Carolyn and Isy sourced actors Jennifer Glyn and Danny George who's parts were pre-blocked and rehearsed enabling efficient shooting. The whole shoot was storyboarded and planned down to the last detail in order to accommodate the amount of set ups. We used Panic Cell's fans as extras to add to the realism of the club. A free bar as part of the set was unfortunately derogatory to their behaviour but despite alcohol induced issues the extras did a great job and we shot as planned with long lenses to create the illusion of a larger crowd. For practical reasons all the scenes with the extras were shot first. The flashbacks of Jennifer getting ready were filmed in a house in Wimbledon. Danny wasn't available so Yan body doubled during the exterior attack scenes which were shot in the back garden. Finally we dragged poor shivering Jennifer into a nearby alley to shoot her post attack scenes, covering her in a blanket between takes. Robin lit this sequence with one sungun maintaining the high contrast look of the club interiors, shooting everything wide open on the lens which gave us a very shallow depth of field. Dave at Framestore provided us with another superb grade and once we finished the cut, the final stage was the subtle CG sequence as Jen turns into a vampire. Chris Shaw created a rough transition, tracking vampire eyes and teeth onto Jen's face. He had planned to do a more detailed version but the first one worked really well as the sequence only lasts for a second, so we used this in the final cut. More information is available at www.visualabuse.com
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Nightmares On Wax: "Know My Name"
While the group's 1991 debut A Word Of Science buried mainman George Evelyn's influences beneath a bleeping MIDI interface, 1995?s breakthrough Smokers Delight had little to do with techno; it's a hip hop chill out album, with a classic soul flourish. On Carboot Soul, George continued to take the sounds of soul innovators to new sound plateaus. Weaned by his family on soul staples Quincy Jones and Curtis Mayfield, George continued his musical education when the first wave of hip hop hit with tracks like "Rappers Delight" and "Buffalo Gals." George joined a local breakdance crew, where he forged an alliance with fellow b-boy Kevin Harper, forming Nightmares On Wax. They released the "Dexterous" single in 1990, but what caused a stir was their Top 40 UK hit "Aftermath." The track signaled the presence of "Northern Bleep," a homebrewed, Northeast digital-break sound underlined with solid hip hop beats. This technique can be found on 1991's A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter. After four years of co-running The Headz Club in Leeds, amassing samples, and rethinking his approach to music, George returned without Keith on 1995?s slo-mo, soulistic LP Smokers Delight. By then, George was up front about his musical inspirations. Each track nonchalantly sojourns down crisp Philly Soul production, pulsating ho-down medleys, heavy Barry White pant tones, and nerve-shivering chord shimmers. Its laid-back tone came from George hearing KLF?s "Chill Out" record and applying the concept to hip hop. Carboot Soul marked a major change for NOW in their use of live musicians. George is now joined onstage by a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, singer and rapper. It is all part of his plan for NOW to operate like a band rather than a studio act. In spite of this, the drum machine still remains. George elaborates, "Doing the live side proves there is more to the music. People have something more tangible to relate the music to and it gives us the chance to connect with the audience. The main priority for NOW is to prove that we can perform music, but we're not ignoring the fact that we come from a studio, technical background. We just want to mix the old with the new. That's why, at the moment, I don?t have a live drummer. The sound of the beats is what makes Nightmares." The title Carboot Soul commemorates the time George would hunt for dusty 12"s and albums in car boot sales. It's another indication that NOW?s true sound was there from the beginning; all they've done is come full circle. George has a realistic outlook about the way his music is developing: "Today's music is inspired by whatever has gone on before. That's what fascinates me. Soul music is the earliest form of hip hop. That's why I want to create it. It might seem like recreating what was done in the past, but what I want to do is merge soul and hip hop together. That's why I'll bring in the live aspect of what happened back then into current hip hop trends. That?s the angle I?m arriving at."
New search and tabs take flight in Thunderbird 3
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This video of The Pacifics was created by Xylophone Films. The PACIFICS are People Accumulating Creative Ideas Foregoing Ignorant Conclusions of Society. The mighty trio of KP, Strike3 (aka. Mr. REXford) and Norman Rockwell create uncut "go ill" hip hop designed to serve the soul and snap the neck. Striving to bridge the gap between the old and new generations of hip hop, the Pacifics bring versatility to the forefront without sacrificing creativity in their music. A slew of hometown and coast-to-coast performances have earned them a reputation as showstoppers. While all three bring the rhymes, KP also shines on much of the production, Norm showcases his other passion on the cuts and Strike3 holds it down as the host of SubT's 606/Open Mic Nite on Tuesdays. "It's hip-hop with a cleverness that overwhelms its ruggedness. It's like early Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul. It may be Chicago's answer to Jurassic 5." (Sun Times, Feb. '03) The PACIFICS earned and have maintained their place in Chicago hip hop through their consistently high-energy stage shows. Throughout the years, they've not only performed alongside some of Chicago's best acts, but nationally, they've also opened up for artists like DJ QBert, Mountain Brothers, Fifth Platoon, World Famous Beat Junkies, Triple Threat DJs, Bahamadia, Slum Village and most memorably, KRS-One. In 2000, The PACIFICS took their show on the road with the highly acclaimed spoken word group, I Was Born With Two Tongues, on the YellowTechnicolor Tour (which continued through 2002), performing their 1 and 1/2 hour collaborative show at schools like Stanford, Columbia, UFlorida, Rutgers, SF State, Ball State, Pomona, UofC, Duke, UMichigan & UPittsburgh. The YellowTech show wound its way around the country, leaving scorched stages from the Bay to NY - rooted in the language and rhythm of spoken word and hip hop. The PACIFICS independently released their highly-anticipated debut album, "The September First Project: Long Overdue", in April 2002. The album, said to "offer a well-crafted manifestation of hip-hop optimism," (URB, 8/02) showcased production by KP, Bay Root Production & Chops (while also offering vocal contributions by Chops & Peril-L of the Mountain Brothers). With the help of Xylophone Films/KidHeroes Production, The PACIFICS were able to take their classic joint, "Especialty", from audio to visual, in their first ever music video. In the summer of 2002, they hit the road once again, on the Urban Architecture 606 Tour, with other Chicago-based hip hop acts: The Primeridian, Typical Cats and DJ Presyce. With followings new and old, stage shows to match and undeniable buzz, this tour's purpose was to bridge the gaps, share the shine and take it all back to homebase - by making stops in LA, Montana, Seattle, Portland and San Jose. KP, Strike3 & Norm have just completed their second album, "Sunday's Chicken" - due to release in March 2005 on All Natural, Inc. The contributions to the album span nationwide with support from Illmind, DJ Rhettmatic, Rakaa Iriscience, Pep Love and fellow chicagoans like The Primeridian, Iomos Marad, Ang 13 and Denizen Kane, as well as Artek of 606 Entertainment on production and behind the boards. The partnership between The PACIFICS and All Natural, Inc. marks a milestone in the group's journey, being the perfect step in taking themselves and their music to the next level.
