Part 4 - Vienna Youth

By Dan Sturt

Vienna Youth are an indie jazz band who have relocated from Devon to London in an attempt to gain more of a following in London. In my opinion they are a band that are far more impressive when seen live over listening to the recordings. They have previously spoken on this admitting they have only recorded four songs but are yet to capture the sound they are producing on stage. This is one of the many disadvantages of no live music. Bands who often perform live and are not as involved on the music platforms and recording music have almost been forced into hiding over this pandemic. I was lucky enough to interview the lead singer (Vienna James) and drummer (Harri Cornfornth).

In the interview I asked them what would be the benefits of being a new band in London, to which they answered saying about the amount of venues that support new upcoming artists. Some venues with a larger variety of people interested in all sorts of music. A diverse crowd pushes bands to be more experimentative and outgoing. London is filled with different communities for all types of music, whereas, where the band had originally been located, Devon, the music community is not as diverse. The hip hop and jazz scene in London is able to support new types of music and constantly welcome new people to become a part of the community. Harri Cornforth described one of the benefits as “the opportunity to play in bigger venues and more venues. There’s less people in Devon with different tastes, there's a much larger variety in London.” (Harri Cornforth, Interview with Vienna Youth).

They spoke on the pandemic and how it has affected the music scene, with musicians struggling to write and focus because of the lack of inspiration and motivation. With the lockdowns being so strict and limited, musicians such as Vienna Youth have found it difficult to work on music and progress as a band. Especially being a collective of four, because being unable to rehearse with your band mates proves to be a huge strain on the band. I released our interview onto youtube and shared this through my social media platforms so people can watch and possibly relate to what Vienna Youth spoke on. I want people to understand they are not alone, as there are definitely more bands like Vienna Youth who I want to discover and involve.

Part 3 - Community

The community is the backbone for the jazz and hip hop scene. I have learnt how crucial a community is and it can make an enormous difference and impact on the music scene. With Hiding minds, I hope I can reach out to people and inform them about this community. The people within this community all pay a vital part to helping the growth and awareness of the scene. Whether it be musicians, artists, fashion designers, dancers, producers, directors or promoters. The list goes on and this creates different platforms for sharing or promoting music. It brings people together because they are helping each other. A great example of a producer who is a huge contributor to the community is Mac Wetha. A producer known for producing tracks for artists such as puma blue, Nine8, Bone Slim, Lava La Rue and Biig Piig.

When Mac Wetha worked with Jess (Biig Piig) he gained himself recognition. She was new to London and he started working with her helping to create songs, mixing her jazz influences with his love for hip hop. He has done this with various artists who are now successfully releasing their music with the help of a producer. Biig Piig speaking on nine8 and mac wetha stated “It’s just cool finding people your age who are able to come to a space and be vulnerable around each other without anything being weird.” (Biddles, 2018) Showing how someone like Mac Wetha has been an essential element in helping artists get off their feet and start contributing music into this scene. “This collaborative way of working comes naturally to Smyth, and it’s why the Nine8 Collective has become such an important context for her work.” (Biddles, 2018) This supports the importance of collaboration, a community allows for constant collaboration. Hopefully with Hiding Minds I can help connect people which could lead to more collaboration.

Here’s a photo of one of Mac Wetha’s ep and Biig Piig’s Ep which was produced by Mac Wetha:

Lava la rue and The Nine8 Collective, who I have mentioned in previous articles, pushes this

community with festivals they would arrange and the support they would do to help people

struggling. “Creating moments that bring me and my collective and my community together is so

rewarding” (Dazed 100, 2020) These festivals and gigs have helped massively in sharing their

music and increased their fan base into a community rather than individual fan bases. With the

fans coming together, it provides support towards this uprising community.

Here’s a photo from one of the gigs arranged by Lava La Rue, Low Heat 05. Bringing people

into a space where they can watch live music talk, meet new people and have a great

experience.

Social media is definitely the best device to use for creating a closer relationship for the artists with the fans. Which is important in a community because people need to be connected. Instagram and Facebook have been one of the biggest elements achieving that. People can see eye catching photos of the artists they listen to which have been uploaded onto their instagram or facebook page. This again helps add another range to the community, where they can involve photographers and people they know to help out with supporting the scene.

Part 2 - Fashion of the Scene

By Dan Sturt

Fashion has been an important factor towards this scene, as the look and style of a community gives a brief insight on what they represent. At hiding minds I have wanted to target the most essential clothing brands that carry the looks and fashion you see from people in this community. Phuggers are a brand who have collaborated with people such as Beabadoobee. She has involved her boyfriend, Soren Harrison, creator of Phuggers, into the mix. “As a brand, they've continuously satisfied the sense of style for their global community of followers and, for this drop, the capsule expected a positive influence.” (Ahonsi, 2020) With hiding minds this is exactly what I want to achieve, where it is a community of people supporting each other in their own artistic way. Their clothing has become a huge support towards sharing the underground music scene in London as they photograph the musicians playing shows whilst wearing phugger’s clothing. The Nine8 Collective also sell clothes which are very popular among the community. Here are some examples of the clothes from The Nine8 Collective:

With Nine8 having their clothing brand, they are able to support and share through their music videos. They wear the clothes on the videos and then wear them at live shows and sell them constantly. It is different from merchandise because rather than having a brand logo on clothing they have played with size by having the items baggier than a usual fitting to suit the style. They experiment with colours and a variation of looks to give buyers a choice of style, colour and look. I want to share with people trying to get into the scene how much it is appreciated when people buy clothes from small independent brands.

Fashion is important for supporting the jazz and hip hop scene in London because it is a way to invest and support the artist trying to expand the scene. At hiding minds I want to encourage people to use the money to organise and create more gigs and festivals. Nine8 do this a great deal which is another reason I have a huge respect for them. They are focused on sharing and supporting rather than making it for themselves. Which is why people are quick to follow and have interest in what they are trying to do.

When a scene is surrounded by a certain type of fashion and style, it gives the scene a look and attracts people into learning more. When people walk around wearing clothes from The Nine8 Collective or brands such as phuggers they are promoting those brands and spreading awareness, helping to grow the community. It also gives people confidence to dress in styles which they feel confident in, rather than limiting themselves to the fashion of the majority of the public. People will feel more confident to express themselves with their fashion, when the support of a community of people wearing outgoing and creative styles is behind them.