The Nextmen feat. MC Wrec
April 28th, 2005 by sparky
The Nextmen feat. Wrec will perform at The Big Chill 2009.
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The Nextmen - Biography
Cambridge is mainly known for its famous university, an inordinate amount of cyclists, a terrible football team, a river made for punting, a folk festival and being the home of Stephen Hawking, Clive James and Jeffrey Archer. It is not, one must admit, the first place one would look for producers of dancefloor-hardened beats. It is nevertheless, the city that gave birth to The Nextmen, also known as Brad Baloo and Dom Search.
You may have heard of The Nextmen. In fact, unless you’ve been captive in Guantanamo Bay for the most of the Noughties, we’d wager you’d definitely heard of them and more than likely witnessed them at one of their many festival-stopping summer performances or heard their incendiary mixtapes on the neighbourhood ghetto blaster.
Dom (real name: Dominic Betmead) and Brad (real name: Brad Ellis) joined forces when Brad blagged a remix for London Posse and realised he didn’t have any kit with which to do it. In stepped Dom with his Roland S10 and not much else. “The track was called Style,” chips in Dom, “But it put us on the map. Everybody loved it. Radio 1 got hold of it.” “It was 75 bpm and really pedestrian,” deadpans Brad. “Fucking terrible.” Terrible or not, London Posse’s Style had something about it, not least the MCing skills of the posse’s Rodney P, with whom The Nextmen have subsequently enjoyed a long working relationship.
In 2000, The Nextmen released their debut album Amongst The Madness on the revered 75 Ark imprint. Originally intended to be a Mo’ Wax-style instrumentals album, their label began sending the beats out to rappers in the States and before they knew it, The Nextmen were hip hop producers, working with Public Enemy, Blackalicious, The Pharcyde and Morcheeba. Get Over It, 2003’s sophomore album for Scenario, confirmed their position as one of the UK’s brightest beatmakers, although now the boys regret going so far down that road. “Looking back on it, it perhaps wasn’t the best idea to make those hip hop albums…” reflects Brad. It’s not that they don’t love hip hop, simply that it placed them in a neat, but uncomfortable, box. “As a DJ it’s always been my favourite club music. We always played bits of soul, disco and funk stuff but we were 70-80% hip hop. It was nice at that point; there were lots of interesting records coming out. When those records that people were still playing were ten years old, like Pete Rock and CL Smooth, I thought, ‘God this is just so stagnant’.”
The changes in Nextmen direction – if they could even be described as such – grew out of their DJ sets, as they found the space to integrate the outer reaches of their record collections. It was an organic change, but one that was driven by their outlook: “As a clubber, I wanna go out and hear a varied style of music,” says Dom “I don’t want to hear one kind of music all night.”
This shift in approach found an echo in the studio, too. Newly energised by their live work, songs rather than grooves began to form in their heads; fruitful collaborations with Sway, Fat Freddy’s Drop vocalist Dallas, Zarif Davidson, Alice Russell, Chicago’s own Kidz In The Hall, Jamaican legend Niney The Observer and LSK from Faithless were proof that new album This Was Supposed To Be The Future would be a step away from their previous releases. “The new album has been more influenced by our eclectic DJ sets, because it goes right across the board,” explains Dom. “There’s some reggae on there, some dancehall, some soul, and a couple of hip hop tracks. If you look at our DJ sets that’s exactly what we play.”
The catalyst for the new album was a reggae compilation Blunted In The Backroom, which they completed for new label Antidote last year. It was a headlong plunge into the depths of the Trojan catalogue, but re-wired by the Nextmen for the now. It was a resounding success not least because the two tracks made exclusively for the album, Blood Fire (featuring Dynamite MC) and Piece Of The Pie (with Demolition Man) became the starting point for This Was Supposed To Be The Future.
The normally sedentary pair in the studio (“We can be lazy bastards” quips Dom) had taken nine years to produce two albums, although moreover this has been the result of their move towards world domination, constantly rubber banding from London around the globe throughout Europe, Australia, Asia-pacific and beyond, as the first choice go-to DJs for every walk of hype-hot party and festival (think: a sunken indoor swimming pool in Elizabeth Taylor’s private villa in Cannes, a deep dark bunker in Moscow, a mountain-top ski jump in Val D’Isere, a heaving Sydney harbour-side arena, a much loved local pit stop in Shanghai, a heaving New Years natural amphitheatre in Perth, their favourite beats and meats BBQ with Friends & Family in Manchester and you’ll understand). The pair however realised their touring schedules hadn’t paused for some time, so completed the bulk of the new album in four months, working with the uncharacteristic fervour of a pair of Brill Building song mavens, though it should be noted that, unusually for most DJ/producer duos, Brad and Dom are both accomplished musicians, the former a pianist while Dom plays guitar. They appear suitably relaxed and inspired by the experience. “The situation around us for this album has been amazing,” enthuses Dom. By comparison, explains Brad, “the situation around us for the first two albums was fucking disastrous. Nobody did anything right. Including us. It’s a testament to the quality of the records that we’ve managed to last this long and make a living from it.”
This electric jolt to the creative glands has manifested itself in all areas of their careers and, as they prepare for the release of the new set, a new live approach is taking shape, bringing in vocalists and musicians but still retaining the classic elements that make their DJ sets such energetic affairs. “Nextmen is these two guys behind four decks and that’s what people expect and I think we should try and keep that in,” avers Dom. There’s even talk of performing some of the new songs in an ‘unplugged’ environment. “It’s amazing how well tracks translate like that,” he continues. “If I sit with Zarif and do This Is Supposed to Be The Future, which I wrote on the guitar, it’s brilliant. They’re naturally acoustic songs as well as the way they appear on the album. The writing often starts with a guitar or keys and a vocalist.”
This Was Supposed To Be The Future has clearly been a cleansing process of the Nextmen, the studio equivalent of a spot of Botox and a nip and tuck behind the lugholes. “We’ve started on the fourth album already,” chuckles Dom, painfully aware of the four-year gap since the last. “There’s loads of stuff going on and definitely some of these artists will be on it again, because it’s been such a successful working relationship.” Suitably chastised by their dismal productivity levels, Brad announces his Chairman Mao-style plans: “I think we should do at least another five albums in five years. We’ve got to step the studio workload up!”
Brad drops his voices slightly and adds, more seriously, “What we’d like from this album is for it to shift perceptions of the Nextmen.” “It would be really nice to be seen as producers who make music rather than a hip hop act,” adds Dom. “That’s what we are and what we’ve always done, but we’ve just made a couple of hip hop records.” The pair sits back contentedly and contemplate the next five albums. Then Brad adds: “Anyone for a cuppa?”
MC Wrec - Biography
At 29 years of age Jon Bailey aka MC Wrec is regarded as one of Britain’s most exciting young artists and music entrepreneurs. Known as one of the hardest workers on the circuit, this versatile young grafter has shot to fame in recent years after becoming the front man to the multi award winning live act London Elektricity and his work with accliamed eclectic acts The Nextmen, Stanton Warriors and Timo Maas.
The Surrey born vocalist who spent time growing up in Berlin, London, Southampton and Brighton, discovered his love for music at a very young age. Listing Michael Jackson, Cypress Hill, Nirvana, Jay-Z, Alex Reece, LSK and Roots Manuva as influences, he first graced the mic in 1995 at a warehouse party in South Croydon and came up through the traditional ranks of Londons sound-system and pirate radio culture. He earnt his stripes chatting over early breakbeats, jungle, house, garage, hip hop and reggae music, before relocating to Southampton in 1998, where he gained a marketing degree, promoted shows, founded the Distortion Crew and his former hip hop group The Pickpockets and became Addict Clothing’s Music PR manager.
It was during this time, Wrec began cutting his teeth working and touring with the likes of DJ Red, Rodney P and DJ First Rate, spreading his wings both nationally and internationally on the mic. From 2003 - Dec 2005 (when the band stopped touring), Wrec fronted the mighty London Elektricity live band, recording two live LP’s and DVD’s, featuring on the 2005 studio album, rocking shows from Auckland to Istanbul and picking up BBC 1Xtra and Knowledge Magazine awards with the band for ‘Best live Act’.
Now Brighton based, Wrec is resident MC to prestigious records labels including Hospital, Critical and Fat City, plus infamous nights including Fabric Live, Heaven, Hospitality and Friends & Family in London plus further residencies in Shanghai, Berlin and Brighton. Now a regular live host and collaborator to top dance acts The Nextmen, Stanton Warriors and the legendary Timo Maas, he’s toured across Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Middle East, Brazil, Japan and China - working and touring with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Cypress Hill, Basement Jaxx, Soul II Soul, Manu Chao, The Prodigy, Pharoah Monch, Calvin Harris, Cassius, ICE T, Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, The Streets and DJ Yoda to name only a few.
Superb performances at the likes of Glastonbury, Good Vibrations (Australia), Jade Jaggers Jezabel @ Pacha Ibiza, Big Chill, Shepherds Bush Empire, Brixton Academy and The Jazz Cafe, have secured his place as one of the world’s most versatile and entertaining MCs. Whether he’s working with Goldie or High Contrast, Qool DJ Marv or DJ A-Trak, he’s sure to rock the show.
With releases on labels including Hospital, Fat City and Mums The Word plus countless mixtape appearances, he featured on London Elektricity ‘Power Ballads’ LP (2005) and Martin Brews single ‘Drop The Beat’ (2005). He also released his debut solo track ‘The Great British Moan’ on Mums The Word Records, proving to be a big hit online with over 60,000 listens on his myspace page, not to mention rotation on Radio 1, 1xtra and Kiss FM.
In addition to the above, he also runs a couple of companies with business partner Marc Shienman. Firstly Mums The Word Management, looking after The Nextmen (Universal), Zarif (RCA), Part Time Heroes (Wah Wah), Bridgette Amofah (Oi Va Voi), plus New Zealand’s number 1 best-selling dance act Shapeshifter.
To work alongside the management company Jon and Marc also launched their own label in 2006 Mums The Word Records Ltd. The labels debut release in Oct 2006 was Part Time Heroes ‘Realise EP’ which gained global critical accailm, support & radio play from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Zane Lowe, Ras Kwame, Patrick Forge, Mr Scruff, Benji B and many more. Other releases on the label include Wrec’s very own ‘Great British Moan’ single, Shapeshifter’s ‘Soulstice’ album and remixes from the likes of D-Bridge, Nu:Tone and The Nextmen.
Wrec ran all of Addict Clothings worldwide music press, product placement, endorsements from 2001-2007, and regularly worked with the likes of DJ Cash Money, Fat Freddys Drop, James Zabiela and more. Indeed Jon was invited to host the Adicolor Collection press conference for Adidas in Berlin live on MTV, interviewing style, illustration and design icons including Cey Adams of Def Jam Records, Raymond Choy of Toy2R, Vice Magazine and Italian label Emilio Pucci.
He’s also been invited to lecture on the music industry in Bulgaria, Germany, Slovenia, at various UK University’s and recently hosted the MTV Media Awards after-party in London and the MTV party at The Cannes Film Festival 2006. You can also catch him regually hosting radio shows on KISS FM.
Difficult to pigeonhole, exciting to listen to, and with fingers in several tasty pies… you cant knock his drive or take his eyes off the prize.
‘The UK’s finest multi genre MC” Jam Music, Sydney Australia
“A rare example of how it possible to find fame in more than one musical genre, MC Wrec has been representing hip hop and drum and bass in equal measures for the last decade, with the list of artists he’s appeared alongside reading like a who’s who of underground music. This is one Wrec - that does not get nervous” Knowledge Magazine
The Nextmen feat. Wrec will perform at The Big Chill 2009.
A-Z line-up | Buy tickets
July 8th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Dem nice up de area !!!!