INTERVIEWS

Full interview with independent clothing brand - Own the Night

What do you love about being an independent company?

The freedom of being an independent company is great. Having total control over everything we produce is really important to us. The integrity of the brand is something that we hold close and being independently run, we can continue to do that through each release and every individual product.

When did you first set-up and who is your ideal customer?

We've been running since late 2011. Our ideal customer would be someone who shops for quality and longevity in a product.

How do you come up with your designs/new products? Is it through new ideas or customer demand or a bit of both?

We release our collections seasonally, so it's a case of thinking ahead to next season, or next year, to determine what types of products we'd like to see in the store for that time. A lot of our items are quite strongly branded with bold, slick designs which has become the heart of the brand. So, that's a starting point for us. We like everything to be immediately recognisable as an Own The Night product.

Do you have a pop-up store or are you going to be having one?

Currently, we sell exclusively from our online store. We're looking at stockists for 2014 though. It seems like the next logical step at the moment.

In your opinion, do you think more people should be aware of independent clothing brands rather than just shopping on the high street?

It'd be great to see some more independent brands being more widely recognised. You can see that starting to happen a lot more these days, but it takes a brand with the right drive and passion to push through into the mainstream, so to speak. High Street shopping is slowly becoming a thing of the past with the ease of internet shopping and the popularity of social media, which always bodes well for independent brands who rely on eCommerce due to the cost of setting up a brick and mortar store these days.

Why do you think it is important that independent brands get more recognition?

A lot of independent brands convey a great message and have some really passionate people behind them who are really loving what they're doing. It shows in the quality of their products and designs. Quality over quantity seems to be an ideal held by a lot of smaller brands lately, which is great. It's also a lot easier to express your individuality when you shop independent brands. Something which tends to get over-looked by a lot of the High Street mass-producers. You see a lot of people ditching their personal preferences for the latest thing that everyone else has, at the lowest price.

_____________________________________________________________

Captain Fawcett's opinion

Founder of the grooming product brand, Richie Finney's view on the recent trend of more men experimenting with facial hair and it becoming the 'in' thing... 

"I think the style of experimenting with facial hair has been a bit of a comeback for four or five years, but the last couple of years has seen a real interest in beards. Now when actors are collecting Oscars, they all seem to have a beard. It’s one of the few things a man can do that a woman can’t; it’s an expression of virility.

Traditionally having facial hair was frowned upon as it was seen to be unhygienic and deceitful. There have been different trends over the years – for example in about 1917 it was a requirement for a soldier to HAVE a moustache. However the soldiers became younger and younger and couldn’t grow facial hair and so the rules relaxed. Nowadays you can’t have one at all.

Charity aspects have definitely helped in the popularity of facial hair though, such as Movember (growing a moustache in November) raising money for prostate cancer and Decembeard (growing a beard in December) raising money for bowel cancer. Workplaces usually can be quite strict but with the charity element of growing facial hair, many places have become more relaxed.

Fifty to sixty years ago if you had a beard or moustache you’d be classed as on the outside of society – non-conformists, bikers or poets perhaps. Everyone had to conform, but having a beard was a way of expressing individuality. There are competitions all over the world where people are doing the most outrageous things with their facial hair and there is a slight humour to it now. How long the trend will last – I’m not sure, but it’s all fun whilst it lasts."

_____________________________________________

Full interview with male model Chris Millington

- What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
Analyst, wanderer, thinker.

- How did you first get into modelling?

I was scouted from the streets of London! I had been asked to model for some things before that but nothing too major. It's exploded since then but I certainly don't have any ideas in my mind other than working more, more and more!

- How do you feel about the typical stereotype of male models? For example, the stigma surrounding Zoolander.

I think that it's fairly justified, given the media's attempts to paint models with the brush that they're "beautiful and brainless" by glorifying those who lead the party and drug-fuelled lifestyle.

I guess for me, it's about proving those stereotypes wrong, along with a few of my other friends that I've met in London who are also models. It's not the way that everyone seems to think that it is, most models down there have very strong educations underneath them, a lot of which were gained through private schooling. The modelling world is very diverse and there's a lot more to it than girls covered in soapy bubbles leaning over the hood of a sports car.

- Who is your biggest inspiration in life? Famous and Non-famous

Bruce Lee comes in at number 1 in the 'famous' category. He pushed himself and his mind to their limits. He was a trailblazer for positive and moral thinking. He broke things down to the bare minimum, analysing the simplest form of the idea, that's how he became one of the greatest martial artists and philosophers of all time. A true hero of mine, he always will be.

In the non famous category, I'd have to say my Grandfather. He sculpted me in ways that even now still seem to teach me. He said things that will resonate through me until the day I die. Without him I'd be half the man I am today, without him I truly believe I'd be a completely different person. I owe my life and all my success to him.

- What do you believe to be your greatest achievement so far?
I think that every day moving forward and booking another job is an achievement. I pride myself on continuing to work hard and doing the best job I can for every client. It pleases me to see when another booking comes through, it shows me that I'm doing things in the right way, in the eyes of someone.

- Which of your modelling campaigns was your favourite to do and why?
Abandon Ship, Drop 3, 2013.

That experience has changed me and will forever be the turning point in my life and career as a model. Going to Thailand with some of my friends at Abandon Ship, spending 10 days with the most beautiful, amazing girl I've ever met, seeing another side that the world has hidden from me for so long. It was a truly breathtaking experience for me and one I will never, ever forget.

- How do you spend your ‘down time’?
I just like to spend time alone, to be honest. I'm a really deep thinker and I've got some mental conditions that affect my thoughts and memory so it's really important for me to chill out quite a lot. I become anxious and stressed when I don't have time alone. It's strange. Haha.

- Where did your interest in writing come from?
It's almost cathartic for me, a release in an almost physical way. I can see my emotions spelt out before me, it makes it all seem real. I like to write about anything, I guess. Mostly personal things though.

- Where do you get your inspirations from when you write, as well as your poetry?
I just write about whatever I'm thinking about. I wrote some poems a while back as a joke, I did it every day for a week and people seemed to like them. It was funny. After that I've just sampled other bodies of work and merged them into how I feel. I haven't written anything that was purely my own in quite a while. I haven't felt compelled to do it much recently. I think I've just been tired!

- Would you ever consider going completely away from modelling and pursuing one of your other passions as a career?

Absolutely, my career won't last forever. I've got my eye on some other avenues...

- If you could learn 3 other new skills, what would you want to be able to do and why?
I'd play guitar, I'd be good at dancing and I'd like to have been a bit better at football!!! Hahaha!

- Tell us something random that not many people know about you.
I'm a massive football fan and when I say massive, I mean, I know more about world football than anyone I know. Probably anyone you know too. I genuinely study football constantly for every little detail about everything that's going on in Europe. It's actually quite sad. I'm obsessed!

- You've mentioned in the past on Twitter/Instagram going into business with your brother, John. What are the plans for this venture? Can you tell us anything about it?

John and I have plans, we have spent a long time doing research and looking at things to work with. We will be making announcements soon. We don't have much to tell..

- If you could do anything by the time you are 30 what would it be?
I want to see Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Siberia and New York. Travelling is a massive part of what I want to do over the coming years. I find peace in my surroundings, I like new places. I love soaking it all in and feeling a totally different atmosphere and vibe. I also like ice and cold places. Dunno if you noticed..

- Would you rather have looks and not be talented, or not be talented and have looks?
I'd take talent over anything. Talent transcends everything that I could ever achieve based on my physical appearance. Sure, in modern culture it's a massive part of your success. What if I were a beautiful singer that wore a mask, almost for my entire career, only revealing my face after I'd won countless awards and sold millions of records, how would the world react if my face were hideous? It wouldn't matter. My music would have been enough. Music and art will live on when our bodies will not.

- And finally, how much do you actually love KFC gravy?!

Umm, I'd honestly drink a pint of it. The stuff is absolutely dynamite.

___________________________________________________________

Full interview with Oliver Daldry - Acoustic Musician
Name, age and genre?
My name is Oliver Daldry and I'm 19. I think I'm still discovering my genre. When it comes to my live sound, I'm singer-songwriter/acoustic genre. But when it comes to my produced sound (which is such an important area to develop in the industry) I'm still exploring different ideas. Wherever it is I take my sound, I want to stick to my voice and guitar as the platform and the soul of the song, but with regards to forming music around that platform and developing the song so as it fits into a specific genre, I'm still unsure where to go.

How did you begin doing music?

 I began my music with songwriting. When I was about 6 I used to put words to melodies and create short A Capella songs, so for my 7th birthday, my parents bought me a classical guitar. I then pursued classical guitar to grade 8 along with the academic study of music from GCSE through t A level. The whole time however I was songwriting. I don't think that there has been a single significant event in my life that I haven't written a song about.

What inspires you the most to pursue music? 

I have always been a bit of an introvert as a person, and the way I channeled all of my thoughts and feelings was through writing songs in my room. I developed a general understanding of music through classical guitar, and once I got the knack of putting my thoughts to music, I fell in love with the concept of songwriting. When it came to career decisions, it only felt natural to pursue music.

Who is your main inspiration?

 I wouldn't say I have one specific source of inspiration for my music. But I would say that I have had several key figures in my life that have really driven me to become a better songwriter and artist. Green Day and The Libertines were probably the first bands that I became massively influenced by. I formed a punk band with some friends when I was 12 which lasted for 3 years, all fueled more or less by those 2 bands. Then artists such as Damien Rice, John Mayer and Jeff Buckley have all had their own role in my development as a musician.

Who is your male music icon and why? 

Similarly to the question above, it's hard to answer this succinctly. At the moment however, I think Jeff Buckley and John Mayer are becoming my main influences. Buckley because of his gorgeous voice, and Mayer because of his amazing abilities on guitar. And both of them for their exquisite songwriting.

Where do you want to progress from here - what are your plans?

 My plans are to develop my sound and my style, to keep writing huge amounts of material. Absolutely hammer the festivals next year and to just generally keep working as hard as I can. 

What are your 5 tips for aspiring male artists? Firstly, your local open mic scene is your best friend. Play as often as you can. Open mics are perfect for developing your confidence and testing new material on various types if crowds. Secondly, don't be scared to leave the open mic scene, but when you do make sure you have the resources to play as many gigs as you were playing open mics. Thirdly, in the current industry, being your own songwriter is an absolutely massive thing. There's nothing wrong with collaborations and a bit of team work, but having the ability to write songs for yourself that you know are right for you is paramount. Fourthly, build a fan base. Sounds obvious, but it's your only sense of security. It's absolutely crucial if you want to go far, that you have a fan base who you know love and buy your music. Fifthly, work hard, be nice to people, and you can't go wrong.

____________________________________________________________________

Full interview with Jonny Cruickshank - Aspiring DJ

When did you start DJing and why?

I started DJing initially when I was about 15-16. My best friends dad was a Soul DJ in the 70s so he had a pair of technics in his garage, between us we bought a few records and just messed around trying to beat match. Originally it was Drum 'n' bass. From then I was about 18 when I bought my CDJ's. I did it out of boredom more than anything! I was In a band for 5 years and as my music tastes expanded and the band dissipated I wanted to continue with music and the useful thing about being a DJ is it only involves yourself!

What’s your favourite genre of music to play?

 That's a tough call. My music taste pretty much takes in everything, from metal and rock to hip hop and then through to all shades of electronic music. Originally, I was focused on dubstep. There was a night local to me that played some amazing stuff I'd not heard before and it captured my attention. Alongside that now I'm also taking an interest in house and every other sub genre of that ilk, but to be honest its almost different on a day to day basis, I like to challenge myself to be able to beat match any genre.

Are you part of a team? 

If so tell me about it. I am indeed, after what felt like many years of trying to establish myself as a DJ, which is more difficult than it may sound, I'm now in a collective under the name of Sealed, based in Stoke-on-Trent, which is where I live currently. I've also done work for DMK, a music outfit based at Keele. Sealed has been running for about 18 months and has booked big names in the house seen like XXXY, and more local big name talent like Mitch Wellings of The Night Shift (a more prominent stoke-based house music outfit).

What are your main inspirations?

Musically and in life? This is another tough question! Initially being in a band (and now still an avid guitarist) I was very into metal so people like Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Mick Thompson from Slipknot etc, but nowadays in terms of guitar I've got a lot of love for acoustic artists Ben Howard, Antoine Dufour, Andy Mckee etc. In terms of DJing…. I saw a video of garage legend DJ EZ doing a 10-hour 4 deck mix, if I can get to be that good one day I'll be happy. I have a lot of respect for a DJ by the name of T_!, a dubstep/grime/garage DJ who started the Stink Like Sock nights in Cambridge/Hitchin which has got pretty much every good DJ in the scene to play with them and has had a boat party at Outlook festival in Croatia the last two years. What he's done for the dubstep scene in my local area is massive and he himself is a flawless DJ. Seeing him do 4 deck vinyl mixes is a thing to behold. In terms of life inspiration, I don't really know. Probably as a cliche its my family first of all, as mad as they are as single entities they all have such a good work ethic which pushes me to work hard and succeed at anything I do.

Describe the first time you ever DJ’ed in front of an audience.

 First time? Well that was considerably anti-climatic. It was my local village pub after an acoustic gig my friend put on, it got shut down at 9.30 as it was too loud and waking the neighbors children. My first big gig was at Keele University in October this year. Mike ( head of Sealed) and I were on from 11-12, which is a good slot for any dj to play so we were both excited. We got to Keele Uni and looked in the room and there was two massive rigs either side of the stage, from that point on we knew we were going to have some fun. Time passed and there was about 6 people on the dancefloor at 5 to 11? Didn't fill me full of confidence I must admit. Anyway it came to my set (11-11.30) and I played the first few songs, maybe 10-15 people turned up and had a little dance, felt thoroughly underwhelmed if I'm honest. Then Mike realised he had forgotten his laptop charger so needed to play right away as his laptop had all of about 15 minutes battery left. He did his thing until it died and I knew the vibe needed changing, so I put on F for you by Disclosure. It was like the news of Baby Jesus' birth. about 200 people appeared from the murky depths of the back room to come and have a dance and after that every song went down perfectly. I remember standing and looking out and thinking "they're loving me". Very arrogant moment but a brilliant one nonetheless.

What are your future goals and ambitions?

 Within DJing, my future goals and ambitions are just to play as many sets as I possibly can. I absolutely love every minute of it. Also, I'd like to work on my own productions and get a few songs around some of the bigger names in the scene. I guess my ambition is to have a really big name play a tune I'd made. Aside of all the music stuff, I'm also currently doing a Bio medicine Degree, so if all the music fails, I'll hopefully get somewhere with that!

What would your dream job be?

 I'd have to say big time DJ/Producer or as I said before with the science stuff in mind, maybe an Oncologist or a Genetic Engineer? Bizarre mix I know.

What are your main tips for DJing? 

Its a difficult one to answer as I'm essentially the minnow in a sea of bigger fish. But, my tips would be firstly to practice, same with any other musical venture. People who think they know it all about DJing are wrong. You can never be too good at it. Practice beat matching, practice putting songs together, seeing which vocals to cut with which tunes, practice little effects moments to help transitions sound smooth etc. My other tip is spend 95% of your life looking at blogs, music download websites, youtube channels, basically anywhere you'll find new music. You will undoubtedly come across a hellish amount of generic and average songs, but if you find one gem in 20 piles of dirt its worth the trouble because real music lovers will know you know what you're playing. Anyone can listen to chart music and see its popular, its about picking songs that people need to hear, they just don't know it yet.

Do you think DJing is becoming more popular in recent years? 

If so, why? I think its become more accessible. With Virtual DJ and Traktor, you don't need to spend thousands of pounds on vinyl decks and the vinyl to play. Controllers can be as little as £200 so people are far more likely to buy one of those and then they can just play the songs already on their iTunes. I personally felt like I'd be a bit of a cheat by using a controller so I bought CDJ's, which still isn't as purist as vinyl decks, but I always saw the laptop/controller way as a simpleton's choice as it does all the work for you but recently I've seen some established artists using them without having to use the 'sync' buttons and I've opened my mind in that respect.

Who do you think are the biggest names in the DJ world at the moment?

 It's hard to say as there is a lot of genres to cover. I think the 'resurgence' (I say with just a hint of sarcasm) of house music is bringing a lot of people out, so people like Disclosure, Breach, Duke Dumont, Ben Pearce are all doing well. Then there's Rudimental, DJ Fresh etc in the commercial DnB area, then Martin Garrix has done really well with that 'Animals' tune, despite the fact its a re-hash of god knows how many other trance tunes and after recently hearing his next release, I think he'll die off fairly quickly. Others I guess are Steve Aoki,Avicii, Major Lazer etc. I think the really big DJ's are the established ones, people like Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, DJ EZ, who year in year out smash Ibiza, who don't even need to release 47 songs a year, but actually their name is enough to bring to people in. OH and Annie Mac, that's just 'cause I love her. Its a tough question to answer when you don't only focus on one genre!

Music and fashion are becoming more and more linked – does your career in DJing mean you have examples of this?

 Yes and no. I guess I could classified a little as a 'hipster' in the sense that I actively look for new and independent clothing labels to buy from, purely as there is only so much Topman/River Island I can take. I wouldn't say its particularly influenced by anyone in the scene, I think its just the mindset of a DJ is to be seen in things people won't have seen before and play tunes people haven't always heard, especially in the underground scene. But again its the genre that somewhat dictates it, from going to dubstep nights in sweaty London clubs to big house nights and things in between, the style changes every time. You get the rolled up jeans,white socks and nike airmax types at almost every house night, yet wouldn't see one at something like SYSTEM (a well established underground dubstep night). I do see a lot of DJ's in labels clothing, people like Rinse or Spinnin' or Tempa etc, big established labels in certain scenes. I myself have a few, but thats me fan-boying as much as liking the clothes.

Do you think being a DJ is a new trend? 

Absolutely not. As mentioned above I think its more accessible but there has been DJing going on for 20,30,40 years. I think the evolution of electronic music in the 80's definitely took it to a new place with the concept of music of a certain type being in a small range of BPM, allowing it to be mixed. Before that I guess it was someone putting on records people wanted to hear one after the other. These days, its all about fluidity, nice transitions, people losing themselves in the music then being swept back in by the vocal hook of a tune they know. I think dance music being in the charts has just made people jump on the bandwagon a bit more than previously.

Do you DJ for fun or in line for a career? – What do you like about it?

 Initially it was for fun, just another string to my musical bow. But now I've seen what it's like to be out playing live, that interaction between me and a crowd, I'm hooked and would love to pursue it as a career, but I think that means much more of a focus on production than more DJing. That's how all the big names get big, it may only take one song, but you get a song out that people know, not necessarily chart but being played out regularly, that's how your name gets put up on events, so I suppose that's my next job.

Do you get nervous before a gig? 

I'm normally incredibly calm about everything, to an annoying extent, but when it comes to DJing I get really nervous. I think its because I haven't played that many big gigs so therefore when something does come up and somebody chooses you to play there's a lot of pressure to really smash it. Luckily so far I've had good responses but I never want to get to the stage where the really important parts of being a DJ don't matter to me anymore, I hope in future to get bigger but I won't ever lose sight that people want to have a good time and expect you to be able to do that. I've got very little time for arrogance!