Foreign Beggars
have been in the game for a number of
years, enjoying a steady and consistent climb to the impressive position they
hold today, recognised at the fore of several urban and electronic genres, and
frequently collaborating with a variety of prominent artists from a range of
musical scenes.
The current band line up consists of MCs Orifice Vulgatron and
Metropolis backed up on-stage with DJ Nonames and in the studio by producer Dag
Nabbit. Even in their earliest form, the Foreign Beggars outfit showed no
interest in being a one trick pony, combining influences at the time from from UK hip hop, drum and bass, grime and rap, all of which audible in their
subsequent productions.
The band really rose to prominence with their various
collaborations in the late 2000s, criss-crossing genres with artists like
Plastician, Chasing Shadows, Flux Pavillion and, crucially, masters of
technical drum and bass Noisia, with whom they put together the huge hits 'Contact', 'No Holes Barred' and more recently 'Shellshock'.
Foreign Beggarsare known for the consistent high
quality and high energy nature of their live performances, of which they
somehow now deliver over a hundred every year. 2011 was no exception, featuring
an international tour with The Prodigy not to mention their own intensive
Burnout Tour.
We chat to
the guys, getting the lowdown about life on the road, their various past, present
and future collaborations and the seemingly unstoppable rise of this British institution.
Foreign
Beggars are clearly on the up and up at the moment but, it hasn't always been
big shows and headline tours. At what point would you say things really took
off for you as a group, when Foreign Beggars really found their feet?Metropolis - Well we’ve always been hard on the
grind, so our progress has been slow but steady. I think one thing that really
has really helped the group has been our ongoing collab with
Noisia, in particular
the track
Contact. While the song received no airplay the global response has
been huge with over 5 million views for the video on youtube. I’d say that’s
been more important for us than charting number 7 with
Badman Riddim (Jump)
because that really blew the doors open for us worldwide and got us a lot of
attention.
In
certain circles Noisia are considered to be technically some of the best
producers in the world. Was it ever daunting to work with them? and did you
guys learn a lot from the experiences?
M-Being in the studio with those guys is
like going to Ghetto’s ‘Mountain’. You have to bring you’re A game. But what’s
cool is we all get along real well and we’re quite relaxed about things, making
music together has been a natural process where we make serious tracks then
make some fun tracks too. One of the best joints we made which will never see
the light of day was a joint called
Chicken Fillet Sandwich. You get the
idea.
Orifice Vulgatron - Those guys are really incredible and
being in that studio with them kind of forces you to step up. I wouldn’t say it
was daunting, coz I think we connected really well and were a good fit, but I
would say it’s been challenging in a good way.
Are
there any other producers you've come across in your careers who's abilities
in the studio have really blown you away?
M- A lot of the time you don’t really
get to see the producer at work in the lab, we normally get beats by email and
write to them. I’d say the drum and bass guys are incredible. I’ve been in the studio
with
Alix Perez and also Subfocus. They’re both incredible producers,
technically really skilled but also gifted musicians.
2011
was obviously a big year for you guys, it must have been amazing to tour with
the Prodigy? Any stories from the road you'd care to share?M- We toured with the Prodigy last year, that was a real special
experience. Firstly to be called on tour by them and to meet the guys was an
honour in itself, let alone to share the stage. There was one point we found a
spot right by the side of stage, we were filming and the guitarist came, picked
up a crash cymbal, chucked it in our direction and half mooned us. Slightly
disturbing, but hilarious!
Nonames-
The Prodigy have been touring longer
than we’ve been shaving , (maybe not OV, but he’s Indian..) they’ve all got
families and are so used to the lifestyle so it’s really nothing to them..
another day in the office.. Saying that, here’s a couple stories we probably
shouldn’t repeat, they know where we live..
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