Meet The Artist: Interview with The Scribes
We’ve had the pleasure of kickstarting our interview series by catching up with the legendary Bristol-based hip hop collective The Scribes, to talk all things music-related. The Scribes are an award-winning Alternative Hip Hop group that have been making music for over a decade now. There unique off the cuff freestyling, and genre-spanning sound has formed a fan base and musical chemistry like no other; with their appeal spanning far beyond the confines of traditional Hip Hop. So be sure to check their music out and we hope you enjoy the interview!
So, Introduce yourselves?
Jonny: “Wha gwan, my name is Jonny Steele representing the darker shade of chocolate in this bountiful (and bounty-less) all-encompassing, crowd-pleasing music ensemble.”
Shaun: “Hi, my name’s Shaun Amos, I’m a rapper/producer for The Scribes, and I have no regrets about that life decision… No regrets at all dammit!”
How did you form as an “all-encompassing, crowd-pleasing music ensemble”? And why…?
Jonny: “Mainly due to a lack of other friendship groups.”
Shaun: “That and a desire to make groundbreaking Hip Hop music! We both got into writing raps at about the same time, and we’d been friends forever, so it was only natural that we’d start doing tracks together; and we haven’t looked back since!”
How would you guys describe the music you make?
Shaun: “Man, it varies so much! The head-nodding Hip Hop we tend to crack out for live shows is pretty far removed from some of the slower-paced projects we’ve done. We’ve got sample-based boom-bap tracks at 80bpm, guitar-heavy fast-paced bass boomers at 140 bpm, and everything in between. It’s always got a pretty solid hip hop/boom bap backbone though.”
Jonny: “Wordplay heavy, lyric–conscious, screwface-beat crunching puzzle-step… Depends, how we feel. Definitely mainly hip hop though…”
In relation to the style of music you make; who are your biggest influences?
Jonny: “I’d probably have to say Roots Manuva. As a black British less than conventional emcee with Caribbean influences, coming up when people in the UK were still looking to distinguish themselves as authenic Hip Hop artists, his sound was uniquely his. Also, the American rapper Pharoahe Monch was a gateway for many to the world of unconventinal wordplay and leftfield rap.”
Shaun: “I’m definitely on board with Pharoahe Monch and all of Rawkus Records, the label compilations like Soundbombing were a big influence growing up, they were my first idea of non-gangster hip hop. It was hearing conscious raps about down to earth topics that first made me think I could do it too. Then I started digging a bit deeper and found UK Hip Hop and it all fell into place. Braintax and all of Lowlife Records, Taskforce, Phi Life Cypher, Blak Twang, all big inspirations. I was also big into bands like Blur before then, and I think that sound is still a big part of my music, especially the more live instrument driven tracks that I make.”
So, what’s your typical music-making process?
Jonny: “We’ll usually just listen to beats and if a particular theme, hook or flow jumps at us we’ll get to writing. Working long-distance sometimes we’ll hear something the other hasn’t and the beat pick doesn’t make sense till one of us lays a vocal on it.”
Shaun: “If it’s a beat I’m making I tend to begin with a rough idea of where it’s heading based on what’s inspired me to start making it. If it’s a drum pattern or sample that’s the jumping-off point, it’ll likely head in a traditional hip hop direction, and if I’ve sat down and played something on guitar or piano that I like, the track will generally head in a more evolving composition direction. Then for writing lyrics as Jonny said, we tend to try and get a hook/theme together and then work on verses from there.”
following on from the previous question, describe a day in the studio with The Scribes then?
Jonny: “Procrastinating and then listening/crying to the same instrumental over and over again until the magic happens.”
Shaun: “Lots of that. We’ll be looping something over and over to try out different things. Then eventually there will be a moment when one of us suggests something and we’ll both be like yes, that’s the one!”
If you could collab with any UK artist/s who would it be?
Jonny: “Changes almost daily, it’s a good problem to have. Roots Manuva is generally the first pick for me though.”
Shaun: “Roots Manuva for sure. Blak Twang, Kashmere I really like. Dr Syntax is always a legend too.”
What are your interests aside from music?
Jonny: “Without music I am nothing. Video games, I guess. Oh, maybe kids? They’re not that interesting though, you’ve seen one you’ve seen ‘em all.”
Shaun: “To clarify, Jonny means his own kids, who keep him very busy and entertained outside of music. Like the cool, cool kid I am, I spend most of my time outside of music playing ridiculously complicated board games and watching New Japan Pro Wrestling.”
What’s your biggest/proudest musical moment up until now?
Jonny: “A toss-up between having Akil from Jurassic 5 feature on our EP and meeting someone who had gone through our music in-depth quoting their favourite lines that we’d long forgotten that makes you remember the impact your music can have on people.”
Shaun: “I’d say playing Glastonbury a few times, also playing Camden Jazz Cafe, that was like a mythical venue for UK hip hop growing up. Gigging out in Ibiza. There are so many things we’ve been able to do that I think of as being huge achievements, supporting some legends on tour, playing some big festival stages, it’s hard to say just one!”
If you had to give your fans/listeners one piece of advice what would it be?
Jonny: “Go back and listen again, you missed something. Also, support your local artists!”
Shaun: “Please do take the time to follow artists like us on your Spotify, subscribe to us on Youtube, join the mailing lists and everything else! It helps artists so much being able to let you know when new material comes out! Also share it if you like it, word of mouth is huge for us, especially when up against mainstream acts with much bigger marketing!”
What’s next for the scribes (any future releases)?
Shaun: “Next up is the release of the “Haunted House Party” music video on March 15th, you can sign up for the premier now at YouTube.com/scribesmusic. It’s for a track produced by J. Boom from Finland that was part of a double A-Side transparent 7” vinyl release we did with The Get Down Records. Excited about that dropping! Then the Totem Trilogy Part 2 EP, produced by Vice Beats, is dropping. That’s being mixed at the moment and features Dizzy Dustin from Ugly Duckling, and then it’s on to Totem Trilogy part 3 with Cut Beetlez! Plus maybe a few more releases along the way to fill in until we can hit the road again! The future is bright!”
Photo Credits - Rachael Amos (www.rachaelamosphotography.co.uk)
Merchandise/Clothing - Bones Apparel (bones-entertainment.com)
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