Big Dada Recordings |
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Interview with Jamie- Can you tell us about the history of Big Dada?
It was started in 1997 by Will Ashon, who is one of the premier British hip-hop journalists, working for a number of different magazines. He had this strong vision of progressive hip-hop and had found new artists like New Flesh and Roots Manuva who were interested in being signed up. He approached Ninja Tune to set up a subsidiary label to put out hip-hop from the UK, Americas, France or wherever he could find it. Peter Quicke, the Managing Director of Ninja Tune was interested and the label was set up.
- How much influence does Ninja Tune have on the creative output of Big Dada? |
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We have a very good relationship with them. Peter will allow Will to choose the artists for Big Dada. Ninja Tune don’t keep a close eye on us because they trust us to get on with it and find decent artists to sign. Peter does need to see the costings/budgets and sign-off on contracts but he doesn’t tend to get involved creatively at all.
- What style of music does Big Dada concentrate on? Is it only hip-hop?
Originally, it was hip-hop made by people with quite singular approaches to hip-hop which sounded new, original and less like the formulated 1990’s style of hip-hop. Artists like Roots Manuva are making hip-hop with a dub twist, New Flesh is making it more electronic and dark, and Ty has a very soulful approach to making hip-hop. |
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Beatport Player |
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- What is your job title within Big Dada?
I’m the Label Manager, I oversee manufacturing, distribution, marketing and promotion. I make sure the press/internet campaigns are happening and check that the DJ’s and shops are getting the right amount of music merchandise that they need. I also liaise with the Ninja Tune International Officer to make sure that we are being properly represented and promoted globally.
- As it is now 2007, do you have any 10 year anniversary plans for Big Dada?
We are currently putting together a CD/DVD compilation. It will be a video mash up and a 2 CD greatest hits compilation. We will be doing some shows from Diplo, Roots Manuva, Spank Rock and Wiley. |
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| The shows will be quite low-key and small so we can celebrate the underground scene. In general, this scene is not doing so well at the moment so it will be good to emphasise this.
- Is Big Dada popular abroad? In America, Europe or Asia?
We sell a good amount of records in France and Germany and sometimes in the Netherlands depending on what type of record it is. Diplo and Spank Rock are gaining popularity in America but usually it is very difficult to have good sales in the U.S. unless you are making quite mainstream records. We have a good market in Japan but it is difficult in other Asian countries like China and Thailand because of the bootlegging that goes on there. A company called Beat Inc. look after Ninja Tune and Big Dada’s affairs in Japan and they have been really great at promoting, distributing and organising shows for us.
Youtube : Spank Rock Interview |
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- How many demo’s do you get in your letterbox per month?
We receive approximately twenty per week. But we also get a lot of emails/messages asking us to check out artist’s Myspace webpages which is actually much easier and causes much less waste! Also, I would like to add a tip for anyone who wants to send us a demo: Don’t spray your CD’s because we won’t listen to them in our computer!
- What kinds of music are you getting on the demo’s?
Some people haven’t really done their research on us at all and will send us music that is irrelevant to our label. |
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For example, we have been sent from pop music to one-man guitar ballads to proper Indie bands. However, most of the time, we get sent very traditional hip-hop or British people trying to make Gangsta Rap.
- What do you think of the UK music scene at the moment?
I feel that the kudos of being an independent is not at an all-time high. Nowadays, it seems that if you are part of a major label, you will be taken more seriously, and that the music must be good just because it is on a major label. This happened in British black music; where it seemed that many major labels suddenly became interested in hip-hop again, like label 679 on Warner records. Hopefully, it will swing around again and there will be more interest in underground labels like Big Dada again.
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The renaissance in Rock music is also a really great thing in UK music now. I think Jamie T had one of the best albums of 2006. Also, the Grime scene is still going really well too. I think it’s the most exciting scene to have emerged recently. It has democratized MC’s to the point where the lyrics and delivery can be pretty bad yet overall, the track can still sound really good. MC’s that really stand out include Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Kano, Jammer and Reco. Overall, I think it’s a really good time to be in London.
- So what’s the plan for Big Dada in the near and distant future?
Recently, we have diversified a little bit. Originally, the intention was to be a purely black music label. |
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However, we have now signed artists like Spank Rock who are still termed as hip-hop but with much more of an electronic edge to them. Our aim has been to put out interesting records that were artful, had artistic integrity and to release them properly packaged to the most amount of people possible and presented in the best possible way. This has not changed and it is what we need to continue to be known for in the future.
Big Dada Recordings : http://www.bigdada.com
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