Responsible for blessing us with classics like ‘People Under the Weather’, ‘The Homecoming’ and ‘So Northern’ the soon to be mayor of Huddersfield is back teaming up with old foe DJ IQ on his new album ‘A Loop Theory’. A psychedelic success transporting us to the extreme realms of Hip Hop, the album sees collaborations from friends past and present. And seeing as it’s been longer then a minute since he passed through, UKHH thought it was high time we got personal with the ‘man with the plan’ as he talks left over pizza’s, life away from YNR and 09 being the time to shine…
UK Hip-Hop has been getting more media attention (although not enough); I hear Sarah Love is a fan. How does it feel to hear your tunes on mainstream Radio?
It feels really good, can’t front, especially knowing the fact she has high standards, She really knows her music, I don’t really see many Hip Hop dj’s fucking with her right now, male or female. We need more djs like her on even bigger stations like radio 1 it’s the only way were gonna break through. Gotta give a shout out to DJ MK & Mista Jam they’ve both shown me support that I’m mad grateful for as well.
Now with a second album close to completion, an array of mixtapes dropped and cameos on varies crème de la crème of the scenes projects, has your lifestyle changed much since this all began?
Er no not really, my outlook on life has though. I definitely understand the value of time & space and obviously money, I’ve made a little bit of cash from music but nothing that could change my life I’m still broke on the wide-world scale of things, Trying to buy a house with this LP though!
Walk us through a typical day in the Life of Asaviour.
Get up
Cuppa Tea
Food ( toast, fry up, cereal or left over pizza )
Check my emails
Pick the phone up kick some arse
Maybe Drop by Apatights Studio (beat him up on the xbox, work on some material)
Check my emails again
Make some more calls
Maybe bun a zoot
Make some more calls
Link my other fam maybe Big Tony
May work on some more music
Go see a man about a dog (You Get Meh?)
Maybe work on some lyrics
Make some more calls
Head home
Get fed
Watch some TV, movies
Strap up a fat zoot.
Bed (thinking of what needs to get dealt with tomorrow)
What’s been the best experience of your career so far?
Er… have to think… er I guess finishing this album. The gigs and travel and everything else that comes with that are amazing. But the feeling of completion is sooo good.
Tell us a little about Saving Grace.
Its just a little imprint I started in order to get the music out that I wanted how I wanted
You’re releasing the new material under your own label right? Is that an attempt to distance yourself from YNR?
Ha ha nah man just to make some money lol, Its defiantly true I represent a different outlook on music, I want to release various different material that doesn’t really fit into the YNR scheme. YNR Productions is a UK Hip Hop label, where as Saving Grace is more about just good music regardless of genre.
Are you still in close contact with the labels artists or Tommy Evans?
Yeah I’m in contact with every rapper I’m cool with regardless of what direction they’ve taken in life, I’m not really the type of person to chill with you just because you’re into Hip Hop or how good you are at rapping or producing, that’s gay as fuck to be honest. I separate the artist from the person I always have. Tommy to me is good peoples so I’ll always have time for him, I still chat to Usmaan aswell.
Yorkshire keeps bringing the consistent quality in terms of new artists, recently with Jack Flash. Do you think the north gets its due props compared to the south?
No way, but that’s due to the fact media is so London centered and Hip Hop journalists can be quite lazy at times, quite a few journalists just write about what’s under their nose rather than what’s good.
There was a point where you were juggling your music and an education, what were your studying? And why did you choose to keep focus on completing your studies?
Yes I studied in Manchester – Music Technology, which was kinda cool as it sat directly with what I was pursuing. But the thing was I couldn’t just make music all day I’d have to actually study, shit like Electronics, Advanced Synthesis, Psychoacoustics, Music Theory, Music Business and a whole heap of other craziness. At times you’d be so fed up of hearing music it would be hard to focus and finish my side projects.
I chose to focus on the studies because at the time being a rapper in the UK wasn’t a realistic career option, I started making music for just the pure love of it so there were no massive plans for career in music just a kind of “lets see what happens” attitude.
Along with your LP of course, what other new music would you suggest we keep our eyes out for; I mean what was the last album you bought?
I mean I listen to a lot of different types of music though I truly only think there are two types – good & bad. I think it was either the MGMT album Oracular Spectacular (Bit Mad) or The P Brothers – The Gas not sure but both sick albums in their own right
Looking back to the early days, you appeared on a lot of artists’ tracks and gave a lot of support but with your ill debut ‘Borrowed Ladder’ and now the collaborative project with DJ IQ there’s a real sense you’re concentrating on Asaviour. Is this a fair assumption?
Yeah I feel I’ve paid my dues, and I’ve got a vision I want to execute and it won’t get realized unless I take it in my own hands and do it, to be honest my career has suffered due to the fact I wasn’t confident enough to take my sound forward earlier, I used to listen too much to my peers then one day I just realised “ fucking hell I’m bored” i’m not feeling that beat or I can’t relate to that rhyme so started to focus a bit more on my own
What can we aspect from A-Loop Theory?
The best UK Hip Hop album ever created in the history of all time!!!!
Nah nah just good music that’s about stuff you can relate to, we tried to push the envelope and experiment without it being on some weirdo shit.
Any interesting collaborations?
Grazella – she’s fucking gifted man! She’s a singer & rapper and in a group with DJ IQ & Skrein called Mama Said…….Er Thabo he’s a male vocalist with some real potential…..Also I was real happy to be working with TB again we did a sick track together on my Play To Win 2 mixtape. He destroyed a track on the album called Hustle & Hope.
Along with DJ IQ you also had a hand in production right?
Yep, some beats were made by me and then IQ would add little touches if needed and vise versa IQ might start a beat and I might play some keys over it or something. but mainly it was just us vibing in the lab blazing it down and catching joke…
Looking to the future what have we got to look forward too?
I’m a good way into my production LP called NextSkool Klassiks, I was aiming at bringing it out earlier but then I realized it wasn’t NextSkool enough so I went back to the drawing board and have come up with some interesting stuff. I got big aims for that project. I’m also working with a number of different artists from different genres and levels of status in the industry rapping, producing, remixing etc just trying to keep it moving…
Asaviour & DJ IQ ‘The A Loop Theory LP’ is out March 23rd on CD and download, pre-order it now from saving-grace.co.uk
– Ali Raymond