Hammtun!

Saints, Cobblers, Grafton street and 50p Lil aren’t the only things that Northamptonshire is known for. Here, we count down what we think are our Top Ten Moments of the year…

10. Hammtun goes live

The fact you’re reading this justifies our reason for launching this site in September and hence coming in at number ten, cheekily putting ourselves in there. Thank you, thank you. :)

9. Driza Bone Soul Family Movements

If you like Soul music, from Northampton, but dont know about Driza Bone, consider yourself a lost, well…soul. They are an int’l music and remixing musical ensemble, led by producers and musicians, Billy Freeman and Vincent Garcia. They are famous for their remix of Shaniece’s I Love Your Smile in the 90s, which then became bigger than the original mix. Last year, Billy revived the name with The Drizabone Soul Family, releasing the album All the Way featuring a new line-up of Northampton vocalists including Nataya, Anna Marie-Johnson, Shniece McMenamen, Denise Gordon, Anneka Johnson and Natalie Valentine. This year they continued to perform across the UK, including at the iconic Jazz Cafe in London, as well as a homecoming gig at The Picturedrome in October. Their next album is in production scheduled for an early summer release in 2012.

8. Yemi Pade on Channel AKA

Getting one video on Channel AKA is cool, but Northampton’s Yemi Pade (pronounced ‘Paid’) got a lot of TV exposure with not just his solo work but tracks with Bilal and Creepa got playlisted too, all while he’s still at Uni. For 2012, he says: “I’m working with some incredible songwriters and producers and will be back in the summer, bringing something totally different. There’ll also be some collabs with some amazing artists and by the end of the year the plan is to be familiar to a lot more people.”

7. Joseph ‘JP’ Patterson
‘The Steets is Writing’  

A Hammtun favourite (read Hero), the MTV Music Editor, BBC Radio 1 Correspondent, Grammys, Vibe, NME, Mixmag columnist from Wellingborough is probably the highest profile and most influential journalist and urban wordsmith from the Midlands.

He works hard and plays harder, getting close to artists, getting the interviews we wanna see and hear on TV, Radio and online. In an era where most writers get info of the web and produce their copy, JP is out on road daily, or should that be nightly (in the raves).

What’s amazing is, he’s only 23. Each year he adds another feather to his cap and we’re sure 2012 will be no different.
NN8 stand up!

6. The Farm Youth Club Closing Down

December 17 2011 will be remembered as a sad day for many musicians and young people in Northamptonshire. This was the day, after 32 years, that the youth club that saw so many crews form (Troopers Family, Outlawz, Feel No Way, Black Lion, Section 3 etc) close down due to lack of financial support from the County council. The land is being sold to make way for flats, as the council says it needs to pay its debts. Well, that tells you all you need to know about their priorities for the youth, but hey, what do we know? There aren’t many places in the county that will have such an impact on the local music scene for a generation we don’t think. RIP The Farm.

5. BBC Introducing at The Roadmender

BBC Introducing is nothing new, however in June it came to Northampton and was an incredible success. The idea was simple: unsigned hip hop, dance and rock artists collaborate on stage. But the reality was even more exciting as it quickly emerged that with so much music talent in the county, how come this hadn’t been done before? The evening was a creative musical mish mash of the ubiquitous Ceasar, Champagne Bubblee, Decibels, Jah Troopers, Council Kids, The Francis Jetty, Colt, The Rhyme Family etc. It was featured on BBC Radio Northampton, giving the artists even more exposure. This was deffo one of the highlights of the year and part-inspired the founding of this blog. 

4. Council Kids brand emerges, goes global

As well as shining at our number 5 entry, music collective Council Kids emerged as an act to watch out for in 2012. Versatile and connected with a number of different genres including Hip Hop and Drum and Bass, they performed nationally and internationally almost on a weekly basis in 2011, exporting Northants and UK music to the world. They (Kaotic, DizMack and Astro) supported legendary Hip Hop crew Bone Thugs n Harmony on their 2011 UK tour, have the Council Kids clothing brand, as well as filmed scenes for their part in the upcoming movie, Rose.

3. Smash Down TV’s movements

Over the past few years, video has emerged as the main content format by which music fans consume new music. YouTube makes it easy to access, discover and share new talent with SBTV leading the way. Outside London, there are several local music channels and film-makers, and in the Midlands, particularly Northamptonshire, there is OGTV, So So Blessed TV, The Rest and Smash Down TV. All three showcase local talent, but in just 120 days, the Smash Down TV brand has gone from just editing hood music videos to organising and hosting events like The Blok Sessions, capturing The Farm’s last day, producing full feature length videos, developing a clothing brand, and showcasing artists from the county, helping fans discover old, as well as emerging talents.

The success of the Blok Sessions shows that its what Smash Down does offline as well as online that makes it rise above the rest. If you combine this with artists work rate in Northants, especially SRE or Ceasar and his Undermine Regiment (who grinds more than most, off and online, including having the highest Smash Down TV view count to date) the scene is sure to grow well. We think they’ve done a pretty decent job so far bringing the scene closer this year. So much so, they are Hammtun partners. If the consistency with which it puts out videos on almost a daily basis continues, 2012 is gonna be a year for urban talent outside London to really shine, with Smash Down TV one of those holding the spotlight. 

2. The deaths at Lava and Ignite

In October, tragedy struck as two young students lost their lives after a stampede at the Wickedest Skank rave at Northampton’s Lava and Ignite. Nabila Nanfuka, a 23 year old Northampton University student died from injuries sustained as she was trampled on, during a rush to the exit. A second student, Laurene Jackson, died almost three weeks later in hospital from her injuries. The club shut down as an investigation is being carried out, had its licence suspended, while the parent company, Luminar, went into administration. The tragedy was covered nationally and highlighted club safety as rumours circulated that the venue was over capacity on that fateful night. One witness told Hammtun: “I got there, and they were letting people in without tickets, even though DNA [event organiser] had said that tickets were sold out. It shouldnt have happened. I saw bodies on the floor as we were walking out. I’ll never forget it.”

1. Ill Murk - Woy Yoy All Star Remix

We considered including multiple entries for Illy in this list and here are a number of reasons why: His mixtape, Wade In The Water; Supporting Bone Thugs and Harmony; his BBC Introducing performance; or his increased national radio exposure. But the top moment which tops them all, not just for Ill Murk but for the whole scene in Northants, was his selfless decision to include 11 Northamptonshire artists on the remix for his song Woy Yoy. It showed Northampton music at its best and showed the power of collaboration and established why Ill Murk comes up in every conversation about MCs from the county. Logistically, it would have been a nightmare, but it proved worth it as it was groundbreaking with so many artists from the same area, on the same track and the song actually being of a high quality. Like JP said, he’s shown the way, its up to the rest of the local scene now. Smart move and for that, the Woy Yoy All Star Remix (below) is the Top Hammtun Moment of 2011.

A very big shout out to all the artists who have shown nothing but love to us over the 3 months since we launched and the fans who check for Northampton music. Lets grow this little thing we are building together.

What moments will it be this time next year? What are you working on? Let us know holla@hammtun.co.uk