‘Kind of Peace’ is the second release from Hull based Hip-Hop label A Bridge Too Far Recordings. It features the production skills of Hull based beat maker Pat D accompanied by the smooth and honest lyricism of Midlands based female emcee Lady Paradox. The album features 14 tracks of Jazzy soulful based Hip-Hop fused with down to earth, yet meaningful lyrics provided by Lady Paradox and guests.

The album also boasts several guest appearances from some of the UK’s finest emcees and singers, such as Karizma, Sam Sure, Logan, Lauren Jade and Selone. The album will be available late summer on CD format.

Yo – right first up, bring us up to speed on your story so far. How did you guys hook up?

Pat D: We hooked up when I was told about Lady P by another emcee. I contacted her and we exchanged ideas. It just moved from there and we both felt good about the music we were making and decided to embark on an album. I had a release previous to this one on 12” vinyl with an American emcee called Melodiq and felt that this was a nice second release.

Lady P: That isn’t true at all. I met Pat in a dark alley and he threatened to steal my whole vinyl collection if I refused to work on an album with him. So I did.

Haha. I see Pat’s based in Hull and Lady P is based in the Midlands. Does the distance get in the way or is your contact mostly internet based?

Pat D: Contact began on the internet but we met before we did any tracks and Lady P came to Hull to record the album. The distance isn’t a massive problem really but the internet is really useful if we need to send beats and ideas to each other at short notice.

Lady P: The distance isn’t a problem for Pat because I travel there and back on numerous occasions, witnessing the diabolical midland mainline service. He just sits about waiting.

I guess today with the help of broadband distance isn’t so much of an issue. So you’ve been working together for a while, tell us more about your current project Kind of Peace –

Lady P: It’s a conceptual idea and all the tracks seemed to flow into one another, all on a jazzy sort of vibe. All the features add another dimension to the album… we just did what we felt. We’re not trying to please anyone but if they like it that’s a good feeling.

Yeah, sure. What other artists have you got on the album?

Pat D: There are several featuring artists on the album, both singers and emcees. Emcees include Sam Sure, a Canterbury based emcee doing some really good stuff on Canteen records with Giacomo. Also there’s Logan, a really talented emcee from Essex who I think has just put out a CD of solo work. Then lastly on the emcee front there is Karizma, Notts based emcee who is pretty well established on the UK scene. We were also really lucky to get a couple of singers involved, firstly Lauren Jade features on the hooks of a few tracks, she has a really good voice, and brings a very nice element to the tracks she features on. Then Selone is a singer from London who I’ve done a good amount of work with in the past, she is a talented singer and writer and managed to get the track done at really short notice, which was nice.

I see its being released on CD format. We at Blunted have just released our own CD, LMFLH Vol.2 and its proving quite a challenge to shift them. Is the age of CD almost gone?

Pat D: I’m not sure that it’s gone, but the music industry is definitely changing how it sells and its becoming more difficult to sell on any format. I guess when music is freely available for download then people have a hard time adjusting back to paying for things. I think that there are still plenty of people out there who care enough about the music which hopefully means that CD and vinyl wont die out just yet.

I hope CDs and vinyl survive too! So looking to the future, what do you hope to achieve?

Lady P: To keep making music I enjoy and get on tracks with people whose music I like.

Pat D: I hope to continue working with talented and intelligent artists, making music I enjoy and can look back on and feel proud of.

Some important questions:

Whose your favourite UKHH act right now?

Pat D: Too many to mention really but a few that spring to mind are Sam Sure, Braintax, TY, Lady Paradox, Giacomo, Harry Love, Verb-T, Yungun……. Have I listed too many?

Lady P: Logan & Yungun, TY, Jehst

Whose the worst?

Pat D: Again, there’s quite a lot, but can’t really think of anyone.

What’s your favourite TV show?

Pat D: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Lady Paradox: Spaced

What’s your favourite meal?

Pat D: Some form of Chinese food, or a Thai curry.

Lady P: Nandos

London or New York?

Pat D: London, I’m not sure why.

Lady P: New York by day, London by night

Right, well thanks for taking the time out to answer the questions and all the best with Kind of Peace and your future releases.

Interview by: Tyranny

www.abridgetoofarrecordings.com
www.myspace.com/kindofpeace
www.myspace.com/ladyparadox
www.myspace.com/patrickdooner