Well, to my shame I only heard about these chaps very recently. I was in Rarekind when HP stuck on a 7” that just had a really different sound. I investigated further. It turned out to be a release from the small independent label 27 Beats Entertainment “Dream Farm / A Remote World”.

27 Beats Entertainment pride themselves on their packaging game and this is no different. Renowned comic artist Sean Duffield (Paper Tiger Comix) provides the cover art, reminiscent of classic 60’s psychedelic poster art, which perfectly compliments the vivid, dream based sounds of the music inside. If that isn’t enough there are also inserts, designed by See himself, with lyrics. Perfect if you like to get your geek on and read along with the rappers. I was immediately impressed with the little package. With a limited run of 250 copies these pieces of wax are really collectable. It encourages me as a promoter of an independent website/night to know there are other people out there putting out quality releases for the love of the music.

The release features some established artists amongst some that are well worth keeping an eye on. Dream Farm is graced with the presence of Beer & Rap’s Dr.Syntax and Jon Clark with the beat produced by See.

On the flip is the track A Remote World. It is described as “the grey area between being asleep and being awake is explored from 3 different perspectives while the expert cuts link the verses with subtle dexterity”. Collaborating on this one are Rup, Mole, Enlish and DJ Manipulate.

So with this in mind I decided to contact the man at the top of 27 Beats and find out more about what they are all about.

Sup, See? First off props on your website. I had a sneaky peek earlier and it was really refreshing to see some ‘real’ talk. Keeping as close as you can to the facts, can you tell me more about the background and beginnings of 27 Beats?

Rup - Me and See used to make shitty pause-mix tapes, then we made shitty punk rock, then we made shitty hip-hop. See went to do some kind of lame art course or something down in Brighton and met Naim who is from Denmark. Back then Naim had an afro and liked scratching records. I used to visit Brighton to smoke piff with See and get turned away from clubs for looking about 12. We all started making music together as Born Again Heads. We made a little tape called Mixed Nutz Vol.1 which some people seemed to like. We did a number of shows as which seemed to go ok, mainly due to Naim and his afro. Then for some reason I came to Brighton and we all moved in together (no homo). Ever seen the Real World on MTV? It was like that when we were living together.

We made Mixed Nutz Vol.2 during that strange period. Timmy Miller also lived with us and was an enigmatic character who was essential to the development of 27 Beats Entertainment. Nowadays I’m nursing a serious smack habit, See is a world reknowned fine artist, Naim is a big pop star and Timmy Miller will murk me if I even give a hint of what he’s up to.

See – Rup pretty much summed it up. He forgot to mention how our survival as a group relied heavily on collectively being fuelled by free burgers from the local burger place. Martha Wilson our secretary hooked that up. Naim on the beats, me and Rup on the raps, we are Born Again Heads. Me and Rup have been making noise together since around ’95 I think?! In the start Rup used to scream his ass off and I was breaking guitar strings. Then we somehow converted to hip hop in late ’96 and started a group called Main Aim with a couple of other rappers we met through the back page of HHC. The 27 Beats/Born Again stuff began in late ’99. Since Naim moved away to Copenhagen it has been difficult to keep Born Again functioning properly. 27 Beats is a looser way of keeping everyone involved.

Ok, so there’s a few heads involved, can you give us a quick roll-call?

Rup - Me, See, Naim, Timmy Miller, Barry Van Dyke, Jesus and my boy Teddy Mohammed. People like The Evil Sun, Jon Clark and a few others have all been heavily involved at points as well.

See – 27 Beats operates as a vehicle. People hop on board and get off as they please. Before there were a few drivers working shifts but now as I am the only driver I cannot operate without breaks, which is why things take so long. Anyhow, the route is usually the same and sometimes the same people are waiting at the same stops and they frequent the journey. Sometimes, however, the route is diverted and people that have not as yet been encountered hop on for a short ride too. Rup, Naim, Miller, myself, and to some degree Evil Sun and Jon Clark pretty much built the vehicle. Others such as Jack Baker, Koobs, and Steve Clear were also around and part of our environment. It’s like a network of cousins. Some you see more frequently than others. Sometimes you have a big family meal. Bosko, Applehead Bone Daddy, Angelface Jones Deficit, Gabriel, Kope, Winstan. We’re all ingredients. Some are used more than others. Our recipes run deep.

With a number of you involved is it difficult moving forward and getting shit done?

Rup - Hells fucking yeah it’s tough. That’s why See does it all these days.

Naim - Yes, very. But then again we do other stuff, like Babcock. More about being experimental and having fun and less about trying to make it.

See – Sighs.

What’s the motivation behind what you do? Music, love, money or bitches? Or a combination?

Rup - Make the music, get the money and then the bitches will love you. Holla!

Naim - You mean girls? Yeah, that and other humans such as men, children and old people. I love creating music, it makes me forget about my time and place. I would love to make money on it. Would give me more energy not having to work full time doing some other shit..

See – Hmmm.. never really thought about it before. I suppose my motivation is addiction? I can’t say it is money. Love creates the music to some degree, but I’m not sure the music creates love. Does there have to be a reason?

The artwork really works with your releases. Does the music influence the artwork or vice versa?

Rup - The artwork used to be mainly influenced by the socially and financially crippling skunk habits we had. Nowadays I don’t even know what’s going on most of the time, let alone what influences artwork. See does a lot though.

See – Even before people buying downloads (which is a good enough reason to up your packaging game) I’ve always been into the whole package of buying music and artwork and thinking it is important they go hand in hand. So much artwork is uninspired and thrown together quite coldly. If you look back to even flyers for punk rock shows in the ‘80s or psychedelic bands in the ‘60s you have carefully executed artwork, and that’s just for one off gigs! There is less thought than that put into packaging whole albums nowadays in some cases. I think also, it is nice for a label to have its own identity, obviously in the music it puts out but also in visual terms.

If you look at SST, home of Black Flag, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Husker Du, they had a great package every time. I find that very admirable. I also like the personal touch you get by doing your stuff DIY. I scalpel the covers and cut out the centers and stick them all on individually. Probably not necessary but I believe it makes a small difference. Also, musicians designing their own artwork is an interesting thing for me as you get the 100% creativity from one source. Captain Beefheart, The Meat Puppets, Wesley Willis and Daniel Johnston have all done this and it accompanies the music within the packaging so well. On the personalised releases topic, back in the early ‘80s when Daniel Johnston completed an album, he’d re-record the whole album, all the songs, actually play the instruments and sing from the first song to the last, each time he wanted to make a new copy to sell or give to someone. All originals. Now that is a stupendously personal touch.

To date what’s been your biggest achievement?

Rup - I made a pasta sauce with roasted vegetables the other day. I’ve also lived for a quarter of a century. My debut solo album dropped without a trace as well which I’m pretty proud about.

Naim - Within the 27beats space I would say Mixed Nutz Vol. I + II. But I would also say it has been a big achievement maintaining working processes whilst being in different countries.

See – In music, little bits here and there such as actually being able to put out a series of 7” records, making a music video with long time friend and affiliate Winstan Whitter, Being involved in the soundtrack to his movie ‘Rollin Through The Decades’, making the 27 Beats movie ‘Flip’ which features all sorts of cousins, playing live outside of this country, getting BBC Radio 1 airplay. The whole thing is run in quite a random way so to be able to achieve these things without a well thought out plan is good enough for me. We don’t have a secretary any more so it is hard to stay on top of things.

What ambitions do you all have? Are they collective or individual?

Rup - I want my picture to appear in the Evening Standard magazine at one of those exclusive parties with a rockstar’s daughter on my arm and a Saville Row suit on my back. I’m sure everyone shares that ambition with me. I would also love to have a writing credit on a number one song, open a chain of posh fried chicken shops and write a book about the wildlife of South London.

Naim - I want to travel a lot, I want to spend a lot of time in the UK. I want to continue making music and I would also like to make a living on it. (of course this is just music wise..)

See – I want I want I want. I would like to see through all these projects that are lurking around incompletely. I would say what they are but for some reason I’d rather just try to introduce them to the world surprisingly out of nowhere if they ever get done. Otherwise they get old quicker for everyone else. Especially at the slow rate things happen around here. Hmmm…I think it would have been an achievement if we had finished ‘Leaving Somewhere New’, the Born Again Heads album a few years back. There are about 13 tracks or so with all the raps recorded. Just needed a few scratches, instruments, and some of the tracks needed mixing. Unfortunately we never got it together. If it had come out back in 2004 when the stuff was pretty much left, that would have been interesting. You can hear 4 of the songs here: www.myspace.com/bornagainheads I was thinking of maybe uploading the unfinished album at some point maybe…

Are there any MCs/DJs/Producers you’d like to have on forthcoming releases?

Rup - Lil’ Wayne, Joanna Newsom, Justice, Burial and The Knife.

See – Just a couple of handfuls of people around me that I know. At the moment I am juggling several handfuls of guest spots and I only have two pairs of hands, which makes it difficult to contain them all. In fact, there’s just over half a bus-full of guests involved. Hopefully this will materialise into something monstrously sickening.

How many releases have you done to date and where can they be pur-chased?

Rup- As 27 Beats there’s Mixed Nutz Vol. 1 which is unavailable, Mixed Nutz Vol. 2 which can probably be got somewhere if you really must have it and then there’s the 3 limited 7’s which are all at various degrees of availability. Check the 27 Beats Myspace for combo deals on the 7’s and some download action. I’ve got an album out on Zebra Traffic right now called Rup On Zebra which features some songs previously released on 27 Beats.

See – Yeah, the best prices for our stuff will undoubtedly be on our myspace page: www.myspace.com/27beatsentertainment Alternatively, Suspect Packages online store have some stuff, Rarekind in Brighton and online, Sister Ray in Soho, HQ in Brixton… Our latest release is Dream Farm/A Remote World 7” which is two songs about dreaming featuring passengers Rup, the homie Mole from Mole and Iris, and our pal Enlish from Genius Squad/Imagineers on vocals with DJ Manipulate on the terrific cuts on A Remote World. The brethren Dr.Syntax and Jonathan Clark discuss matters over my production on Dream Farm. I am on the beats for both. Sean Duffield of Paper Tiger Comix on the cover art. I did some drawings that you will find inside the sleeve with lyrics on the reverse. Naim will have some stuff out soon too I think. Innovative, catchy, and crazy. Check him out: www.myspace.com/naimnafar

Do you have any gigs coming up that we can check out?

See – Haven’t done a gig in years.

Rup - Check the Rup Myspizzle (www.myspace.com/rupthecnut) for gigs. I usually add them pretty late. Hopefully Naim will be over doing shows next year which should be massive as the guy is a genius and does some funny little dances. We haven’t done a show as Born Again Heads for ages. We might do some kind of reunion on a Take That flex in about 10 years though still.

The important questions:

Whats your favourite TV show?

Rup - Coast, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Adventures In Hollyhood and Hogan Knows Best.

See – I pretty much only watch awkward films.

Naim - Right now it’s Family Guy. I can watch it with my kids and they love it! Other than that I love food programmes.

What’s your favourite place to go out for a meal?

Rup - Go out for a meal? How much money do you think I have? I eat stuff from bins mainly.

Naim - At a friend’s house or at home.

See – Rup, me, and the homie Reps recently went for a Columbian lunch in Brixton which was super stupendous. I like cooking though, so home is good. I like chopping ingredients up into tiny pieces using the longest method to get there.

Who would this world be better without?

Rup - Humans obviously.

Naim - The big ego-man.

See – Two faced backstabbers can suck a pachyderms dick. Cold hearted mean spirited insensitive types can lick a lamas ass. Balance disturbers.

Lastly, please take this opportunity to give shout outs to relevant affiliates –

Rup - All my hustling motherfuckers.

See – All the genuine homies out there doing their bit to keep this crappy lo-fi weirdo shit alive. Also, it is important that shout out Conflix for preaching the Haribo. Life is all about them sweet little things that keep us going.

www.27beats.co.uk