The overwhelming feeling conveyed by a lot of music coming out of our cities at the moment is irony. Would you expect anything less from a post-9/11 British youth? Our country’s inimitable, incisive sense of humour is a genuine reason to feel patriotic. It’s a fantastic way of coping with things: at once positively engaging with politics and also taking things with a pinch of salt. It’s imperative that we laugh at ourselves. Which could be why the popularity of Grime continues to rise. There are many angry, politically charged tracks coming out of this genre. But, at all times, they wear a comedic veil. And, obviously, they are the unmistakable soundtrack of British party time.

In step Lord of the Tings, the Albion-trotting promoters who offer a showcase of not just Grime, but  its also its accompanying genres of UK Funky, dancehall and rap to get the party started. With a humorous name like that, we were curious to see what Isaac Carter-Allen and Hugo Livsey had to say for themselves ahead of their visit to Wire on 16th February with Murlo & Deadboy.

 

How did Lord of the Tings come about? What sort of things have you been doing since you started?

Lord of the Tings came about when Isaac decided he wanted to throw parties specifically using people he knew as djs, but importantly people who played a range of music that wasn’t represented well under one banner in Manchester. There were, and still are, plenty of quality nights run in Manchester that we were all into, but there wasn’t one that brought all these styles of music together, especially not to a large student audience. The student orientated ones that played various genres are pretty commercial and focus far less on the music. We took a gamble, and were heavily reliant on the support of our friends to succeed(which we are very grateful for), and luckily it paid off. Since then, we’ve thrown numerous parties in Manchester and London, and played a few festivals including Parklife and Strawberries & Creem.

What brings you to Leeds?

Much like Manchester and London, Leeds has a forward-thinking, wide ranging musical culture. Also, quite a few of our friends who go to uni in Leeds have recommended that we make the trip. Wire has received high praise from everyone we’ve spoken to, and the fact that such big DJ’s regularly play in such an intimate venue really reflects the Wire’s credentials as one of the best in the country.

Your name is clearly tongue in cheek. How did you settle on it? And do you think that humour comes along with the genres of music that you exhibit?

Ha yeah its just a joke name that Isaac came up with after watching the film,  but let us just clarify that this is not used in a derogatory way towards women, as it could maybe be misconstrued to mean – just making sure people know that! There was some opposition initially, but the name was agreed upon. We think its important to have a light hearted name though, because even though we take the music seriously, we want people to leave any ego at the door and get loose.  Also, the genre’s of music we play (Grime, UK Funky, Dancehall etc) are genre’s people should let themselves go to. It’s important to create an environment where people don’t feel intimidated, and are comfortable.

What draws you to the types of club music you play?

It’s just the music we love and always have loved. We tend to gravitate towards music that people love to dance to, we’re massive fans of energetic parties that satisfy a variety of tastes, and that’s what we aim to throw.

You’ve had a lot of interest in the event at Wire in February. What’s the secret to running a successful club night? What sort of vibe do you want to create at your party?

Yeah, we’re really happy with the reception this ones received, we weren’t aware people in Leeds knew much about us. It’s a city thats very musically in-tune, so news of Murlo & Deadboy definitely helped with this. In terms of running a successful club night, part of it is definitely luck and timing, but also just playing the music and booking the DJ’s you love. Most of the nights that fail were started purely for financial gain, by people who may not actually know a lot about the genres of music they’re trying to capitalise off of. We still have a long way to go, and there definitely isn’t a particular blueprint, but you need to be passionate about things.

Lastly, could you give us five tracks that indicate the sort of thing we might hear at a Lord of the Tings event?

 

Click HERE to see the full event page.

 

Oliver Walkden