NORMAL NOT NOVELTY

Head down to the Red Bull Studios on Earlham Street, on August 20 from 7pm, to take part in the Normal Not Novelty workshop, which is running as a special Notting Hill Carnival takeover. Br3nya, Alicai Harley, Tiffany Calver, Karmah Cruz and host Lil C (of Reprezent Radio) will be taking part in DJ, production and engineering workshops for women and women-identifying music creatives. Past workshops have included the likes of Nightwave, Shanti Celeste and A.G in recent months. It’s free to attend but spaces are scarce, so make sure you RSVP here.

SPICE

Spice, the supreme queen of dancehall, will be talking to Sian Anderson for a huge, in-depth conversation at Subterania on August 22. Together, Spice—real name Grace Hamilton—and Sian will go through Hamilton’s career, from her childhood in Finsbury Park to her return to Jamaica and the stardom she found there. They’ll also dissect her work with legends like Beenie Man and Vybz Kartel, her Grace Hamilton Women Empowerment Foundation (GHWEF), and the realities of being a woman working in the music industry.

REFRACTIONS

On August 30, Fabric will be playing host to a special Refractions night, opening up all three rooms for a night of grime, bass music, jungle, dubstep, breaks, UKG and more. MCs Yizzy, Manga St. Hilare and Lioness will be joined by an endless list of your favourites, most notably several members of the scene-conquering 6 Figure Gang; L U C Y, Sherelle, Fauzia and Jossy Mitsu. Fans of their increasingly popular Rinse FM show will already be firmly on board, but anyone who’s ever caught one of L U C Y’s Keep Hush events or any of Sherelle’s headline-stealing sets will owe it to themselves to be there.

WRETCH 32, STEEL BANGLEZ & MORE

On September 6, Kieran Yates will be hosting an event at The British Library, including live performances and a discussion panel. On the night, Yates, along with Wretch 32, Steel Banglez, AM and Bridget Minamore, will be unpacking the multicultural confluences that have come together to give London the rich and vibrant language and scenes it enjoys. Specifically, they’ll be looking at it through the lens of speech, slang and storytelling, connecting it to society, politics and immigration, celebrating and analysing everything that makes the myriad cultures—from grime and Afrobeats to R&B and rap—what they are today. Performances and music from Kenny Allstar and James Massiah, too.

NiNE8

NiNE8—the expansive collective which counts Biig Piig, Bone Slim, kxrn, Lava La Rue, Libs, Lorenzo, Mac Wetha, Nayana IZ and Nige as members—will be taking over Westbank Studios on September 7 for a night of rap, R&B and club music. Lava La Rue may be the first of the crew’s breakout stars, but Biig Piig and the rest aren’t far behind. NiNE8 boasts a skillset you wouldn’t believe. Singing, rapping, production, fashion designers and visual artists… the West London crew really has no need to look beyond their own for anything they decide to do. There’ll be performances on the night from NiNE8 as well as talks from various members about their community and how they’ve built a DIY creative force from a close group of friends.

SO SOLID CREW

On Sunday 8th September, So Solid Crew will be heading to the Union Car Park, just south of the Thames, along with Todd Edwards, DJ Q, Jeremy Sylvester, Mike Millrain, Riz La Teef, Anz, A-BEE, MC Creed, MC PSG, and special guest Ms. Dynamite. They’ll be uniting underground bangers with laid-back bubblers to pay homage to the Sunday Scene that was so integral to UKG’s long life. Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the last 20-plus years may have an idea of what to expect, but for anyone yet to get acquainted with the more melodic, laid-back side of the genre will be in for a treat.

NORMAL NOT NOVELTY (SEPTEMBER EDITION)

For the September edition of the Normal Not Novelty series, Cooly G, Lady Lykez and Loraine James will be talking at the Hyperdub curated special (September 10). As with the Carnival takeover, this will be a unique opportunity for women and female-identifying producers and creatives to get advice from three creatives who have forged their own paths in the industry. Cooly G’s technical prowess as both a producer and DJ is unrivalled and any aspiring artist in need of tips should be falling over themselves to catch some pearls of wisdom. Hyperdub’s most recent signee, Loraine James will be on-hand to show the next generation how she navigated the industry to where she is today, as well as offering insight on her uniquely jazzy and atmospheric soundscapes. Finally, Lady Lykez will be offering tips on the lessons she’s learned clawing her way to the top of a male-dominated industry and how to do the same without compromising integrity.

ROUND ROBIN

On September 11, in Stoke Newington, Red Bull will be bringing their Round Robin series to London for the first time. The concept was first introduced at RBMA New York in 2013, and has since been taken to Paris, Zurich and Montreal. The basic idea is that solo musicians and producers from disparate genres and scenes are paired up for five-minute spontaneous collaborations to create one eclectic, sprawling jam session. Among those taking part are Swindle, Nabihah Iqbal, Nubya Garcia, Lapalux, Greentea Peng, Oscar Jerome, Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective), Joe Armon-Jones, Mira Calix, Flora Yin-Wong, Emma-Jean Thackray, Nik Colk Void, Lucinda Chua, Maxwell Owin and Remi Kabaka Jr.

APHEX TWIN

Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Aphex Twin’s appearance at Printworks on September 14 has already sold out. If you were one of the lucky few to successfully cop a ticket, you can expect… well, the unexpected! AFX is bringing with him Afrodeutsche, Nihiloxica, Caterina Barbieri as well as his A/V collaborators Weirdcore. It’s the Cornish experimentalist’s first London show in two years and he’s promising a custom-built stage set featuring lasers and 306 LED panels. Known for throwing expectations to the wind and doing whatever he pleases, this is a rare opportunity to catch a master at work, and one that may not be repeated for some time.

SHY ONE

DJ and producer Shy One and artist Victoria Sin will be bringing their collaborative club night We Know That We Can Shape Ourselves to a yet-to-be-determined venue for a night of drag, queer expression and club culture. Joining them on the night will be Pxssy Palace, Last Yearz Interesting Negro, BBZ, Xana for what looks set to be one of the most eclectic, genreless nights in the whole festival. Shy One alone is infamous for her disregard for boundaries and the rest of the DJs and artists on the bill have similar reputations. Expect everything from soul to dubstep, grime to ballroom, house music and joyous experimentalism. What’s more is, they’re taking extra measures to prioritise queer womxn, non-binary, trans folk of colour and differently abled guests through their extensive Intentional Spaces Policy.