Interview: Bluewave

BIG basslines and MCs are what we really love

Bluewave are flying the flag for all things fire in Sheffield right now, with shows featuring MJ Cole (February 4th) and AJ Tracey (Feb 10th) just around the corner we thought now would be a good time to find out more. Leo Burrell went on the case.

What’s good Bluewave?
Wassup wassup, everything’s good man! We’re loving life as always and enjoying the amazing culture the UK has to offer us.

You guys cover everything: grime/hiphop, garage/bassline, jungle/DnB and even RnB. What’s the one thing that ties it all together? 
We cover a lot of things, simply because that’s the music we love and listen to all the time. We don’t just want to stick to one genre as we’ll listen to different genres of music every day of the week, so why not show this through what we do? There are two things really that tie it all together: BIG basslines and MCs are what we really love, and we feel the genres we push excel in these areas.

We’re hyped for your next 90s night on February 4th down at Theatre Delicatessen. The last one with Deekline was mental. And this time you’ve got the one and only MJ Cole joining you! Are the 90s parties going to continue after this one?
Thanks! So are we, and yeah, the Deekline one went off. We’re seriously excited to have MJ Cole join us for the next one as well, he’s someone we’ve always had our mind on booking – a true legend. The 90s was an amazing decade for music and we want to celebrate this through these parties. The importance of recognition and respect for the birth of and growth of UK Garage in the 90s from pioneers such as Todd Edwards, EZ and MJ Cole is essential; they laid down the foundations for it to develop and without that we might not have even have the current UK grime scene. There were some serious hip-hop labels in the 90s as well, such as Bad Boy and Death Row Records, which we still believe delivered the coldest hip hop beats to date. So yes, we will be continuing the 90s parties and continue to invite down legends to play for us. We have aspirations to get bigger and delve into booking some old R&B artists – and I’ll say no more!

And not long after that is your sold out show with AJ Tracey on Feb 10th .That’s a huge booking for the Harley! 
It really is. We’re anticipating this to be one of the best Bluewaves to date. We’ve been following AJ ‘From The Lan’e for a long time and we’re seriously excited to have him come play for us on part of his UK tour. The guy is absolutely killing it, but it’s no surprise really. Like, have you seen his Fire in the Booth? My days…

The guy’s blown up of late — a 15 date UK tour, a show at SXSW in Texas, even a collab with A$AP Rocky…
Yeah, his rise in the game has been ridiculous but very well deserved. He seems to be heading down the American route with A$AP Rocky and the link-up he did with Rick Ross, but we still hope he keeps firing out the heat in grime. Did you see how quickly he sold out three XOYO dates as well? Absolute madness. The guy is just going to keep getting bigger and bigger as well, this is only the beginning.

You’ve recently expanded to London, doing your “In the Jungle” parties at Work up in Islington. What’s up next in London and what are your ambitions for the future there?
We have indeed, and we’re working hard to become leading party starters in London and have begun working closely with certain venues to form solid partnerships to put on some amazing nights. We can’t really reveal specific venues but we have London parties lined up in April, May and July at the moment, with more to be added. Our ‘In the Jungle’ parties are specials we do every now and then, so keep your eyes peeled for future ones!

Are there any other cities you’re thinking about taking Bluewave to?
At the moment we’re solely focused on London and Sheffield, but give it a bit of time and we’ll get there. We have some friends in Birmingham (FZKS) and we’ve been discussing sorting something out. London is a tough nut to crack, but we firmly believe we will get there and host some memorable nights in the capital.

Your end of term carnival at The Night Kitchen last June was a big one. What can you tell us about your plans for an end of exams party this year?
Thanks, we really enjoyed that one as it felt like it was a big stepping stone for us! At the moment we’re planning a party on the same calibre as last year’s, and we want to keep bringing new and exciting artists to Sheffield. Jammz was quality last year and we want to bring another MC to Sheffield who may not have performed here before.

Can you tell us a bit more about Bluewave TV and what it’s going to involve?
Bluewave TV is an idea we had a few months back to get to know the artists away from the bright lights and the club; just talk to them as normal people instead of mysterious shadows who are mixing or MCing. Some of the DJs and MCs we’ve met through doing this have been really interesting characters. So we’ve had the idea to share this with our followers and we hope you all enjoy it.

What do you think to the claim that the new grime scene isn’t as good as the original?
Excuse our language, but that’s bollocks. The grime scene is extremely strong at the moment and we don’t like the comparisons between the old and the new. It’s all grime and we shouldn’t be trying to differentiate the two eras! It may have little hybrids here and there, but everyone is representing the same thing and striving to further the grime scene. Crews such as YGG and MTP are representing the scene well at the moment from the younger side of things, then of course you’ve got the dons like P Money and Wiley still releasing absolute fire through Live and Direct and Godfather.

What are your thoughts on the new Wiley album?
It’s sick! So many other artists feature on it and the beats and flows are really raw. Our favourite tracks off the album are probably ‘Pattern Up Properly’ – straight dance floor killer, and ‘Bring Them All / Holy Grime’ with Devlin.

Cheers Bluewave! Be Sincere…
Thanks Exposed! Great chatting. Keep it real.