Saturday 27 August 2011
Thursday 25 August 2011
Monday 22 August 2011
Sunday 21 August 2011
J.E.M RECOMMENDS
An evening of live music and discussion with various perspectives and voices from Musicians, Thinkers, Writers and Spoken Word Artists to Community Members in aid of providing an alternative narrative to the mass media lead perspective / explanation behind the recent riots.
Open The Gate, London N16 opens it's doors on Sunday 21 August 2011 to a brilliantly inspiring line up of performances from the likes of Mangaliso asi, Cherri Prince, Madame Pepper, Danny Thompson, Native Sun (Mohammed Yahya & Sarina Leah), El Crisis, Nekz, Poetic Pilgrimage, Umanyano and Zena Edwards + more.
During this FREE event, there will be donations made with the intention of raising awareness and funds for youth development charities and centres.
A Narrative Of Unrest
Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm (12am finish)
venue: Open The Gate, 33-35 Stoke Newington Rd. Dalston, London N16 8BJ
Featured artists on the night:
Zena Edwards
Mangaliso Asi
Danny Thompson
Native Sun
(Mohammed Yahya & Sarina Leah)
Cherri Prince
Umanyano
Poetic Pilgrimage
El Crisis
Madame Pepper
Nekz
+ More including speakers
Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 4: BBE Records Mix spesh
Just Elemental Music Radio Show Episode 4: BBE Records Mix spesh by The Hobbit
JEM Radio Show Episode 4 Track List:
Can We Pretend – Bill Withers
Telephone Call – Bill and Kori Withers (live)
Run and Hide – The Bullitts featuring Jay Electronica
Weirdo – The Bullitts
Soul On Top – Karriem Riggins
Water No Enemy – Tall Black Guy
Gotta Have It – Kanye West and Jay Z
Legendary Weapons – The Wu Tang Clan (Ghostface, AZ and M.O.P.)
Serial Killa – Snoop Dogg
Everything in its Right Place (featuring Erro) – Osunlade
Nina Cares – Life Boogie
Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh) (Remix featuring Busta Rhymes and Fabolous) – Lumedee
Doctor’s Darling Dub (Night Nurse) – Seeed
Ancient Dub – King Tubby
Western Dub/Conversation Riddim – King Tubby meets The Scientist
It’s Good to Have The Feeling – Tippa Irie
Sacred Frequency – Machinedrum
Wispa Bar – Dego
Hold On – SBTRKT
Perfection – Sub Motion Orchestra
La La – Stepkids
Cbat – Hudson Mohawke
Drop it Like It’s Hot (Featuring Pharrell Williams) – Snoop Dogg
Sitting on the Couch Turning into Stone – James Pants
Strawberries (AM E.P.) – Freddie Joachim
BBE Records Mix by Chris Read:
Come Back Home – Al Kent
Music in Me (Come Alive) – DJ Spinna featuring Shaun Escoffery
Rock Wit U (Osunlade Yaruba Soul Dub) – DJ Jazzy Jeff featuring Erro
Stop – Madlib
The Way I Live – Madlib featuring Stacy Epps
Soul Ship Interlude – Space Invadas
Creep – TLC
.
Friday 12 August 2011
FROM PHILLY WITH LOVE...?UESTLOVE INTERVIEW
As far as music accolades go, particularly in this social network obsessed age in which we currently exist, to be named number 2 (picked only to the top spot by Kanye West) amongst the ‘Top 50 Tweeters in Music’ by none other than Rolling Stone is no mean feat.
In Rolling Stone's write-up about why you should follow ‘The legend of ?uestlove's hyperactive Twitter account’ which it claims ‘runs far and wide, and for good reason’ is that it is, "presented in unfiltered stream-of-consciousness style — full of stray observations, gentle shit-talking, and great tips on songs — the feed is a constant marvel".
As a huge fan and @questlove follower, I completely agree, and in a tweet treat moment, I watched on my timeline as a new twitter follower @questlove (Questo of The Roots) tweeted @ThutoMali happy birthday! It is safe to say my heart momentarily stopped - in a good way.
With possibly the coolest Twitter profile picture, stood side by side with US president Barack Obama, to paraphrase rising urban music sensation B.o.B’s lyrics from The Biz, ‘really I aint famous until Obama knows my name’, which it would appear in the case of ?uestlove he does. The Roots co-founder and drummer’s Twitter bio reads ‘your favorite twitterer's favorite music snob’ (originally hailing from Philadelphia, hence the American spelling). It was indeed his vast knowledge and love of music that was the basis of his special friendship, which began on Twitter, with none other than Amy Winehouse, who he described as his ‘Skype buddy’, and with whom he shared 'constant weekly and even daily' chats and where just seventeen hours before died, she had left him a message.
On hearing the news of the singer’s death, he was naturally 'devastated', and in fact in his own words, ‘It took me out of commission for about three days’. “I was in denial for like two hours and the first thing I ran to was my Skype, and she [had] left me a message, I guess like seventeen hours before, wanting to play me something. She was like ‘ahh man I got to call you, you got to hear something’.
He is said to be even more crushed, as despite never discussing anything personal, she had indeed entered his ‘personal realm’ or musical inner circle which he ‘really wasn’t expecting’. “I had such admiration for her as an artist, and as a singer she is one of my favourites ever. I felt like a minion, like wow you really respect my opinion about music – I am so honoured.
“I think that the reason why we hit it off so well, which is kind of a double edge sword, is that all we talked about was music. I’ve got to be honest; sometimes those conversations were just a little weird, depending on her mind state and frame at that particular time. I will say that in the last two months, that was the most straight and coherent that my communication has ever been with her".
The mutual fans of each others work, which would later become friends, shared many a conversation in which they educated each other on their varying musical passions, “she would tell me a lot about 40s jazz that I didn’t know about, and I educated her on the likes of J Dilla and all that stuff, and so then it would be like, here is something that you don’t know about”.
It is hard to imagine that the percussionist, producer and musical director behind a diverse roster of musical collaborations with artists such as Erykah Badu, Common, John Legend, Jay Z and even home grown talent such as Duffy and there was also the hope of working with Amy Winehouse, to projects including Chappelle’s Show and Fela! on Broadway, not already knowing virtually everything there is to know when it came to his specialist subject.
Having gown up in the backstages of live musical shows as he toured with his father Lee Andrews of 50’s doo-wop quintet Lee Andrews & the Hearts, even making his first drumming stage performance just aged seven and musical director debut at thirteen. It was back in ’87 that Ahmir Khalib Thompson aka ?uestlove (pronounced Quest Love) and friend Tariq Trotter (Black Thought), then high school students at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, came together and founded a band named The Square Roots (later dropping ‘square’ to become simply The Roots) - the band he not only co-founded but propelled him into the worldwide music consciousness.
Back then they played around school, the same school incidentally attended by group Boyz II Men and jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, and on the sidewalk, and later at talent shows (with
?uestlove's drum kit backing Black Thought's rhymes). The duo later hooked up with rapper Malik B and initially Josh Abrams on bass who was later replaced by Leonard Hubbard and Scott Storch on keyboards, moving from the street to local clubs, The Roots became a ‘highly tipped underground act around Philadelphia and New York’.
Yet it was their decision to move to London, where they caught the attention of BBC Radio 1’s Gilles Peterson, who ?uestlove describes as being ‘like urban and hip hop music’s version of John Peel if you will’ that The Roots got their first real break. “He championed us so hard that basically the respect that he had amongst other A&R people, if he says that something is great, people gravitate towards it. That really made getting our record deal in America that much easier.
“That was our plan. We decided to save all of our publishing money get flat in Kentish Town, off Queen’s Crescent and London was our home for three years. Even now when I go there, the label has these cars for us and tour guides and I am like Yo this is my crib, am hopping right on the tube, going record shopping on the other side of London and getting some Jamaican food - I still consider that my third home”.
London may well be considered as his third home, but the States is very much his first home, and one of the key factors behind the decision which is said to have began as a bluff and running joke between them and their former Chappelle’s Show boss Neal Brennan, but has seen The Roots become possibly the coolest house band in TV history as they are in fact the band for ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’. “We were on the road so much that we were strangers coming home. Some of us have kids and it is one thing when they are two and three years old and you might miss a ballet recital or kindergarten, but there is really no getting out of explaining why you’re not there for football practise or their first basketball game, when they are ten and eleven years old.
“So we wished there was a way for us to make a living and not have to leave home all that much. For most American entertainers the only answer to that question is Las Vegas…The idea of doing just one show, in one place every night was a little scary, and I don’t think that any of us were willing to uproot to Nevada to do that for like a year round".
The huge gamble to join ‘Late night with Jimmy Fallon’ team seems to have paid off and given the group the stability that they craved. As their iTune’s blurb states ‘…popular success has largely eluded The Roots’ even with a healthy international fan base, as ?uestlove himself says ‘it has taken us about 20 years to make a living off this’, with many hip hop acts still touring and ‘performing for pennies’. “The thing was when we took that gig, we didn’t even consider that this could benefit us more, this can expose us to a whole line of people that didn’t even know us, and we never even thought of that, we just thought that the priority was that we connected with our families”.
“The best thing about it is the fact that, there are a lot of pay offs, but that it provides us with a consistency that we have never had before as a band. We rehearse every day; we have never rehearsed as a band when we were The Roots between ’93 and 2009. We never once rented out a studio and rehearsed a show – we never had to, e just did shows every night and it was ever evolving on stage”.
It is this style of performance which earned The Roots the Rolling Stone vote as ‘one of the twenty greatest live acts in the world’. On the cusp of celebrating 25 years in the game, the Grammy Award winning group, credited with ‘shape shifting Hip Hop creativity’, make their return to London for their first headline show in the capital for two years at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo on 19 August. ?uestlove is however not giving away any hints as to what fans can expect, “I never hype up a show. Just know that we always put one hundred percent effort in everything that we do. I think our shows are the best that they have ever been. As I said earlier, London holds a very special place in our hearts; it was London that helped us get established and started, so we know for certain that it will be an amazing experience”.
It has certainly been a journey since the release of the band’s first major label album, Do You Want More?!!!??! (January 1995), and the bands 1999 single ‘You Got Me (featuring Erykah Badu) would go on to win them the Grammy Award for Best Rap performance by Duo or Group (2000). As they currently work on their thirteenth album UNDUN, which of course, ?uestlove followers on Twitter were treated to a sneak peak of one of their first recording sessions for the project anticipated for release in November this year, what is the future for The Roots? “We are now better musicians, and better song writers and better producers – this is what we needed. I feel like we are a new band all over again. Right now we are working on our thirteenth record but I really feel like this is our third record, I feel like now The Roots are realising they have arrived – it is weird to see it that way but that is how I see it”.
The Roots are at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Friday 19 August 2011, for tickets and further info: www.meanfiddler.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk
?uestlove is playing a three hour exclusive DJ set at East Village, 89 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3HX courtesy of The Doctor’s Orders: www.thedoctorsorders.com
Here at J.E.M we have some real exciting Tooty Booty for you in the form of two tickets to The Roots plus special guest Kano at HMV Hammersmith Apollo on Friday 19 August 2011. All you have to do is get the correct answer to the question below to us @: jemcomps@gmail.com by Wednesday 17th August 2011 – Good Luck!
What is the name of the 2002 hip hop themed romantic comedy starring Sanaa Lathan, Taye Diggs and Mos Def which The Roots feature on the sound track and what is the title of The Roots joint featuring Common that is featured in the opening sequence?
Wednesday 10 August 2011
Tuesday 9 August 2011
THE REAL DEAL ROUND UP
It has been an eventual month here at the Just Elem
ental Music towers and of course within the worldwide music community. There were celebrations as J.E.M's first lady came of age with a special birthday tweet from none other than ?uestlove of The Roots! We partied on the Croatian shore where we caught up with artists such as Little Dragon (pictured). On a more sombre note, sadly there were tragic commiserations as we remembered the talented but troubled songstress Amy Winehouse with a series of tribute interviews: http://justelementalmusic.blogspot.com/2011/07/frank-to-black-fond-farewell-to-amy.html
The hobbit and I have been taking on the airwaves with Rich's Just Elemental Music Radio Show on http://www.blogger.com/www.spaceinvaderradio.com, and my guest appearances on Colourful Radio and BBC London 94.9 Kath Melandri Show - watch this space there will be more where that came from!
J.E.M has gone from our usual haunts of the Jazz Cafe to catch the Last Poets (10 July), and indigO2 for a real treat in the form of Ice Cube and Naughty by Nature (Tuesday 12 July) marking 20 years in the hip hop game, to the beautiful shores of Petrcane in Croatia for the Soundwave Festival! A Super time was had! There was plenty of backstage action and great interviews with Channel One Sound System, Swedish sensation Little Dragon and one of my favourite DJs, Mr. Thing (check out my full British hip hop Mr. Thing feature: http://www.britishhiphop.co.uk/features/interviews/mr_thing_-_it_s_a_dj_thing.html
There are more Soundwave goodies to come in the next in our J.E.M Festival Special and a reminder of how we got down at Wireless which kicked off our festival season. This week marked the start of Sziget (8-15 August) with an mega line up of world class artists from home grown favourites The Prodigy and Dizzee to mega star headliners such as Prince (or what ever he is calling himself these days). 
J.E.M does indeed have a Sziget festival pass, and there is still almost a week of festivities to go so watch this space…..
No sooner had I touched down back in Blighty, I was treated to a chat with drummer, producer and member of The Roots ?uestlove about the groups forthcoming London show at HMV Hammersmith Apollo (19 August), his love affair with the capital which he calls his 'third home' and his special musical bond and friendship with Amy Winehouse. Check out my ?uestlove interview and this month's extra special Tooty's Booty – coming real soon!
Just Elemental Music is not just all hip hop, reggae, jazz, house and electro, we can mix and blend as we proved by hob knobbing with glitterati at Glyndebourne for a modern twist to Handel's classic opera, Rinaldo. Continuing our jaunt with the Arts, it was straight down to The Barbican for BBE: Touch - mesmerising. See the full J.E.M Live review: http://justelementalmusic.blogspot.com/2011/08/jem-live-review-bbe-touch.html
On the music release front there was the re-release of UK Soul legend Omar's Sing (if you want it) 18 July 2011, which thanks to the lovely guys at Tru Thoughts I was treated to a copy. The album is a mix of Omar's signature style and new material adding a fresh dimension with his floor filler ‘Dancing’ which sees him collaborate with UK bass artist Zed Bias. This week it's all about Jay Z and Kanye West and Watch The Throne (watch full stream right here on J.E.M). 
Finally as reported first right here on Just Elemental Music, sadly there will be no Q Tip at the indigO2 on 26 August. Due to 'unforeseen circumstances' ATCQ founding member has had to cancel his hotly anticipated show. It is also looking like there is a question mark over whether Notting Hill Carnival will go ahead this year following the widespread rioting and destruction that has rocked not only my home town of London but has spread as far as Birmingham and West Midlands, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Salford. This is not what brother Malcolm meant when he said 'by any means necessary' - this is entirely something else!
If you want to help and come together to make a positive contribution to this situation, follow @Riotcleanup on Twitter as well as @CleanUpTheEndz, @RiotCleanUpManc and @riotcleanupwolv.
People can also donate bedding, clothes etc to help those made homeless by the London riots at Apex House, 820 Seven Sisters Road, London N15 5PQ, and Tottenham Green Leisure Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham N15.
People can also donate bedding, clothes etc to help those made homeless by the London riots at Apex House, 820 Seven Sisters Road, London N15 5PQ, and Tottenham Green Leisure Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham N15.
The ‘End the Violence Campaign’ founded by artist, producer, writer and teacher Artcha, was formed specifically to ‘educate young children and adults about focusing their energy in a positive way’ across several London boroughs. The hope of the campaign is to address issues such as gang violence and the kind of scenes we have been witnessing up and down the country in recent days. Check out the ‘End the Violence Campaign’ on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/etvcampaign/
There is a really interesting article and petition circulating entitled, ‘A CALL FOR MORE UNDERSTANDING AND LESS MORALISING’ which seeks to ask the fundamental questions in understanding the bigger picture behind the rioting which has swept across several of the UK’s major cities. As scholar and anti-racist activist Paul Gilroy so eloquently tweeted: ‘When did ritual condemnation become the entry ticket into official public discourse?’ check out the full article and petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/a-call-for-more-understanding-and-less-moralising.html
Spread the positivity good people!
Until next time.........
Peace, Toots x
Photography ©
Ice Cube – Akin Aworan, Last Poets – Thuto Mali, Soundwave - Rob Percy & Thuto Mali, BBE: Touch – Jonnie Malachi
Until next time.........
Peace, Toots x
Photography ©
Ice Cube – Akin Aworan, Last Poets – Thuto Mali, Soundwave - Rob Percy & Thuto Mali, BBE: Touch – Jonnie Malachi
Monday 8 August 2011
J.E.M LIVE REVIEW: BBE: TOUCH
There is nothing that can captivate me quite like dance. Whether it is a dancer on a podium or Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, I am guaranteed to be transfixed. This is perhaps because, as a little girl aside from my love of music, that is truly what I wanted to be, a dancer.
Imagine then the fusion of fluid creative chorography, with an edgy and original score, and the odd comedic twist thrown in for good measure, and you have the perfect formula for a hit show. Boy Blue Entertainment (BBE): Touch, not only delivered, but was the perfect marriage of music and dance, of composer (Michael Mickey J Asante) and choreographer (Kenrick 'H20' Sandy) into a breath taking fusion of colour, movement and sound. It is unsurprising that BBE: Touch’s short The Barbican run (28 – 30 July 2011), required additional dates to be added due to popular demand.
The opening montage of clips taken throughout the years, a favourite amongst urban music artists, hinted at the flavour of this multi-sensory showcase and experience. For those unfamiliar with BBE and even seasoned fans of their previous work including the Olivier award winning Pied Piper, Touch was an
up close and personal glimpse, within the intimate setting of the Barbican pit, at the men behind a ten year legacy born out of their clear love and passion for music and performance art. It was also an opportunity to see Mikey revisiting his dance roots, for the first time in several years.
The JFK quote “Conformity is the jailer of freedom", was amongst many projected throughout the show, and there was without doubt no evidence of conformity within their collective and individual performances.
Sandy was graceful yet powerful, muscular yet elegant and imaginative at every turn in his collage of multiple dance disciplines. Guest performers Bradley Charles and Rachel Kay added another dimension to this well rounded performance.
Asante, who I have had the pleasure of interviewing previously, is a renowned and accomplished beat maker, which he demonstrated so spectacularly in one of the show’s main highlights were he created beats from sounds collected from the audience. As he went to work, it was reminiscent of a scientist in a lab putting together the perfect formula from raw materials.
The key motivator for the BBE Co-founders and Artistic Associates of The Barbican has always been a love of what they do and that shone through in a glorious Technicolor. BBE Touch was indeed ‘innovating’, ‘inspiring’, ‘pioneering’, ‘versatile’, ‘energetic’ and a rare and worthwhile treat.
Catch both Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy and Michael ‘Mikey J’ Astante in Channel 4’s One Man Walking, Monday 15 August, 10:30pm.
Part of Channel 4’s Street Summer season, One Man Walking is the powerful exploration of some of the intensity and challenges of life in the metropolis, as told through the expression of raw dance styles such as krump, hip hop and parkour set in the streets of London.
Touch photography (c) Jonnie Malachi
J.E.M's BREAKING HIP HOP NEWS
One of the most hotly anticipated shows of the summer, Q-Tip at IndigO2 on 26 August 2011 has now been CANCELLED!
Due to 'unforeseen circumstances' the A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) front man and founding member will not be performing in London, and as yet there is no news of any alternative UK dates. As always at Just Elemental Music, once we know, you'll know!
Peace,
Toots x
Thursday 4 August 2011
Big Fat Gypsy Punch Up!
Knuckle
Meet James Quinn Mcdonagh and Paddy “The Lurcher” Joyce. Related by blood and separated by a feud that dates back generations. As the heads of rival families, they train to represent their feuding travelling clans, in their long-standing history of violent bare-knuckle boxing. Knuckle is a rare chance to step inside one of the world’s most vibrant and elusive communities. Travellers are normally silent about certain parts of their lifestyle. Never before has such a portrayal of their fighting traditions been committed to film.
Shot in an observational style, Knuckle presents a hard edged portrait of Traveller male culture and explores the bond of loyalty, the need for revenge and the pressures to fight for the honour of your family name. Prepare to witness the secretive world of travellers and their way of settling scores. No gloves, no padding, just Knuckle.
Knuckle
Two men are driven to a quiet country lane close to Dundalk near the Irish border. Cars are used to block off access to the lane, less than ten other people are present. They watch silently, as the two men walk to a clear area, strip to the waist and prepare for a bare-knuckle fistfight. The rules are no biting, head-butting or below the belt punches. There are no rounds or breaks and the fight goes on until one man gives up or is knocked out.
James Quinn McDonagh and Paddy ‘The Lurcher” Joyce are there to represent their feuding Traveller clans. Although the Quinn McDonaghs and the Joyces are cousins, they are bitter enemies and have clashed for generations. The two families are at the heart of one of the longest and most violent bare-knuckle boxing feuds in Ireland and England.
KNUCKLE takes us into this secretive Traveller world - a world of long and bitter memories and a history of violent clashes between rival clans, which has sometimes resulted in death. The film seeks to find out the real motives behind these feuds. In this epic journey, shot over 12 years, the action moves from the quiet Irish country lane in 1997 and looks set to
culminate a decade later in a major fight planned to take place near Luton, England in 2007.
The film follows the fighting life of James Quinn McDonagh, unbeaten against his opponents, a fight organiser and hero to his family. Now at the end of his boxing career, James trains the younger men of his family and referees fights for other Traveller families. His younger brother Michael is in intense training for a rematch against ‘Big” Paul Joyce, a top fighter from the Joyce family. An unpredictable character and keen to prove himself; Michael hopes to mend his reputation after being disqualified in a previous fight against Paul Joyce nine years before in 1999. KNUCKLE documents the brothers’ journey from youth to early middle age through the significant moments in their lives, marriage and the birth of their children, and shows how the bitterness of their clan’s feud continues to overshadow everything else.
Shot in an observational style, KNUCKLE gives a hard-edged portrait of Traveller male culture and explores the bonds of loyalty, the need for revenge and the pressures to fight for the honour of your family name. Vivid, violent and funny, KNUCKLE gains unique access into the fighting culture of a hidden, contemporary community.
KNUCKLE is a rare chance to step inside one of the world’s most vibrant and elusive communities. Travellers are normally secretive about certain parts of their lifestyle. Never before has such a portrayal of their fighting traditions been committed to film.
Knuckle
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I had never planned to make a film about bare-knuckle boxing. I stumbled across this secretive world and was drawn into it. In 1997 I knew very little about Travellers and I knew nothing about their feuding and tradition of organised fist fighting. I had been introduced to a Traveller family called the McDonaghs who lived in the small town of Navan about twenty miles north of Dublin. As I got to know the McDonaghs I started to research a film about their family history and traditions. One of their daughters was due to be married and they asked me if I would video the wedding. I filmed it, and gave the bride and groom the footage. The groom was called Michael Quinn McDonagh and I met his older brothers, James and Paddy, at the reception. A few weeks later I got a call from one of the brothers’ I had met at the wedding, Paddy Quinn McDonagh. His brother James had a fight coming up and they invited me to video it. I shot the fight and it was like a door into a hidden world had opened up before me and I stepped through into the world of bare-knuckle fighting. That first fight was an exhilarating experience and I knew immediately that I wanted to learn more about this world of clan feuding. It turned out to be the beginning of a journey that was to last for the next 12 years. I had no real plan, I started hanging around and getting to know the three Quinn McDonagh brothers, James, Michael, Paddy and their extended family. Occasionally they would call me if a fight was being organised. I decided that I would try to make a film from within the family, letting their world reveal itself. My approach was simple; use a small camera, get close and spend as much time with them as possible. It was a method called hanging around. I worked largely alone and perhaps it was because I had no particular plan that I started to video any fight I heard about and rather than analyse the footage, I would put the tapes away. I was hooked on the thrill of the immediate experience of the fights and found it difficult to take a step back from that to concentrate on how to shape it into a film.
I never intended to film for so many years but I would follow one outbreak of the feud to the next. When the feud temporarily calmed down, usually after a fight had taken place, I never felt that I had reached a conclusion. So I would start filming again when the next round of feuding and fights began. I filmed with the two other Traveller families, the Joyces and the Nevins, who are involved in this feud but my real focus was on James Quinn McDonagh and his younger brother Michael. For years the tapes lay in a box in my spare bedroom. The Travellers would ask when the film was coming out but I couldn’t finish it. It had gone on too long and I had got into the habit of shooting some material and putting the tapes in
the box without looking at them. I had no real idea what material I had.
Finally I decided to contact Ollie Huddleston, a film editor whose work I admired and he agreed to work with me. He then introduced me to my eventual producer, Teddy Leifer.
A film emerged from the box of tapes. What started out, as a fascination with bare knuckle fighting became a film about the relationship between brothers. It became a film about sibling rivalry and the destruction caused by the Traveller obligation to defend their family name. It took 14 years to get there.
Knuckle
THE IRISH TRAVELLING PEOPLE
Irish Travellers were traditionally a nomadic people, indigenous to Ireland and with large populations also in England and America. Although now largely settled in houses and halting sites they are still a culturally rich community who share a common descent, language and lifestyle. Travellers usually marry within their own extended family circle and place great importance on kinship and family ties, especially in terms of duty and loyalty to the family. They retain a strong and vibrant set of traditions and customs. Traditional forms of employment such as tin smithing, horse-trading and seasonal agricultural labour have died out and now Travellers tend to be self- employed in market trading and dealing, landscape gardening, and general building work. Working for oneself and being independent remain central to their way of life. Travellers have long campaigned to be recognised as a specific ethnic group in Ireland. Traveller rights organisations have highlighted a history of exclusion and discrimination towards travellers in housing, education and access to healthcare. Travellers tend to have large families and higher rates of infant mortality and lower life expectancy than the general settled population in Ireland. Bare-knuckle boxing is an intense and brutal activity. For Travellers it is not simply a sport but plays an important role among competing clans as a way to diffuse rivalries and family feuds. Fair Fights, as Travellers call bare-knuckle boxing matches, tend to take place between families who are related by descent and marriage. Fights happen for a variety of reasons. It might be grudges and arguments between individuals or long standing feuds between related families, money bets are sometimes made but more often it is simply a matter of honour and defending your family name. The Irish media has frequently highlighted these clashes and bare-knuckle fights have regularly filled the front pages of Irish newspapers.
More info www.knucklethemovie.com
YouTube link to trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt6xBZtH0Xs
YouTube links to the clips as follows:
Knuckle Clip 1 - Bad blood between the families: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6x5NxE4sXs
Knuckle Clip 2 - Brothers and cousins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj3mO3yrE6Q
Knuckle Clip 3 - I started following the travellers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT6eDava5VE
Knuckle Clip 4 - I'm going to break your baldy head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAOIEKNeQCQ
Knuckle Clip 5 - Just doing a bit of sparring: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVtvLrx9xjU
Knuckle Clip 6 - The fight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAEqgcfjxL4
Monday 1 August 2011
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