Music - Oxford Scene
Who makes up the band?
There are 3 of us, Thom Glover, Barrington Pringle and Henry Davis a.k.a. TS Cub, Mistah Kurtz and Dr Kyte, and two singers who sometimes appear with us in Oxford and Bristol, as well as on our EP; the Mudslut and Giulia.
What do you play?
Myself (Thom) and Barrington are Mcs and Henry is a DJ. Although we cut our own tunes and right our own lyrics the fact we use samples enables us to get around the lack of a more musical background, which is something which we really would appreciate. We're a hip hop group but we listen to different genres of music a lot. Henry is into reggae, jungle and garage with a really strong lyricist element (he's also a poet). Barrington is into reggae but also hip-hop and ska. I'm definitely into drum 'n' bass and dub.
How long have you been together?
Not that long, we've only made one EP, although our first album should be out in the summer, but we've been working together musically for since we were about thirteen. Barrington and Henry worked together on their first hip-hop single as part of a community project but we all went to school together and have done a lot of really varying music. Of all the various projects we've had La Famiglia is the most serious and it forms the hub of our musical activity, although all three of us still DJ separately a bit.
The band plays in both Oxford and Bristol; how does the fact you don't live in the same city effect your output?
Firstly I think it's really good to be seen in two cities, but the fact that Barrington lives Bristol and Henry and me (Thom) are in Oxford means that we don't have a continuous massive output. We will be working on it over Easter though. We've also got ambitions in London; so this way of doing things is preparing us for that professionalism.
Who are you most influenced by?
Certain individuals like MF Doom, Mad Lib, J-Dilla and Roots Manuva especially are a real influence in the way they approach their music and go about sampling. Personally anything really personal and poetic. Doom's lyrics are full of riddles, and our references to Milton are definitely influenced by this. The main thing is that our sound depends to a certain extent on what we listen to, what we sample, so to really get what we want anything from Jamaican dancehall to drum 'n' bass is important.
Do you think that beings at St. Pauls's school was particularly conducive to your music?
The fact is that there were a huge number of bounds at St. Paul's, throughout the whole school. People might criticise us for being a hip-hop band but what would be acceptable? We're only writing about what we know and enjoy the freedom that hip-hop offers us for this. The idea that hip-hop is all about guns and violence isn't right, you've got to make a distinction between it and rap. We're interested in developing our own style free from different prejudices
What does the future hold for La Famiglia
At the moment we've got a few things lined up. Barrington is doing a lot in Bristol, and having a lot of success while we are developing our stuff from the last EP into something more serious, although both him and Thom are finishing their degrees this year so it's a busy time. We like the idea of taking people on a musical journey, in a set with our own and other stuff, in a similar way perhaps to Mr Scruff. We're still reluctant when it comes to approaching labels at the moment but we've had some involvement with Banana Klown (a subsidiary of Ninja Tunes) and think the cross over sound suits the label. We aspire to the attitude of a band called Foreign Beggars, who have toured the UK and have their own label, and we really enjoyed supporting them. We want to do our own thing, stay individual and see how far we can go.
More information about the band, email them at: la_famiglia@yahoo.co.uk or check out: www.suspect-packages.com/catalogue_vinyl
Forthcoming Gigs: • Monday 24th Jan @ Wadham / St. Catz Entz • Sunday 30th Jan @ Oxford Development • Friday 24th June @ Wadham Summer Ball Plus other gigs in Bristol
If you have seen a student band in Oxford that has impressed you, let us know on music@oxfordstudent.com
20th Jan 2005