Urban Nerds

Urban Nerds

02 December, 2010
by: Music Team

We chat the bass hungry promotors the Urban Nerds.

So, Urban Nerds, were you ever nerds at school, or was the call of music always too much of pull to get any schoolwork done?

James: I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit of a nerd. The urban end of the spectrum though, standard! A bit of hard work never hurt anyone though I say.

Mark: I tried to be a nerd at school, it just didn't work out unfortunately.

Rompa: I was very much not a nerd in the educational sense, academics were never my strong point, music acted as a big teacher.

What did you want to be when you were young? Was making people dance anywhere on the list?

Rompa: I never had a clear vision, music came along and I guess that’s what took hold of me. I bought my first set of decks in 1998 and started promoting in 2001, somehow managing to persuade my teacher to let me put on a night as part of my A Level Communication course, a Christmas gig called Jungle Bells. Whilst at university, a group of us met and started STEP:ONE, which furthered the love and excitement of promoting and created a strong group of friends (hold tight the 289 crew). As soon as I could get into clubs, I knew that music was going to play a big part in my life.

You guys have a really strong brand which has been helped along by your clothing range, do you worry that the push to be a brand will overtake the original simple aim of putting on sick parties?

Mark: At the end of the day, you’re only as good as your last party, so we will always keep focused on that aspect. We have tried very hard not to sell out or do any unfitting collaborations throughout the years and I think that has helped secure our brand to the position it is at the moment.

You often put on warehouse raves, how does this differ from taking over a room at Fabric or Matter? Do you prefer one or the other?

Rompa: Certain venues and situations each have their pros and cons, we feel very lucky to have worked with Fabric and love every time we’re invited back. They run a professional outfit and most of the hard work is taken care of when we work with them, we just turn up and we’re ready to go, and every time it sounds 110%.

With the warehouses, it’s a whole different kettle of fish. We have to start from the ground up, as often what we are working with is essentially car parking space so there is a whole lot more to do- sound, lighting, staging, venue aesthetics, the list goes on, but then we have total control over how we run the night. I love every aspect of working Urban Nerds.

Which London clubs are most promoter-friendly? What do you think makes a good club?

Mark: If you’re a new promoter it will definitely be a lot harder to get your foot in the door. At the moment, we find most London clubs promoter-friendly. In particular, Fabric have always been good to us.

My priority has to be the sound, there’s just not much point paying to listen to your top artist on a weak system, it just pisses me off! It’s also good to have a smoking terrace or garden rather than being made to stand out the front.

How important is it to you to support up-and-coming artists as well as bringing in the big names?

Rompa: Rattus and Klose have gained their own momentum, especially recently. Their success has got something to do with Urban Nerds but it’s mainly due to the fact that they always deliver, and they are a unique force to be reckoned with. It’s very important for us to bring through new names, so we can grow as well as the music and the brand. There is a massive extended Urban Nerds family that has helped make it what it is today, they know who they are.

A large proportion of the music that you promote has strong roots in London, why do you think that London/Britain has been the spawn of so much revolutionary dance music?

James: Cities like London and Bristol in particular are a breeding ground for creativity. I think everyone’s got a story to tell. For the underground, music has always offered a way of sharing that and a great platform for the younger generations in particular. The British gave birth to that big room dance sound though, if you look back to the acid days and the evolution into jungle, drum & bass, dubstep, garage and grime or whatever, most of which are influenced by the amalgamation of people and different cultures who brought their sound to cultural hubs like London, and in turn we create revolutionary music that we send around the world.

Strawberry and Grape Nerds or Wild berry and Watermelon Punch Nerds?

Mark/James/Rompa: Wild Berry and Watermelon Punch, come on bruv!

It’s an easy assumption to make that a promoter’s life is just one big party. Is it?

Rompa: Very easy assumption! Music is a mission not a competition!

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Music Team