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LISTEN TO MIX: download listen
CAZBEE & COMA INTERVIEW
Hey Cazbee, Richard, thanks for doing the mix and taking the time out to answer some
questions! How long have you guys known each other and how did you meet … through
music or graffiti?
RICHARD: We've known each other since 1986, we both met through graffiti and used to paint
together. Cazbee had the best style and still remains legendary to the new generation of
writers.
What was the London graffiti scene like in the mid-eighties? I believe Richard was one of
the first people to go to prison for it!
RICHARD: We were part of the first generation of London train writers, it was an exciting time
because there had never been anything like that before and at the same time, we were
teenagers growing up. We lived it 24 hours a day, dedicated to writing, bombing and getting up
on trains, tracksides, walls and streets. There was an 'underground' subculture of writers all
over London from very diffrent backgrounds, cultures and classes all doing the same thing.
One day someone will write a book about all the stories and adventures as it still hasn't been
documented yet. Yes, I was one of the first to 'go down' for it in 1986 then again in 1989, the
authorities wanted to make an example back then.
CAZBEE: A crazy time...A learnin curve for us all...
Is there a good place to see some of the work that you did back then?
RICHARD: We both have photos of some of our pieces from back then, there are some on
websites like rockingthecity.com. Not sure if there are any walls left untouched, the trains only
used to run for a day.
CAZBEE: You can check my stuff out @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26677295@N06/
When is the last time either one of you did a piece?
RICHARD: I haven't done a piece for about 15 years. My last train piece was in 1988 and I did a
few commissions after that in the 90s.
CAZBEE: My last piece was in December last year..It was the third piece i'd done in 21 years..
Im slowly(very!!) gettin back into it..
Are you still impressed by any new graffiti that you see?
RICHARD: I don't really follow much new stuff, but what I have seen is a pretty good
progression of styles, 3D etc. The paint is made especially for graff now so it's easier to be
neat and not have drips etc. There are also more colours available now too.
CAZBEE: I occasionally see something that catches my eye...alot of peoples styles are so
alike now that most of the pieces look like they could have been done by da same person...but
im not really up to date on whos who in da graff world nowadayz...
When did you get into djing … did you start with hip-hop at the same time as you were into
graffiti?
RICHARD: I started DJing in 1988 when the Acid House scene hit London. I was into Hip Hop
before but wasn't collecting records or DJing.
CAZBEE: I first started collecting around 1982..and DJ'in around 84...spinnin funk and breakz
mainly...When the first wave of rap was hittin the UK..Id started as a breakdancer/beats
collector/Graffiti Artist in that order..I still have da first import record I bought back then, it was
'Nipple to the bottle' by Grace Jones a tune I still play to this day!!!
Did any specific parties or djs influence you to get into it?
RICHARD: Going out to Acid House clubs and warehouse parties and hearing DJs like Eddie
Richards, Andrew Weatherall and Harvey i guess were the main influences. All those guys are
still going and still the top of their game.
CAZBEE: For me.. in the beginning it was all the Zulu Nation DJs...after that when I started
playin House music in 88..It was pretty much the same DJs as Richard mentioned but with the
addition of Colin Favor...
Tell us a bit the record label “Mixed Blood Cuts” that you run together?
RICHARD: It's just an outlet for us to put out our edits really, nothing serious just for fun, all
kinds of music that we like. I've had a couple of people send me stuff and will be releasing
their edits too. Cazbee and I have around 5 albums worth of material so we had to get them
out somehow!
Does the name “Mixed Blood Cuts” mean something? Didn’t “Bronx Dogs” the group that
Richard was in during the nineties also have a track out called “Mixed Blood”?
Yes, Mixed Blood is a cult film about New York hispanic drug gangs in the 80s. I like the idea of
not Black or White but when both meet in the middle, I like when Black artists try to do White or
Europen music, like those Detroit guys or when White artists try to be funky like a lot of the
Punk Funk stuff. We're both mixed race too!
I dig the label design, was it a collaboration between the two of you?
RICHARD: No unfortunately, I just left it to a graphic designer friend who is also a writer, to do
the artwork.
Have you got any exciting releases lined up for 2010?
RICHARD: The next release will have an African vibe, one of the edits is from a Brazillian kid
who's done a really good Mulatu edit. And there's another Afro Disco track on the other side.
Are you guys working on any other projects at the moment?
RICHARD: I'm working on a new Padded Cell album and some solo remixes and a single
hopefully.
Name 5 tracks that you listened to today?
RICHARD:
Marc Houle 'Yonkers'
Omar Souleyman 'Lansob Sherek'
Drinking Electricity 'Superstition'
Joni Mitchell 'Dreamland'
Frederick Night 'Let Me Ring Your Bell Again'
CAZBEE:
Dennis Coffey - 'Sweet Taste Of Sin'(Cazbee Edit)
Curtis Mayfield - 'Futureshock'
Manu Dibango - 'New Bell'
Jo Bisso - 'Your Love'
Ronnie Foster - 'Inot'
Would you like to give a shout out to anyone?
Sean P and Johnny Hiller in London, Citizen Kane and Darshan Jesrani in NYC.
To those that know...
