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Interview With Stuart At The BreakDown

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14 January 2004 No Comment

Meet Stuart, a DJ, the owner of Digital Justice and that fab website on the broken beat culture The Breakdown. In this in depth interview we discuss a whole range of stuff including the benefit you would get from adding his site to your favourites.

What’s happening in the land of Stuart?

The Land of Stuart – well that is an interesting one to say the least. Lots and nothing.
I have just come out of the holiday season, which was pretty chilled this year; we had a few gigs here and there, nothing to hectic. New-years was one of the most interesting ones of my career so far-but there is no way I’m going to say anymore on that front right now. At the moment I’m getting back into the swing of work with the site, getting the ducks in a row and making big plans for the new year.

Where were you born, where do you live now and what do you do for a living?

I was born in Southampton in the UK-Just south of London on the coast, I presently live in one of the best cities in the world that I have experienced so far, this being Cape Town South Africa -I have been here for nearly 2 years now and before moving to CT I lived in Durban. For a living I run a company called Digital Justice where we host a website called The Break Down, we host events in and around SA and I also DJ.

What were you doing before starting this website?

I have been focusing on Digital Justice for about 4 years now, the website came about 2 years ago and has been live for one of those years.  I have been promoting parties for about 7 years and I have been DJ’ing for nearly 9 years now so apart from the odd illegal gambling machine that I used to own and the odd barman / waitering job (which stopped thank god about 3 years ago) Dj’ing and promoting has been the main focus.

What prompted you to start this website?

Stuart Playing With His Turntable Well the main reason was that I was stuck in Durban doing my thing, promoting the scene, my best mate and now partner Syndrome was doing his thing in JHB among others and I new the guys were doing the same in CT but the only problem was, was that no one knew what everyone else was doing in the different cities in the country-this includes the pushers and the punters, unless you made the mission to find out for yourself. That aspect combined with next to no exposure for what was going on in the scene- something needed to happen. There is so much talent in SA and my feelings were that it wasn’t getting the justice it deserved. My intention was to then unite the scenes in SA, and create a platform for everyone to feed off, grow from and at least try get some exposure for all the hard work that was being put into what they were doing-whether it was about music or not

The good thing about the Breakdown was yes, it was my idea and I put it all together but it represents a scene and the role-players that push the scene. I was told it would never happen by many people but I managed to merge some of the labels and promoters together to form the base of the website and so the success of the Breakdown is not all mine, many people that I am eternally grateful to, have worked for many years to get to where they are, I am just representing them via the site now. The Breakdown is not just my site, it is everyone’s that contributed plus more.  The plan to unite the scene has been successful so far; all we have got to do now is show everyone else what we are all about.

If you notice in other cities around the world with healthy, big music industries, one of the main keys to the success of it is exposure and readily available information. Without it your fucked. I mean look at how well the scene has picked up even in JHB with the Kwaito and Hip-Hop scene-Its because it is everywhere-TV, Radio Magazines.

Knowledge is power and without it you know shit!

What does the website offer to the readers?

The site offers quite a variety actually. You should look at it as a magazine on your screen. There is -or should be, if not please let me know – something for everyone. We have interviews with the music industries artists, whether they are producers, MC’s, DJ’s or Singers etc, we have a section dedicated to exposing graf and digital artists. There is a monthly comic strip by our friend Kian. We have a section for fashion labels both local and international, there is technology reviews, Algorythm studio tips, website reviews, both local and international news.  A section that has some significance is our Kultcha section. Here we try to get interesting reads for the reader, our monthly resident slots are the Realife and Lomography columns among other new things we like to incorporate. 

We have new competitions each month, some awesome prizes have been won already from CD’s to vinyl to clothes to tickets to events etc.

There is a section dedicated to events in and around SA, so punters can see what is happening and where and promoters can get some free exposure for their gigs. We update this regularly so if you’re a promoter-send in your info.

We review local and international music- with the standard and quality coming out of SA these days it’s a shame more people don’t send in their stuff for review.

Our download section is there for artists to have their sets up for DL, we have a few wallpapers for the readers-This section will be increasing soon and there will be more to DL soon among other things which is being kept a secret for now.

We also have a merchandise section-which is currently going through an overhaul where we sell Breakdown gear, Lomography cameras and products. Soon we will be stocking international magazine like Knowledge etc.

With intention of it being a magazine, we release a new issue every month-which might change to every 6 weeks soon-still deciding- but all of our issues can be downloaded from the back issues section.

There has been some quality articles and info in the past year so if anyone did miss an issue or would like to keep the catalogue of issues they are all there for you.

Why develop your site in flash?

Well the whole site isn’t in flash, just a part of it. It is a mixture of HTML and Flash.
I am not the designer and when I started the project and was looking for designers, the ones I got seemed to think that this was going to be the best way. Before I started this I knew shit about websites-hmmm-should I have said that??

The design is mind blowing, who did the design?

Thank you but I cant take the credit for that one-I owe nearly everything to a guy called Kris. The man is amazing, has outstanding talent and the Breakdown wouldn’t be anywhere close to what it is if it wasn’t for him-I just hope he realizes the gratitude I have for the man. Unfortunately he is off to the UK pretty soon so we’ve lost him for now.

I also don’t want to leave out another major breakthrough we had which was in the beginning-and related to the next question- due to a lady named Joelle. She managed to create the downloaded version of the Breakdown which most people didn’t get to see-although you can still DL it from the Back issues section. Issue 1 and 2 if I remember correctly.

It is a pity it couldn’t have grown but just proved to be too difficult and time consuming-That was only done in flash- check it out-you will be amazed for the second time.

Initially you were offering downloaded versions of your website. What was the thinking behind that?

The thought was that I wanted to be as close to a magazine as possible and like myself in the beginning I was not online often and didn’t really surf the net and check out loads of sites, so the plan was that you could DL the issue onto your computer-PC or Mac, and then you didn’t have to be online to read it.

You could keep each issue and read it at your leisure without being online-even burn it to CD and start a collection. The plan was to also make a printable version if you wanted it.
The only problem was that not enough people took the measly 5-8 min to DL it, and around that time Kris came about and offered his services.

Why use the word “breakdown” and what does the ‘breaks’ culture mean to you?

Breakdown:
Well the site is primarily driven around the Broken Beat culture in SA- and I suppose I am trying to break the scene down into digestible pieces, so that everyone can learn what it is all about and what is going on with it.
Breaks culture:
To me it means – this being musically orientated- anything that has broken beat in it and does not rely on a 4/4 monotonous beat structure. So in other words on a general tip – Hip-Hop, Breakbeat, Drum’n’Bass, Dub, eclectic fucked up twisted broken beats etc etc 

A good mate of mine, Skekrou’s saying is, “if it aint broken, Fix it

What would you say is the most stressful part of running this website?

Not getting an income yet from it and because of the nature of releasing every month, the issue of everyone’s deadlines and getting the work from them.

Nothing pisses me off more than a promised deadline to then get it late if at all.
Doesn’t happen often because the team I have working for me are generally very good but it does happen. Oh and working from 10am till 1-2 am the next morning every day for nearly a year-It takes its toll, believe me. 

What is the most rewarding part of running the site?

I would have to say when people show their gratitude that I might be doing something right and appreciate what I am trying to do as well as helping the cause, because at the end of the day, its not about me and my site-I just put it together. The Breakdown is for everyone else, and is there to help push peoples careers and music.

What would make me happy is if people would utilise it more for there benefit-I wouldn’t let them abuse it but I want them to use it- that’s what it is there for.

Oh and lotsa fresh new music of all calibers and the contacts it has made me all around the world. Gotta love that shit ya know.

Does the underground exist?

If there is one word I hate, that is ‘underground’.

What is underground? My definition when it comes to music and the scenes etc is when there are parties and music that no one has ever heard before and is more than likely never going to hear again-Parties that aren’t advertised ‘above ground’ in the form of flyers, posters etc. In the UK the parties that you had to phone a number to get directions and sometimes you would miss the jol because you couldn’t get through and the venue was unknown-that’s underground.

Your not meant to know anything about underground scenes because they are exactly that. Not these dumbass fuckers that think they are ‘underground’ cause they think it’s a cool word to use.
Is there an underground – No not in SA-Not that I know of anyway.

What style of music do you feel closest to and why?

I must say Drum’n’Bass. I love, live, sleep and eat it. Don’t get me wrong, I dig most forms of music (mostly broken beat) as you can see through my site but the closest is drum. Why-Cause until you understand it, you wont understand why.

You had a show on the Red Bull radio station. How did that come about and how has the experience been so far?

Well is a little while ago now but it came about through me wanting it bad enough. I wanted in on the academy and wouldn’t stop till I got in, and so I made plans where I could. I also got the position of editing all the lectures for the radio show so my job was to sit in on all the lectures every day, take notes and edit the audio afterwards for the radio.

I was extremely fortunate and very grateful for that. The experience was one in a lifetime-I have tried to enter for the academy for 2 years previous to this one and I knew what it was all about so nothing was going to stop me seeing as though it was in my own town.

The contacts and knowledge that was gained was just so inspiring and has definitely helped my outlook on the scene and how its run etc. The radio show was also great. My idea was to give the people outside of CT a chance to voice their shit as there is so much happening around the country and because it was only broadcast in CT, I felt that the people outside of CT would have missed out.

In South Africa what do you think is the main stumbling block for both producers and deejays?

There are lots I think but all can be overcome with knowledge, perseverance and time. A few would be distribution networks for independent labels / artists, exposure-which were working on, support, access to vinyl, cost of music, not enough people trying to start their own labels, not enough support from shops to stock local music.

It seems to be slowly coming right but there isn’t really a music industry yet-at least not for the underdogs that aren’t doing the commercial shit. By this I don’t mean the musicians, I mean the other half an industry needs like lawyers, funding, network channels, distribution etc. There are so many jobs that could be filled in the music industry and you don’t necessarily have to be a musician to fill them, there just isn’t the infrastructure yet. A bit off the topic, sorry

What are your feelings towards sampling?

As long as you pay your dues if it’s a well known sample or recognizable then carry on, otherwise you’ll just get in kak. These days you pretty much have to sample to make beats-Don’t forget unless you actually make the kick drum or snare-your sampling.

What must a song have in order to be dubbed “special”?

Feeling, emotion or memories, and normally for me if a track has a sample from an old skool tune, it normally makes the box purely on the sample. If its local as well – always helps knowing it came from SA. If it gives me goose-bumps, its special

What music have you been listening to in the past week?

A week is a long time and I listen to music about 90% of my waking hours -all sorts of stuff, so its not just one style or tune. The chilled CD of the new Infected Mushroom is quite a good one.
I very rarely listen to trance, not into it but a mate played the chilled CD for me and it’s very schweet. It’s not trance at all, more on an ambient dubby style but its well constructed and has quality beats. Also the new Kalahari Surfers Multi-Media and a couple of new D’n’B tunes I received recently. I also have stacks of stuff from the guys that came to the academy so I’m still going through all of that.

If you were allocated R1 million and you were only allowed to spend it on something music related and you were only allowed one week to spend it all what would you do?

On a business front I would buy a record press and a CD duplicator plant-That would probably come to over a Mill right there. To have fun I would personally fly some of the best artists / DJ’s over for a “underground” party-hahaha – Buy a shit load of new tunes, go on a world tour sponsored by myself, build a recording studio fully equipped with loadsa gadget and sponsor the scene.-I would need more than a million though.

Back to your website, how many people are involved and what is ultimate goal?

I have got a small team which by the way, if you are reading this and would like to come on board please do – we need you. It consists of my partner in JHB-Jerome, my designer, about 7 regular writers with a few other people that contribute and many other supporting people, which includes my partner in Digital Justice Nicole-without her there would be no Breakdown.

I owe it all to everyone that has helped along the way to keep it going and to kick start it.
Unfortunately I cant mention everyone so I am not going to start. The good thing about the scene is that it is self driven and those that drive it look out for one another and at the end of the day we are all driving for a similar goal.

I would say the ultimate goal of the site is to grow the company till it is profitable, not just financially but for the scene. I would love to one day be able to sponsor events myself and feed the scene instead of trying to draw from it.

How has the feedback been since the launch of your site?

Phenomenal. You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. As you said the design is mind blowing and the concept is a decent one as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better first year.  The amount of people visiting the site-so I am told is outstanding for the time it has been alive and there hasn’t been one shit comment about anything we have done (apart from mistakes-only human you know) All is good and people seem to be digging it.

What grabs you in terms of websites out there? 

They didn’t really until I started mine, I was really not into the web at all before with limited access and all. But now it is the design and how they are put together. Since I have to focus hard on that angle, I notice it a lot more now.

Also I find some sites boring because they don’t have much to read / look at so that is important-content etc. Also animation or moving flash elements that might take a while to load but are insane when you see it.

If you were given the opportunity to introduce aliens from the Sirius constellation their first lesson in earth music which albums would you play to them and why?

Ah mate that’s a hard one. I don’t honestly know. There is so much I would play them I couldn’t say which one exactly. I would more than likely play them a tune of every genre I have in my collection to let them decide which one they would like to listen more to.

What drink quenches your thirst?

Windhoek Lager is the beer of choice-Whiskey and Jack is well up there when I’ve had enough of beer. Cocktails on a desert island always goes down well. Oh and Ice tea for the non alcohol times. 

What school did you go to?

I actually went to a few different schools because I moved in between SA and the UK a couple of times whilst growing up but I did the last 2 years in SA and that was in Durban at DHS.-I fukin hated school.

What advice would you give to people who want to get involved with music?

Good luck. It’s bloody hard and you have to be extremely dedicated but if you love anything enough, it will happen – So I am told anyway. The industry is great and it’s a good lifestyle but be prepared to work your ass off otherwise it will throw you out.

Okay I’m going to drop some names and you must just say the first thing that comes to your mind:

a) Barry Manilow

Isn’t he a singer

b) PW Botha

Yeah whateva – politics-its everywhere and unavoidable in all walks of life-especially in music, my advice, try stay away as much as possible, it’s better that way.

c) Public Enemy

Schweet

d) Isidingo

Don’t watch much telly but when I do, It’s not Isidingo

e) YFM

Making waves 

f) Bush Radio

Making smaller waves-some good shows especially Mon nights, Tues nights between 10+12-take a listen

g) Pop Idols

There can only be one Winkler

h) Santa Barbara

The place or TV show-Wouldn’t mind doing the place

I) Patricia Lewis

Married isn’t she?

What does the future hold for the Breakdown?

So much, the force has only just begun. We have some wicked plans and some even better secrets.
If anyone wants in, come chat-Were always open.

Thanks for taking the time to speak to us, any last words?

Shot, thanks for the opportunity.
It’s always good to be on the other side for a change.

Last words:
Breakdown is a way of life you have chosen to lead-
And we are here to express that.

Support local talent!!!

And come check out the site-you never know; you might even like it!!!
The Break Down

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