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Eton Messy

Eton Messy Interview

Kmag recently caught up with the Bristol based blogging/DJ collective Eton Messy, that in a relatively short space of time, have risen from obscurity to become a leading name within the future garage/bass music movement.

It has been dedication to this scene that has seen Eton Messy create, build and establish a solid platform for a seemingly endless thread of exciting and innovative new artists from all over the world. Exposure of this talent, using social media avenues to great effect, has seen them gain an international following and has helped get the attention of various respected figures within the industry.

We chatted to the guys behind Eton Messy about their snappy rise to recognition, and how, in such a short time, have secured themselves as the ‘go-to’ guys when it comes to undiscovered talent within this music genre.

Eton Messy, thanks for chatting to Kmag. Could you start by briefly introducing yourselves…

Adam: I set up Eton Messy, run the channel/social networks and DJ.

Charlie: I work on the events and artist management side of things, as well as DJ with Adam.

Ed: I help run promo and soon to be merch for EM along with helping make sure things get done!

The reaction to the music that EM is pushing has been outstanding. Could you have expected the year you have just had?

None of us had expected what has happened over the last year in terms of growth of the channel and the brand but as soon as the channel started getting attention, we all wanted to make sure we could do our part in pushing the scene and make people aware of all this great music that is being produced!

Let’s go back to the start, what was the inspiration behind the Eton Messy project and how did it come about?

Adam: It all happened almost accidentally actually. When I initially set up the Eton Messy channel I did it with the intent to use it as a private Youtube account, so I could comment and rate videos etc. Then I realised that so much of the music I was enjoying at the time wasn’t being posted on Youtube, so I decided to start putting them up on my channel. Ever since then it has just grown and grown.

This year saw you booking artists such as Bondax, Maribou State, Pusherman and Sly-one for your self-titled events. Seeing such a good response to these events is a refreshing testament to the shared passion of new music between you and the people of Bristol. How have these events been going? And are there any plans to expand these events nationally?

The events have been great! It has been nice to see something go from an online base into a physical brand that people want to be part of. We have just finished our first series of nights at The Bank in Stokes Croft, which was the perfect small intimate location we needed to push our exclusive vibes. In terms of nationally, we have already been booked to take Eton Messy all round the country and even internationally! As well as this we have been hosting many rooms for nights in various cities, including Troupe at XOYO.

What can people expect from an EM show? You cover a wide range of styles and tempos when showcasing new music. Do you try to incorporate this style in a live environment?

Obviously a lot of the music on the channel isn’t suitable for clubs but we try and tie up all the variation that you hear on the channel and make it accessible to our nights. Going into 2013, we are moving to a larger club which we are hoping will allow us to do more with the space. We’re really hyped about this and have some cool ideas we want to try and put into action. Basically we really want to create a unique atmosphere at our shows… not going to say any more than that!!

Producers, particularly within this field, seem to be getting younger and younger. Is it scary sometimes to hear examples of what can be achieved from such a young age now?

Charlie: Yes and no… I don’t think it is a surprise that young people are picking up production at all what with the accessibility to software. I do find it scary with what is being created as a result! You can kind of relate it to the PlayStation generation. We all used to play on our games consoles, they just play on Ableton and Logic!

Adam: Exactly, all you need is access to a computer and a crack version of Logic (although I am not condoning this!) and you can make music to share with the world via the Internet. If anything I would say it gets me really excited for the future, because if these guys are making such amazing music at the age of 16-18 then imagine what they will be achieving in the coming years.

Has there been any direct success linking the exposure from EM to any of the unsigned artists you have featured on your YouTube channel?

Yes, there has been loads which is one of the most rewarding things for us about being a part of the channel, I guess the best ones to mention would be Aaron Lipsett, AZ&TOR and Applebottom who all have had or have releases coming out on Mad Tech Records. Quite often I get contacted by artists that have been featured thanking me for posting their stuff because it has later been scouted on the channel by a label that has later on gone to release it! Also I know for a fact that some of the big names and labels in the genre regularly check the channel.

Will there be, or is there already any avenue for EM when it comes to productions of your own?

We all felt that putting productions together as EM could present the brand with a shelf life and put us in a certain category, as you have already said EM covers a broad range of genres so it would be hard to choose where to even start! However Adam is pretty heavy on his production and is running a few projects that he may want to talk more about.

Adam: Yeah, I thought that producing under the name Eton Messy might lose the channel its credibility. So I decided to keep EM as a strictly promotional outlet only. But I do have two projects I am currently working on. The one I am most excited about is called ‘Blonde’ which is a collab between me and Jake from Thieves. It’s focusing very much on the house end of the EM spectrum and we are currently piecing together some material for release, so watch this space!

Any projects that you can share some information about?

Well as some of you may already be aware we have just been confirmed as a part of the Gottwood family for this year’s event. We are so hyped to be a part of it and will be able to tell you more when the time is right, but we have a lot more of an input this year. Fans of the channel will already be familiar with the compilation giveaways.

Seeing as we have just reached 10,000 likes on Facebook we thought we would get together the third compilation for everyone. This should be ready within the next month. On top of this a certain producer of which I cannot name yet will be releasing a free EP through our Soundcloud which should land early 2013.

We have a lot more festival announcements but cannot mention yet as they are not 100% concrete. All we can say is 2013 is going to be full of fun!! Oh yeah, and obviously our next event is on 30th January at The Croft (Bristol).

Who have been the stand out acts for you in 2012?

Armeria, Applebottom, Aaron Lipsett, Polkadot (although we feel 2013 will be his year). A few other names that have really got people talking are Maribou State, Bondax and obviously Disclosure.

And finally, what does EM have in store for 2013?

Where do we start?! Hopefully more of the same in terms of fresh sounds and sticking to what got us to this point. I guess the main aim is to emulate what we have already done to even more people!