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MANCHESTER HIP HOP COLLECTIVE MOUSE OUTFIT ARE BACK WITH ANOTHER NEW LINE-UP:
TEN years have passed since Manchester’s Mouse Outfit burst onto the scene and three albums later, they’re still mixing things up. The hip hop collective have just released third album, Jagged Tooth Crook, and are preparing for a homecoming show at the Ritz on May 18.
But according to founder member James Defty, change is always going to be an inevitable part of the band’s DNA.
“The line up has changed again for this album and tour,” he says. “A couple of members wanted to do their own thing - Dr Syntax has moved down to Bristol for example - and we wanted to get some people in who we really liked.
“We like getting people involved who we’re fans of - it doesn’t matter whether they’re established or not. So we’ve got Berry Blacc coming through for us and I think he’s really going to be big. We worked with IAMDDB. It’s about getting people we can have good working relationships with.”
Those two names are already breaking past the ‘one to watch’ tag - IAMDDB in particular is making waves in the US.
The band have been all over the world in the last few years too, and Defty sees a difference in the way creative industries are regarded.
“When we tour Europe - and the UK - we’re still pretty underground. Small numbers of really hardcore fans. France has a really good hip hop scene.
“But the way they support the artists is something else. You go to these tiny venues and they have chefs to cook your food, crew to help you get in and set up. They treat you like kings. The government really support the arts and the venues out there.
“If you work so many days a year, you get subsidised for your creative days. We played in Bucharest and we were on a massive stage in the middle of the city as part of a free festival.
“It’s something we should be doing more of here. Every musician at our level I know in the UK is skint.
“The cost of going to gigs is going up rather than down too.”
The democratisation of making and releasing your own music is definitely helping the band though.
Defty says he wants to make a video for every single track on the album - eight have already been made and put out there thanks to YouTube, Vimeo and the usual range of social media.
“It’s cheaper and easier than it ever was,” he says. “The kit isn’t expensive or hard to use. Having videos helps get you out there. You don’t need to hire a big studio to make music - Bandcamp is free.
“It’s not essential to have a label behind you anymore - but because anyone can do it, there’s so much noise out there that you have to fight harder to get noticed.” The Mouse Outfit and their rotating line of MCs is arguably doing more for Manchester’s music scene than any other band - albeit in a slightly quieter way to the plethora of boys (and girls) with guitars.
The sheer volume of new talent emerging through hip hop, grime and soul is something we should be looking out for in the city’s next wave of bright young things.
“I came to the city because of the music scene and it’s still really exciting,” he says.
“People are doing some really interesting, progressive stuff in hip hop, jazz... we’re producing some really great soul singers. Artists like Black Josh and [KSR] are worth looking out for.
“Since Oasis came along, there have probably been 1,000 bands like them - but there’s nothing out there like LEVELZ. You’re suddenly seeing loads of UK rappers with regional accents. It’s really encouraging.”
The upcoming Ritz gig will see the aforementioned Blacc and vocalist Tara Morgan join the band’s live incarnation. Defty says Mouse Outfit will keep mixing it up.
“We don’t ever want to stop,” he says. We want to keep going. We want to do Manchester proud.”
We want to keep going. We want to do Manchester proud James Defty