When considering particularly artistic cities in the UK one of the last cities to come to mind would be Nottingham, but Nottingham is where resides one of Britain's hidden artistic gems in the form of Mac. As one of the founding members of one of Nottingham's most highly regarded jungle / dubstep nights Rubberdub, Mac made a name for himself as pen wielding genius across the country with his innovative and vibrant flyer designs. In an age of apple mac technology and photo shop perfection, it is so inspiring to see a true bastion of illustration culture still developing his craft and having no plans of making the digital switch over any time soon, FTW decided to catch up with him and see what a gwannnnnnnnnnnnnn:
FTW: What first influenced you to get into illustration?
what first got me into drawing was just enjoying getting what i like onto paper,
i remember selling pictures of manga cartoons and gangsters in primary school,
coming home with £20 a day at times, i've been drawing bits for people ever since really. Plus just enjoying the end product aswell.
First Rubberdub Flyer
FTW: Would you say your musical influences affect how you draw?
I never thought about it until you asked this but when i was in secondary school I loved grime and garage and was always drawing rudeboys, people with weapons, ganja and street scenes of notts an stuff. Then growing up and going to free partys, Blueprint (how shut down club in Nottingham) and Raves id be doodling soundsystems when i was at home, so yes it has influenced me in ways.
FTW: How long have you been drawing for?
I've been drawing since i can remember really, ive always been doodling stuff, it was the start of rubberdub that got me into the flyer designs, jungle scenes with cartoon monkeys and wench rigs. Since i started doing flyers ive learnt alot about designing and promotion, also just catching the eye of the intended audience aswell.
FTW: What do you usually use to create your pictures?
Pencil on paper is what everything starts with, id go over that with a black pen then rub out the pencil. Then I'd colour it in with them graff pens you get, check out the montana shop in hockley for them. After that id scan it in and touch it up if ive made any mistakes or anything.
FTW: You also produce, what are your main influences to your production?
Playing weighty basslines on hefty rigs! being able to do it with my own beats 'eventually' is what makes me produce. Also most of my mates around me do the same so im always being influenced to do more.
FTW: Do you find it easier to be creative musically or artistically?
It's easier for me to get ideas for a picture onto paper than getting sounds for a tune out of reason or logic, though the more i learn with production it gets easier by the day.
FTW: You are also one of the founding members of Rubberdub in Nottingham, how long has that been going for?
the first night was 30th november 2007 at a small vibein club in Radford called Blueprint.
FTW: How did the night start up?
We were a bunch of mates that went out to club nights, free partys and we all had an interest in mixing. I remember we used to turn up at mates partys with decks and speakers and host some things, then thats when we decided to put a night on at Blueprint. As a few of us liked jungle just as much as dubstep we decided to do both genres. After the first event which was just residents, we got headliners down and it grew a nice following ever since, it was the hot, pumpin vibes of Blueprint that drew people back to the place.
FTW: Have you got any particular favourite Rubberdub events or memories?
many. when we had rebel mc & tenor fly (congo natty) for the first birthday, i remember Spyda & Daddy Freddy turned up and jumped in with tenor fly on the mic. The place was full capacity and vibes were bless. ill never forget the vibe of the nights there. when we had true tiger lot down, the room was chocka and ill always remember the weight coming off the 6 double loaded bassbins in that night. at one point we had 17k packed in such a small main room, it was next. thanks wez for royaly murking my ears for good.
One last thing ill never forget is when we had Krome & Time playing and Sweet Potatoe Soundsystem and the electric for the main room completely blew! The main fuse was wrecked and we had to run loads of extention cables from the bottom room up the stairs into the main. All just in time for Krome & Times set. also the NSC mansion afterparty just topped it off proppa.
FTW: Do you have any particular advice to any promoter wanting to start a night?
Find a venue that will suit the style and vibes of your night and think of djs/headliners that the people are really going to want to see, also you always need the bassweight to go with 'em. Think about your budgets and what's achievable before getting major names down and always show great hospitality to the artists you have down. Think fresh
FTW: What have you got coming up with Rubberdub in the future?
weve got great plans coming up for 2011, look out for the flyers soon ;)
FTW: Madness or Badness?
Badnesssss
FTW: James Blake or Earthquake?
James blake suprisingly
FTW: Jungle or Um bongo?
Jungle
FTW: Dubstep or Grime?
Dubstep
FTW: Fame or Lil Wayne?
urm, Fame?
FTW: Any shout outs or other information you want to share with us?
Shout outs to grimaz, yoshi, kg, jos 'first drop, speaker pop' clement and everyone of the crew dem, also big up everyone whos pushing music in nottingham and the Midlands, and bigup yourselves aswell as always.. BLESS
Check rubberdub out on Facebook
All artwork by Mac
And that just about raps it up he'd rather fame than Lil Wayne! You can catch Mac and the rest of the Rubberdub crew down at For The Win @ Dogma on the 17th February 2011 with Hench boss man Jakes.
FTW
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