How Did Maxime Guedj Get 1.6 MILLION Fans? Passionate Hard Work, And A True Love Of Music

1. Can you introduce yourself? When did the music bug infect you?

Hi! I’m Maxime. Two things I love: solving problems and music. I believe music is essential to us, has always been around and will always be. Given that, I try to improve people’s lives by building web products focused on music. Passion, creativity, focus, and harmony are my four cardinal directions. 

I’ve been listening to music since forever, I couldn’t sleep without it when I was a kid. It really infected me when I had the chance to be the art director at Radio Everyone. I then interviewed many artists, discovered what was going on behind the scenes and decided I wanted to be part of this world. When you see the joy you can bring to people thanks to the universal language of music, everything else looks quite boring in comparison :)

2. You founded the huge music community on Facebook “Je Ne Peux Pas Vivre Sans La Musique (La Musique)” how much time did you spend choosing its name, and how can you explain its incredible success?

It was in 2009. At that time I remember I understood the power of communities and that it should be the base of any project online. Seeing the rapid growth of Facebook, that’s where I wanted to bet and I started a group there with this name. It attracted a few people and in a few weeks we were a few thousand exchanging music there. Then Facebook released their famous “Pages.” Seeing the huge potential of a page compared to a group, I converted it (you could do that at this time). The magic of viral buzz started instantly, it was really crazy. Hundreds of people were liking it every second! I couldn’t stop refreshing my browser and for a week I couldn’t go to class because I couldn’t focus on anything other that that! In a couple of months, more than 300,000 people liked it and today we’re reaching more than 1,640,000 fans! 

It would be pretentious and untrue to say that I’ve got a clear explanation of all of that it was all planned. But I can say this is the result of a few things: luck, passionate hard work, and perfect timing. One of the many things I’ve learned is you’ve got to stay creative and true to yourself along the road if you want to keep making something people truly enjoy and are willing to spread around them. I try to always remember that behind data, analytics, likes, comments, and clicks there are real people behind their screen using what I create so I’d better make something that is honest and has a positive impact. 

3. How does your love for discovering new music translated into your new project Mailtape?

Mailtape is an idea I had during a trip to San Francisco. We help people discover new music in a very natural way by offering Sunday morning listening sessions. We’re trying here to create a very intimate moment where the listener can really let herself go with the music and open her ears to new sounds never heard before, without judgement. 

Our home is open and inspiring artists are collaborating with us on every session, giving that way their unique touch to it. Nicolas Jaar, Connan Mockasin, Kid Koala, HVOB, Fat Freddy’s Drop and many other have already been featured. 

We’re two working on it with Ludovic. We’re thinking about opening new positions in order to spread this experience to more and more people around the world. 

4. Who should sign up and how can we support it?

Well, everybody course! You just need to love music and be curious. Signing up is as easy as ABC, put your email, and…that’s all! We’ll make sure to wake you up gently every Sunday morning. 

If you love it and want to support us, spread the word and don’t hesitate to make donations directly through our website. 

Thanks Maxime! You can subscribe to him on Whyd to keep up with some of his latest personal discoveries! 

Broadcaster at Radio Campus Paris, Community Manager at JNPPVSM, Jonathan Melgar Cannot Live Without Music

IMAGE: COURTESY RADIO CAMPUS PARIS

1. Can you introduce yourself? Where are you from?

I’m Jonathan Melgar, I’m the Community Manager of JNPPVSM, a great community of music lovers on Facebook. I’m also a music broadcaster at Radio Campus Paris (93.9 FM). Everyday I dig finding the best new albums and bands. These bands just need a little push to start their careers and as far as I can, I try to give them this visibility on the radio. 

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Paris, way too close to CDG airport. I now live in Paris at Menilmontant. 

IMAGE: COURTESY JONATHAN’S WHYD PROFILE

2. What is Radio Campus Paris, what do you do there, and who should listen to your broadcasts? 

Radio Campus Paris is an associative radio based in Paris. Its role is to give a voice to the student community in Paris. You’ll hear all kinds of radio shows on it: cinema, news, art, history, sciences, but mostly MUSIC! 200 people are working hard everyday to give the best experience possible to our audience. 

It’s original, with no advertisements, fresh music, and lovely people. If you are looking for a new way to discover music, just turn on your radio to 93.9 FM in Paris. 

IMAGE: COURTESY JNPPVSM

3. You just started a new adventure as the Community guy at “Je Ne Peux Pas Vivre Sans La Musique” (I can’t live without music) which could be the motto of every music lover on Whyd. What attracted you to the project and what are your goals there?

I was attracted to JNPPVSM because I’ve always had this will to share music as widely as possible. I love to ask people randomly what is the artist or song they love RIGHT NOW and I start digging in my head to find out what could be their next crush in music. Sharing is caring! 

The originality of this community: they post dozens of YouTube videos everyday in order to share them with the rest of the community! 

4. Time to get personal, what type of music makes you move? When did you realize that music would occupy such a large part of your life? 

I think I realized that music was going to be important in my life around 20. It’s kind of late but some people will just never realize what they’re good at, ever! I had first experience in the music industry at this time and I knew I was made to dig and share music. I have to say I’m lucky, working as a music broadcaster on Radio Campus Paris and managing JNPPVSM is so cool and it’s so me! Wouah!

I just made this playlist for Whyd and its community! Hope you’ll like it. 

Thanks Jonathan! Make sure you follow him on Whyd for his latest favorite tracks! 

Breaking the Barrier Between Physical/Digital & Visual/Sound: The Missing Channel Interview

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1. How long has The Missing Channel been around? How did it start?

The Missing Channel is a multi-shaped label that started as a experimental project in Amsterdam in 2010. It started after four years of playing gigs and creating visuals for music in various places around France and The Netherlands. We have always been interested in linking images with sound, but were quite frustrated by the conventional format of the VJing: it always consists of a screen behind a musician and is always there to somehow complete the music. But practically, it mostly acts on the same level as stage lights. How can we change that? how can both of these media really communicate? The Missing Channel was then created on this motto: always trying to approach music like we approach visuals and the other way around. 

Since 2010, The Missing Channel has been creating events and connecting numerous artists together on the internet first, and then during real gigs or exhibitions. The Missing Channel is more about bringing people together rather than patronizing them like any conventional label would. 

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2. What is unique about The Missing Channel?

The Missing Channel is unique only by its plurality, it is fed by the different actors that all brings their own cultural and artistic background. This joyful mess, somewhere along the creative process, creates a real experimental atmosphere that brings all the actors of the label together in a single movement. 

The Missing Channel is a label for a movement. Especially in a literal sense: it aims at studying music and visuals by experimenting with the moving media that carries and expresses themselves and/or a message. The Missing Channel could be described as a net-label. It was born on the digital medium, the internet, but should not remain intangible, that is why we always try to materialize all the work on a physical level: gigs, exhibitions, books, posters… But those media are not treated as merchandising and especially carriers the work of the Label, each object released carries the concept of The Missing Channel: Why can’t a poster be a song? Why can’t we store an image inside a song? Why can’t a gig be played over internet to cross the physical distances?

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3. Who should listen to your music?

It is always hard to describe an audience especially when you try to think about music and visuals outside the conventional “trend tribes” that characterize external visual outlook along with a specific music genre. Let’s say we like to cross borders, so on the same level we always love when people that usually listen to one specific type of music, who belong to one specific music tribe, end up in one of your gigs listening to our music. And whether they like it or not, there is always an interesting talk that emerges from our confrontation. 

But of course we do electronic music, which means that we do compose music with analog and electronic devices, but that’s all. We are inspired by lots of genres of music and we try to play with composition dogma that exists in electronic music as well as in metal, rap music, etc….

So everybody should listen to our music, everybody with an open mind who wants to expand their usual listening habits. We would not say that people who like “electro” should listen to our music (they can of course) but actually this word was invented at the end of the 80s by major labels in order to embody all the electronic genres and this decision ended up normalizing and narrowing electronic music down until what we know today as “electro music.”

4. In your opinion, how are you changing the dynamic between music and images?

You can only change something when you propose something different and do it in a generous way. What we do are proposals for a new way of seeing the relationship between images and sound. We try to experiment during events, but also when we release new songs, in the digital or physical world. For an example, for the first physical release on The Missing Channel, PaulusP’s Pagus EP, we tried to question how labels usually distribute music: we decided to store the whole EP on mediafire and make is available for free, but the physical version had to add something to that. So we gave away a pack with three visual cards and one CD, the visuals printed on the cards were actually the song directly translated into image form, using a transformation process and the CD was empty, with the URL to download the EP. The whole idea was to question the CD as a medium that carries music and create a real communication between the digital and physical version. And this communication continues with the user as he is able to burn the EP as well as other songs he would judge interesting to juxtapose. 

When we talk about the relationship between music and visuals, we can not avoid the question of the representation of the artist and his music on state. Each live event is for us an opportunity to try to understand the role of the DJ as part of a musical show. This always raises some questions like: does the DJ/Musician have to stage himself, stage his own music? Does this mean that he has to exacerbate his movements? Show his instruments in some sort of attept to prove that he is indeed “making” and not only “playing” (like pressing play on a device) music? That is why every artist on the label have a kind of amateurism in common in their way of crafting music. We all try to make things and not only play them well, and just like an amateur does, when we make things, we experiment, we try, make mistakes but end up most of the time surprising ourselves. 

Thanks for this very innovative look at the music world! Subscribe to The Missing Channel on Whyd for all of their latest tracks! 

Say Hello to Arte’s Tracks

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PHOTO COURTESY: WYNN MILLER

If you’re in France, as a lot of us are, and you love music, as all of us do, you definitely know Tracks, the weekly cultural TV series from Arte focusing on the coolest music around. But did you know that Tracks are now on Whyd

If you’ve always wanted to keep track of the endless amount of cool music they share, now is your chance, just hit the subscribe button! 

We’re very excited to welcome them on board, and look forward to the innovative contests and trendy music that they will be sharing with us all. 

Never stop jamming!

The Ambitious Mind behind Whitezine, Sayfat & FraisFrais: Meet Joseph Ayoub

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1. Can you introduce yourself? What are the different sides to your personality and how do they show up in your projects?

My name is Joseph, I grew up in Lebanon and I’ve been living for 10 years in France. I’m an entrepreneur doing all kinds of things and sort of a creative person. I don’t have any particular talent but when I am passionate by a subject, I put all the energy driving people, ideas, and work into it, so that it becomes what I want it to be. It fails very often, and succeeds from time to time. 

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2. What is the concept for FraisFrais? What about its music side? 

FraisFrais was born about six months ago in my mind. I used to read a web magazine that was clearly directed towards women. I knew a couple of friends around me who used to read it too. So I told myself “we should do this but for men.” It evolved to become what it is, a place where my friends and I drop some posts about culture, lifestyle, food, buzz, and what makes our own world go round. And of course, music is a big part of our world. All the people who worked with us on the project love music. I personally cannot stand a day without music. It was more than obvious that we were going to talk about music on it. 

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3. What about Whitezine? When did you start that project and who should check out the site? 

Whitezine started about five years ago now. I used to have another smaller blog with a cool editorial line. When I sold tha tblog, I knew I wanted to do something more, something maybe bigger or that could talk to more people. So I created Whitezine, a place for trends when it comes to digital art and fashion. It has been in French and English since day one, gathering dozens of writers and millions of readers since it was created. 

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4. What should we look forward to from you in 2014? 

I love creating stuff. In 2009 I created Whitezine and in 2013 I created a T-shirt brand called Sayfat. But for 2014 I’ll probably be focusing on being sustainable in the company I just launched (an agency for online brand communication). Whitezine, FraisFrais & Sayfat are now part of this company, hopefully by 2014 I’ll still be alive and have some people working with me on cool projects. 

Make sure to subscribe to Joseph on Whyd to keep up with his latest musical discoveries! 

Meet Spanish Electro Music Blogging Pioneers: Neonized

1. Can you tell us about yourself? When did you first start to love music?

Well, I’m a psychologist with a postgraduate on HR so my studies are not very related to music. I started loving music when I was a child. I did not have a big music background (my forefathers were not big music collectors or musicians), but they introduced me to Spanish commercial music. 

When I was 11/12 I discovered Blur, and since then, I started focusing on some kind of pop-indie and especially British music. 

Then when I was about 17 I had a friend who always loved trance music, but I kind of hated electronic stuff. After a couple of years I started to go out to a club in my town (Sala Golfus) where they mixed electronic and some indie stuff, and since then I love electronic music. 

2. Give us the backstory of Neonized. When did you start it and what was the music blogging landscape like then?

NNZD was born in May of 2007, when Fer and Uga decided to found a blog in Spanish, since there were no electronic music blogs in Spanish, so we were “pioneers.” It was the Discodust, Discobelle, Palmsout and that kind of blogs time, so they were our influences in some way. I started writing in June and started taking the reins of Neonized between 2008-09.

3. What type of music do you feature? Who should come check out your site?

We used to feature electronic music. In most of its shapes (we try to avoid EDM). We like music, in general, so if we think it’s great, we will feature it in a post or by sharing it on our social networks, no matter if it’s electro, house, juke, old school, or seapunk. 

People who want to be updated on electronic music, can visit us. Also we have a weekly chart (which we moved to Whyd a couple of weeks ago thats to the EASY way to make it on this platform!) where we add the songs we have listened the most during the week. And I have to say they’re fucking great! They’re done by a few contributors, so it’s a nice mix of styles. 

4. Are you working on anything specific that we should look forward to in the near future?

We’re working on something that should definitely make people love Neonized. We’re planning a change on the web. Redesigning it, new sections, different content (working on more exclusive stuff) and working a lot on Neonized Records. Because, if some of you don’t know, we have a record label!

We want to be a reference label in Spain, we want to show new artists and new stuff from people who are looking for a friendly label to show their work. 

Subscribe to Neonized on Whyd to check out their latest favorites!

Interview with FROM KID: Two Voices, One Melody

1. You’re the band FROM KID. How long have you been playing music together and what was the initial spark?

We two started playing together about one year ago. For a small charity concert in our hometown we got together to write a few songs. While we were playing for this purpose, we both realized we really like that kind of sound. Our music that was growing back then was really simple. Based on a warm organ sound, two voices and some guitar we played a few concerts in our area. At this time we more and more liked what we were doing. After these concerts we decided to hide from the world to work on new songs. We added more different sounds and tried to refine our music. The result of all that, was the birth of FROM KID

2. How did you find your unique sound?

Our songs develop in a natural way. We let our songs decide how they’re supposed to sound. And that’s changing from one song to another. What all songs may have in common is our love for melodies in two voices. Many things in our music change from song to song. SOme are supposed to be played softly, others can be loud. 

3. Who are your influences and how do their styles show up in your music?

The most important influences for us are people, their way of life and the collision between them. If you ask us for any artist we like, we probably would say, Fink, Sophie Hunger, Björk, Tom Odell, Empire of the Sun, C2C, and about a hundred more. Our best concert so far was a concert of Fink. We were obsessed by this incredibly good live performance. Back to the question; everything is influenced by everything. FROM KID could be a mix of everything. 

4. Tell us about the new single “Sun.” Who should listen to it?

“Sun” is our new single. It’s also our first single. This is supposed to be our “Hello you all, we are FROM KID track.” We recommend “Sun” to everyone who is curious. And everyone who is on the run to explore, to dream, to live. 

Sun” also climbed the ranks of the Hot Tracks, briefly resting in the top three of all tracks shared on Whyd. If you needed any more convincing to listen to this amazing track, there you go!

Like their Facebook page, and of course subscribe to them on Whyd

Interview with Erwan: Co-Founder of Beware!

ALL IMAGES FROM erwanchecman.tumblr.com

It’s a lazy August afternoon when the doorbell to my apartment chimes. The microphone is out and ready to record the interview with one of the co-founders of Beware! a webzine dedicated to culture, fashion, design, architecture, photography, and music. That might seem like a lot of subjects to cover, impossible maybe. It sounds like a project doomed to fail, the result of an over-ambitious web denizen who gets amped up on coffee one morning and decides to change how the world digests culture. But that’s not the case here at all, because Beware! has been publishing original content daily for over four and a half years. 

The man who walks in is young, attentive, excited, and a little nervous. His project has grown to such large levels because of his passion, and the time he invests everyday into improving the quality of the content on Beware! He is also my neighbor, and co-hosted our second AperoMusicTech at Point Éphémère. His name is Erwan Manchec

The publication of this interview is timed with the first Whyd Selection for Beware! that just hit the web today. It is the first in a monthly series featuring the most popular music on Whyd, alternating roughly between electronic and indie. Make sure you check Beware! every second weekend of the month to listen to Whyd’s selection. 

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We sit down to begin the discussion, to hear the story behind Beware! and how they got to where they are today. I tap the microphone, it’s recording. 

TH: Let’s start by talking about the timeline. When did it begin? How did it develop?

EM: For the context, Beware! was created officially on January 1st, 2009. We started with something called Beware Blog, a terrible name that didn’t work very well, so in 2010 we created a new site also with content in English called Beware Mag. Today it’s the 13th of August and we are about 50 contributors. 

Beware! is an urban culture magazine focusing on architecture, fashion, graphics, design, photography, and music. We started with all of the topics at the same time. What we did was organize it so that we had a different category each day of the week; Monday was design, Wednesday was fashion, etc. The idea was really good but it didn’t work because news doesn’t work like that. 

TH: Didn’t people appreciate that? Seems like that is a really interesting format to present your content.

EM: Well to be honest we didn’t really have much of a response at the beginning, so it’s hard to tell, but we weren’t able to cover news quickly because of the structure of the format, and we are always searching for things that are truly exclusive, which is hard to do after the fact. 

TH: What is your favorite category personally?

EM: Photography, because I am a photographer on the side. It’s the category that I understand the most. I appreciate the other categories too, but not as much. 

TH: What type of photography do you do?

EM: Portraits, landscapes, streetscapes. Images talk the most to people I think. 

TH: Did you start Beware! to create inspiration for your own work?

EM: No, I started photography two years after I started Beware! The idea for Beware! was to create something to showcase things that are beautiful. I like things that look nice. Beware! was a way to create a project around those beautiful things. 

TH: So photography for you came after?

EM: Yeah, I was in Copenhagen with the guy who designed our logo and he started to teach me things about talking photos, and when I went to live in London I really fell in love with it, the environments, the light. 

TH: Are there any links between the styles of the content across the different categories of Beware?

EM: We always talked about a lot of things at the same time, so they are not connected, as long as it inspires. It’s photos that emit emotion, that can be transmitted and rejoined in a certain way. 

TH: Now that you are working on this for more than four years, you’ve seen things online change. Is it more difficult now?

EM: In 2009 there were already a lot of blogs. We were able to keep it together for over four years because we found a model that works. We all do this for free, and there are a lot of blogs that just stop, people change jobs or lose interest. We found a way to do this with no cost, lots of time, for sure, but I think that it’s about as complicated today as it was before. We have more ways to promote ourselves but all of these social channels are jammed up.

TH: The average lifespan of a blog is six months. It starts off very well, and then it collapses. How did you keep it going?

EM: I’ve always looked at this like a pleasure, I spend four or five hours per day on this, and I found really cool people to help me who feel the same way. They are people who love to share, and the desire to do this comes naturally from that desire to share. We have also created a good team dynamic. We meet once a month for example.

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TH: What is the music side of Beware?

EM: We started doing different compilations but it was really time-intensive. We started doing podcasts of about 30-40 minute mixes, but we couldn’t keep doing it because one of the guys left, and we couldn’t get someone to replace him. So we definitely want to relaunch the podcasts, and keep doing selections.

TH: What was the podcast?

EM: Nu-disco, a little Frenchie, things that have character, we have all gotten older throughout this whole thing, so the tracklists have become more mature too. We were thinking about things that are designed for moments, like a podcast to work to, etc.

TH: We have a ton of people who listen to Whyd only at work, so we know how that goes. What is your longterm objective? Do you want to continue to do this for fun?

EM: We are always talking about this, do we want to professionalize this stuff? We really want to go more pro, better content, more artistic, more in depth, higher quality really. We need to find our balance, so that our work is to push Beware to maybe become a creative agency, or a resource for creatives, there might be a way to monetize the site and our services. The brand Beware is also important, we have already made T-shirts, and other merchandise. We can’t take all of the routes at the same time. It’s a ton of time to get everything done. You just have to come and see it!  

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Follow Beware! on Facebook, Twitter, and subscribe to them on Whyd.

Interview with Now Playing Mag: An Eclectic Box of Musical Discovery

1. When was Now Playing Mag born? Why did you create it?

Now Playing Mag was born in February 2011. Everything came from a conversation. Along with other friends who are passionate about music and who are also bloggers, we realized that while we wanted to follow the news from all of the musical genres that we love, we could easily find ourselves opening a dozen windows in our browsers because it was nearly impossible to find an outlet that covered all of our tastes. I listen to everything, almost without any restriction. I have a collection where Vampire Weekend resides along with Billie Holiday, A Tribe Called Quest, Angélique Kidjo, Van Morrison, Benjamin Biolay, Blur and Spice Girls. Now Playing Mag was created for all people out there with eclectic tastes, a media outlet where all different facets of music meet. 

2. Who is the team behind the magazine? Who does what?

Today the Now Playing Mag team is made up of 20 members coming from around France and even Florida! I don’t know how to really define our functions at Now Playing because they are all multifaceted. I am the Founder, Editor-in-Chief, webmaster, director of publication, and I manage too. There is also Morgane, the other editor/boss, she manages the articles, partnerships, and contests. I am assisted by Léa, who handles contacts at labels, promo agencies, and others as well as planning. In terms of editing and content, there are a few teams here at Now Playing. Some of them cross at times. The hip hop team is piloted by Stéphane with Pierre (who also handles jazz) and Atman; the indie team is managed by Sarah with Camille D and Morgane; the electro team is where we find Imane, Johann (who is also our graphic designer), Louis, and Morgane; the soul/R&B team is Francine, Célia, Laurene, and Florien (and also often Atman); Emilie takes care of rock; Camille B. the French scene; and Astrid handles music from around the world. Finally, there is Ludovic who is behind the photographs and the acoustic sessions. 

3. What are the musical genres that you cover?

Now Playing Mag is defined as being a “eclectic music box,” from jazz to indie pop including soul, R&B, rap, electro, world music, French classics, pop, metal, and folk. Alternative and classic scenes meet here. For the time being we have a smaller focus on genres like country and techno, but that will change! 

4. Who should read and listen to Now Playing Mag? Do you have plans for the future?

I would say everyone! Mostly people who are avid for discoveries. For the future, we aspire to position ourselves among the referenced media for musical discoveries. We are also building a new version of the digital magazine that corresponds with our hopes and those of our readers. 

Make sure to like the Now Playing Mag Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to them on Whyd

Interview with Poejazzi: London Spoken Word Architects

1. Before we get to the specifics of Poejazzi, how do you view the role of poetry in today’s society and how is it tied to music?

We think of poetry as part of everyday life, especially in music, so we have always put the two together because we see them as related. Through our poetry and music nights we wanted people who wouldn’t necessarily have been exposed to much in the way of poetry or who may have believed they wouldn’t enjoy it to find themselves liking it through its connection with something that most of us like: music. 

2. When did you start Poejazzi and what was the original idea?

Poejazzi was originally a monthly night that started six years ago, its founders wanted to create the kind of night they wanted to go to. It developed into an organization and online magazine, poejazzi.com, 18 months ago. Now we are publishing poetry apps (our first one comes out in a month), producing concept shows like our new re-imagining of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” and visual content like live sessions, as well as putting on our regular nights. 

3. Can you define what Spoken Word means to you? How is it unique as a medium of expression?

Spoken word equates to honesty for us. It is unique because it can be accessible and deeply personal at the same time. 

4. Tell us about the tradition of your live events. What is the vibe and who should attend?

The vibe is generally very eclectic, both of us have very broad taste in music so you can expect to see all corners of the alternative world represented, even if it’s pop music, at a Poejazzi night it would be pop music with a twist. We always consider the mood each act evokes and who they should be with on a line up so people get a range of experiences from the night. All of our spoken word acts are as amazing as the music acts, there’s always that equilibrium, so neither is an afterthought. 

We love championing people we think people will be hearing more of or should be and people who may be established but we feel are deserving of even more fandom! From the responses we get from both regular Poejazzi-goers and new faces, the night is a beautiful medium between challenging and entertaining, so there is always a level of innovation or surprise from our acts but there will also be an element of no matter how alternative this may sound that it could be popular once people have been exposed to it because it sounds fantastic. 

We’re pretty selective as a duo about what we like musically and we have to be very critical running an online magazine as well as a night, so we are always putting ourselves in the shoes of the crowd watching and thinking “is this entertaining?” “is this life-changing?” “is this interesting?” because that is what we want from a night out like this. 

5. Who are the minds behind Poejazzi and how did you all come to work together?

Poejazzi is run by partners and music/spoken word obsessives Joshua Idehen and Charlotte Morgan-Nwokenna and all visuals are created by the wonderful director Bruno Ramos. Joshua Idehen is also the vocalist in the band Benin City, founded Poejazzi six years ago with friends and poets Musa Okwonga and Inua Ellams. Inua Ellams is now a guest curator for special nights whilst Musa Okwonga has a very busy and great career in broadcasting, journalism, and music/spoken word. Former editorial assistant Charlotte Morgan-Nwokenna was looking for new challenges and so Joshua convinced her (with cake and promises of future success) that that challenge could be Poejazzi: she joined Poejazzi 18 months ago to help expand the night into an organization that published poetry digitally and has an online magazine. 

6. Can you leave us with your favorite inspirational quote?

Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.

Thanks guys! Make sure you Like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter to get the latest updates, and definitely subscribe to them on Whyd to hear some examples of excellent spoken word!