Starfish EXTENDED : IrishHashMafia x ButtonFactory
Extended edit of my article for Starfish Magazine
Irish Hash Mafia is a project produced and curated by Rory Sweeney, bringing together an eclectic group of Irish Rap and Hip Hop artists, forming a 13 track mixtape, an ode to past tape cultures in the 90s Memphis Hip Hop scene.
The launch of this album was held in The Button Factory on the 26th May. This was made up of live performances by the artists involved in the project followed by a run through of the whole album, finishing off with a grime set with all the lads on stage, performing together. The team at Starfish were invited to chat with the artists backstage before the event began and then to experience the gig for ourselves.
On my way to the venue I was asked to think of some questions to ask people backstage to sort of warm things up and so I could incorporate people’s answers into my article. I knew our filmed interviews would be all about music and artistic practice and so on so I didn’t want to exhaust those topics. So, while leaning in the Luas, I wrote down the most absurd questions that came to mind in the time it took to get to Westmoreland. I ended up using these: Do you believe in aliens? If you were a robot, what would your model name be? Are pigeons friend or foe?
When I arrived most of the Starfish team were backstage setting up. Most of the members of IHM were also there, prepping and calming themselves for the show as one can imagine they would ( I won’t be so crude as to blatantly expose them here). While interviews were being set up I went over to test out my silly questions, my first victims, Rory Sweeney and Tony Bontana.
“So, do ye believe in aliens?”
Tony Bontana: The universe is so vast, so to think there’s no other life, it’s absurd. But I’ve never seen them so…
Rory Sweeney: There’s definitely something microbial.
These are good answers, can’t disagree with the logic really. I moved on to sitting by the L shaped couch, the shape made it easier for me to bother more people all at once with strangeness. I think these sorts of questions are best to ask to a group, especially a group of people like IHM who are able to bounce off each other in really quick and witty ways (as opposed to asking individuals one by one).
My way of starting with this bigger group of people was asking E the Artist;
“ So if you were a robot, what would your like robot name be ?”
E the Artist: Um I don’t know, I’ve to think about that. What’s the name of the robot in I Robot? I think it would be ‘Curious’ “
For the rest of the group (made up of Curtisy, Ahmed, With Love, Smokey, Emby and Keanu the Pilot) I asked;
“Are pigeons friend or foe?”
This got people very excited with lots of information coming at me, this is the best representation I can give of this conversation based on my notes. Basically pigeons are good guys but seagulls are nasty pieces of work.
Curtisy: Someone told me pigeons are all really depressed cause we used to domesticate them and then we just abandoned them and they don't have jobs anymore.
Ahmed, With Love: It’s like we brought them on a J1 and left them on the streets. I work in a pharmacy and one of the guys there would make concoctions trying to kill them, like leaving it out for them to eat it, methadone and shit.
Smokey: I hate seagulls though, put that on my grave.
Once doors opened people filtered in and out, during that time we were filming interviews backstage for the magazine. After they were all finished we left backstage to go and enjoy the gig. I think my experience in the crowd was definitely heightened by going from seeing the artists hanging out as mates in the greenroom to hanging out on stage. That’s what it felt like, between each set and even song jokes were being made, a real genuine and collaborative vibe which the audience seemed to love.
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