5 Q&A With Law Abidin Citiz3n
How did everything come together?
It didn’t, everything fell apart. Myself, the world around, the people around, the environment, the western dream, everything. Rather than go down any further with that ship, it was my instinct to swim up to shore and rectify the whole thing. I started off in law, then came the rave scene, then came drugs and homelessness, then came the rebirth.
Was there any challenge that you encountered while making 'Scum (Self Centred Urban Male)?'
No challenge, per se. I mean, I was homeless, living in my car, dressing out of the boot into the one remaining Loui Vuittion suit I had left (having not sold for resources) to shoplift food, then parking in an alleyway, recording the demos, mixing them down, recording the vocals, then the next morning, parking outside of Starbucks (not having enough funds to even go in to purchase a £1.90 filter coffee)..to use their free wi-fi to mix the album on Logic, and then finally shaping my life up to get the funds needed to get the album mastered by an engineer.
How does 'Scum(Self Centred Urban Male)' fit into your overall artistic vision?
The overall artistic vision is Bamboo. Be Bamboo, think Bamboo, feel Bamboo. See, Bamboo trees are strong, sturdy and have solid foundations, yet, the beauty is that they are hollow in the most beautiful sense, allowing life to filter through, to really just experience the depth of the moment, not holding on to much. That’s what keeps them alive. Thus, the artistic vision you refer to is literally, to allow the channel to flow through with no pre-existing bias, prejudice or ego. Which can be a daily fight.
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
I studied music technology, in Lewisham, Notting Hill, all over London, really, including media production, this allowed me at a later date, upon the sky falling down, to use them skills which allowed me to weaponise the moment, for me, for everybody, and fire it.
How do you balance the artistic aspects of your music with the business side of the industry?
I run Reid and Write Publishing, the publisher of SCUM: Self-Centred Urban Male. The most challenging aspect is that although proficient on both sides, being a business mind means you have to be almost like a crocodile, distant, aloof, cold to the moment, a painless, calculated waiting, drawing upon the centuries art of pragmatic warfare, and yet, simultaneously being the artist means you also have to be incredibly sensitive, incredibly present and feel everything, to not shut anything away, and react. Thus, balancing the two can be…….fun.
