Shakila Rajendra chats to the London collective who are determined to make a mark with their cross-genre brand of hip hop/funk music.

Let’s get one thing straight, Shorty aren’t an all singing all dancing group of (let’s be politically correct here) ‘vertically-challenged people’. Neither are they a girl band who named themselves so, out of devotion to 50 Cent and that infamous line from the song In Da Club. Far from that, Shorty are, with the exception of two band members, well over six foot tall and are, with the exception of vocalist Celeste, male. Shorty was just an aptly ironic name for a band whose members are often referred to as ‘trees’. As for 50 Cent and the reference to ‘fine women’ Shorty were around long before that. What the band Shorty can be referred to however, is a seven- piece hip hop/funk collective that thrive on the live scene who have already been establishing themselves as a force in UK hip hop to be reckoned with.

The beginnings of Shorty started in Leeds when bassist Dan French met guitarist Jim Reynolds and drummer Charlie Taylor at university. Later on in London, DJ Hudge along with MCs Ducane and Cisco filled in the gaps while vocalist Celeste completed the picture when they found her singing at a friend’s party. So what happens when you throw seven strong minded people together and ask them to produce a sound? The good news is, Shorty landed on the right side of the term ‘mish-mash’.

With seven people who are all massively into music, how does a band find their sound? Shorty have taken in a varied range of influences; from Led Zeppelin to Gangstarr, from Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill to A Tribe Called Quest and Fela Kuti. These influences have thus contributed to their producing a sound that can’t quite be placed into a genre as such. Celeste agrees that “it is a fantastic thing although it can be difficult to explain sometimes”. The reason it is a fantastic thing is because, Shorty have found a way to ‘smash it all down and mix it up’ and produce something that appeals. “When you look at people’s influences these days you find that they like a bit of rock and they like a bit of hip hop but they also might like a bit of jazz and a bit of soul. There aren’t necessarily too many bands that mix them all together. They find it refreshing as music genres aren’t so defined anymore. It appeals to a much broader section of people,” say the band.

Their sound is further emphasised by their lyrics which broach anything that needs calling to attention. The majority of lyrics are written by Cisco, DuCane and Celeste who say that their songs, “come from experiences or things in a particular moment that spark a creative process.” Shorty’s songwriting process is as organic as sitting in Celeste’s flat, looking out a window and finding inspiration from an average Brixton street nut.

So does a band that so evidently know what it takes to produce good music ever think of using it as a tool to perhaps get political? Shorty acknowledge that “there are people who do the political thing really well and they should be commended, but we don’t want to jump on the bandwagon and do the political thing, just for the sake of doing politics.” They like to consider themselves more of a party band. That is not to say however, that they would ever sway in the direction of so many hip hop type bands that have started to jump into that other bandwagon of superficiality.

The superficiality here refers to the notion of sex, ‘bling’ and videos that feature ‘wall to wall ass shaking’ which more often than not, gets clumped into the urban culture scene. Shorty realise that they inevitably are representative of this scene and stress that they want no part of the trivial side of things. Says Celeste, “It’s a shame because there’s a whole generation of kids that are ‘plonked’ in front of MTV and there’s a whole generation growing up on this sort of degradation. It breeds ignorance and the more cynical that this generation gets, the more sex and porn that they have to sell to drag people in. There’s no aspect of our music that ever goes there and there never can be.” Shorty would rather stick to making quality music that is “slightly quirky and appeal to different people’s sense of humour.”

With attitude and their feet firmly stuck to the gravel, Shorty have been carving themselves a niche in the UK urban/hip hop scene. They’ve been dubbed the next big thing and have collected themselves the Diesel-U-Music Award for Hip Hop back in 2002. The band have worked with UK heavyweight producers, Blackbeard and have toured in Europe which included a Roots Manuva after show. Shorty reckon they would do well in the US as their brand of sound that blends different sorts of music has more of a niche there. However, for now, they are setting their sights on home ground. “There is a lot of talent and good music that hasn’t been given the chance and hopefully, we’ll be seen as a breath of fresh air,” says Hudge.

In the pipeline, is a mixed tape that they are in the process of producing for online release which will feature the best of five or six tracks that could sum up their sound and Shorty hope to be seen at the festivals of 2006. In the nearer future, they will be playing Cargo on 8th March 2006.

This band is set to make an impact. A tall order but one Shorty aren’t afraid to take on.

Cargo
83 Rivington St
Kingsland Viaduct
Shoreditch
London EC2A 3AY
www.cargo-london.com
www.shortyonline.co.uk