Hebe Week(s) In Pics

Stacey interviewed Mick McCann for LOL! Leeds Online"I am easily the best looking writer in Leeds!"As with most of our interviews, we hit MOJO in Leeds, still our favourite bar in the world ;)We had a new delivery of of Lee's research reading...
Showcase is so old that it is starting to have that nice retro feel about it nowWe got these awesome bar stools a couple of weeks agoThe legend is now in his frame and takes pride of place in Hebe landWe said we would not give into Krispy Kreme, we failedWe hit Leeds Pride last week. Was packed despite the rain!Easily one of the best events the city hasWe hit Hyper Island in Manchester and as expected, magic is happening in there right now

Eboi - Immigrants

This afternoon I checked in with Eboi and Thomas from RMH in Stockholm. They told me about the new video they had created for the new track 'Immigrants' and we talked a little about the thinking behind the track and the video.

As you can see when you watch the video there is a strong message in here that Eboi wanted to put out there as he explains:

"Europe is going through a lot of changes and the segregation in many countries is on the rise, especially in areas where a lot of immigrants live. I wanna show the world what it's like up here, especially in a place like Sweden where most people picture tall blond people and no conflicts. There's a big gap between that perception and reality out here."

As some of you will know the track is Eboi's take on the massive Slang Like This - True Tiger Feat. P Money (Big shout to Verena / Kids of Grime in the vid too!) and when Eboi heard the track he knew he had to put his own Swedish interpretaion down:

"I got the idea when I listened to Slang Like This and I felt they captured the feeling perfectly and I wanted to apply the concept to Sweden. I even used the term "slang" in there just to make that connection because as soon as I heard P Money slaughter his verse, I could relate. 

I mean to me the original track (Slang Like This) is already an anthem, and I'm surprised more people across the international hiphop scene haven't already given us their interpretation of the song."

The video has a real 'raw' feel to it and that is exactly what the director Thomas wanted to get on this:

"It's my first music video ever and I wanted to make sure that people all over the world get to see how it looks in the hoods in Stockholm, Sweden. The place where Eboi grew up. I sparked up a J and just started filming the people that kick it in Ebois hood. That's it."

It is always interesting to hear different artists' takes on a track and we love both P. Money and Eboi on this one. Coming from a similar angle but done in totally different ways. The two videos also have the 'real' feel to them that is always really interesting to see - real people doing real things somehow always feels more powerful, especially for a track that has the same vibe.

You can download the track here 

Adam Tensta - Scared Of The Dark Video

As regular readers of the blog will know: We love Adam Tensta! We love him not only for his music but for his ability to regularly produce kick-ass videos. Check the video above for his latest: Scared of the Dark (w. Billy Kraven)

Some of our friends have worked with him on videos for Dope Boy and Back Before You Know It but this new video takes things in a different direction and feel (as does the music on his new album) and we think it is cool. Check out another of our posts here, where we have a chat with Adam and look at another video from the new album (Like a Punk!) 

Standby for more Tensta / Hebe news coming soon!

Hyper Island Manchester Launch

Last Friday we attended the first official event at Hyper Island Manchester. As regular readers of our site will already know, we have been heavily involved with the project and Hyper Island globally, so we were excited to check in and meet some of the students from the first-ever class and catch up with some of our other Manchester friends.

Arriving at the Watts Brothers building on Lever Street we, along with the Hyper Island UK team, felt a bit like proud parents watching something that we have all worked so hard on, come to fruition. The first Hyper Island facility outside of Stockholm is a massive step for the brand, but one that we all believed would be a great success. The industry obviously agreed with the likes of Google, MTV, Channel 4, Wieden + Kennedy, Saatchi & Saatchi and loads more getting involved with the project.

It was really nice to spend a bit of time with the new students. They are a real interesting bunch! In just a couple of hours we had been involved in conversations about the city of Manchester, the fashion industry, the use of the word 'viral', the re-birth of speed garage, problems with restrictions when working in government and loads more random yet facinating subject! We are sure that some amazing people and projects will come out of Hyper Island Manchester in the coming months. You can see from their video above, they are already getting in the zone!

Check a couple of our previous posts related to Hyper Island here:

Hyper Island Arrives In Manchester

Creative Spaces Are Key To Creative Culture

We will keep you posted on progress of this first class on here over the summer months. In the meantime check out some of the pictures from Friday's event below:

The first class along with Hyper Island UK Director David McCall and Programme Assistant Amir LodgeShang Ting hanging with some of the studentsLee getting excited about something geeky no doubt!David McCall and some of the students along with representatives from Google, NESTA and Code Computerlove welcome everyone to the eventThe Hyper Island way already kicking inCollecting souvenir stickers of all the students :)

Adam Tensta - Like a Punk

The Hebe Media team are big fans of Adam Tensta. Since we first heard some of the tracks from his awesome debut album: It's a Tensta Thing, we have been following his movements closely. For a while now he has been working on new material and is about to hit the world with his follow up album: Scared of the Dark. We checked in with Adam for a quick word about the new video for Like a Punk and an update on his current plans.

The first track from Adam's new album to begin making waves online was OK Wow, which we felt marked a pretty big change and gave a different vibe to Adam's previous stuff. Like a Punk takes that a step further, giving perhaps a more edgy and dirty sound to tracks like Back Before You Know It and My Cool, which were two of the stand out tracks from It's a Tensta Thing. Adam explains the story behind the new album:

"The new album was created during a very long period of time. It took close to three years to complete and is a snapshot of my life, as it is right now. Being on tour for three years on three continents provided me with so many new impressions and experiences, that it's hard to view things like I did, as briefly as just a couple of years ago. For me, Tensta is not the same as before, all though I still live out here. This newly found "perspective" has also forced me to delve into thoughts that I buried a long time ago. Thoughts about my relation to my family, resulting in me opening a Pandora's box for many of my vices. 

I would like to see this album as the first step in a process, a process to become a more open and tolerant person."

One of our friends who we featured on the blog a few weeks back, Albin Holmqvist, had worked on an awesome Tensta music video a while ago for the track Dopeboy, which you can check out here. The director of both videos is a guy called Marcus Lundin, another big Swedish talent. Adam told us what it was like to be back working with Marcus again on the Like A Punk video and the thinking behind the video itself:

"It's always nice to team up with people that can make ideas come to life, as in this case. Marcus has the vision and know to make visuals enhance the impression of a song. For this video we wanted something scaled down, with an almost documentary feel to it. We wanted to capture the everyday life of these young and frustrated kids. Their situation reminds me of how it was growing up and having nothing to do, and the almost dumb loyalty I once felt for my friends. Right or wrong, standing by their side no matter what we got into. Even if hesitant (as the monkey in this video), we rolled through thick and thin."

We think if the first two tracks are anything to go by then Scared of Dark will be a really interesting album. It is really cool to see an artist evolve and develop his sound with more then just the dollar signs in mind. From the way he performs, acts and talks, you can see how humble yet confident this guy is. As one of my Swedish friends said recently "It is almost annoying how down to earth he is with that amount of talent" we think that is one of the best compliments we have heard!

I spent a day down in London a bit ago with Babak and Thomas from Adam's management company, Respect My Hustle and we immediately hit it off. They are a group of creatives who are intersted in making cool projects and trying new things above any kind of short-term commercial gain. There are other really talented people in the stable such as Eboi, a man with an unbelievable flow and a man who I think is destined for something special: Dida.

We are currently developing a project with Respect My Hustle and are looking forward to making some annoucements in the coming weeks. We can see some really interesting opportunities and collaborations for them here in UK and can't wait to help that happen!