The Nextmen, like many of the greats, are hard to categorise. The Cambridge connection of Brad Baloo and Dom Search mix elements of jazz, reggae and funk in their cauldron of musical madness. However, the genre they have been most closely associated with over the years has been hip hop. “We love hip hop and always have but we don’t really consider ourselves hip hop. I suppose we’re just eclectic,” says the outspoken, yet diplomatic Baloo. The pioneering DJs who founded hip hop culture in the late 70s were very much rooted in the same musical openness, he believes. “Back then there wasn’t something called hip hop music. Hip hop, especially today, isn’t just about hip hop, it’s about all music.”
Knee-deep in the UK’s music scene since debuting over 13 years ago, The Nextmen are still doing their “standard gig thing,” which Baloo estimates is around 100 shows a year. Along with bringing their flavour across Europe they have found the time to work on two new joint projects, along with some solo production efforts. Being a consummate musicians Brad couldn’t divulge too many details about said projects, however he did drop some nuggets. “I’ve been working with a band called The Milk, they’re a four-piece from Essex. They’ve just put out their first single and they’ve got a major deal for their album.” He’s also working with a London rapper-guitarist monikered Random Impulse, who he compares to “vintage Beastie Boys.” He shares, “These artists are going to become really big and really popular over the next 18 months or so.” Dom also has a couple of collaborations up his creative sleeves, including contributions to the anticipated third album from Plan B, titled The Ballad Of Belmarsh. After fulfilling his obligations to record what his label, Atlantic Records, deemed a more commercially viable release, the talented rapper-actor is now able to explore his passion project. “It’s his return to hip hop, after doing the soul thing, and it’s pretty big and pretty hard from what I’ve heard so far. I think it’s gonna be surprising, interesting and shocking at the same time.” Baloo sums up rather understatedly, “We’re pretty busy.”
The endeavour they sound most excited about though is their new podcast. While he’s worried about coming across in our chat as a “whinging pom,” Baloo resembles more a veteran deeply driven by his passion for music, which may in a way result in some cynicism about current trends. The web radio show, imaginatively titled The Nextmen Podcast, is only a few episodes in and has been topping the UK iTunes chart, “We’ve already had over a quarter-of-a-million downloads. It’s great opportunity to play music we love.” The fact that it is more relaxed is a nice change of pace from their usual DJ set, while still giving them the chance to delve into their deep record collection. “It’s more about just playing the tunes instead of mashing them up like we do when we DJ.” Music was unavoidable for Brad growing up, thanks to his family’s collection of instruments. He’s hoping he can translate the feeling he got digging through his dad’s record collection to the listeners of the show. Listening to jazz greats such as Oscar Peterson as a kid he could hear the correlation when he discovered hip hop later on in his teens. “It gave artists new life with people sampling records. It made people want to trace back to a whole wealth of great old music.”
With the seemingly endless choice of music available on the internet keeping fans listening to the podcast is a challenge the perfectionist Nextmen are mindful of. “You need to keep the quality up from week-to-week.” The fact that they have a strong profile and level of respect on the UK music scene may help draw in fans initially, “You still need to track the success and keep the quality high or people will get fed up and move on to something else.” He admits, “If you look at the downloads not every show will be downloaded the same amount of times. There was one show, which I thought was pretty whack, and it’s had two-thirds the downloads the other ones had.” The effect of file sharing has had consequences for the bottom line of the performers and artists, while on the other side of the coin putting control into the hands of the listener. The inconvenience of having to wait for your local store to get the latest albums is a thing of the past. “It helps for people that are in slightly more isolated places, to be able to access all music straight away, rather than having to wait for it to be imported.” Despite our economic weight and growing population, Australia could have been considered an ‘isolated’ place in the days when music buyers were at the mercy of retailers who would belatedly order in an album or ship it in quickly, imposing a ridiculous price mark-up. Brad’s Aussie wife has told him about having to wait for the latest drum ‘n’ bass releases to reach our shores. The freedom of choice comes with its own price tag however, “Now everybody’s got the tunes. There’s been an absolute flooding of the market. You’ve really gotta’ wade through it.” It’s also taken away some of the influence of being a DJ, “It kind of makes it harder for a DJ to set yourself out from everyone else. So it’s all about doing something else, making your own version. Taking those songs, re-editing them, making them unique. That’s what I think separates people as DJs now.”
The burgeoning podcast market, which he says has blown up in the UK over the last two years, is competitive, “Again like music some of it’s rubbish and some of it’s really good.” He specifically points out the Space Invader internet radio network, which reminds him of Melbourne’s very own PBS and RRR. “We don’t really have something like that in England. It seems to be happening a lot more now. People supporting each other and all excited by the opportunity to play good music on the radio. It’s very much survival of the fittest, with the podcast market especially.” Much like the DIY ethos of podcasts and internet radio hark back to the days of pirate radio, so too can making music. “People have managed to put records out themselves and make them really popular.” The shift from a traditional label machine structure to that of self-promotion and grass roots work is something he’s been following closely, “If you want to sign to a major label you have to have music ready in a lot of cases just to get signed. It’s like you’ve gotta’ be ready from a really early stage and you have to have a demo that’s ready to be released as a record.” With the decreasing amount of funds being kicked around by the traditional labels the need for an existing fan base and a polished product is necessary, he believes, before signing a major contract in many instances. “They want people doing things on a higher level therefore you have to achieve in order to get better noticed. I’ve found over the last couple of years especially, that there’s not much waiting around, you have to do everything yourself. With technology and home studios it’s becoming easier to do as well, to get the quality out.”
Brad and Dom are opting to record their next project first and worry about distribution later. “In terms of putting another Nextmen record out we will do it all on our own and then we’ll probably license it out to labels.” He does say, however, “If a record label comes along with the right deal then I’d be happy to sign. If not I’m happy to do everything myself.” They have another project in the works, which won’t be under the Nextmen banner, “That’ll probably come out before another Nextmen record.” Diverting from their previous path of working with the likes of Alice Russell and Dynamite MC they are choosing to go minimalist with the album. “The project will have one vocalist on it,” he confirms. “A lot of our albums featured tons and tons of vocalists. Although its fun for us to work with a lot of different people that understand us creatively, we wanted to just do an album with one vocalist. It’s closer to where we are right now, but it won’t be under the name The Nextmen. Sorry I can’t tell you anymore about it, but you really need to look out for the Random Impulse and The Milk projects.” In an age of album leaks it’s refreshing, after all magicians don’t give away their secrets. Except for the Judas in that TV special.
