10 Questions With Dread MC
Ahead of our 10 year anniversary night at Thekla, we caught up with Dread MC in the Music Works Studio's in Gloucester. Dread is an award-winning vocalist who has collaborated with an array of artists over the years and we're stoked to have him hosting our secret headliner tomorrow night!
So Dread, we’ve got the Parlez birthday bash at Thekla coming up. What can we expect from Dread on the night?
I will be hosting and my job will be to compliment the music and engage with the ravers that will be there. My role as host is to create a good vibe.
For any readers outside of Bristol - how would you describe the Bristol music scene?
It’s so vibrant here. To me the city is full of colour and that’s in the music. I like to reach out to lots of people and hear new music constantly and you can easily do that here. There is so much going on and so many amazing artists and nights out you can go to. It’s a real melting pot of varied creative talent here.
Now that events are back in full swing, what shows are you most looking forward to over the summer?
I’m always excited for any shows I’m doing, to be fair. I love travelling, so I'm excited to go over to Portugal for secret project in June and I'm always excited to go to Hideout in Croatia. I’m playing for Titan warehouse with Shy Fx in July, I know that’s going be big! and I've got Uprising festival in Slovakia with My Nu Leng..which will be sick.
Are there any new artists on your radar at the moment that we should be checking out?
Artist that I mention have already made a mark in the scene. The thing is, in Bristol alone there is so many artists doing incredible things. 2 people I really enjoy and see big things for are Oppidan and Badger. I recently spoke to Notion and we ended up talking about Drone and he has some exciting things to come. Nu Bass and Zero are going have a massive year. On the vocal side, Griz-o, Coco and Emz are smashing it. I could easily go on for ages....
What would be your dream music collaboration to work on?
I love collaborating, my career is built from that so many names come to mind. But I wanna work with Tokimonsta, Kaytranada, Apashe, Prodigy, just different vibes and make something unexpected.
What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify right now?
Fat Joe - Family Ties, Pusha T - It’s Almost Dry and My Name is My Name & Shy FX - Ragga Muffin Reloaded.
We see you rocking Parlez all the time on Instagram - what’s your favourite Parlez piece you own?
It’s the new bomber jackets (coming out Winter 22) So so sick. But from years back I had this design I have talked to one of the directors Will, about that had a big pocket on the front of the jacket that fit my microphone and keys in, I have always loved that design. I just find the quality so good with Parlez and the T-shirts are a nice thick material.
When you’re not in the studio or at a show, what else do you get up to?
Hahaha nahhh, any spare time I have is in studio I hardly watch tv. I play Words with friends and Quodle before I go to bed. I like to cook when I get the opportunity. No lie, music occupies so much of my time.
What’s your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?
I think it’s about to happen, I’m dropping an album on the 12th of August.
Over my time as an artist there has been many things that I’m proud of. My track 'Fresh' that I made with FOOR and Majestic has been a huge thing for me and it's my first tune signed to a major label - Warner and seeing it used for the Coor advert campaign makes me smile.
And lastly, what do you have in the pipeline for 2022?
I have my next release dropping with My Nu Leng and Kaya to come and then I have tunes with Gentlemens Club, DJ Q, Friction, T95, Pola and Bryson, Shosh, I could go on for a while but, a lot! and I am an A&R for a huge bass label in the US that I will be announcing soon and I will be pushing my Bass World Collective show on SWU FM harder this year. As well as promoting the Music Works in Gloucester a state of the art studio facility.
Photos by Elliott Cole