Among the people helping maintain and boost Mantissa’s presence behind the scenes are Hackney Rhythm. A promotional team made up of Maxime Langois and Troy Hewson, helping bring attention to low-key events, that may have otherwise slipped under the radar. It was by chance, while purchasing Troy’s Tascam DR-40 off of Gumtree that I came to learn of Hackney Rhythm, a stroke of good luck that played a large part in the success of our first event. James from Mantissa caught up with Troy and Max to find out a little bit more about themselves and their motivation behind Hackney Rhythm.
When did you come to London, and how did you meet?
David moved here from Coritiba in the summer of 2013. I came to London in November 2014. I worked on a film in April with David’s best friend Michael and he introduced us. I then moved into their house in Lower Clapton in April 2016. By June Maxime had moved in from Rennes. He had lived in London previously but moved back home for 10 months.
What part has music played in your lives and how has the scene here influenced the music you make, and promote?
London is just such a diverse melting pot creatively that it’s effected us all in a way that goes beyond music. When I met David he was producing Acoustic based fusion music, but over the past year he has really pushed into a whole new territory creatively that can’t ever be defined by one genre or art form, his upcoming album as ‘The Orbalist’ really epitomises this. Maxime Is just a huge fan of music in general. He’s always been working at music festivals, and has a real affinity with the community aspects of music. I’ve been freelancing as a music producer since working on the film, so what I’m creating is effected by a stimulus, weather it’s an advertisement or an installation, so I think that the creative synergy of London, through the people we have met and the projects we have worked on professionally, has really opened up our minds In more ways than one, and this really reflects The Hackney Rhythm philosophy.
How was Hackney Rhythm started? And what would you say are the most rewarding parts of being a promoter?
It was originally formed by David in early 2015, with a similar premise. But in October 2016, with maxime and I onboard, we all got together, combined our strengths and built some momentum to give the collective a real makeover, in a branding sense, as well as how it was identified, this was the most important aspect of it. We had an urge to put on events that combined all the resources and the creative people that we knew, while also promoting artists and events that we really believed in.
With the 3 of you juggling Hackney Rhythm with your day jobs, how do you keep your motivation so high? And what is Hackney Rhythm to you?
The great thing about social media is that it’s reflecting the DIY post-punk scene of the late 70s early 80s, in the sense that you can do everything yourself, but the technological aspect means you can do it anywhere and at anytime. It helps that we all work from home, so there’s flexibility, and regular lunchtime meetings in the kitchen. I think this was what Hackney Rhythm represents, in a sense, but it also represents creatives of all shapes and sizes and the vast window of creativity that can be combined to produce something special.
Finally, what are your future plans for Hackney Rhythm? Do you plan on promoting more music, or are you looking to branch out into other forms of entertainment?
We’re putting on our first proper event at Paper Dress Vintage on the 29th of April. But beyond this, as well promoting artists that we love, we want to really start doing multi-sensual and immersive events that challenge the norm. I think the important thing for us, is to adapt and challenge what we already know.
Hackney Rhythm will be taking control of promotional duties for the second instalment of Mantissa on 20th May 2017 at the Horse & Groom, Shoreditch. Make sure you come down and support what is likely to be a great night.
