Fourteen years ago, the rapper and DJ were guilty of Ill Culinary Behaviour on Format's debut album, Music For The Mature B-Boy. After years of featuring on each other's solo albums, they're now back with a full album made together called Still Hungry. Before their gig at Rescue Rooms on 11 May we sat down with Abdominal and Format to chew the fat...
What can we expect from new album Still Hungry and the subsequent tour when it arrives in Nottingham?
Abdominal: Sonically, the new album kind of naturally continues from where we left off collaborating back in '07, with the same funk-based hip-hop beats combined with rapid fire vocal delivery. But thematically I think we've added some more depth to the material, which was just an inevitable by-product of both of us getting older and experiencing more life, complete with all of its glorious trials and tribulations!
DJ Format: Yeah and our live show is very much as it was back in the days, with lots of energy and interaction between us. We always want to make sure people go away from our show happy and feeling they've been properly entertained.
How did you guys meet and was there a moment when you realised that "yeah, I can work with this guy"?
Abdominal: We met through a mutual friend in Toronto, record dealer Aaron Keele. And to be honest, we hit it off pretty much right from the get-go, both musically and personally. We're both incredibly stubborn and have strong artistic visions, so inevitably there have been some heated debates over the years, but we're both also pretty civil people, so we've always been able to respect each other's opinions, understand that ultimately we're both coming from a place of just wanting to make the music as good as it can be, even if we differ on some of the specifics, and manage to work out acceptable compromises in those situations. Man, we sound like an old married couple.
I think you have that brilliant 80s/90s hip-hop sound - lots of soul and funk samples. But how would you describe your music?
Abdominal: Thanks! And yeah, I think you've basically nailed it there. And it's no surprise really, as that's the era when we were both coming up as young rap fans, so for that sound to influence what we're still doing now isn't a coincidence or anything contrived, it's just the sound that we're most familiar with, that comes most naturally to us, and that we love.
DJ Format: Most of the music I make is still influenced by the '80s & '90s music I grew up listening to, so I guess that always comes across in the finished product. I started losing interest in 'current' hip hop from around '95/96 onwards so that when my passion for listening to other music took over. Some of my biggest hip hop influences were Public Enemy, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane, Lord Finesse, Tribe Called Quest and my biggest soul/funk/jazz influences were James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Kool & The Gang and The Meters.
Are there any up-and-coming DJs/MCs that you're currently into?
Abdominal: I'm a big fan of Edan, Homeboy Sandman, MF Doom, etc. None of whom are particularly 'up-and-coming' I suppose, but current at least!
DJ Format: I really like some of Your Old Droog's records but there's not too many 'up & coming' artists I can think of that I really listen to. I mostly listen to late '60s & early '70s music and rarely get excited about new hip hop records.
Abdominal, a couple of years ago you performed with your mother...
Abdominal: That was part of a live band, 'hip-hop meets the blues' project I put together a few years ago called Abdominal and The Obliques. My mom had always dabbled with poetry and was always interested in my lyrics, but often found it hard to follow along to some of the faster, more 'rappy' stuff, so when I put together this quieter, slower project, I figured it'd be a good opportunity to try to get her involved. It actually all unfolded really naturally; she wrote her verse herself, then I just had to coach her a bit to help her learn how to get it to flow on beat. She picked it up really quickly though and was shooting videos and performing live at The Jazz Cafe with my band and I in no time!
Have you made any exciting discoveries recently while crate digging? Will you have a chance to visit any record stores while you're in Nottingham?
Abdominal: I'm making exciting discoveries all the time! I must admit I buy a lot of records online nowadays but that's just a sign of the times, it's hard to find interesting/obscure old records in 2nd hand shops because most people sell that kind of thing online. I'll definitely be hitting the record shops in Nottingham while I'm there, I found some great stuff when I was there last time. That's one of the best things about touring for me, I get to visit record shops all over the country that I wouldn't normally get a chance to visit.
New album, UK tour; what's next for you guys?
Abdominal: No clue to be honest. Really just focussed on memorising my lyrics for the aforementioned UK tour at the moment.
DJ Format: I'm personally looking forward to making some new music once the tour is finished. I do enjoy playing live shows but I'm not really a natural performer, I'd much rather be locked away in my studio for days on end just playing with samples. I love making music and if I could do it continually without ever leaving my house that would suit me just fine. Maybe I could leave the house occasionally to visit record shops.
Finally, what do you like to eat when you are "still hungry"?
Abdominal: For those that know me, they know there's only ever one answer to this question: CHICKEN WINGS!
DJ Format: Well the title of the album, Still Hungry, wasn't actually referring to food, it's referring to us as being still hungry as artists....and also hungry for life in general. But to answer your question I guess I'm happiest when I'm eating some kind of meat. My girlfriend has just turned vegetarian and it's made me realise it would be almost impossible for me to do that, I just love meat too much.
DJ Format and Abdominal will be at the Rescue Rooms on Thursday 11 May 2017. Their brand new album Still Hungry is out now.
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