Blipsters (black hipsters) are all the rage in New York right now (new word for black fans of indie rock) the recent attention that has been given to several bands with black members — like Bloc Party, Lightspeed Champion, TV on the Radio and the Dears, but there's a new tribe of race-bending trendsetters taking over. Blipsters beware. Blavers (black ravers) OWN London's new/nu rave scene right now. East London, the epicentre of nu rave, is home to big black communities and so racial mixing was inevitable. Soon enough the neon-clad, glitter-faced, MDMA-fuelled parties became a melting pot of all creeds. Nu blave was born...
INTERVIEW - NIYI:
Your EP just landed on my desk. It's H-O-T.
Niyi: Cheers!!!!!!!
What inspires you?
I'm not sure if it's cartoons or porn. I know it's not very PC to say this, but I absolutely love obviousness and I love stereotypes even more. When I see a baddie on TV, I want him to be big, scary and have like massive frowny eyebrows. In my music I like to put massively obvious things that shouldn't be together, in the same song.
The nu rave scene is very mixed in terms of race and sexuality. Why do you think that is?
I think it is developing into something else. Maybe the Klaxons are the rave bit. I'd like to think of us as something a bit new.
Is it okay to describe black nu ravers as nu blavers?
Yeah. And the gays could be Quavers.
You're riding the crest of the nu blave wave. Is there anything you're pissed off about?
My friend Namalee! She won't give me my strawberry jumper back. It looks like a strawberry!!!
OK, well, good luck with that. Bye!
Bye.
www.myspace.com/niyi
http://vice.typepad.com/vice_magazine/2007/02/blave_new_world.html
