This is going to be crazy! I've already blagged all about this in my last blog post, but just for good measure, here's all the details below in my Ctrl.Alt.Shift preview for the United Underground 2 evening festival. Based on last year's turnout, I can promise all (money-back guarantee) a night to remember.
Last year was hectic - this year will be even better (yes, I sounds like a cliche salesman, but it's called for... this time).
Leave the hangover procedure for tomorrow night. Come to party - leave the cleaning bill with Southbank:
United Underground 2! After last summer's sell-out show, Riz MC Ahmed, British Underground and Ctrl.Alt.Shift host the second United Underground; a music, art and activism party across the foyers of Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Bringing together an explosive mix of cutting-edge sounds, street culture and film, the night (with a CONFLICT theme) will introduce exceptional new club and alternative artists and explore the potential of music as a catalyst for change.
Details for the United Underground evening showcase:
When: February 20 Time: 5pm - 11pm Location: Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, SE1 8XX Price: £6
Don't miss out on all this! -
Music in the Purcell Room:
Trembling Bells, Olivia Chaney, Laura Moody, Broadcast 2000, Twee As Fuck, The Bobby McGee's, The Half Sisters, Attaca Pesante + guests.
Music in the front room of the Queen Elizabeth Hall:
Wiley presents Eskimo Dance, JME, DJ Target, Speakers Corner, Marvell, P Money, Chock-A-Block feat. Nolay, Envy, FX + Spooky, Hit + Run, Nightslugs feat. Bok Bok + Manara, Urban Nerds fest. Illaman, Rattus Rattus + Klose One.
Film Room:
Feat. the five winning Ctrl.Alt.Shift short films.
Realtime activism:
Get a FREE poster from the Print Club London workshop, add your face to our digital projection, or get creating with the Craftivist Collective.
Talks:
Speakers will include former mayor of London Ken Livingston, Peter Tatchell, Ben White, Andrew Hogg, PEN, Traid and Guerilla Gardening.
It's a bargain bucket of entertainment for just £6!
When the Southbank Centre reps knocked on Ctrl.Alt.Shift's door, asking me and my team for a second dose of art, music and activism (after the sell-out success of our United Underground showcase in July 2009) - two main feelings ran through my mind; initially 'Oh no... here we go again' swiftly followed by 'Bring it on!'.
To brief you in, United Underground last summer was a whole day, midday to midnight, of live DJ sets, bands, acoustic acts, art (graffiti and crafts), speaker Q&A sessions... and a lot more I can't quite remember right now - but all in all, a manic day capped off with a Thames-shaking rave. The venue: The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London. The organisers: Ctrl.Alt.Shift, British Underground and Riz MC Ahmed. The turnout: Over 700 jumping, partying hard heads. The aftermath: United Underground 2 please...
Like last time, I have been left with the honourable duty of setting up the pre-event (the FREE showcase from midday to 4pm, warming up the crowd for the United Underground 2 evening festival at 5pm).
A few minor changes to the pre-show this time - I've got partner in crime, colleague James Prosho covering my tracks (two heads better than one and all), it'll take place INSIDE the QEH as oppose to outside the front doors (I don't need to me crapping myself in fear and anticipation of the almost inevitable London piss-down rain), the graffiti has been substituted for a screen-printing workshop (with a guaranteed FREE poster from the Print Club London lads!), and, we've basically got loads more spoken word and acoustic acts on the bill - so queue the 10 minute MAX sets and 1 minute change-overs.
DON'T MISS OUT - BE THERE TOMORROW! (Saturday Feb 20). For the full line-up and details, check out my preview of the pre-show on the Ctrl.Alt.Shift website below:
Writings On The Wall: United Underground 2 Pre-Event! Our United Underground Southbank showcase is back! Get ready for another day of art, music and activism; a stunning package brought to you by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, British Underground and Riz MC Ahmed - on February 20 at Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall...
As a warm up to the UU2 evening event (which will kick off at 5pm, featuring the likes of Trembling Bells, Speakers Corner, JME and many more), the QEH audience will be treated and welcomed to get their hands dirty with a live CONFLICT-themed screen printing workshop/showcase - lead by Print Club London (www.printclublondon.com).
Full details for the United Underground pre-event:
Date: 20 February Time: midday - 3:30pm Location: Queen Elizabeth Hall @ Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX What: Ctrl.Alt.Shift, Riz MC and British Underground brings together the best of British spoken word and acoustic talent Price: Free!
PCL, who have composed amazing prints for anyone from The Times newspaper to Dazed Digital, will be creating four large CONFLICT-themed posters throughout the day, whilst offering templates for the public to come down, create, and take away their own prints for FREE! If you're out and about on this Saturday, you can't miss out as Print Club promises "to revive screenprinting by providing a laid back yet productive affordable environment, enabling designers and illustrators to go from laptop to inky hands."
In addition, Ctrl.Alt.Shift will simultaneously be hosting a hectic showcase of unsigned music acts and spoken word poetry by some of the UK’s most exciting prospects. This FREE pre-event will include an array of talent from Indie artists Pete McAllen and The Samantha Durnan to Southbank spoken word favourites James Massiah and Inua Ellams.
The ball needs to keep rolling when it comes to rehabilitating Haiti... The last Ctrl.Alt.Shift club night/Haiti fundraiser (at London's glorious Den Club) left me utterly shattered, too sober for my liking, with nothing but a salmon and cheese bagel to comfort my sorry state as I made my way home at 7am (after a 10-hour shift collecting petit change with my bucket). Heavy night will be the understatement for 2010...
Am I complaining? Not in the slightest. I helped the team to raise over £10,000 on that epic January 20 night, with thousands more rolling in via Ctrl.Alt.Shift's online charity auction (get your wallet out people for JLS memorabilia, and a Chanel bag to just die for!). Yet, I recognise these are all pieces of a f**ked up puzzle that will take more than a couple of loaded powers that be to repair. I will actually state, I don't know what the real Haiti earthquake aftermath statistics are, from death toll to damages - with so many numbers flying about, who knows what sensationalist media source to trust...? But it's obvious, like with Hurricane Katrina, like with the Tsunami of 2004 - the crushing impact of the Haiti quakes await no final chapter, no happy ending. Things will indeed never be the same for the nation, but have no doubt we can dictate how the rest of the story will pan out...
Queue the next Haiti rave/club night marathon in High Wycombe!
We're inviting one and all to a hectic rave for a necessary cause.
Ctrl.Alt.Shift Rave 4 Haiti! @ Pure Nightclub - High Wycombe
The last one was so hectic, the cause is still as relevant and important as ever - so there really was only one option; do it again, party harder, and RAISE MORE MONEY!
At the start of 2010, Haiti was devastated by two crushing earthquakes; and the country is still struggling to find reformation beyond the rubble and mass graves. In response, Ctrl.Alt.Shift held a Haiti rave at the Den Club in London’s Holborn on January 20, featuring the likes of Tinie Tempah, Boy Better Know, The Thirst (and many MANY more), raising an astounding £10,000 + for from the night of mayhem for the good cause.
On the back of that, never one to stop the momentum - we’ve teamed up with Donaeo to put on yet another rave for Haiti, this Friday, February 12…
Location: Pure Nightclub, Octagon Parade, High Wycombe, HP11 2HU Time: 10pm-3am Price: £5 MINIMUM (don’t be stingy!) donation on the door Line-up: Donaeo, Wiley, Bashy, Princess Nyah, Marvell, plus DJs Steve Sutherland, Target and Pioneer. More info: 07825551913
High Wycombe will never be the same again.
Don’t miss out on the party, and play your part in the Haiti recovery.
Note: If you can’t make it down on Friday, it’s never too late to contribute, as Ctrl.Alt.Shift is still offering you a little (or big) something back for your wonderful generosity in our online auction! Click on the link, and bid away on anything from a Christian Dior bag to a life-size Kung Fu Panda model.
I am a journalist and digital media/content editor/manager based in London, the former digital content editor of Ctrl.Alt.Shift (Christian Aid's youth political and social issue magazine), former senior content and community manager for Livity (working specifically on Spinebreakers, somewhereto_ and Live Mag UK) - currently working as digital media manager at Excellent Development (a charity supporting communities in countries such as Kenya, India, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to transform their lives with sand dams). In the past I have freelanced for the likes of RWD, the Guardian, The Independent, MTV Staying Alive (and others). I have also been a part-time mentor for young writers at Interact Magazine, an advisor in the ‘Platforma Arts and Refugees Network’ London hub, a mentor for Channel 4's Battlefront campaigners, and one of the directors of the Youth-led Media Network (now the Youth Media Agency). In 2011, I was a London360 blogger for Media Trust's Community Channel, represented as a social reporter at the 2011 London Youth Policy Symposium, and was on the drafting committee representing as a delegate at the UNAIDS Youth Summit On HIV in Mali. On my travels, I have provided global and social news reports from the DRCongo to Vancouver. Currently I am also a trustee for the Youth Media Agency, and adviser for SetOff Magazine.
