Artist Profile – MADALDN (UK)

MADALDN is not only a punk and DNB producing, guitar playing singer, songwriter and rapper from London, she also plays rhythm guitar with the band Bang Bang Bunny. She is also the founder of the ‘That Is Class’ project, an organisation that aims to bring knowledge of the class divide within the arts and creative spheres to the attention of the wider public.

She reached out to us on the off chance and as we are lovers of anything anarchic and against the grain, especially within the world of drum and bass music, we thought it would be good to find out a bit more about what she does and more to the point, why she does it.

INSIDE DNB presents to you, MADALDN.

So MADALDN, welcome to INSIDE DNB. Tell us a bit about the ‘That is Class’ project you founded. Order and hierarchy exists in every corner of every part of every society, but I guess if you’re not involved directly in the arts, its place within this movement is something you might not necessarily consider. What personal experiences drove you to create the project?

I finished school and had no GCSE’s due to the gang violence I experienced. University wasn’t something that had ever entered my mind. A company called Connexions helped me to get back into education and I did an Access Course. Within a few months of attending the course, I was applying to University. It was here that I came across a subject I’d never heard of called Philosophy. I read the description, which mentioned argueing in context and deeper thinking, and I resonated with it, so on a whim, I chose it.

When I got into university, it was quite apparent I was different to the other students. I Had a very strong South East London accent with Essex and Jamaican overtones, as I was around a lot of Jamaicans and let’s face it, it’s a vibe. I think however, many working class people who are more ingrained with the daily lives of people from other cultures tend to have hints of what are deemed foreign accents.

I remember when I went to my teacher and told her I was worried that my health at the time was going to affect my chances of securing the job I wanted, she deflected and said that I should rather worry about the way I spoke. When I retorted, she corrected my grammar and made me feel very low indeed, despite later learning about Wittgenstein’s theory of meaning being about comprehension, and not about hard and fast rules. I experienced many barriers to the arts, from in ya face unapologetic discrimination to systematic barriers as an isolated single mother. So I started That is Class. I Could expand on this ten fold, but then I’d be writing a book.

You describe yourself as an MC, punk rapper and guitarist. This is one interesting blend of performance delivery styles. Please enlighten us on how you channel these three very different ways of making music!

When I was fourteen I lived on quite a notorious estate in Plumstead. There were many budding rappers around spitting bars on street corners. I was always a good poet and thinker and writing rhymes came easily to me. I remember at the time I went by the name of Lady Facete and my boyfriend at the time, who later went on to become known as Tinie Tempah, was Facer and we always discussed rap techniques and lyrics. I remember him actually telling me I was too wordy lol, but I wanted to go a cut above the rest.

When I went to Uni however, I met a lot of quite posh middle class people who had access to instruments. One student, William Ginger, gave me a guitar which I then learned to play, and then I started spitting bars to guitar. My bars became more political as I was dragged into the students protests and the London Riots of 2011, after which I had to appear at inner London crown court looing down the barrel of an 18 month sentence just after getting a 1st class degree.

After this the bars I spat were politicised and I was told I was punk. I didn’t really know what the fuck that was, as I was raised on rave music by my mum, as true to her nature, she was an Essex girl raver. My friend who taught me my first bar chords also heavily influenced my style of music. So because I’ve had a life that’s traversed the invisible yet very really class borders, I’ve ended up one edgy musician.

We can see that you make DNB, grime, funky house and self-confessed made-up genres, as well as the analogue/guitar based side of your musical output. What musical influences led you to create such a diverse range of music?

TBH I love all the classic big pop musicians like Whitney, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, even Barbie Girl. I don’t give a fuck. I got into production and think why put limits on yourself? Most people love to listen to all sorts of genres on music, so why would I confine myself to a single genre as a musician? It doesn’t make sense that, really. I wouldn’t say my music is out to sound like any idols, but I’m sure Kiss 100 has embedded some rhythms deep into my bio- unconscious mind, whatever it is.

Music production is something you’re quite new to, with just 2 years behind the laptop using Logic. We’re guessing you’ve played guitar for a lot longer, so what was it that prompted you to move into digital music production?

Men are douchebags and will overcharge you, run game, try and fuck you, and fuck with your sound. They also do a lot of smoke and mirror magic, and there’s many out their who proclaim to know what they are doing and they are completely gassed. I definitely underestimated however how hard sound engineering would be, and I’m still plodding along mashing it up late at night on my Mac. I don’t think its any secret that many sexually perverse men are gatekeepers into the industry, and some static is flying around that only 2 percent of females make up the music production industry. I love to be a big fish in a small pond and I wanted in on the 2 percent.

There isn’t a label connection at the moment and you’ve self-released your music so far. Is this a situation that suits you, or would you prefer to be signed to a label?

I’d rather someone with money came along and actually did some of the work. Musicians are completely milked dry nowadays and everyone is exploiting their hard work and magical creativity and desire for recognition, that they would literally make a loss to get their music out there, myself included. So yeah, I would love a decent record label to come along and do some of the leg work, so then I could just focus on doing the music. The same is true for mixing and mastering too, and social media. It’s very, very long.

You have an official video on YouTube that has had over 7000 views. We love the punk vibe behind it, and your work generally. Punk is a state of mind, right?

90 percent attitude and 10 percent skills for sure. It’s all about attitude. I have a few words about that actually.

I wear my punk on my sleeve my heart is full of mischief. I don’t wear black as a matter of fact, from every job I’ve been sacked or I quit, and I hit the nail on the head every night with my rhymes, might dabble in a bit of crime.

This song was called ‘posh punk’ and was aimed at all the wannabe fake punk lookalikes, who think punk is a fucking fashion. It’s not. I’m a pretty undercover punk, because you really can’t fight the system if you’re out here with tattoos on ya face and bright punk hair and a million piercings. How you going to do any thing adversive like that? You’ll see me rocking free merch from my local high street on a strictly mum vibe!

If we can talk a bit about your personal life, you’ve been through the mill, what with becoming homeless at 15 and disconnecting with the educational system. How did you manage to come back from that?

I dont know how. I think sheer will power – literally about 99 percent- I’ve had so many knock backs that most can’t believe my story. That’s not to say I dont however live in a world where there are some opportunities, but I really had to fight for them. Like, I hate it when these hippies say they asked the universe for a PS4 and then someone left one outside their front door. That’s not manifestation or willing, that’s living in a material, meaningless world where we over consume and live in a throw away society.

Being a single mother of two children must also be very stressful. How do you find time to stay involved both with your artistic projects and the music?

Neglect my kids! But seriously, it was hard. I was home educating because I was so fuck the state, but no one else was that hardcore with me- and everyone just told me to put the kids in school. I was crumbling literally. But my stress helped me to write some of the angriest punk lyrics ever. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to walk hours with the children to get food, with no access to electricity or the internet. No TV. No distraction. No toys. Just me and my two small children going through a very emotionally turbulent time with an absent, alcoholic dad. But some of the greatest artists have experienced some of the worst pain, so here I am and I am pretty great.

And you work full time too. What line of work are you in?

I’m volunteer in a homeless community, and also work as a musical therapist. I’m not sure it qualifies as full time.

Tell us about Bang Bang Bunny then? This is the live band you’re also involved in.

Bang Bang Bunny is a pretty epic punk rap band – we’ve been playing all over and have got two albums worth of material, however it’s just having the time and money and child support to get it done and out there.

Studying at King’s College gained you an Msc in Philosophy. For somebody who was failed by the educational system that is one heck of an achievement. What was it that made you embark on such a huge undertaking?

I was diagnosed with a very misunderstood and not very well known disorder when I was at university – called dissociative seizures, historically known as hysteria. I argued a lot with my psychiatrist about the conceptual categorisation of this disorder, and felt it led to mistreatment, as it was also known as pseudo seizures meaning ‘fake’, which they stipulated stemmed from trauma. I set out to prove a point and when I saw that KCL was offering a MSc course on the Philosophy of Mental Disorder, I went for it. I ended up becoming a guest lecturer for both Guys and St Thomas Hospitals, speaking to the next generation of GP’s (General Practitiobers – or Doctors) and made a point to be listened to and not dismissed. Again, I could say a lot more here, but again that would be another book.

We’ve talked a bit about your project to dismantle classism within the arts, but you’re also an advocate for social justice. Why is this topic so close to your heart.

Social justice. I think even monkeys care about social justice. Who likes to see homeless starving people whilst their eating their MacDonald’s? No one. You feel bad, no? I don’t want to feel bad when I eat my burger- or whatever delights I relish in. I definitely don’t want it to be on the basis of someone else’s suffering. How can I enjoy my flowers when I know someone’s grave back home is waiting for them because of class inequality? I just can’t. I’m too close to the struggle, but have managed to get through the doors of the rich, as a guest.

Your track Digger Down was written in support of the HS2 protesters underground. Since it’s release it has now been made illegal for protesters to dig underground as part of the UK’s Public Order Bill. Being equipped to dig tunnels for protest has also been criminalised. What was it about the HS2 project that prompted you to write the track.

My baby’s father was an activist on the HS2 site. I was already quite close to activist movement that wandered over there and we rubbed shoulders when we took Admiralty Arch outside of Buckingham Palace. I was all too familiar with their faces and their plight. I think since I watched FernGully when I was a kid I always wanted to save the woods from capitalist giants. I’ve always felt empathy for the birds and the bees and the trees. I always say a punk is just an angry, hurt hippie.

As a female artist working in several different areas of music and the arts, you are passionate about eliminating sexual exploitation within the music industry. We too feel very strongly about this, alongside other hugely important topics like neurodiversity and gender diversity within all aspects of society but of course, within or music scene. How do you support these issues, and what do you have to say about bringing these topics to a wider audience?

I think of late their has been many stories about sexual exportation and closing the gender gap is obviously a very important step. Men need to understand and recognise the barriers women may face, make exceptions and also makes access to studios easier, for example working at specific times that would suit mothers.

I wonder if we could chat a bit about toxic masculinity. It’s rife out there, and it exists in females as well as males. There is one young female DJ in particular who posts videos of herself having a little mix up behind the decks, and as far as we can se there is one motive. To have fun. And yet the trolling she receives is quite frankly, VILE. It’s disgusting in fact.

I don’t believe in this idea of something being toxic and I hate these buzz words. I think its divisive and men and women should be celebrated for their general difference and united. There are strengths in both masculinity and femininity. I hear these words applied to relationships too, but time and time again capitalism will ruin/ tarnish/ break something in order to reinvent/ commodify and sell it back to the public.

I also think were living in a really privileged time, and a lot of the traits of ‘toxic masculinity’ were once seen as strengths when you didn’t have the so called security we have in our western world. I ain’t got time for it to be honest. I’m just getting on and being creative and finding solutions.

WTF is going on with people tearing other people down in public. What’s your take on it?

I don’t know- probably boredom.

Finally, what are you hoping to achieve over the next 12 months or more with both your music and your other projects?

World domination. And helping the plants to take back the earth. In reality, some more subscribers would be nice LOL !!!

FIND OUT MORE HERE:

Stream MADALDN music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud

MADALDN (@madaldn) | Instagram

That Is Class (@that_is_class) | Instagram