HOSPITAL RECORDS co-founder and CEO TONY COLMAN reveals exclusively to ROAR about his decision to step down after a difficult last year, in part 2 of our exclusive mega-interview.

Some 12 months after the label was caught in a storm of allegations of racism, Tony - AKA DJ and producer LONDON ELEKTRICITY explains he wants to focus on performing and producing as he moves into his sixties.

Beginning with a discussion about how his label’s rise coincided with New Labour’s landslide 1997 General Election win - which was set to the sound-track of D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better - and ‘Cool Britannia’, he admits the sometimes moody jungle scene came close to being toppled by garage.

But instead of that happening, Tony states his belief that garage actually saved drum and bass by removing some of what he saw as the troublesome and violent elements.

He also recalls his highs and lows of his DJing career - including one set where he was too drunk to play, which saw him stop drinking before performing - and talks about the thrill he gets from giving opportunities to new acts.

In the final part, coming FRIDAY, Tony will exclusively address for the first time in an interview those allegations of racism from last Summer. So please stay right to the end of the interview, because it's not one to miss!

#jungle #jungletechno #breakbeat #drumandbass #dnb #oldschoolhardcore #oldschool #rave #90smusic #raving #music #techno #happyhardcore #hardcorebreakbeat #housemusic #breakbeat #breakbeathardcore #the90s #1990s #90s #the1990s #acidhouse #hardcoretechno #hardtrance #dj #producer #hospitalrecords #liquiddnb #racism #covid

Episode 53: Hospital Records CEO London Elektricity, 2/3 - Things Can Only Get Better

HOSPITAL RECORDS co-founder & CEO, LONDON ELEKTRICITY, speaks publicly in an interview for the very first time about allegations of racism that consumed the label in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement, in this the final part of ROAR’s engrossing marathon three-parter with one of the most influential figures in rave music.

The DJ & producer - AKA TONY COLMAN - admits he was initially “furious” Hospital had been accused of being a racist organisation by Black former employee CHRIS INPERSPECTIVE, which went viral online causing a huge storm in the jungle drum and bass scene.

Although admitting Hospital did not at that time employ any BAME staff, Tony rejects the notion he or anyone at the label is racist and felt they unfairly become the focus of a wider societal backlash despite other big DnB labels having less diverse artist rosters than them. Coming though at a sensitive moment for global racial equality, Tony feared Hospital might not survive at all.

Yet more than a year on, with the label still going strong even amid a pandemic that has stopped most live music events, Tony concedes Hospital could and should have done better, and even says he’s “glad” to have gone through it because he’s spent the past year educating himself, and putting in place policies to improve the situation, including plans to create a more diverse board of directors at Hospital.

Unveiling some of his musical plans for the future and discussing what the scene might look like post-pandemic, Tony - who is stepping back from running he label to focus on DJing and production - swore Hospital will never be sold to a major label and will always remain independent.

Hospital, he says, is always on the look for diverse new talent and he told young jungle DnB artists to get in touch if they want their tunes released on the label. Producers, you know what to do….

#jungle #jungletechno #breakbeat #drumandbass #dnb #oldschoolhardcore #oldschool #rave #90smusic #raving #music #techno #happyhardcore #hardcorebreakbeat #housemusic #breakbeat #breakbeathardcore #the90s #1990s #90s #the1990s #acidhouse #hardcoretechno #hardtrance #dj #producer #hospitalrecords #liquiddnb #racism #covid

Episode 54: Hospital Records CEO London Elektricity, 3/3 - Weathering a potentially fatal storm

To you the ROAR Crew,

We are proud and humbled to today celebrate ROAR's first birthday - by bidding you farewell, and sending out a MASSIVE thank you for all of your support, in whatever shape that took, since our launch this time last year.

ROAR was always meant to be a lockdown project to bring a smile to the faces of ravers while journalistically chronicling the rave scene - and with raves on their way back, lockdown (sort of) lifting, and Latch expecting his second kid in September and having to do some paid work, our first birthday this week seemed a good time to wind it up...for now at least.

Proudly, we bow out having achieved a huge amount. That includes chronicling the '90s rave scene by interviewing in great depth - often for the first time - many of the legends who created the Decade of Rave; all our episodes being curated into the BRITISH LIBRARY SOUND ARCHIVE for future historians or rave obsessives; having our content viewed or listened to HALF A MILLION TIMES in a year, with some interviews being viewed or heard more than 20,000 times; bringing together a community of 5,000 subscribers on YouTube and similar again on social media; giving new talent a chance to shine and supporting the scene's recent resurgence; and, most importantly, bringing joy and entertainment to the rave scene at a bleak time for us all where we couldn't go out raving.

As you'll hear in this farewell episode, while we are halting the crowdfund for obvious reasons, Latch will be keeping the ROAR website and channel open for as long as he can afford to do so, and we are not against creating future content, should the right opportunities arise...in fact, we may drop some stuff from time to time so do keep your eyes peeled!

We will happily continue to put out more ROAR TRACK ATTACKS as long as producers keep sending them - send them to hello [at] roaruk [dot] com.

And if you know any businesspeople or wealthy philanthropists who'd like to help keep the project alive, even by allowing us to take on a young trainee, then we are all ears - again, it's hello [at] roaruk [dot] com.

[Also, if you'd like to donate even a few quid from time to time to help Latch keep the website live - as it costs a few hundred quid a year to merely exist - you can do so at https://www.paypal.com/roaruk.]

We had hoped to depart by interviewing CARL COX and SHARKEY, but unfortunately events and timings conspired against us - so apologies for that. Happily, though, Sharkey is well and back where he belongs at the heart of the hardcore scene, and that's the most important thing.

However, our most recent interview, where DnB impresario LONDON ELEKTRICITY talks for the first time about last summer's racism storm which engulfed his label, HOSPITAL RECORDS, is one of our best so far so check it out if you've not already - https://soundcloud.com/roarukpods/episode-54-hospital-records-ceo-london-elektricity-33-weathering-a-potentially-fatal-storm

There are loads of people to thank for their help bringing this project to fruition and keeping it going over the past 18 months - as we do in this episode, and apologies if anyone was missed out - but without you guys at home watching, commenting, subscribing and also donating your money during a tough time financially, none of this would have happened. 

So thanks a million yet again, and if we don't see you on here, we will hopefully see you on a dancefloor! 

Loads of love,

ROAR HQ x

Happy Birthday, Thank You & Goodbye from ROAR x

Welcome to ROAR, the leading spoken word podcast featuring interviews with and mixes from your favourite rave DJs, MCs, producers, promoters and pirates - as curated into the British Library!

(Artwork by https://www.facebook.com/GrantusArts)