Occupying the Middleman ground

Middleman - ignoring the hype

After triumphant appearances at this years Leeds and Reading Festivals, Kate Prothero went to check out Middleman, back on home turf at the Elbow Rooms.

Their blend of hip-hop infused with dance and rock music, has created a buzz amongst industry types.

They describe their sound as 'a gang fight between The Prodigy, the Streets, Aphex Twin and the Gorillaz'.

First on the agenda was to find out how it all started for them.

"We started out guerilla gigging at first. We'd drive around central Leeds and turn up at different venues and say 'We're here, we're ready! We've come to play a free show for you!'"

"Most places would just let us set up and play the show. We nearly got one venue shut down! The owner came back after the bar staff had let us set up our stuff and said they didn't have a licence!"

There has been quite a buzz around Middleman. This hype has been around for a while, with lots of industry types getting all a flutter. I wondered how Middleman were coping with it. Vocalist Andy Craven-Griffiths explained it's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be.

Andy Craven-Griffiths brings a poetic sensibility to Middleman

"We try to not get that excited anymore, not until things are concrete. They promise you the world, and then two weeks later you can't even contact them, let alone ask them whether the world has got lost in the post!"

Despite the disappointments, the driving and sitting around for hours in a venue, is all this worthwhile?

"We love it! It's an artistic outlet. It satisfies that need that we can't get from anywhere else. It's the buzz you get from playing live, from creating something and you look back and say 'wow, I did that'."

"There have been times when we haven't slept for 20 hours, it's the most anger you can ever feel, and then you go on stage or something amazing happens and it is all worthwhile."

"The highlight for us has definitely been doing a BBC Introducing session for Huw Stephens at Maida Vale studios (where the legendary John Peel sessions used to be recorded)."

"We were up at 3am, driving down with the sun coming up. On the way back we were driving back into Leeds, listening to our session going out on Radio One. That was awesome."

It would be easy for Middleman, like so many other bands before them, to have huge egos and get wrapped up in all the excitement and hype that surrounds them - but they don't, they are really down to earth and take it all in their stride.

Lyrically their songs reflect the feeling of many of their peers. Spinning Plates, a new song, is a savage attack on life in modern Britain.

The band hit the Elbow Rooms stage with the crowd in high spirits. As the first bassline kicks in, they go wild, shouting out every word. Indeed, bassist Lee Smith is exceptionally good to watch - with his flailing dreads and wicked smile, he oozes cool!

Lee Smith - inna dreadlock stylee

Guitarist Krish Thiruchelvam uses his instrument in really interesting ways, and it's difficult to remember that the noise this band makes is made by just four people. It is clear that this band don't use formulas. The noise they make is positive and uplifting as well as being raw and angry in places.

The show is hampered by a couple of technical difficulties, but that doesn't faze them. By the end of the set, the venue is heaving. With everyone's inhibitions gone, the crowd are dancing and singing along in one huge throbbing mass.

Krish later admits that they have had 'one or two ales' and this is possibly not the best they could have played. If this is what they are like when they aren't on top form, I can only imagine the level of greatness they achieve when they do!

Middleman are a 'cross-over' band. Their fans are a mix of rock fans, dance fans, young and old. The music is both commercial and cool, underground and credible. I can imagine it being pumped out by both 'boy racers' and hippy students alike. Great things are clearly on the cards for Middleman, it's a matter of when, not if.