Friday, 17 February 2017

Task 4- Double Page Spread Article

Task 4: Post-production techniques and processes  
Learning Outcome 4: Be able to carry out post-production techniques and processes for an original media product to a client brief. (P5)


I went down to North London, the home of an up and coming Grime artist who goes by the name of “Young Swede” to interview him about his journey from being unknown to becoming the next big thing on the Grime scene. I asked questions all about his past, what he’s working on right now and all about his plans for the future. Young Swede is man who has built up his profile all by himself working on his individually unique styled music right from where he was brought up in the heart of North London. He was originally born in Sweden but moved to England at a young age so he decided to incorporate his core roots within his stage name but he is making himself known all across his adopted home town in England.

What age did you realise you wanted to be an Artist?

“I always loved music from a young age and knew that I wanted to perform it and be known for it when I was older, so I’d say from the age of 4 I knew I wanted to perform my music on stage in front of thousands of people.”

Did you always know you wanted to be a grime artist specifically?

“No, I wanted to be a hip hop/Rap artist growing up but when I was making music my songs were being classified as the Grime in the charts so I stuck with making the same type of music because the songs I have made are popular with people who like this genre.”

When did you start performing your music in front of people?

“When I was a child I wasn’t too enthusiastic with performing in front of people and I was quite shy but When I was 10 years old my parents convinced me to perform in front of my whole family and friends. It was a great experience and I now look back at that moment as the start of my music career because it gave me the confidence to be able to perform in front of people without freezing.”

Did you always believe that you would make it as an artist?

“When I was, young I was taught to always be positive and always have belief and follow my dreams so I hung on to this teaching throughout my young life and always hoped that I would make it and now look, I’m living the dream and I wouldn’t change anything about it.”

Moving countries from a young age, did you struggle with the culture and language difference?

“Not really because I moved to North London when I was 2 years old so I have lived here my whole life and this is my home town now, although I do like to be reminded of my roots.”

How did you come up with the stage name “Young Swede”?

“Well I’m only 22 years old so I am quite a young artist within this industry and I was born in Sweden so I wanted to let my fans know where I’m originally from.”

Did you ever think of being something else if you couldn’t make it as an artist?

“I think every young boy and football fan dreams of being a footballer so I wanted to be one as well and I have an interest in cars so I thought about becoming a mechanic but with the motivation and positive attitude I had I knew I would always make it as a Hip Hop/rap or Grime artist.”

When did you first perform release a song?

“When I was 18 I made a YouTube video of myself singing a song I wrote and uploaded it online for everyone to see, I got some abuse for it from my mates at school but on the whole, it was a success as it got thousands of views. A few weeks later I got calls from club owners trying to book my services and sign me up to perform in front of people at their venues. This was the big break I dreamt of for years.”

What were the names of the venues that tried to sign you up to perform?

“I got calls from the owners of The Roundhouse, KOKO, XOYO and many more venues in the North London area and I have been performing at them ever since.”

Do you have any more upcoming gigs?

“Yes, I am fully booked at these various different venues for the next year!”

Do you ever think about performing in other areas in England or in other countries?

“No, North London is my home and I want to perform here for the rest of my career, this is where my career started and where I hope for it to finish.”

Do you take inspiration from other artists and follow their music?

“Yes, I really enjoy listening to the other artists within the Grime industry, particularly Stormzy and Skepta and I hope to do collaborations with them in the foreseeable future.”

Do you see them as the competition or the artists you hope to resemble?

I see them as both competition and as my role models because they are doing so well for themselves and are proven huge names within this music industry so if my music is as good as what they create and if my fan base is as big as theirs I will see myself as succeeding my dream.”

Are you currently working on any new music?


“Yes, I am working on a new album that I hope to release to the public within the next few months, I can’t wait!”

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