Mr Phormula has recently released a new album titled Tiwns. Mr Phormula has been active for years and is a North Wales rap legend. He's done everything and is still putting out great music. Check out a live performance from the album below:
Stream the album here on Spotify:
We had the chance to catch up with Mr Phormula. Here's how it went:
How long have you been making music?
Roughly about 20 years, started Djing when I was about 11, instantly had a passion for it. Through a tight circle of friends in school I also started learning about music production - one my mate’s brothers was in a band, he was well into production. So I started to hang out with him and his crew, learnt about production and in turn showed them how I’d Dj etc.
You are a prominent name in the Welsh Urban Scene. What drives you to be so active?
Ah thanks for the kind words! Well, mainly a couple of things. Firstly, I’m still as passionate / even more now than I’ve ever been about the craft, in turn, this fuels my dedication to operating my business. My whole life really revolves around my passion; I’ve fortunately been able to turn music into my primary source of income. Whether that’s working through education / Running the studio / releasing music / creating media etc. It’s all fuelled from my love for the craft.
Secondly, I’ve learnt over the years that being organised / punctual is key to operating a successful business, I also try to not take too much on all at once, I like to take on a few things and put as much effort as possible into that before moving on to the next tasks, I feel this give my service a more bespoke feel.
Thirdly, exploring different avenues of music / expanding is also highly important, as mentioned above I’m able to offer a wide range of services, one aspect might get quiet – no worries – I can concentrate on another aspect, keeping active / responsive to clients and creating high quality content in any aspect is key.
What is your suggestions for the newcomers?
Always remember why you got into music in the first place. I have always relied on that. The amount of times I have been through awful situations is countless, anything from gigs / non-paying events / losing etc. Rather than be bogged down from it all and thinking “I’m finished with this”, just step back for a minute and remember – why did you get into it in the first place?? It’s because your passionate and love the craft. That’s the fuel for longevity, it’s a very long road with many ups and downs, I know that’s cliché but generally that’s the music industry – full of great people and full of the opposite also. Learn as many lessons as you can and always remember that passion you have, utilise that as the fuel to innovate / re-create yourself and carry on.
How long does it usually take you to write your songs?
Good question. Musically – anything from a day / few days to months, lyrically takes longer. It’s tricky because I do both things, I have to separate myself from the studio environment. For example, I am super passionate about making / producing and mixing music, so when I go into the studio – that’s what it’s all about. When it comes to lyric writing, I need to go hiking somewhere and clear my mind etc. I’m not one for jumping into the studio with a lyric pad and start writing – I can do – It’s just I have to take my time with it and I’ll usually record my first draught of the track, keep listening to it over the forthcoming weeks and then re-jig the rhythms / words so they feel nicer / deliver a better message etc. Then of course once it’s all down, I’ll need to actually mix the whole track before moving into mastering it, so the whole process can be quite time consuming, but what an amazing feeling it is when it’s done.
Who inspired you to make music?
From an early age, listening to music was just something that came naturally really, music in a whole is what gave / gives me inspiration. Obviously then when you get older you learn about life etc then you start taking inspiration from all over. I was very fortunate growing up, my Mum was a singer / Dad did Pa’s etc, so I was very lucky to be exposed to music / encouraged to explore music all the time. Then at school as mentioned above I got into Djing / production etc and quickly realised early that I wanted this to be my life. Funnily enough in school I didn’t take music, the teacher thought that Beatboxing / Rap was a non-musical hobby, unfortunately the music dept was very old school in their ways so I never took it, was gutted to be honest. However, it gave me fuel to carry on. Since then, I’ve collaborated with the WJEC to create Wales’s first ever GCSE examination in Beatboxing and Djing.
Do you speak any other languages other than English and Welsh?
Unfortunately, not, wish I did though!
What is your favourite song and why?
Such a difficult question ha, cliché answer but there isn’t one, different moods call for different genres etc. Massive fan of Hip Hop obviously but also a big fan of old music that I sample. I love that process of finding old gems and sometimes I won’t even sample them but rather put them into a playlist that’s called “Good tunes”. I’ll then sometimes go back to that playlist and just listen to them. Those genres can be anything from Swedish Psyche, to Italian Soundtracks to Hungarian rock. Whatever move’s me really. I’ll make a note of it and come back to it!
What's your favourite place to eat and why?
Home, with tunes playing in the back / chilled atmosphere / good food / bottle of wine, perfect!
What sports do you enjoy watching?
Rugby mainly.
What would you name your boat if you had one?
ODB.
What would you like remembered about you?
That I always tried to help and inspire people.
What have you got planned for 2021?
Got some Ep collaborations with different artists on the way. Hyped! Remixes Ep out 12/2/21 with remixes from the “Afanc” artists, followed not long after with a single from someone I can’t mention yet.
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