Family First Soundsystem
Family First – Heart ‘beat’ of the game
The unmistakeable sound of this collective has remained, until now, a somewhat hidden gem, silently perfecting their craft, fueled by a passion for music and all things positive.
Even by name alone, this family of turntable artistes have carved out their own path with a clear and unwavering direction that promises to lead them towards greater things.
Ahead of their return to the Family Festival, we caught up with the Family First fraternity to talk about the passion we share; basketball and music, and the unbreakable bond between them.
Q. Tell us about about how you know each other and where the Family really started…
Well, there are 4 of us in the collective; my brother (Box Of Tricks), my God-brother (Filozephyr), his God-brother (Represent) & myself (Vinny Stylus). So you can see how we are all connected. -We’ve known each other since birth and treat one another like brothers – hence the name Family First!
I couldn’t tell you where or how it all got started, its always been a way of life. We have just taken DJing, Scratching, Performing & Beat making, and everything that’s related to what we do, outside of our homes and delivered it to the masses. Family First is a fraternity of creatives; we have dedicated teams specialising in Graphic design, Photography & Film. We have a bunch of artists too, that I’m sure you’ll meet along the way, stay tuned…
Q. How did you first get into music?
Music has always been a there for us. You know, I’m pretty sure everyone has an emotional attachment to music. The difference with us is that its part of our lives, is like a soundtrack. Besides music being fun, we get to be creative and work with so many interesting people on all kinds of projects.
Q. How did basketball become a part of the mix?
Filozephyr, you know him as Christian, just one day brought it to the table and asked us what we thought of playing at the Family Festival. We knew how much the program meant to him and we all love basketball so we thought it would be a nice switch from playing in a club or at someone’s party. When we’re performing and playing in time to the game, it’s a real buzz. It’s just like writing or scoring music to a movie but in actual time.
Its such a good feeling getting a reaction from the crowd when were dropping our own music. They love the cuts and scratches too, it adds a really good atmosphere to the game and hypes everyone up.
Q. How deep is the connection between basketball and music for you?
Well, we’ve been playing in clubs for a while and there is only so much we can get from it. We play music, its a good night, everyone’s having a good time but when the nights over, it really is over. When we leave the club or finish our set we feel so disconnected from the experience, we usually end up going back to Mark’s (Represent) and continue playing music there.
As far as basketball goes, its a game we’ve loved from when we were young, its the Philippines national sport. When Represent was younger he captained his basketball team in the Scottish National League and took them to the Semi-Finals winning trophies and awards along the way. Chris had also done very well playing and continues to further himself to this day! Amongst the fraternity we also have a number of us who specialise in Wing Chun (Brazilian Ju-Juitsu & Boxing) – we’re big on martial arts.
If we’re not spending time with our family, we’re either doing music or doing something physically creative.
Q. At this stage in your lives, what’s most important to you and how have dreams changed since you were young?
Whats important to us is that, whatever we do, whatever projects we are involved in, we make sure we have a positive influence on everyone – in particular the younger generation. As far as dreams go, we are living our dream but most of all, paying attention to living life to the fullest. Appreciating what we have is just as important, it’s all part of the same journey.
Q. What’s the dream now?
We would love to do more work with live bands. Love to produce more music for artists, do more music for film, showcase more of our own music and showcase more up and coming artists. We loved playing at fashion shows – the after parties are a real blast and they tend to have a more open mind to music and the kind of stuff we play. The Air force 1 Anniversary a few years back has got to be the most memorable. We’ve done a number of shows warming up for some major crews from the UK to the US. We want to continue what we’re doing!
Q. Why are projects like this important to you as a group – there must be a pull to get involved in something more mainstream and established?
Well, we as a crew, especially the music we produce, doesn’t fall into ‘mainstream’. The music we love isn’t ‘mainstream’. We would love to go to a Central London club and play breaks records, but for now it’s not going to happen. Why fit in when you can stand out? With CIA, we are Inspiring people through our creativity and focusing on community spirit.
Q. What can we expect from Family First in the near future?
Well, without giving to much away, we have two music videos in production (the third is half written). We also have an instrumentals album that will be independently released through “The Redjunk Opera Company”, that will be out before the end of the year, possibly September.
We are also being commissioned by Digital Crates, a new multimedia company, to produce the music score for a graffiti and break dancing documentary, but that’s all I can say about that one.
We’re also playing at a big product launch in Paris for one of our designers in June next year when she releases her first fashion line.
Q. For kids that might be interested in your industry, what advice would you give to them?
Stay in school and get educated. Surround yourself with positive people. There is no definitive way of achieving your goals – if music is what you love, make sure you do it everyday, but remember it doesn’t always pay the bills. If you work hard and believe in it – then you will see it go further; do it for the right reasons, not just to make money! If its your life’s passion, you’ll use everyday of your life to make it happen.
Q. How important is it to do something positive and not conform to much of the negative programming aimed at young people at the moment?
Very important. Young minds are the future. This is why we continue to work with CIA. The organisation provides a foundation, a support network, using basketball and it’s philosophies to restore structure and give them guidance through life.
There should be more initiatives like this, more associations with financial backing with support from the government. CIA’s objectives and focus comes from a good place and that’s what matters most to us.
