It seemed like a lot more fun than playing rubbish guitar and yelling about ex-girlfriends

The BType and Cyber-byte Interview

Rapper Stephen Brunton and Beatboxer James 'cyber-byte' Bartlam are two members of Sunderland 8Bit HipHop band Btype. They've played some big gigs all over Britain and even one in the USA. Mark Tyers catches up with them ahead of their 3 September support slot at Independent, Sunderland.

MT: I first saw your guys at a weekly showcase gig at Sunderland's Independent a few years ago, I think the night was called “The Big Bad Jug”? Can you remember that? You definetly stood out from the other acts, I particularly remember your Pokemon inspired track 'Lavender Town' for some reason [laughs]!

Btype: I remember that gig, it was like a talent competition? I lost to a guy on an acoustic guitar [Holler Folkist and Manchester Young Muscian of the Year; Icarus Williams], standard situation really. I don't think cyber-byte was there, which was a shame as we might have won otherwise.

cyber-byte: Could have got our freestyle on!

MT: It was an unusual format, kind of like busking. You played your set, then the dance floor strobe lights went on, then people in WW2 gas masks and zebra heads danced around with collection buckets and people donated money, the amount depending on how good they felt you were?

BType: That was it! They had their own theme tune and everything [A remix of The Big Bad Wolf]. It's stuck in my head now. More zebra heads at gigs please!

Cyber-byte: I am ashamed that I missed this, I spend most of my days as a zebra [laughs]

MT: How and why did you get into making music?

BType: I used to play bass in punk bands that never escaped the practice room. I saw live music videos on MV2 and I wanted to do that so much. After a while I started getting introduced to more and more Hip Hop which seemed like a lot more fun than playing rubbish guitar and yelling about ex-girlfriends, so I started learning to make beats, entirely because I didn't realise you could steal them from the Internet [laughs].

Cyber-byte: Well I started beatboxing when I was like 16, but I never really did it in front of people till I was 18. Someone suggested I go to a buskers night and for some reason people loved it! Me being the attention whore that I am, I decided I needed more of that and so I kept practicing and showing up every week to showcase a new routine.

As time went on I met other beatboxers in the area and did a few battles, and that kind of pushed me to want to be better. That's what kind of makes me want to continue, I just have to be better than yesterday and have fun with it. Also being in BType really pushed me to learn how to keep time as well as I do now. I've learned a lot from being in the band, from learning about how to make music to improving my on stage banter - which used to be God awful! [laughs]

Btype: Speaking of buskers nights, that's where Cybes and I met, at a legendary Sunderland buskers night called Busk til Dawn. We both knew who MC Frontalot was so we hit it off instantly. When I decided I wanted BType to be a band, I remembered how much I hated drum sound checks, and having a beat boxer would be a way around that. It helped that cyber-byte was a class beat boxer.

I decided to make BType a band for two reasons. The first; I was kinda lonely travelling all over for gigs but having no one to share it with. The second; the music I was making at the time was a bit weird for the North east hip hop scene, and most of my gigs were with rock acts. Having a band line up made it easier for audiences to get involved.

Cyber-byte: I knew I wanted to be part of the band because I loved performing and I knew I would enjoy sharing the stage with others. I knew B was a very funny guy from the first time I met him and that we wouldn't take ourselves too seriously. I feel it reflects on stage and it really gets the audience on board to.

MT: Tell us about the allure of Nerdcore, 8Bit and chip-tune? Are they different things or just different names for the same thing?

BType: Well! Nerdcore is like an opt in niche in hiphop. It's not really a genre, as so many of the acts sound so different. But what it is, is a community of musicians who love both hiphop and pop culture, and try to fuse the two.

Chiptune is a genre which is involved with replicating the sounds of retro electronics, and basically combines nostalgia with modern genres. I grew up listening to video game music so it makes sense I would turn to that for inspiration.

MT: Many but not all of your songs are inspired by computer games, and many of them make me laugh out loud, especially at gigs - Boo! I'm a ghost! comes to mind. Which leads me to my next question; when you write songs, what are you generally aiming to achieve? Do you sit-down and think "Right, this ones going to be a party song!"

BType: I like metaphors. Boo! I'm A Ghost is, for example, about schizophrenia, and trying to overcome it. Party Robot is about drinking too much but not finding a problem with it. Generally, I make a beat then allow it to guide me to its topic. I'm a pretty chill dude, but passionate about the topics that matter to me, so I try to write songs that people will enjoy on a surface level, but will reward people who try to delve deeper.

MT: You've played gigs all over the UK and even in America, whats your best / most memorable gig?

Cyber-byte: Mega....ran !

Btype: Megaran

Cyber-byte: Like we supported Megaran in Manchester a while ago and the sound in the venue was on point, the crowd were amazing and Megaran was the most lovable and humble guy ever, not to mention talented as fuck! That memory motivates me to continue pushing myself as I would love many more experiences like that night.

Btype: Megaran is the best Chiphop/Nerdcore/Indie Hip Hop act on the planet, and to open for him was a dream. Plus, we got to do it in Manchester, which is such an amazing place for live music. Honourable mentions go to Superbyte, which was Europe's foremost chip tune festival, as well as opening for Savlonic of Badger Badger Mushroom Mushroom fame. Also opening for Sound of Rum was class as well. I'm not bothered about headline slots, I like sharing the stage with legends.

MT: Beyond your support slot at Independent on the 3 September, where you will be warming up for legends-in-the-making New North East, what does the future hold for BType?

Btype: We are currently recruiting new band members. We just auditioned a new synthetic player who was awesome and are looking to add a bass player in September. We also await the return of our beloved guitarist Chris in the future. Also we are getting gigs booked, because gigs are the best bit about doing music.

Cyber-byte: I have plans to organise and shoot a few videos as time goes on and focus more on the promotions side of things. I want our fans to feel like we care about them and want to deliver more content for them to enjoy, and maybe even contribute to or be part of. I've always had an interest in shooting videos and taking photographs but never really worked on utilising my interests for the sake of the band. There is a lot to come so watch this space!

MT: Thanks so much for your time, is there anything else you wanted to say?

Btype: Come to the Independent gig! We aim to be the best act on, and with New North East and Absorb on, we gotta bring our best! Also, no king of anywhere recorded raps on their phone!

[MT: a not so subtle message to Legitimate Anarchy's Endem Miller who criticised a load of NE rap legends and crowned himself #KingOfTheNorth in a recent diss track].

MT: Oooosh! That beef is just running and running, Endem is a genius! [laughs]

Cyber-byte: Ohhhhhhhh snap! Erm, Donald Glover for Spiderman! [laughs]

BType are supporting New North East in Independent (Holmeside, Sunderland) on Saturday 3 September, Doors open 7pm and tickets are £5 on the door

https://www.facebook.com/events/1209845549071972/

BType (@btypemusic) and Cyberbyte can be found on Twitter and Facebook