People were asking me questions and giving me praise, it felt awesome, but I was kinda lonely.

(BType Live at Independent by Daniel Potts Photography)

With countless live shows and mix-tapes under his belt, Rapper BType (aka Stephen Brunton) is one of the north-east region's most original and prolific artists.  Mark Tyers caught up with the serial J-Con invitee to get the latest on his band and plans.

Mark Tyers: How would you say your approach to song writing and live performances has developed since you first started started?

BType: When I first started performing, I tried to be as outrageous and as out there as possible so people would remember me.  Now my performance is a lot more well-rounded.  I like to think I can tick many boxes of why people would come watch an act live, things like performance, relationship with the crowd, a set of songs that takes the crowd on a journey, things like that.  When I write songs, I get a sense very early on of what kind of song its going to be.  There are songs like Boo! I'm A Ghost and Party Robot that were very much written with a live audience in mind.  Songs like That Name are designed to get a crowd on side, to familiarise them with my sound and style.  I'm a very prolific writer so its fun being able to see a song take shape from being a few lyrics in a notepad file to being belted out live.

MT: Have there been any particular moments, maybe a gig or maybe a record or something else which have made you totally re-evaluate your approach to music?

BType: I use to regularly be invited to play in Easington.  It seemed like the whole village would turn out to see these gigs, and I always had a fantastic time.  I played a set there and it went down really well.  People were asking me questions and giving me praise, it felt awesome, but I was kinda lonely. I really wanted to share this feeling with other people.  It was after this gig that I decided to take the songs I had written for BType and present them to a band.  Playing with a band, rather than as a solo hiphop/electronica act gave me a lot more options as to what sort of gigs I could play, and I felt it sounded a lot better.  As time has gone on, I have found a way to integrate the chiptune songwriting, which is the backbone of creating songs with BType, with live band elements such as guitar, keyboard, and beatboxing.

(J-Con 2015 by Nicky Valentyne)

MT: Over the summer you have rejigged your bands lineup- who has joined and how's that working out?

BType: The line-up shake-up is still in progress but it's going well!  We recruited a chiptune artist named x Critical Strike x, who is performing a set at Independent on the 21st of October, to perform the melody lines and backing track stuff on a Gameboy.  We have not been able to gig with him yet due to time constraints and the groundwork we need to put down before its ready, but I have heard some of the progress and it is coming together nicely.  We experimented with a Keyboard player and courted some other guitarists, but the trick is finding someone passionate about playing in a live band like us and putting the time and work in.  But at the moment, it seems like all the ducks are lining up. We expect to have the Gameboy integrated by around November, and then having our long time guitarist Chris Binding back in the line-up full-time in the coming months.

MT: How did J-Con go?

BType:  J-Con is always a fantastic gig.  We get to play to a large audience who are a bit more primed for our type of show and performance, and it is usually a highlight of our calendar.  It was the first time we had combined the backing track with the guitar, and it went very well, we can make a nice wall of sound now.  We got lots of photographs and sweaty hugs, as well as the chance to check out some awesome acts like Happy Fun Time Gamer Band, who I would love to see play in the north east in the future.

MT: What have you got in the pipeline after your show at Independent on the 21st October?

BType: After we play Independent we have a few little shows but will mostly be going quiet while we do a few things.  We plan to work with Twisted Pixie Productions [Sunderland-based indie film production team behind musical Happiness for Ducks] to make a series of music videos.  These videos will help promote our first album, that isn't me solo, which we will begin working on once we have cemented a set with x Critical Strike x and written a few new songs as a band.  I am also working on an EP that is more traditional hiphop, which is currently being written and should see release in the spring of 2018. Keep an eye on youtube and bandcamp!

Sunderland Rockers' One Man Revival are headlining Independent, Sunderland on Saturday 21 October. Doors open 7pm. Tickets are £6 on the door after 8pm or £4 before 8pm or online at WeGotTickets.com.

Support Comes from:

BTYPE
High energy hip-hop/synth-punk party music with sing-along choruses
https://www.facebook.com/btypemusic/

x CRITICAL STRIKE x
Bouncy feel good chiptunes and computer-game-style music from Middlesbrough
https://www.facebook.com/xcriticalstrikex/

HARLEYLIKESMUSIC
Heavy NintendoDS generated beats from Sheffield
http://harleylikesmusic.com/