Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/780372
Since forming in 2014, this collective have gone from strength to strength. This year they're releasing their debut album & joining none other than The Wailers on tour. We had a chat to see what's going down 2016 / ISSUE 95 REGGAE 51 How would you describe your cur- rent state of mind? Good! We've just joined the Diplo- mats of Sound family (with Groun- dation, Ebo Taylor, Afriquoi, Jungle Brothers, Alborosie, Resonators, Speech Debelle, Joss Stone), an- nounced tour support with The Wailers, and our debut album drops in March so it's a good time to be Dojo. What message would you like to get across in your music? Our message is one of egalitarian- ism and non-religious spirituality. With the current rise of populism it feels like there is a lot of hatred and intolerance in the world. We're in the opposite corner. Our lyrics are sometimes political and sometimes spiritual but always about equality and understanding. We encourage people to embrace their spirituality in a very personal way, outside (but not necessarily independent of) the formal con- struct of an organised religion, and to be tolerant and loving towards their brothers. To embrace the infi- nite wonders of the natural world. What is your favourite place in the world? There are hundreds of places we love but we're rarely happier than when surrounded by nature. Some of us recently spent some time in the cloud forests of Costa Rica where the flora and wildlife is overwhelmingly beautiful. Last year we shot a video in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco where the views are breathtaking. And every year when we go to Ibiza we spend time exploring the stunning hills and coast. Tell us about the new single, what was the creative process behind putting this together? Bethel is about non-religious spiri- tuality. Dojo contains members of many different faiths and while our interpretation of spirituality is dif- ferent we're united by our appreci- ation of its role. Bethel encourages the listener to embrace spiritual- ity outside of religion, in a very personal way. For all of us, these feelings are explored through music and an appreciation of the beautiful world around us. Bethel's message is to find the thing that gives you spiritual satisfaction, unaffected by outside influences, and celebrate it. Bethel started as a demo that we'd experimented with for a few months. The more we played it, the more the music and the lyrics aligned. We felt we captured that in the studio so it was the natural choice for lead single. What are you most looking for- ward to in 2017? Ramping up the live shows to support our debut album. It's all about gigging for us. We love it more than anything. We just want to play. Reggae as a genre has always shouted out injustice, do you feel obligated to keep that up? Reggae has always been the music of the oppressed rallying against the oppressor. It's why all reggae music is underground. The issues affecting us, living in London in the 21st century, are very different to those that existed in Jamaica in the 60s and 70s, but the themes are timeless. There's still an estab- lishment that keeps the rich rich and the poor poor. There's still prejudice and intolerance and it's now more politicised than ever. There is as much to get angry about now as there has ever been but we don't do it out of a sense of obligation to the genre. Moreover we play reggae because we're angry. It's the right vehicle for our message. Have their been any causes this year that you felt you had to put your voices behind? The closing of Fabric and Pass- ing Clouds, two of London's most iconic music venues, were two things we felt compelled to talk about. The former was made a scapegoat for the entirely uncon- nected issue of drug dealing, whereas the latter was a victim of London's out-of-control rent costs. It's important that councils rec- ognise assets of community value so that London doesn't lose its identity. Fortunately this has been done with Fabric. We're hoping we'll be able to say the same for Passing Clouds later this year. What's your life motto? "Find your Bethel, feel the uplift". It's a line from the lead single from our new album. A bethel is a non- conformist chapel. The line says, explore your spirituality in a very personal, private way without any outside influence or coercion. And let those feelings lift you up. It's a sentiment that we live by. What is the first law you'd change, if you were in charge? Rent and mortgage caps for the poor, wage caps for the rich. Something to narrow the divide between the classes. Would you be willing to give something up or admit to spend- ing money on something frivolous and give the same amount to a good cause? Excellent question. The answer is yes, but privately, not publically. Several of us work for charities and know the challenges that fundrais- ers face, and how effective public- facing fundraising like the Ice Bucket Challenge and No Makeup Selfie can be. Individually and together we remain very commit- ted to charity but prefer to keep it private. We care very much but wouldn't want to do anything that could ostensibly be a PR exercise. "THE ISSUES AFFECTING US, LIVING IN LONDON IN THE 21ST CENTURY, ARE VERY DIFFERENT TO THOSE THAT EXISTED IN JAMAICA IN THE 60S AND 70S, BUT THE THEMES ARE TIMELESS.'' Arren Haynes | Guestlist follow DOJOreggae INTERVIEW: DOJO