He'd say inconsistent where we'd say experimental. He'd say distracted, not inquisitive. Not artistic, but erratic. Not waving but drowning. But, you'd forgive the boy for an occasional temperament that makes Nick Drake appear eruptively ecstatic. Born of fire into a land of perpetual winter, 20 odd sunless seasons at 57o N, might have taken the shine off A La Fu's bright future but in some ways the absence of it's garish glare has made room for a more contemplative attitude. Not exactly corrupted by the lust for a cheap buck he remains broke but perhaps at least, with his soul intact. His rather unorthodox approach to music production leaves a lot of room to develop and evolve at a more natural pace. Like all good Scots he's emotionally hopeless, pent-up, temperamental and often drunk. Frustratingly humble, he'd be the last to admit that his genuine care and attention coupled with meticulous fine-tuning has led his work to resound with a real sincerity and quality. Unable to cope with even the slightest compliment, it's a wonder that his ego maintains any level of self-esteem at all, and you'd do better to point out any crooked teeth, clinical neurosis or an inept emotional state. Remarkably well adjusted considering he's only got a featureless wasteland of despair to inspire the fire in his belly when keeping on in your traditional man-skirt is all you can do. Still, he is good with his hands… Having performed in Russia, Australia, Israel, Azerbaijan and the U.S.A. to mention a few, A La Fu has toured worldwide, solo as well as deejay for the likes of Big Dada artists Roots Manuva, New Flesh and Infinite Livez, !K7’s Mike Ladd and fellow New Yorker and Def Jux artist Rob Sonic. Numerous projects and releases include his Radio Skool series, which has featured Maseo from De La Soul, Gwen McCrae, Prince Paul and Dr. Alimintado, remix work for Saul Williams and Coldcut, a range of acclaimed recording work, independently as well as for Big Dada, Ninja Tune and Ad Noiseam Records. He has featured as a guest on various radio shows, BBC’s Radio 1, 1 Xtra and the Selector/BBC World Service. He also appeared on television with DJ Kool Herc illustrating the art of DJ’ing, was filmed by MTV alongside Roots Manuva and GZA (Wu Tang Clan) and competed against the Scratch Perverts at the first ever DMC Team Finals and later invited to perform for them at Glastonbury 2002 leading to a performance in front of 20, 000 hip hop fans in the Middle East… Under the ‘We Yo Nee’ banner A La Fu has most recently saw his work hailed as a ‘future classic’ gaining rave reviews and airplay around the globe leading to new material which is currently under construction and will be released under the newly formed VaVa record label along with his new solo work.
Downtempo