Crazy P Roundup
Earlier this month SEM was honoured to be joined for a very special SEM Session, in conversation with two members of bonafide UK electronic music royalty – Danielle Moore and Jim Baron of Crazy P. The event marked world mental health day and was in aid of Music Minds Matter (more on that later on).
Crazy P were founded in Nottingham in 1995 by Jim Baron & Chris Todd, joined soon after by Manchester based vocalist Danielle Moore and not long after signed to iconic Mancunian label Paper Recordings. In the 20 plus years that have followed the guys have released eight studio albums, two remix albums and one live album across labels such as 20/20 Vision, FutureBoogie, Lazy Days Recordings and Om Records. They have toured their DJ, Soundsystem & Live shows all over the world with sold-out headline slots and even a stint supporting disco legends Chic & Chaka Khan. Their 2015 album ‘Walk Dance Talk Sing’ surpassed 30 million streams, showing this Nottingham/Manchester band is more in demand than ever.
Jim and Dani joined us to talk us through their incredible career thus far as well as to give our students some insider insight into their technical approach to producing and performing. We posed questions to the duo on how the band formed, the path to getting signed and creating a team around them. They also chatted us through how they manage their physical and mental health on the road, in an industry notoriously hard on both. Dani shared her thoughts on managing temptation and FOMO whilst on the road;
“Along the way you learn. There’s a fear of missing out. You’ve come off stage, your adrenaline is high, you don’t want to go to bed. You want to hang out with people. I made a mistake at one point of going to too many house parties and after-parties and then waking up the next day hungover having overdone it and having to take that to the next gig. Eventually, that kind of thing is going to get to you, whether it’s physically or mentally. I think it’s important to keep yourself relatively physically fit. Keep an eye on each other. Hydrating yourself. Knowing yourself. It’s all about balance. There’s always going to be more parties, there is always going to be an environment of alcohol etc. So it’s all about balance. My advice would be to choose the people you hang around with carefully.”
In an industry notoriously filled with narcissists how have they keep their feet on the ground in Age of Ego? “Ego is very prevalent in the music industry.” Dani shared, “But there’s a difference between being proud of your work and believing your own hype.”