Magazine Design Work

All work showcased here was designed by me using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator

Front and back page:

 

Inside introduction page:

 

Nineteen degrees two page spread:

Cityfly one page piece:

 

Him_self_Her one page piece:

Beat it poetry jam piece:

Flying High - Magazine Work

Joanne Philpott catches up with Jonna Ilife, one of City Fly Records founding fathers

If you’re into house music, then there is no doubt that you would have come across City Fly.

Starting off as a night, City Fly has now built into its own record label. Originally the brainchild of three school friends, Ashley Stevenson, Dale Tonks and Jonna Ilife, City Fly later welcomed Darran Pownall and James Sheerin on board.

“Although we were all doing a few nights around the city, we decided to step things up a gear by starting a bigger event, with high profile guests we were into at the time,” Jonna tells me.

He continued: “We booked Inland Knights and Phil Weeks for the first cou­ple of events. Luckily both events were a success as we had no money to cover costs if they flopped.”

Before City Fly started, Leicester was a very different place music-wise, and the sound of the City Fly that Jonna, Ashley and Dale brought to Leicester was what made it such a success. Even now, City Fly is something which no other nights in Leicester have.

“Nowadays the more generic ‘Deep House’ seems to be the ‘in’ thing but you can always expect to hear something different at a City Fly night that you wouldn’t anywhere else in the City,” Jonna said.

The summer of 2011 was when the five piece decided to make a big step - they started City Fly records. The label incor­porates what they are about - firstly their music, and secondly (and most impor­tantly) their passion, respect and love for the music and artists that they release on their label.

Telling me more about the label, Jonna said “The label is run from the heart. We don’t look to follow any sort of musical trends and we never put out music that we don’t 100 per cent agree on. Quality over quantity!”

The label releases a variety of artists - ranging from well established individuals, to some that aren’t so well-known. City Fly Records look beyond those who do not have a name, and instead they listen to their ears for something which catches their attention.

A few of the artists on the label include Andres, DJ Nature, Red Rack’em, Fred P, Medlar. Not only are they released on City Fly’s label, but also on some of the World’s best labels, which resides in City Fly being a big part of that. Creative Swing Alliance and Kez YM, who are also both released on the label have been the most successful taking into consideration of feed­back, exposure and sales.

Every release sees City Fly Records grow stronger and stronger. More and more options are created due to the label gaining more exposure, which means for the crew that they can approach more artists they are interested in. “We’ve even managed to invest in some nice remixes too and we keep pushing everything for­ward,” Jonna tells me with delight.

But it’s not all easy going for the label. Understandably, being in a group of five when making such decisions involving the label means that it’s a difficult task. The biggest obstacle is deciding on what should and shouldn’t be released. Howev­er, it’s not a complete downside, as Jonna explains that it means higher quality control with ‘more heads involved.’

But for the rest of it, everything is an enjoyable experience for the City Fly Records crew. Jonna loves exposing great music to the World. “One of my City Fly partners Darran came across a few of our releases in LA on a recent visit.” Now that must be amazing to hear that,

considering City Fly hails from the small city of Leicester.

Not only was that enjoyable for Jonna, but the continuous feedback, as well as the selling numbers of the records that are released on the label from people also brings him delight, and worth keeping City Fly records going. “We’ve made so many friends along the way and we always make an effort to invite them to come and play on our events no matter where they might be based in the World. It’s a real family vibe!”

It seems like there is only one for City Fly records, and that way is up.

Bringing The Beat back - Magazine Work

We catch up with Him_self_Her, the hottest and most powerful DJ duo to come out of Leicester in years

It’s not everyday that you can say you live in the same town with a DJing duo who have become widely recognised.

However in Leicester you can tell people exactly that.

Him_self_Her, formed of Claire Spooner and Leon Baggotts, are leading the way for a breakthrough of British DJs gaining recognition and respect not only in their hometown but across the country.

Having come from different back­grounds, Claire and Leon intertwine their different experiences to bring together something very special; different ideas and influences which formulate their unique sound, which they - and many others - de­scribe as ‘house music with feeling.’

However, the pair do not stick to their description on purpose, instead producing what sounds good to their ears, Claire tells me. “We don’t make music in any particu­lar sub-genre; as long as it has feeling and emotion, we just go with it.”

2012 was the year that really broke the pair into the limelight. Their track, ‘Gone too long’ brought them recognition, along­side a signing with label giant Crosstown Rebels. The track has over a million views on Youtube, which is pretty impressive for an underground music act.

“It was all pretty crazy, as it was only the second release we had as a duo. We knew we had something special when we made that track, but we never realised just how far it would take us,” Claire tells me with delight.

Having both been DJs in their own rights for as long as ten years, Claire ex­plains it was only a matter of time before Him_self_Her became the powerful duo. “It just happened naturally, as were both DJing at the same venues around the Mid­lands and because we had similar styles we often got booked on the same line ups.

She continued “We then decided to put on a party together in our home town, as we felt there was a gap for our style of music in Leicester and this led to a couple of studio sessions together.

And this party, being of course, Anoche.

And it’s not everyday either that you can say you can attend parties thrown by such a respectable DJing duo.

Having been around for as long as Him_self_Her have been, Anoche has built itself up to one of the best parties in Leices­ter - having headline acts such as Yousef, DJ Sneak and Hot Since 82. The parties thrown by Claire and Leon show that they have a passion for what they do, and that they are all about the music, not the money.

“We really launched the brand just so that we could play the music that we want­ed to, and to test out our own productions, but at the same time we always had a longer term plan to book big DJs that had never been to the city before.”

Although the underground scene has been struggling in Leicester over the years, Claire believes it is still holding strong. “There have been some absolutely awesome artists coming out of Leicester lately, especially Rebel who is making some seriously good techno at the minute, plus emerging artists like Feft and HoH.”

And the next Anoche? No dates are planned due to Him_self_Her’s hectic schedule, but Claire hints “with our new connections with labels like Crosstown Rebels, we are hoping to put on our biggest events yet, so watch this space!”

Adjusting The Temperature - Magazine Work

Joanne Philpott meets a Leicester University graduate who saw a massive gap in the market and took the chance

When Yasmin Rix was approach­ing the end of her Master’s degree, she spotted a chance opportunity: to set up her own business.

Going into an ordinary 9 to 5 job just wasn’t what Yasmin had dreamed of when she was growing up; it is quite apparent that she is one who oozes crea­tivity. Her flat is filled with various knick-knacks and prints by artists such as Dead Evil, all perfectly arranged to brighten up the rooms and make you feel as comforta­ble as you can be.

June of 2013 was when Yasmin applied to turn an idea she had in her head into a real life opportunity through Leicester University; the place in which she had undertaken both her undergraduate and Master’s degree. “It was one of those mo­ments where you think to yourself, ‘what if?’” explains Yasmin. It seems that the hesitation which was described has turned itself around into something which is changing Leicester’s art and culture scene for the better. 

Being someone who knows plenty of people involved within the arts and cul­ture scene within Leicester, Yasmin could see the clear gap in the market to which she launched Nineteen Degrees. Feel­ing that Leicester is already culturally diverse, furthermore stating she thinks more so than Manchester, quite possibly London. But what was missing for Yas­min was the audience; whilst the oppor­tunity was there, not many people were realising it was. “I think what Nineteen Degrees adds to Leicester’s arts and cul­ture scene is that it represents emerging artists who are starting up their career in their chosen path. It’s about bringing in the fresh talent alongside the more established, and from there seeing what happens” she says enthusiastically.

So what exactly is Nineteen Degrees? The concept is based around workshops, aiming to support the arts communi­ty within Leicester. Nineteen Degrees hosts workshops with help from various graduates of both Leicester University and De Montfort University. Describing those involved in the business as ‘almost a close family’, you can see that Nineteen Degrees provides that natural connection of like-minded people who are all interested in teaching their love of the arts to a new generation of people who might not get that chance to learn due to various reasons.

Nineteen Degrees, although a business, it is not one in the sense where it drives out other companies. Hoping to fit around the already existing art organisations in Leicester, Yasmin hopes to share and boost the already prominent arts scene in the city. “Where I fit is not in direct com­petition with anyone, but enhancing what already exists and giving local artists a platform to show the rest of the country what Leicester can do”, Yasmin tells me with enthusiasm.

Carrying on, Yasmin said, “There are already some really respected arts or­ganisations in Leicester such as Leicester Print Workshop, Two Queens and Art House in Clarendon Park, just to name a few” explains Yasmin. She carries on: “For most businesses, it’s about growth and dominating the market, but in the arts I think it’s more about sharing the market and what I set out to do is work with these organisations to simply get more people interested in contemporary, digital or traditional art.”

“Leicester has more potential than it realises,” Yasmin quickly adds in.

Yasmin’s aim for Nineteen Degrees is to inspire the creative side to young people, allowing them to have a go at something which they might not have had had chance to do before. She explains “It’s about educating a new generation of young adults; giving them opportunities and a new skill to have in their life, and at the same time supporting independ­ent artists in Leicester and representing them. “

2014 is the year in which Yasmin really sees Nineteen Degrees kicking off. Although keeping Leicester as the home­town of her brainchild, Yasmin wants to see it expand it more cities, in particular Nottingham, and to help it grow through an online presence. Ever optimistic, Yasmin tells me “It may be a slow process, but I hope we gain some more momentum and get involved with some interesting projects.”

Jammin' At The Font - Magazine Work

Joanne Philpott pops down to a night combined of rap, freestyle and poetry

 

There is nothing quite like Beat It Poetry in Leicester.
 
Combine open mic, spokenword, poetry and live beat boxing, add some underground and old school hip-hop vibes and together you have something that is certainly a fresh and enjoyable experience to say the least. 

The event, which is highly successful and has brought an array of people to date has taken place at The Font for over a year, originally starting off at The Hub in November 2012. 

Richard Lloyd, who is the brainchild of Beat It Poetry decided to start the event as he felt that he needed to get people to perform to crowds, not just in their bedrooms. “I was somebody who used to practice by myself in my bedroom, then I got my breakthrough at Next Level Competition. It gave me the confidence to perform outside my own space and inspired me. I wanted to give people the chance to gain confidence themselves.”
 
“At first I was happy to keep it going at The Hub, but my friend Tony Cope encouraged me to make it bigger and better and take it to The Font.”, Richardtold me. “At first the event only had a few people, but it has moved fast and got a lot of support.”

As well as himself running the night, Richard has had help from his fellow friend and DJ, Splinter. ‘If I didn’t have Splinter helping me out I would not be here right not. He’s been brilliant.”
 
The event has had many highs and lows over the past year, as you could imagine. For Richard, no event is the same; different acts every week meaning a different atmosphere. Full bands have played, acoustics guitars and even a loop pedal.
 
And the lows? “Setting up and the technical issues are the biggest problem”, Richard said. “Luckily now we’re at The Font we don’t have to carry decks anymore like we had to at The
Hub.”
 
The first birthday at The Font saw an array of acts, who all bought the crowd to silence with their talents. The main act of the night was Motormouf. Real name Alex Young, Motormouf mixed in
beat-boxing, singing, and even bought a loop to help along with his act. Alongside him on the night were such acts as Tony Le Tigre, Ingoex, Jake, Kumerlie and Cama Carsie. They all bought a mix of poetry, beat boxing, spoken word and free style.
 
Adding in his happiness of the success of Beat It, Richard told me “I can’t believe that I have been doing this for a year. At first it was something I was doing in my free time, but now I am getting paid for it, which makes it even better.”
 
And upon asking Richard to describe Beat It Poetry in five words, he replied: ‘The poetry jam is dope!”