Mickey Finn and Mc GQ - AWOL - 1994 - Side A

Biography of Mickey Finn and Mc GQ

A year has passed since our last feature on Mickey Finn. Since then his reputation as a producer has been boosted thanks in part to a deluge of remix work. More often than not teaming up with sidekick L Double in the lab, the two have remixed most recently Pharoahe Monch’s ‘Last Dayz’ for Adam F’s ‘Drum and Bass Warfare LP’, ‘When The Morning Comes’ for Urban Takeover and an assortment of hip hop rewritings too. Within the last year the Urban Takeover group has fulfilled its desire to create two new record labels, Shakedown and Dramatix. We thought it would be impossible for things to get any busier than the last time we spoke but with Mickey and L’s first album looming, and Mickey’s DMC compilation just released we couldn’t be more wrong.

If you’ve encountered Mr Finn deejaying at a party recently you will have noticed a big difference and we’re not talking about his selection of fine upfront dubs either. Mickey has now followed suit of record label partner Gavin King (Aphro) in giving that legendary flowing mane the snip. Both ravers and fellow artists have had to come to terms with the fact that it’s not Mickey’s younger brother meandering through the sweaty crowds with his record box. Lexicon sets the dictaphone to record mode to catch all the latest on Mickey, Urban Takeover and forthcoming projects.

The Urban Shakedown years were a pinnacle moment for both Mickey and Gavin. For establishing a new record label, Shakedown was a perfect name to set the mood and continue the legacy and success that the name had endured. With crazy amounts of good demos flooding their Docklands office it was only a matter of time before such a label would have to be put into action. “At Urban Takeover we were going to run into a backlog of telling people their stuff wouldn’t be out for eighteen months, which is way to long. We’re getting a good reaction and we’re happy so far.” As for judging which release should be deemed suitable for Shakedown or Dramatix, it’s purely down to the reaction and feedback from the players and ravers alike. If a track carries mass appeal then it will be released with Urban Takeover. There are no set formulas or instructions about the vibe of a tune and whether it will be chosen for either of the new labels.

Urban Takeover has always been known for bringing new artists to the fore, often regardless of where they are based. Mulder made his name on the imprint, as did Muffler from Norway, Rascal & Klone have sure upped their profile since releasing on Urban Takeover, as have Ascend & Skope. Now it’s the turn of Jez Q and Shere Khan & Dimensions who have notched up releases on new label Dramatix. “As a deejay, I play something because I like it, not because Andy C made it, not because Dillinja made it, but because I like it. I don’t care if it came from Timbuktu or from the deepest corner of Kent. It doesn’t matter to me, because you should want that record for what it is. We’re getting caught in a day and age where there’s almost a fashion statement that goes with it.

I always remember as a deejay, hearing records in a shop and liking it because I liked it. Down at Urban Takeover it’s always been about if we like it, we’ll sign it.” True to his word both Mickey and Gavin have signed artists from places such as Norway and Canada at a time when others might not have been prepared to take risks in being linked with artists from outside of the UK. “Look at ‘Superman’ a lot of people didn’t like it but there was also a lot of people who did so we’re not a fashion label you know. We take risks, not all of our artists are well known but we believe in them, we believe in their music. We license it and we release it.”

And on to the work that Mickey and L Double have been doing (L is busy at the controls in Mickey’s loft studio as we speak). “Nine times out of ten, I’m in the studio with L at the moment. We’re working right now on a Jaheim remix. I’ve done a little disco thing with Gavin (You Better Run), we’ve got to finish off the b-side as we haven’t done anything together for quite a while and we want to. I’ve been concentrating on working on this album with L, more than anything.”

Expect an equal blend of both vocal and instrumental tracks for the forthcoming LP. Whilst not letting off too much information Mickey does divulge a mystery American songstress has been brought in for two tracks; a link up with Deadly Hunta of the Coalition (who appeared on Aphro’s ‘Ganja Man’ during the summer) has been made; Rawhill Crew frontman MC Navigator has been given a call and the vocals of Iggy Pop will even feature in the mix too. At this stage it already sounds like a diverse project. “With this album we’ve had to take into consideration that there’s going to be a lot of listening going on, maybe in the car, maybe at home. I don’t just want to make an album where people just bang out to it. I want to be able to listen to it in the car at all different times of day.”