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25 November 2010

Michael Afrifa - The Brains Behind The Milkshake Club

The Milkshake Club is an independent label that was founded in the summer of 2009 by Michael Afrifa from East London, Bow. The label initially gained its name during the aftermath of 'Seckle Sweep Tv', an internet based chat show that was formed by Michael and his friends as a humorous approach to reality TV. Michael then collaborated with his school friend Kayode Thomas to produce a range of women's wear and men's wear which is now "The Milkshake Club". I thought i'd catch up with Michael to find out what is yet to come from the company.


What sparked the idea for Milkshake Club and what does the brand mean to you?

My dad having his own business pushed me to be independent like him and creating Milkshake. Being able to see people wearing our line whether it be in pictures or in person influenced me to create my own label. I wanted to bring a new style of abstract, avant garde clothing to the scene. After talking my ideas over with childhood friends when then collaborated on designing, using skills from Artists such as Jackson Pollock, Keith Hairing and T.Magic to give us 'Milshake Clothing'.

What makes your brand different from others and what message are you trying to convey?

Our style of design stands out for the reason that we use a mix of typography and imagery merged together to attract the human eye which stands out to everyone.Our diverse approach in this label is more candy like playful and doesn’t convey a message. We just try to appeal to anyone and everyone that our label can be worn by any ethnicity race or religion.


What problems have you face and how have you overcome them?

Satisfying Customers! We often check the mails and feedback from our customers. Keeping a close bond with the customers helps us to overcome any problems we may face in the future so we’re two steps ahead every time we deliver new products. At the moment we do not have an active website where people can just order our products and pay for them through pay-pal, however we’re just about to launch the new line, so our site is under maintenance. Therfore. we have emails and messages day in and day out asking when the site would be active. We also use our Facebook group to update our customers about any changes to Milkshake.

Who would be the ideal person for the face of Milkshake Club and why?

Pharrell Williams from N*E*R*D would be my ideal person to be the face of The Milkshake Club for the reason that he appeals to wide audience from Rock, Hip Hop, R&B, and Funk. The way he see’s music as an Art is the same way I see The Milkshake Club more than just a clothing line.


What competitions do you face and what other labels do you like?

We’re very competitive when it come’s to Milkshake Club, we’re constantly looking at other lines such as Franklin & Marshall, and To-Orist. These are a few of the clothing lines on the High Street Market that give us competition. This is good for us as we aspire to be on there level. We really like labels such as The Teddy Bear Club, Johnny Cupcakes but the one that has always inspired us would have to be The UglyKids Club I think they’re just NUTS!

How do you plan to make improvements as well as provoke customers to purchase Milkshake Clothing?

By increasing the variety of our line. We’ll sell [Tracksuits, Beanies, Tees, Snap Back Caps and Fitted Hoodies] As well as entering a lot of different fashion shows across London and U.K and doing regular Giveaways / Freebies & Special Offers.


What mediums do you use to publicize Milkshake Clothing?

We use Facebook as our main medium to promote our little range we’re starting off with at the moment, we currently have a group page as well as twitter and wordpress.

Where do you see Milkshake Clothing in the next 5 years?

With the grace of God and if all goes according to plan I see The Milkshake Club being sold all over the UK and USA when we are approachec by the bigger companies.

To place orders or get in touch withMilkshake Club connect Michael Afrifa Facebook, or why not check out the Milkshake Club Blog.

24 November 2010

Paul Daniel Bourn - PBD Productions

Paul Daniel Bourn is a highly multi-talented individual within the music industry. Firstly as a self taught producer and more importantly as an war veteran turned business man Paul aims to provide services for those looking to build a career in music. His epiphany of changing career came whilst in battle as he narrowly missed stepping on a landmine. From that moment, he decided to forward his interest into the likes of making music instead of the likelihood of him ending up in the papers under the headline 'British Soldier Dead'. His company PDB which took flight in early 2008 aims to provide budding musicians with transferable skills in mixing, music production as well as video handling and photography. I thought I'd catch up with Mr Bourn himself to find out a little more about his company and where it all started.


So Paul, what do you do ?

Primarily I am a music producer, however I run a record label "PDB Productions & Entice Records" and run my own production company PDB Productions. The production company provides many services involving the music industry such as, Recording Studio Hire, Music Production Training, Mixing, Mastering, Instrumental leasing and Exclusive Rights Purchasing, CD-DVD Duplication, Web Design Services, Full Printing Services, Garment Printing, Video Production and Photography.

When and where did your career start?

PDB started in January 2008 in Beckenham, although its roots go back to 2004 when I was an infantry soldier in the British Armed Forces. It was in 2004 where I introduced myself to the digital music world by learning some PC sampling software called Magix Music Maker. Over the course of that year I ended up owning and mastering all 4 versions that were out at that time. Although I had already 80% of my mind made up to leave the British Armed Forces the actual 100% change of heart came in 2005, when I was in Iraq for the second time, and came close to stepping on a landmine “I thought to myself what would have happened if I had? I would have died or lost a limb, got a rubbish payout of a few grand, A medal which I already have from the Gulf War II and the story would have been published on page 30 odd of the sun as another British soldier dead or blown up, be the talk of the battalion for a few weeks and then forgotten! Let’s just say that I found a new appreciation for life. With the Introduction to the music Industry I quickly found it to be very expensive and so I devised a business plan to enable me to provide myself the services that my new found producers career needed to develop and progress, not long after that was accomplished I began to offer these same services out to the general public, there came the birth of PDB Productions.


Who have been your inspirations and why?

Dr. Dre, Eminem, Cypress Hill, Enya, MT Eden, JME and Enigma to name a few, there are many more but these I believe have been the strongest referenced, all of their music in one way or another has influenced physical emotions and I think that when you can say your music has accomplished that then you are on the path to success. Since the launch of PDB Productions the business entity I find inspiration from programs such as Dragons Den, Secret Millionaire, The Business Inspector and Undercover Boss, the information, suggestions and general guidance of these programs amongst other resources have helped build the foundation of PDB Productions.

What or who are you competition and what makes you different?

>I guess anybody that offers the services I do are my competition, because I specialize across a wide range of fields I could list over a hundred competitors, however I can generally split my competitors into two categories, the first is corporate (high-end companies) With that comes prices that reflect overly on that basis and so what makes PDB Productions different is the fact we operate the same service at a fraction of the cost! We can do this because we don’t pay for flash company cars or Sauvé London offices and the savings go to our customers. The second category I would describe as startup companies, generally I assumed that this would be a huge threat to PDB Productions, however over time this has not proven to be the case what so ever, and I put that all down to professionalism. I run my business by the same methods and principles that the co-operate businesses do, with that in mind PDB Productions customers/clients entrust not only in the reliability but also in the integrity of a business providing services at amazingly affordable prices.


Who have you worked with in the past?

There are lots of people I have worked with over the years being that many have been customers or affiliates through organizations of some kind, however here are some to name a few: Esstar, Entice, MadSabre, Itch, Repertoire Recordings, CM, Class School of Dance, SDI, Music Space, Trooper, Messy Dangerous, Combo, Klone, NRS, Youngsta, Dubz, Cream Cartel, Buster Manston (Filthy Herbet), MC Kropz, DJ Mista, DJ Itchy, INK, Flox, Typah, Supar Novar (Flip Records), Lorena Upton, Silhouette, Fraya (B4 Dark), Darques, Waivee Wides, Mitchell, Carnage, Mark Dixon, Dymz, Fia, Marcel, Fusegotbox, Lush . . . . . the list seriously is quite endless, apologies in advance to anyone who I may of not mentioned.

What is your most memorable moment and why?

My most memorable moment . . . . . Well there are so many and all very amusing but if we’re going to keep this music related then it’s got to be the time when I had an artist who was hiring the studio and he stood the wrong side of the microphone (bare in mind that on the other side is an SE Reflexion filter)!!! Very amusing, there isn’t much I haven’t seen in the studio trust me.

What can we expect from you in the future?

Well I have just released PDB Productions first Annual Compilation CD “PDB Productions The Annual 2010” available now at the Official PDB Productions Reverbnation Store, iTunes and across all major online retailers. We have Esstar’s second EP “lights Out” release for the second week in January 2011, and other releases that are in early production stages from Entice and MadSabre. PDB Productions (business) the Production House has some amazing things scheduled for 2011, competitions, huge savings and some highly secretive entertainment soon to be released!



To get in touch with Mr Bourn for any of his service you can contact him via his Website or Facebook.

23 November 2010

Doller Da Dustman - Fizzy Boy

Doller Da Dustman is a musician from Edmonton, North London. In his younger year, Doller featured on prominent Grime Radio stations such as Axe FM, Rinse FM and Heat FM where he began to build his MC career. He was a regularly lyricist with peers during school but as he got older he decided to take his music more seriously and turn it into a profession. Since then he has managed to release 8 independent mixtapes, which include ‘I Ainte Come To Beg Friend’ and ‘Go Getterish E.P’. His forthcoming projects include his promo ‘Art of Rhyming’ and debut album ‘Fizzy Boy’. I thought I’d catch up with Doller himself to find out about his musical journey and his views of the current music scene.


When did your music career start and what difficulties have yBoldou faced if any?

From the start of time i always did music for leisure growi
ng up in Edmonton, it was either that or football. year by year it got
more serious for me, as a crew we had to make a great leap from North London to get heard, as a solo artist I had to get use to being rejected or certain things getting rejected, an people had to get use to the way I do things!

What makes you different from other musicians?

My versatility, everyone says that! But I suppose my cha
racter, skills, and hunger.

What musicians have you worked with in the past and who would be your ideal collaboration?

I’ve worked every important artist such as Ghetto, Z
Dot, Scorcher, Nocturnal, Cold Blooded, Lauren Mason, G Tank, Maxsta, Double S, Chipmunk, the list is endless. My ideal collaboration would be with Avery Storm, John Legend, Vybz Kartel.


What messages do convey through your music?

I try and focus on the finish line in my music, up lifting, the end goal, success, achievement, striving.

How has the emergence of social network sites such as twitter and Facebook affected your career?

For technology I think it’s a blessing for me, Facebook has been great for me, giving normal people easy excess to me! Me and you linked due to Facebook. Proofs in the pudding.

What mediums do you use to publicise yourself as an artist?

I try an use every way possible, that I feel will benefit me.

What can we expect from you in the future?

Classic albums. Films. Breathe taking videos.

Check out Doller new video ‘Like a Queen’ on Youtube. You can also contact him via his Facebook ‘Doller Da Dustman’