If I Ruled London by DJ Yoda

We catch up with hip hop master ahead of The Big Noise Festival
If I Ruled London by DJ Yoda picture

Hip hop turntablist DJ Yoda invented the ‘cut-up’ technique, an ingenious method of Djing involving mashing up samples of many different musical genres, often crowbarring rap, electro, swing and sci-fi film soundtracks together into one track. If that still doesn’t give you an idea of what to expect from Yoda’s repertoire, imagine the aural equivalent of an encounter between Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote.

Next month DJ Yoda will be headlining the Big Noise Festival, an event that’ll feature music, poetry, comedy and theatre to raise money for the Big Issue Foundation. Ahead of his performance we quizzed him on the changes he’d make if he was made Mayor of London.

What would you immediately make free?
Cinnamon buns from the Nordic Bakery on Golden Square.

What would you build more of?
I don’t know what you call Granary Square in Kings Cross with all the fountains and the canal, but more of them.

What would you demolish?
Pret a Mangers and Costa Coffees.

What would you put on the fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square?
A large speaker with an app that people can use like a jukebox.

You need to encourage more tourists to visit, what do you tell people are London’s best bits?
It’s the best city in the world for culture in my unbiased opinion!

The voice of the London Underground needs changing. Who should do it?
Stephen Fry.

The Houses of Parliament are riddled with asbestos. Where should the MPs and Lords move to?
Alexandra Palace. I was in that main room for a DJ set last week and I couldn’t believe how big it was.

The closure of many live music venues has meant that London’s music scene has taken a battering. What’s your policy on this?
It’s always sad to see places with character and history disappear. It doesn’t work as well to have shiny new clean music venues. There’s always somewhere to play a gig though. I played at the Cereal Cafe in Camden last night!

What is the biggest issue facing Londoners?
The cost of living for 95% of us!

What’s the proudest moment of your DJ career?
Selling out The Roundhouse in Camden, where my parents used to rave as hippies in the 70s!

The Big Noise Festival takes place on June 13th at The Coronet, with DJ Yoda, Scratch Perverts, Mo Kolours and more. Get tickets from here.

Published May 19, 2015