“There is a lot of tension in our music,” says Orifice Vulgatron, one of the founding members of the UK rap group Foreign Beggars. “It’s just energy,” Vulgatron said in an interview with The Badger Herald, and tonight, he and fellow members Metropolis and DJ Nonames will be bringing that energy to Madison.
“It’s like a rap show, it’s like a rave, it’s like a rock concert as well, so it can get extra crazy. It’s much more of a freak show,” he said.
Foreign Beggars, ten year veterans of the UK rap scene, are on the road in support of their latest effort The Uprising, the group’s sixth album and its first on Deadmau5’s Mau5trap label, and it’s a shift that saw them leave behind their self-created record label Dented.
“It’s just opened doors for the music to reach new people,” Vulgatron said. “We kind of really started the label [Dented] because all the people we’d spoken with didn’t really understand how to put our stuff out, and we really didn’t feel like we were getting the right kind of support from anyone.
“The reason we went with Deadmau5 … We were given carte blanche. We could make whatever music we wanted to make.”
When taking that freedom into the studio, the group mixed music styles ranging from hip-hop to dub-step to grime to rock. While the any-genre-goes mentality is not that uncommon in Foreign Beggars’ catalogue, this time around had a rock star cameo, as the trio worked with M?tley Cr?e’s Tommy Lee on “Mind’s Eye.”
“Every time Tommy sound checks, he plays our tracks which just tripped us the fuck out. He had this project he was working on … he sent it through to us and it was pretty much perfect,” Vulgatron said. “It’s crazy for me, I’ve been a M?tley Cr?e fan since like from the ’80s. To work with him and have him be a fan of our shit, it’s like, it’s just like, that’s crazy.”
So how do these songs play out in the US, especially bringing them to the heartland? Vulgatron had no complaints about the venues or audiences saying, “It’s cool. The shows we have done in the Midwest have been crazy! I think the youth culture … I think people might actually have a little bit more fun in places like the Midwest or outside big cities just because, you know, it’s a bit more special.
“I think in the big cities people are a little spoiled for choice. It’s a little bit of a challenge for us, and I think it’s a little bit of a challenge for some of the audiences because … it’s a combination of all things, and especially we rap in English accents, but I think people really appreciate the effort.”
Though talking up his experiences playing in non-big cities, Vulgatron insists the listener needs to make up their own mind about a Foreign Beggars show.
“Just come to the shows. Make up your mind for yourself,” he said. “A lot of people hear and read things … and formulate opinions about certain things before experiencing it themselves or let other people’s opinions dictated how they feel about something, and I think if you really want to know go find out for yourself.”
If you want to take Orifice Vulgatron’s advice, Foreign Beggars play Segredo tonight with guest CENOB1TE. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. For more information visit segredomadison.com.
