Spinning until dawn with London’s Goldie

Goldie a.k.a Clifford Price.

The term “legend” is thrown around a lot in the entertainment industry, but in the case of drum and bass D.J. Goldie, it’s the only label that fits. He packed the house on Saturday night at Club Cargo, and took time to speak with the Joong-Ang Daily after his show.
One of the pioneering and most easily recognizable artists in the genre of drum and bass (which is also known as jungle), Clifford Price, a. k. a. Goldie, has aided in creating and popularizing what is now an internationally appreciated style of music. He is also an actor, appearing on both television and film.
Now 42, Goldie began to emerge in the world of hip hop in the 1980s. He started to build a name for himself as a graffiti artist while a member of a breakdance crew from Wolverhampton, in England’s West Midlands. It was during this period that he was tagged with the nickname Goldilocks, because of the goldish-brown dreadlocks that he used to wear. He later shaved them off, losing the last part of the nickname. Over the years, he has gone by many aliases, making his first track as Ajax Project, releasing a string of works under the name Rufige Cru, and coming out with the hit track “Terminator” under the name Metalheads in 1992.
The last name was the inspiration for the groundbreaking drum and bass label Metalheadz, which he founded with fellow jungle original, Doc Scott, in 1993. Over the years, almost every significant drum and bass artist has worked with the label, including Photek and Adam F.
In 1995, Goldie released his best-known album, “Timeless,” a synthesis of pounding jungle basslines and sweeping symphonic soundscapes. “Timeless” made drum and bass history by debuting at number seven in the album charts, and is still viewed by many as one of the greatest albums ever made in the genre.
On the big screen, Goldie’s best-known roles were in Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch,” and the James Bond film, “The World is not Enough.” He appeared in the U.K.’s “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2002 (ending up being the first one voted off the show), and also played the role of the gangster Angel Hudson on the British soap opera, “EastEnders.”

M.C. LowQui

Saturday night provided a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with the famed D.J. As Seoul is still developing as a major destination for big-name artists, music aficionados can sometimes luck into seeing their favorite stars in far more intimate venues than they would be able to in Western countries, and Cargo is just such a place. Goldie took the stage well after midnight and did not leave it until six in the morning, breaking out new, never-before-heard material as Metalheadz M.C. LowQui wove through the crowd spitting freestyle rhymes. Cargo was initially packed to capacity, and the basement hummed with throbbing beats and a special electricity for which the club is renowned. As the night progressed, the pair were enjoying themselves so much that they did not seem to notice that they were outlasting their audience, which had significantly thinned by the time they finally descended from the stage. They did not seem to care, however, appearing happy to play for their most hardcore fans.
The JoongAng Daily spoke with Goldie outside of the club in the early hours of the next morning, as the sun began to rise over the city. The D.J. had clearly enjoyed himself and was visibly impressed with the vibe in Seoul.
“This city has changed a lot,” he said, remarking on the wild enthusiasm of the audience. “Since James Brown died, Seoul’s got a lot more soul,” he said.
He said that his next album, “Sine Tempus” is due for major release in October. It is the soundtrack to an original screenplay that took Goldie seven years to create. The movie is due to come out in January or February of next year.
“I’m directing,” he said.
When asked if any well-known actors will be appearing in the film, Goldie said, “I can’t really say who’s in it. I do know, but I can’t say.”
But the energy of the night (or the alcohol he had been swigging from the bottle behind the turntables) must have overwhelmed him, because a moment later he said, under his breath, “Laurence Fishburne.” (The actor played Morpheus in “The Matrix” series.)

By Richard Scott-Ashe Contributing Writer [richard@joongang.co.kr]