Scroobius Pip written by Sara Colohan for Londoncalling.com

Scroobius Pip: Keeping Himself Busy

21 March 2013 | Sara Colohan |

 EntertainmentLondon Life

Scroobius Pip is a Beat Poet, eclectic DJ and possibly the only man to sell his beard on E-Bay

His new Friday night DJ residency at The Book Club is a melting pot of musical diversity.

A night listening to Spoken Word (a form of literary art, where lyrics, poems and stories are spoken rather than sung or written) can strike the fear of God into many of us, conjuring images of being trapped in a basement surrounded by chin stroking beatniks in nylon polo-neck jumpers.

Cult poet John Cooper Clark came to the rescue of the genre in the 70’s and indeed still flies the cool flag for Spoken Word today. Seen as pioneering he was hailed as a genius Punk Poetas he braved the rough unchartered punk scene, reciting breakneck speed original poetry to what was often a hostile audience. He eventually won them over, creating an unprecedented cult status for Spoken Word poetry in the UK and worldwide.

Since John Cooper Clark paved the way, spoken word ‘stars’ have been thin on the ground but in 2006, the rare talent of Essex boy Scroobius Pip emerged. With the help of fellow Essex boy DJ Dan Le Sac he encouraged a whole new generation to acquaint themselves with a post-millennial spoken word scene.

Best described as a Beat Poet, he wrote the widely acclaimed Thou Shalt Always Kill which went viral (chalking up 3.5 million views on Youtube) eventually earning him a record deal with Rob da Bank’s label Sunday Best Recordings. His spoof for X Factor  with Dan Le Sac, created to promote their Letter to God single in 2009 also went viral and cemented their cult cool status.

Scroobius Pip’s solo album Distraction Pieces, was released late 2011 and since then, he’s been hard at work touring a solo spoken word show called ‘Words’ which he developed after his success as headline act in Latitude’s poetry tent 2012. That tour has led him to agreeing dates at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe 2013 and you can see him perform there in August.

‘’ Being a long time lover of stand up comedy I was delighted when comedians I am a huge fan of like Time Key and Brett Goldstein attended the tour along the way. When it was over I caught up with a few of them and they all seemed to feel ‘Words’ would work well at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’’

He will also be appearing at Hill Farm’s Truck Festival in July with dan Le sac.

Back in London, he’s enjoying his eclectic DJ monthly event in The Book Club, East London. Each month the diverse DJ line up changes and the music is as random and eclectic as you could hope for. Donning his lizard mask, the man himself plays a set each month and carefully chooses great warm up and closing Dj’s including Don Letts in April and Annie Nightingale in May to make the night a real gem in London. Remarkably, this night is free (free before 9pm open till 2.30am) So it’s official – there’s still a bargain to be had in Shoreditch!

For more information go to http://scroobiuspip.co.uk/

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