Breaking Down Barriers: Sian Anderson On New Project FLOOR SIXX

The gap between the underground and the mainstream has rarely been closer...

Sian Anderson is a tireless advocate for the UK underground.

As a broadcaster, Sian has used her position to open up questions, to provide a platform for artists who might otherwise go unheard.

It seems to be working, too. With Stormzy able to claim a number one album without succumbing to the major label structure, the gap between the underground and the mainstream has rarely been closer.

Which is where FLOOR SIXX comes in. A new project spearheaded by Sian Anderson and grime lynchpin Jason Black, it aims to act as a conduit for new talent, bringing together MCs, producers, DJs, party-throwers, and (of course) fans.

Launching with a road-block East London party, FLOOR SIXX is now looking at a year-long schedule of fresh releases, hot live events, a full length album and the FLOOR SIXX ACADEMY.

Clash asked Sian a few questions about the project, her involvement, and where UK music might go next…

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What prompted you to start FLOOR SIXX?
A few things, I get on average 20 emails a week from artists and students asking for career advice and it became overwhelming, me and Julie set up One true Calling because of it but we found that we were paying for the sessions and organisation ourself because the big companies with funding didn’t want to release budget to help.

I thought there must be a way to plug music money back into the next generation of artists and music moguls so I spoke to the grime artists who featured on the FUXX SIAN series (monthly mixes for i-D) and asked if they were up for submitting tracks to an album in which all proceeds go to a FLOOR SIXX MUSIC ACADEMY in exchange for me using my expertise to run them label-level single campaign runs. They were all up for it.

Then I spoke to Jason Black (Crep Protect) about the idea and he helped me get it off the ground. Oh, and thanks to Deezer for their help in making this all happen.

The initial releases are grime-focussed, which is arguably the most exciting sound in the country right now. What keeps you coming back to the scene?
I’ve never left the scene. I am grime. I’ve grown up with it and there’s never been a point in my life in which it’s not been at the forefront of my day. From the music I listen too, to the people I roll with, to the events I attend, it’s such a normal part of my day so it made sense to start here, but the first year of FLOOR SIXX is Grime meets Afrobeats, so we’ll be releasing a P Montana album too, bridging the gap between both genres.

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How important was Jason Black to forming FLOOR SIXX? What do you each of you bring to the endeavour?
It wouldn’t have happened without Jason, first of all he’s an artist with number one singles under his belt (as Roll Deep) and was the first grime artist to begin mixtapes back in the early days of grime, so he knows and understands the importance of education and of the D.I.Y attitude we’ve HAD to form in grime in order to survive and what is required in order for it to continue to prosper. That eduction has been crucial to this.

Secondly, he financed the idea, having such huge success as the co-founder of Crep Protect has allowed him to plug back into the scene and really focus and dedicate funds to the areas that will help the scene prosper such as the FLOOR SIXX MUSIC ACADEMY. And then creatively, he’s been super hands on when it comes to what the design and merchandise looks and feels like and the aesthetic of the project.

I brought the idea to the table and had the contacts, marketing, DJ and A&R experience under my belt but he pulled it all together and made it happen.

The gap between the underground and the mainstream has rarely been smaller, with Stormzy able to self-release a number one album. Where does FLOOR SIXX fit in this landscape?
Stormzy was partly the reason this exists. I was working with Stormzy from Dreamers Disease EP right up to Jools Holland, and (just like when I worked with Ed Sheeran prior to him signing to Atlantic) I faced the same battles in regards to getting the mass media to help. They don’t understand the star factor, they don’t see how it’s going to sell any different to similar acts who previously haven’t sold and blah blah blah…

I found you literally have to chart independently with your team (Ed) or do Jools Holland (Stormzy) before the phone rings. You have to be able to break acts yourself, and I know how to do that, I’ve been doing that. FLOOR SIXX is just me legitimising that and saying ‘Hey, this is what I do, come and learn how to do this too”. FLOOR SIXX exists for everyone who’s misunderstood but has star factor and needs a place to plug that star factor into.

The project seems to be about more than simply releasing music, but reflecting the wider culture around this. How do the two interlock, in your view? Are they inseparable?
God yeah, the merchandise (jackets and USB’s etc) are all about lifestyle. Everyone has a bicycle now and wear 3M to be seen when riding in at night, everyones a DJ or student carrying a USB. When people buy FUXXFLOORSIXX merchandise they’re buying it because its a great and productive product, the money from the purchase is going into the FLOOR SIXX MUSIC ACADEMY and they might not even know it.

We’re normalising ‘giving back’ to those who consume FUXX merchandise. FUXX is all about the freedom of speech, having a voice in a censored society. They’re buying it as a lifestyle choice and music is lifestyle, it always has been.

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FLOOR SIXX MUSIC ACADEMY sounds exciting, how will this work? Did you find the music industry a difficult area to break into?
This is gonna be so sick – ten workshops for ten weeks in August at Red Bull Studios. Imagine every single DJ/ Artist/ Presenter/ Videographer/ Photographer/ PR/ Producer / Journalist/ Songwriter and Businessman you’ve ever looked up too, at your fingertips to speak too, learn from and engage with one on one. It’s gonna be amazing. The academy has different phases which will see people who are really keen rise up through to phase six, and have a paid job at FLOOR SIXX running the label with us.

I didn’t find the music industry difficult to break into because I had something like this with Live Magazine (a social enterprise) but that’s sadly closed down now.

FLOOR SIXX has already released material from Jammz, Capo Lee, and Drifter, what were you trying to say by curating those releases? Did you want to stamp an identity from the off?
These are all very hard working MC’s, they go to radio, raves etc and put in so much work. Releasing them first was A) about it being up and coming artists B) about putting them in front of audiences and establishments who hadn’t recognised them yet and C) giving them the tools to go off and replicate the campaign with their own releases moving forward.

The branding was to stamp identity from the off, to familiarise people with FLOOR SIXX, but again that was all DIY too, Vicky Grout took the photos and hand wrote the titles on yellow tape, then I designed the artwork on photoshop with creative help from Abdou Cisse and Keaton Rich.

Collective action seems to be at the fore of UK underground culture right now, with projects such as New Gen bringing artists together. Do you feel this communal spirit is part of what makes grime/wider urban scene so potent? How does FLOOR SIXX encourage/accentuate this?
Absolutely. New Gen did a great job of bringing together a collective of UK Rappers and singers who are advocating unity and showing the media at large that UK rap can all get along. That’s important for their new generation especially in light of things like 696 and other areas of blockage for UK rap music.

In regards to a FLOOR SIXX communal spirit it’s not solely about having a force that’s solid and screams unity, but using that force to plug back into the scene and the next generation and giving back via education and mentoring – that's where it really counts to FLOOR SIXX, that’s what we’re here for. In terms of encouragement, although we’re embodying an attitude of giving back, we still paying artists for their tracks and their craft, whoever the next Jammz/Capo Lee and P Money’s of the world are should see their FLOOR SIXX campaigns and feel empowered that they too can make money off music.

Whoever the next Sian Anderson’s and Jason Black’s are should be able to come to FLOOR SIXX MUSIC ACADEMY and learn how these campaigns work and feel encouraged that they can have an exciting job in music too, and so the cycle should repeat.

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There’s so much going on in British music right now, from dancehall to road rap to afrobeats – will FLOOR SIXX expand to reflect those scenes for future releases?
Yup, our first EP release was grime, Capo Lee and Sir Spyro – 'Stop Talk' EP, but our next release is a P Montana Afrobeats album and we have a Dancehall album coming out this year too. It launched with grime but it’s for all genres, everyone can come sit with us.

How did last Friday’s launch go? Can we expect more parties in future? What’s the ethos for these live shows?
It was insane, in addition to all the members of the line up absolutely smashing their performances and sets, we had A$AP Rocky turn up, surprise performances from Donaeo, Ghetts and AJ Tracey, P Montana brought out Suspect and Kojo Funds (to name a few) it was just brilliant.

The live shows are again about lifestyle; come and see the artists, dis and students whose lives you’re impacting by supporting FLOOR SIXX, come and have fun and connect with each other whilst knowing that your ticket fee went straight back into the programme. There will be LOADS more parties, we have the whole year booked out already.

An album is due at the end of the year – what made you pick this format? What does an album deliver that a mixtape, say, doesn’t?
FLOOR SIXX VOLUME 1 is really just a compilation of the monthly releases, we’re not going to make a huge fuss over it, it’s just us saying ‘we dropped one track a month for the year, here’s them all in one place’. There’s no particular reason why it’s an album as opposed to a mixtape, it could have been either, I’m just used to working with album formats when it comes to selling music, my experience of mixtapes tends to be that they are free.

What is the one outcome from this project that would make you happiest?
There’s a picture from the FLOOR SIXX launch party of a group of girls who met each other at OTC (One True Calling). In April 2016, Hamda, Annabel, Muna, Melissa and Amber came to Julie and I with dreams of working in music but without an idea of how to do that.

Since that programme they are now journalist/ presenters in places like Reprezent Radio, Radar Radio, Red Bull UK, Link Up TV and one does PR for an incredible artist called Nafe Smallz (who had Drake pop up at his headline XOYO show the other day), the one outcome that would make me the happiest is MORE OF THOSE PICTURES!!! MORE OF THESE SUCCESS STORIES!!

They fill my heart with happiness so much and I can’t wait to meet and mentor all of the people who sign up to the FLOOR SIXX MUSIC ACADEMY when it launches and do it all over again.

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Stay in touch with FLOOR SIXX HERE.

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