M: Hi Lawrie, you’ve been volunteering with MAP for 8 years, is that right?
I know you’re also involved with the Leeds Producers Forum (LPF), if you could tell us more about it…
L: Yeah so I volunteered briefly in the print studio at Hope House helping Lauren with admin and organisational work mainly, I spent time with Tom doing various ‘odd jobs’, time-lapsing the gallery studio stack take down, re-rigged the lights at one point in the Gallery a few years back and re position the system stacks back to their golden spots. Think Tom has time-lapse documentation of that, it’s really cool.
I also worked on a project with Raf and Tom where we established an idea of the future geographical and demographic surroundings of Mabgate and Hope House Foundry to help pitch, campaign for funding and get an extended view of Mabgate’s future. This was to help MAP achieve buying the building (Hopd Foundry), when the future of the building (and MAP) was at risk.
Working on the bar and as a staff member at Slop, moving closely with the cosmic Slop family, I have worked on the bar for about 5/6 years ish (I think haha maybe longer), also when i’m lucky, I get to take responsibility of the lights on the odd occasion Paul Edmeade is unavailable for lighting duties. Before that I was a dance floor stomper. I was introduced to the Cosmic Slop by my really good friends Jake Krushelle and Alfie Kungu. Slop inspired my life, more than so many musically immersive experiences I’ve witnessed <3
Involvement with LPF has been something close to my heart. I’ve spent time volunteering with the event since LPF001. Meeting with the team and helping coordinate the events logistics, planning and format. We discuss music and develop the LPF format in order to create a facility and scene to celebrate locally produced amazing music.
M: Wow, amazing! Ok, please tell us more about LPF and how the event works?
L: LPF (Leeds Producer Forum) was originally formed by a calling from Cosmic Slop go-ers, friends of MAP, Hope House resident workers & a chunk of the Leeds music scene, yearning to hear specific songs they had produced them-selves on the Slop sound-system. So they could get a feel for the music they have been producing on a world renowned sound-system of highly clarititive fidelity and within a club-esque/immersive musical environment (but with no judgements, it being an open forum for discussion,advice and development of tracks through communication, collaboration and networking).
LPF began as a listening session, and still very much is so, we have chairs around the edge of the gallery so people can sit and enjoy the playlist of music being played. We also have tried to facilitate as many submissions as possible and have so far been fairly successful at fulfilling everybody’s tracks within each event to which they submitted them to (although we promise to include any excluded tracks in the following event if a track submitted is unable to be played due to time constraints).
LPF011 was originally planned for March 27th, due to Covid-19 we cancelled the event and after a few months of bringing the team back together and establishing a new format in which we can run the event safely and with added provisions, services and fund-raising ideas, we plan to now go ahead and run LPF011 on the 6th August 2020.
We are running this as a live stream on Twitch, in which LPF residents Aletha & Sangria will be DJing submitted LPF tracks in a mixed format live over an online stream, including projected visuals by Jake Krushelle and live professional dancing by very talented friends Al and Mayoa.
On the live stream, LPF members will be able to discuss tracks and have the opportunity to bid for dub cuts and establish opportunities of cutting dub-plates of their tracks submitted. Also, mastering services are being offered cheap for a fair donation towards our fund-raising campaign and having artwork produced by facilitators at MAP charity. In addition MAP can facilitate bespoke art designs and printing opportunities for sleeve and cover designs. Very Exciting 🙂
All proceeds from LPF011 will go to Black Minds Matters UK – a vital mental health resource, supporting black communities in the UK – please visit the website for more details about there important work here – https://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/
M: Sounds like a perfect project, looking forward to watching it grow. Thanks so much for such detailed answers, Lawrie. Wrapping up, what do MAP and Cosmic Slop mean to you?
L: MAP and Cosmic Slop to me feel like an inspiring and meaningful model for future events & charities. Tom is an inspirational don. MAP is an incredibly important and meaningful resource for Leeds and deserves every bit of respect and support it achieves. Cosmic Slop is a party. A real and comfortable dance to feel free and open, witness amazing DJs play life changing sets and enrich our cultural society in Leeds. Long live Cosmic Slop and MAP. Much love.