Here's a little interview i whipped up for the Cellular Sinker :
How is the name LowQui pronounced and how did the name come about?
It’s pronounced “Low Key†and I chose the name in school in a math’s class. We (my crew at the time called Optical Noise) were just about to play our first gig and get on pirate radio, so we needed aliases. I read through a math’s text book and ignored names like vector, graph and descent and saw a piece on Loki, the Norse god of evil. I’m pretty naughty but not evil, so I thought I’d corrupt the spelling, also to avoid other people choosing the same name and spelling. It also relates to the bass notes on a keyboard and my deep voice at that young age. The arty farty aspect of it is that Qui in French is means who, so it’s an unanswered question. The last part of its meaning is keeping a low profile, which is how I approach my Mc’ing, I try not to dominate the mix too much and keep my sets LowQui…
How long have you been Mc’ing for?
I first took the mic on stage in 1992 aged 14, the six of us in Optical Noise were booked to play the 8-9pm warm up set for a bunch of guys who were about 24 years old and were disco Dave style dj’s. We acted like we were pro rave Dj’s and Mc’s, made outrageous claims and blagged them hard for the set. The truth was a little different, we had a sick bag of hardcore records and had chatted a few rhymes to each other but none of us owned a set of turntables or a microphone! We got everyone we knew to come along and the place was packed by the time we went on. We DJ’d b2b2b2b2b and all took random turns on the mic, it must have sounded terrible, but we had the tunes and we had the vibe so we just kept playing. The guys who were supposed to be DJ’ing after us were too scared to put on Rick Astley or Bros after us destroying the dance floor, so they let us run and run, we didn’t stop playing until 2am when the party stopped!
Are there any hip hop influence’s you have?
From hip hop I was influenced by Run DMC, Public Enemy, NWA and Diamond D. Other inspiration came from Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, U2 and Prince Buster to name a few.
Since your last tour in Oz you have been getting around the World a fair bit? Tell us about some places and faces you have toured?
Yeah it’s been a hectic year for travel for me, Russia was crazy! Playing in front of about 15,000 ravers in a hockey stadium felt more like playing with motley crue than at a rave, the real fire pyrotechnics they used nearly burnt my face off on stage. China has to be mentioned as it’s an emerging scene, there’s a core of westerners and Chinese who are trying to educate the Chinese about dnb and it’s really working. It’s great to see people dancing with no preconceptions about the scene or how they are supposed to act. Vertigo in Bangkok has a similar wicked vibe. Playing at Sun & Bass in Sardinia with Klute, A-Sides, Bailey, Invaders, Doc Scott, Marcus Intalex, Dom & Roland and Storm was also truly special, it’s a small dnb festival in a beautiful part of the world, strictly for those who love proper beatz. It was great to spend time with a great mix of dj’s, Mc’s loved ones and ravers who were there just to enjoy themselves.
Poland with Artificial Intelligence is another one of my favourite destinations, really friendly people out there. The tour of Australia last year takes the prize though, we didn’t stop laughing for a month and were hoping this one will be just the same.
Interest’s outside of DnB? Cars? Bikes? Video Games? Tennis?
Tennis is my first love as a sport, I was a ball boy at Wimbledon for 2 years at the same time as Tim Henman and would have joined the junior tour if I hadn’t suffered a nasty accident with a Tennis Canon at the age of 7 and ¾. That fear lives on today and I can’t see a tennis canon without a strong urge to fire it at unsuspecting victims to help soothe the pain of my lost career.
I’m a Chelsea FC fan but I can’t get to as many games as I’d like due to Saturdays and Sundays spent traveling from gig to gig. For computer games it has to be Tiger Woods on the playstation all day long.
My most consuming hobby
You are now known in Melbourne as the Cellular Sinker? Care to get your side of the story out for the heads that don’t know the full story?
Just be warned that mobile phones, swimming pools and LowQui don’t mix as well as Goldie, LowQui and 2 Metalheadz dubplates!
Tell us about your recent studio time with DJ’s like Sabre? Whats been going on inside the recording walls?
Sabre is one of the hottest DnB producers in the world right now. We have just finished a new track, which were both really into it because we think it sounds pretty different, but the lyrics might be a bit off key for some ears. It’s definitely not an instant cheesy hit, but we are more interested in having a laugh and experimenting than following existing formulas. I’ll make sure the Melbourne crew get a copy once it’s mastered, it would be really good to hear what you guys think...
Sabre has got a few bits you should be keeping an ear out for and I’d also recommend checking out Alix Perez, another sick producer who along with Sabre is keeping my faith in new DnB producers alive right now.
Would you ever consider living outside of the UK now that DnB is getting a lot more recognition worldwide? Or is the UK still where it’s at for getting gigs and producing?
I’d love to live in Australia and plan to one day, the only reason I’m not in there on the beach, in your face already is that my major circuits are the UK and Europe. I think it would be hard if not impossible to maintain the level of gigs I currently do based in Australia due to the travel times involved. When I get bored of Mc’ing I’m sure you will see me lurking round your neighborhood…
Whats a typical Day in the life of MC LowQui?
Get up around 4pm, have my butler iron a fresh copy of knowledge magazine and squeeze me fresh orange juice flown in from my tropical island… Then I wake up in a strange hotel, not knowing where I am. I realize its 9am, I’ve had an hours sleep and got to jump on a plane to the next gig, so I rush to pack my bag, forgetfully leave a favourite T-Shirt on the floor (again!) and jump in a cab, scramble to check in, get on a plane, fall asleep, wake myself up snoring, fall asleep again, get woken up screaming in fear by a bumpy landing, meet a promoter I’ve never met before who looks at me strangely because I’m dribbling through lack of sleep and dehydration, do a sound check, eat some food, have a shower and then back on stage. Have a wicked time rolling to the music I love, Now I’m living off pure adrenalin from the music and the noise the crowd makes, the lights go down, its over, so we hit an after party, leave late, make it to the airport just in time and fly home…that’s a fairly normal weekend day for me right now, During the week it’s a bit more chilled, spending as much time as possible with my special lady …
Whats the Pro’s and Cons of Mc’ing as opposed to being a DJ?
Pro’s are less excess luggage fee’s, I can inject my thoughts and emotions into a dance through my lyrics, on the flip side of that as an MC you cant hide behind the decks if your not on form, you have to stay centre stage, battle it out and still represent properly no matter what your thinking or feeling.
Other cons are all the women that think I’ve got a massive dick until I pull the microphone out of my pocket.
Worst Food? Worst Drink? Worst gig?
Worst gig is anywhere with a crap sound system, promoters should ensure the sound is at a good level before they even think of getting a night going. Worst food, err, I eat and enjoy most things although I saw a horror program on battery farmed chicken the other day which has reminded me to eat more ethically farmed food, Worst drink – right now coca cola...
Catch Goldie and MC Lowqui fro Elementz Sound Collective on Fri, Dec 1st @ The Espy...
MC Lowqui (Metalheadz, UK) Interview 15/11/2006...
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Re: MC Lowqui (Metalheadz, UK) Interview 15/11/2006...
Fents, while interviewing LowQui wrote:Tennis is my first love as a sport, I was a ball boy at Wimbledon for 2 years at the same time as Tim Henman and would have joined the junior tour if I hadn’t suffered a nasty accident with a Tennis Canon at the age of 7 and ¾. That fear lives on today and I can’t see a tennis canon without a strong urge to fire it at unsuspecting victims to help soothe the pain of my lost career.
Fents, while interviewing LowQui wrote:Other cons are all the women that think I’ve got a massive dick until I pull the microphone out of my pocket.
AND 
simultaneously. Quality work, Fents!DRS wrote:It’s uplifting while we drift through time,
‘cause we keep pushing the vibe.
Re: MC Lowqui (Metalheadz, UK) Interview 15/11/2006...
Fents, while interviewing LowQui wrote:Other cons are all the women that think I’ve got a massive dick until I pull the microphone out of my pocket.
AND simultaneously. Quality work, Fents![/quote]bwahahaha - that line was not written by me...
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Re: MC Lowqui (Metalheadz, UK) Interview 15/11/2006...
Hmmmm...Fents, while interviewing LowQui wrote: I can’t see a tennis canon without a strong urge to fire it at unsuspecting victims to help soothe the pain of my lost career.
Hazy memories are returning....
