Richie Balboa

Manager of NSB Radio and acclaimed breaks DJ, Richie Balboa is moving and shaking from the very epicentre of the breaks scene. With NSB now the first fully live breaks radio station in the world, what’s he got planned for us next? We hooked up the interview, read on…

Great to have you on Noise Porn, we’re more used to seeing you on the NSB forums – how did you get involved with that and what’s your role now?

Yeah thank you for having me, It all started in 2007 when i started DJ’ing at the NuSkoolBreaks events in London, and at the same time i was friends with the then NSB Radio manager Tony Slackshot. After a couple of years getting the station going I kinda picked up where Tony left off and have spent the last 2 years filling the station with DJs from every corner of the globe, and I’m glad to say this week I have filled out the last slot to make us the first and only fully live breakbeat radio station in the World.

In tandem the DJ side of things has rocketed too, I spent 2007/8 learning my trade building my own club brand Social alongside fellow DJ McQueen and held down a residency at all NSB events in the UK DJ’ing with the likes of Atomic Hooligan, Utah Saints, A Skillz and Krafty Kuts. In terms of where I am now, well i was nominated in the best breakthrough DJ category at the 2009 breakspoll awards as well as headlining events in China and the Miami Winter Music Conference, which isn’t bad going for someone who has never released a track…..

For our readers who haven’t yet braved the forums or tuned into the radio, what’s the spirit behind NSB and what can you expect to hear on there?

NSB Radio is about good music mixed well. Sure we come from and represent a breakbeat community but what i love about the station is you can expect to hear everything accross the spectrum of broken beat music. We’ve got Nu-Funk shows, dubstep, drum and bass, tech-funk, funky breaks, tearout breaks, a chillout show and even one called full random business where you never know what you’re gonna get!! In essence we’re a community of people from around the globe who enjoy interacting with each other over the net and listening to some dope beats…..

And what are the plans for NSB in the near future? Any secret projects we should know about?

Well now that the roster is full i’m going to spend some time marketing the station but i guess in the near future its all about the festival season. One of the great things about radio is we can broadcast from anywhere with a bit of internet signal, so for example we will be broadcasting live from Glade Festival. NSB has broadcast from Glade for the past four years beaming the likes of Plump DJs and Stanton Warriors to the world, but to top that this year we get our own NuSkoolBreaks arena, where you can find me DJ’ing alongside some of the newer artists pushing the scene forward like Plaza Da funk, The Beat Assassins, Far Too Loud and Specimen A.

We’re also set to host our first NSB event in Australia with one of our own DJs Llupa lining up with Deekline and Wizard and Aquasky in June, which is exciting for us. The final thing is a tour we are running alongside FBBB (For Boarders By Boarders) and one of our longest running shows the Armitage Skanks Show. This will see the NSB DJs like Boy Wonder, Dtism and myself team up with Ch!co and the FBBB crew to take over snow domes all over the UK and Europe for one off events including custom designed snow parks / skate parks, graffiti, freestyle dancing and DJs live by the jumps.

In terms of Richie Balboa I’ve got DJ sets to look forward to at my own nights in London, Glade Festival, Waveform festival and a host of gigs alongside my mate Will Streetwise at places like Nassfest (Europe larget extreme sports festival) and Boardmasters Surf Competition in Newquay.

NSB has won two Breakspoll awards and you’re clearly right at the heart of the scene. How do you think this years Breakspoll awards rated against previous years?

Yeah without a doubt this years Awards marked a new era with the omissions of people like Plumps, Stantons, Krafty and Atomic Hooligan from the lineup but it was wicked to see the likes of the Beat Assassins, Mr no Hands and Diverted Live get their time in the spotlight. The thing about Breakspoll is its all about the party, and this year was as good as any other I can remember.

As a DJ, you’ve toured all over the place, what’s been your worst travel-related cock-up over the years?

I think luckily i’ve been on the right side of things so far but i’ve heard some crazy stories lately happen to people i’ve played along side. In the last month Will streetwise missed flights to some of our gigs, i played with A Skillz last Thursday who wrote his car off on the way home, and Nick Thayer last weekend left all his tunes at the airport :~)

And which place has been the most fun to play in?

China was an experience, they like it dirty out there, i played to over 1,000 people at some of the Drop Beats Not Bombs gigs in Birmingham, but i gotta say where it all kicked off was at a little bar called Jrink in Soho. Its one of those intimate venues where as a DJ you can almost feel people breath on you. And thats the kind of atmosphere I thrive off.

Right so you’ve teamed up with FBBB to get this UK tour off the ground, what’s the story there?

Yeah so NSB Radio and FBBB met up through mutual contacts Boy Wonder and Dtism on the Armitage Skanks Show. Basically FBBB is doing a tour of 8 show domes and skate parks in UK and Holland this year, where they re-designed the parks and provide graff artists, b-boy dancers and DJs all day long, and we’re gonna look to broadcast that live on NSB. The first event is at Braehead Snowdome on Friday 22nd May and the last in at Milton Keynes on 10th October.

You can expect to hear everything from rare 7″ funk to scratch dj’ing, punk and rock, beatboxing……..it really is full random business…..

You a keen snowboarder then?

Haha, i’m a skiier mate, always have been always will be. I’m not sure whats gonna happen if i start skiing at the FBBB events, i might get kicked out or something !?! No seriously I’m a skiier, I’ve never seen the attraction with boarding, you spend 1/2 the time on your arse and have to push along the flat bits….skis all the way

OK, Noise Porn interview challenge. How far can you throw a piece of A4 paper (unfolded)?

I thought i’d be the don at this but alas, in 5 attempts the best was about 2 metres…..it’s all in the wrist :-)

And finally, you’re stuck on a desert island with one other person for company – whose it gonna be?

Torrie Wilson, Google her :-)

So we did. Great choice.

These words came from NoisePorn.com, posted on May 10, 2009 at 4:57 pm, filed under Interviews. Read and leave comments here. Follow any comments here with an RSS feed.