Alix Perez - Chimpo - Fixate - Fracture - Om Unit - Sam Binga - Stray



The idea of getting these guys together came about around 2 years ago. I’d been (and have been) releasing great music from all of them, and most have collaborated with each other individually in some form or another, but I felt that there was a common thread in their sounds that would work great as a whole. So I sent them all an email suggesting they got together.

They liked the idea, so I set about trying to arrange a time for them to all meet up. It was always going to be difficult getting everyone together, what with everyone’s personal commitments and geographical location, but the idea of the project appealed to everyone enough to make it work. I shared a studio with Fracture at the time and arranged a date for everyone to come down to London.

These were some really fun studio sessions to watch. Three in one studio, four in another. All of them flying back and forth between the rooms swapping ideas. On one of these sessions we realised we needed an extra room, so Stray and Fixate went off to another studio and kept in touch via FaceTime.

It was these initial sessions together and the strong ideas that were laid down then that became the foundation of the LP. Afterwards, as they didn’t always find time to link up due to their busy schedules, more work was done remotely online. All in all it took a good 2 years to get the LP together.

So, what is Richie Brains?

We were thinking of band names initially, then the idea of a single entity came up. There were a few names thrown in the hat but Richie Brains (or Dick Head for short), seemed to stick. I think Fracture and Binga came up with the initial idea of ‘Who Is Richie Brains’ as the LP title. A simple question that would get thrown back at us constantly…

We thought about the look of the artwork and who this character was as an individual. Collectively we all loved the idea and aesthetic of the New York & Washington punk scene, in the way it was promoted and the homemade quality of the artwork. Richie Brains just sounded like the name of a great electronic punk character to us.

After throwing all these different ideas at Utile, they went off and researched all the old printing techniques used back then and came back with the look and character you see today. That’s when his persona really took shape.

What’s great with a project like this, is that each of the members have their own things going on, so it allowed us to have some fun in its presentation. There isn’t a need to force it. Just play great music and post stickers of a weird goggly eyed weirdo all over the world and have people get curious and ask, “Who’s Richie Brains, then?”.

Well now you know.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a big believer of mystery in music and bringing people together through collaborations, (aka, The Gemini Principle). This has certainly been fun to a be a part of and I’d like to thank everyone involved.



Richie Brains • Harry and Nick @Utile • Killa P • Rider Shafique • Trigga • Fox • Dogger @Paasonic • Alex @Black Swan Studios • Beau @Ten Eight Seven • William Courtice • If Khan

Next up #TerryBeans

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