Grime MC Flowdan talks collabs, and his Wellington show reviewed

UK grime music pioneer Flowdan talks about his Grammy nomination, recent run of collaborations and what crowds turn up for, just before hitting the stage in Wellington.

Marc Veira - better known by his stage name Flowdan - landed in New Zealand for the first time just over 48 hours ago.

I met with the English grime MC and record producer on Friday afternoon at San Fran, the Wellington bar where he was to perform his sold-out show that evening. Sitting outside in the sunshine, Flowdan claimed the jet lag hadn't hit him yet.

He's come to New Zealand riding on the electrifying wave of his first Grammy nomination. 'Rumble,' a track made in collaboration with Fred Again and Skrillex, was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording last month. It's a track the trio made almost six years ago, but 'Rumble' soared to the top of the charts after Fred Again gave the world a sneak peek of the song during his 2022 boiler set. The song went viral and was released as a single.

Flowdan tells me he can't believe he's been nominated for the Grammy; it hasn't fully kicked in yet.

"Because getting into music - where I'm from and what I'm into, that was never a goal and it's my friends and family that are making me understand it's something very serious, something very big, something that might not ever happen again," he says.

"So I'll take it. I'm enjoying the moment."

It's been the year of collabs for Flowdan, including several hits released with American DJ and music producer Skrillex.

Working with Skrillex is unpredictable, he says.

"But at the same time it's easy. He gets it. We get each other, we're looking for the same thing so it's like there's another brain in the room, another set of hands doing some work."

"He gets involved in all aspects of the music, the songwriting, the lyrics, the beat, this, that and he takes criticism on all of the music as well. So it's easy to work with him."

At 10:30pm on Friday evening, DJ Karnage opens first. He's read the crowd, he's done his research and he knows New Zealand loves drum and bass. He's also worked with Flowdan for more than 20 years.

They're both from East London and were founding members of Roll Deep, a British grime crew.

In about 30 minutes Flowdan comes on. He gets the crowd chanting "Wellington city," alongside his MC beats. The unified voices make you feel proud to be in Pōneke, to be from this city welcoming Flowdan to his first ever New Zealand show.

The crowd is packed. More than 400 people grooving in time to Flowdan's endlessly flowing voice. These people know Flowdan, they've come not just for his 2023 bangers, but for his old school grime. People have flown up from the South Island; he's only doing two New Zealand shows and tonight he will be performing at Auckland's Tuning Fork.

Flowdan said it's a relief to have sold out both shows.

"It's not always about bragging rights and being able to say you've done that but I heard that everyone usually sells out basically, so I was hoping that I wasn't going to spoil the tradition," he said.

"It's a nice feeling but either way I was going to have a good time."

Voices in the crowd try to keep up with his deep signature vocals. Everyone stops to clap after almost every song, making the gig feel more like a polite concert instead of a pumping club performance. The crowd respects Flowdan's craft.

New Zealand is often called the drum and bass capital of the world, but it's clear to see there's undercurrents of a thriving grime scene just wanting to break out.

Flowdan said he's sure he will inspire a new generation of grime artists here.

"Yeah I hope I can."

"But for me, it's not necessarily about the focus of the genre anymore, it's about the focus of being that individual that can do anything they want or try out anything they want and just be brave enough to do so."

Flowdan asks the crowd what song they want. A litany of voices cry out and his unmistakable vocals start to boom around the room. Of course, 'Rumble' plays.

It's a song that achieved mainstream success this year, with many listeners thinking Flowdan was a new artist. But he's a grime pioneer who started his career in the late 90s as an MC on pirate radio station Rinse FM.

'Rumble' is influenced by one of Flowdan's older collabs with The Bug; 'Skeng' released in 2007. The single words used throughout both songs are punchy and they give space to the music's rhythm.

It's easy for the crowd to sing along.

Flowdan never imagined 'Rumble' would be so successful.

"It was just a hard beat that I thought would sound sick anywhere I'd go."

"We just do what we think's sick and people catch on, then a lot more people catch on and that's what made it mainstream."

To finish the night, he performed his biggest hit at the moment, 'Baddadan', a drum and bass collab with British producers Chase and Status, Bou, IRAH, Trigga and Takura.

Chase and Status' member Saul Milton had told Flowdan that New Zealanders "go crazy" for music.

I think I can proudly say, we exceeded those expectations.

"Wellington, you are an absolutely f****** crazy audience, and we're just getting started," Flowdan told the crowd at the beginning of the night.

The bass turned up loud, the crowd gyrating and singing along, grins all around, including a huge smile on Flowdan himself.

I asked Flowdan why he thinks people listen to music.

"It's very vibrational, very emotional. When I say emotional, I don't mean soft or hard, I just mean it brings you to all these places depending on your indulgence or your engagement with the sound."

The set ends just before midnight. The crowd isn't ready to stop dancing, they shout out for an encore.

But they're left wanting more.