Musician and Ill Manors star Riz Ahmed believes that stories started on album can continue on film.
“I’ve always been interested in the link between stories in music and film ever since I grew up watching Michael Jackson videos. When I put together my debut album ‘MICroscope’, I extended the aesthetic feel of the album by creating a sci-fi world with a film (which can be seen at www.rizmc.com/short), a video game and an immersive live show. There’s a whole world around that album. As an independent musician, if you’ve got a whole creative vision around your music, people are much more likely to buy into it.
The film was the first thing that I ever directed. Rather than making my first film something that’s quite manageable, I decided to make a sci-fi film! It’s like a cartoon version of Blade Runner. Within its own world it takes itself seriously, but it confirms to a lot of conventions of the genre which means you can feel at home with it.
The film is about a world where there’s a covert sonic warfare raging. A secret government agency called DOCC (Department of Culture and Communication) use everyday sounds - whether it’s shit daytime radio or ice cream van sirens or Crazy Frog ringtones - to plant powerful frequencies around us which makes part of our brain tissue vibrate and trigger behavioural responses. It went a bit too far and created these sonic viruses which, like viruses that you might catch in every day life, you don’t realise that you’re coming into contact with until it’s too late. A lot of the scientists working in the DOCC never thought that the technology would be used for these purposes. A rebel cell within the DOCC, MICroscope, broke off. What they do is much like any other rebel force: they fight fire with fire.
The live show is a covert recruitment position for MICroscope. The so-called audience turn up and they realise they’ve been especially selected to join the resistance. Stepping outside of the story, what actually happens is that there’s a riot. You realise that a sonic virus has been unleashed, we’re all in lockdown and we’ve got to work together against the clock to make sure we all come out alive. Either we escape or the DOCC discover us.
With Ill Manors, the music was written after the story. Music was a big part of how I found the mindset and tone of my character, Aaron. He isn’t really someone who seeks out music. He listens to a lot of grime and a lot of American rap that for him becomes background music. Using your iPod is as important as any drama school breathing technique - it’s one of the most potent tools that I can use. So many actors are on set listening to their iPods that it seems like an official requirement.
Even going back to the days of Elvis, music and film went hand-in-hand. Now the boundaries have become more blurred with YouTube and people making shorts to accompany their album. Filmmaking and music are more accessible than ever before.”
Riz Ahmed stars in Ill Manors which is released on May 4th. His single ‘All Of You’, featuring Aruba Red and Plan B, is out now and will be followed in May by ‘All In The Ghetto’. Tru Thoughts will release a deluxe version of his ‘MICroscope’ album this summer.