We gather a small group of fellow creatives and trot ourselves down to the uber cool locations of Farringdon in London. "Destination Fabric a la live sil vous plait?" Not sure why we suddenly find ourselves fluent in the language of love- but love is surely what motivated our steps towards the path that lead to wherever RIZ MC was showcasing a top secret operation and recruiting for easily manipulated recruits for his master plan of the evening. The fact that the audience was unaware as to what was to take place was surely a strategic part of the process by which we were all about to act as the real life sheep that we have surely become in our modern times. Never have we collectively felt so sheep like as a predicament, and never have we felt it to this extent in a nightclub environment i could also say!

As we walk in smoke fills the air, we are handed face masks which make us look like multi-cultural tourists in a Japanese subway of the future... possibly just before Armageddon is about to strike! There is an aggressive manner in which the audience is lead back and fourth from the bar area and into the main room where the fun and games were to begin. I recall someone nervously wondering whether Riz or his crew had just had a diva tantrum and this was why the audience were being manipulated... or were we just regular turds in the herd... again strategically orchestrated im guessing to convey hidden meaning behind the concept of the evening. We look past the initial sound issues with the mics + the look of confusion plastered across the faces of both the audience and staff.

Riz appears on stage adorning a Madonna-style mobile mic... or by day is he working in the belly of the beast of some corporation as a telesales rep... i doubt that somehow! A slightly elderly looking gentleman asks me what it is Riz actually does... i wonder if he is lost and tell him he is a bit of a talented all-rounder and a kind of mutated super-hero who acts, raps, battles, delves into global politics a little and is also looking to conquer a range of creative mediums through which he will ooze out his subliminal style positive vibes. In hindsight it looked as if the elderly man was testing the crowd to hear responses prior to the show beginning- i worry slightly but then think sod it. He is older and wiser than me and we are all in this together!

There is still an aggressive tone in the air as the audience is ordered to lay low, move forward, go left, turn right. Riz, alongside an MC / special agent who called himself Golden Wonder and another familiar to many as JC manipulated the audience in an intricate manner... they took us all on a journey, made all present feel a part of the show, or the mission if you like! I looked at the crowd... some looked cynical- which is to be expected when you have some of London's finest creative minds and activists and all-round former and current punks all gathered in a room patiently waiting for the music and dancing to begin. And of course the odd enlightened hippy also a key part of the process!

United Colors of Bennetton would have been proud with the vast array of races, cultures, sizes, attires all having flocked to Fabric. This was a cosmo pick-and-mix of a crowd... where it didn't matter what we did or who we were. We were all being lead towards wherever it was Riz and his posse wanted. We were all in a mass MICroscope and we were all forced to look at our isolated micro-cosmic conditions within it.

As i write on a brand new ipad device, with my macbook pro nearby, iphone glued to my ear, oyster card for my daily travels, credit cards for my daily allowance, and the countless amount of technologies and devices upon which we rely on to live in our modern time- i think back to the hidden messages Riz and his team were conveying through the mediums of innovative theatrical musical expression. What a great way to showcase the pre-release of a forthcoming album i think, as i stand in awe of the story that unfolds around me. I ignore the slight discomfort in the pit of my stomach from being part of an intimate dictatorial club experiment. I consider rebelling against it... but then am comforted by the fact that i know this is theatre, this is just a creative manner in which to make people think, feel and be part of an almost educational experience.

Or is it... ?

All i will say is catch the MICroscope tour when it kicks off in September and in line with the album release around the same time. You have to experience it to really answer any questions it may leave you with and to become a part of Riz's musical vision- or in his own words- "sonic resistance whilst fighting back with his own sonic immersions". In the mean time check out and support the new single 'Hundreds and Thousands'. 

We walk away from Fabric pleased... inspired even. Is this what we have been searching for as creative trail blazing former punks, current hippies at heart. Is this the story board in our own minds which we observe daily knowingly, and ignore knowingly. Is this the future of expression? Is this part of what is already established in different parts of the globe where an average club night is no longer average in any sense of the experience- multi sensory stimulating technology manipulating all of your senses simultaneously??? When you wish for heat you turn up the heating, when you wish for moisture you spray water, when you wish for emotional responses you use a combo of visual and audio stimuli. And then you use all for an all round exhilarating experience. Well Riz seems to have been able to do all of this without resorting to the kind of technology i speak of... frikkin genius! 

Welcome to MICroscope which kick starts this next phase! & respect where it's due... !

"Makes Eminem sound like Lil' Bow Wow...relishes defying type...a verbal sociologist who gets down at drum 'n' bass parties while formulating broad social critiques....No MC on the planet can claim a résumé to rival Riz's" – TimeOut Chicago

"Amazing talent, tons of wit, and impossible integrity" – Entertainment Weekly