IZCO’s story begins without him. In the Hackney of the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, the pirate radio stations of this East London borough were taking over the frequencies, and from soundsystems on every street corner came jungle, broken beat, reggae, UK garage.
And although Izzy Cofie, aka IZCO, only became a teenager there in the 2010s – and thus a conscious observer of what was happening – the sound of the neighbourhood before gentrification runs through the producer’s music. The springing grooves, off-set claps, pushing basslines: IZCO’s sound is Hackney through and through.
»I love all these genres, but I could never choose just one,« the now 26-year-old says in a video call. »And as much as I wish I could have experienced them all in their prime, I ultimately think it’s beautiful that I can appreciate them all. And I don’t have to be part of any one of them.«
From neighbours to Novelist
A computer with GarageBand lays the foundation. IZCO starts making beats at the age of 11. There are enough rapping neighbourhood kids who could use an instrumental. And, of course, there is SoundCloud – in 2011 still very much a platform on which one could be discovered.
Powerscroft
But IZCO’s path would develop differently. More classically. He studies at ELAM, a sixth-form college for music. »When I first went to another university and then dropped out pretty quickly, I thought: ›No, I need to study music. What am I even doing here?‹«
And so it does not take long before neighbourhood kids become well-known artists. Early on, he works with artists such as Capo Lee, Novelist and Reek0, before his productions eventually appear in other contexts too: for PinkPantheress’s Passion, he contributes his poppiest productions to date; with the legend Bob Andy, he makes reggae.
A Hackney thing
And, of course, his productions also lead him into the club. Literally. IZCO’s first encounters with club culture did not happen because he wanted to go out dancing: »The first time I went to a club, I was DJing.«
Other people want to dance. To his songs. In this way, IZCO learns in real time what his music does to people and bodies. A six-year residency at Rinse FM and releases such as the Tek 5 EP quickly make him a fixture in the UK underground scene. Today, he tours Europe, Asia and Australia with Nia Archives, or, most recently, moves through Britain’s club landscape with all-night-long sets.
IZCO rarely works alone. Out of childhood friendships and early collaborations, Brighter Days Family eventually emerged – a collective that exists somewhere between a friendship group, a party series and a label. Vibes first, business later. Only last year, the first joint album, Audio Sunrise, was released.
»The first time I went to a club, I was DJing.«
IZCO
With his first solo album, Powerscroft, named after the street where he grew up, IZCO now brings all of this together: community, identity, continuity and intuition. »The songs fit my personality,« he says of the track selection. »I have other songs that are clearer, more concise and perhaps more polished, but these songs feel more like me. For the first album, that felt right.« Many of the voices on Powerscroft come from the BDF context, but the album will be released by the renowned label Brownswood, placing IZCO in a lineage with role models such as Swindle and Mala.
And, of course, Hackney is there. On Powerscroft, IZCO succeeds in not leaving his neighbourhood to haunt the music as a 1990s myth, but in developing that sound further. Hackney’s musical history – today, it can no longer be told without IZCO.
