Pyro Synaesthesya
Pyro Synaesthesya is a 22 year old rapper/producer residing in South London. Born in Sagamu, Nigeria in 1985, he moved to London, England as a baby, growing up in Stockwell, Brixton, Battersea and Roehampton (in that order; check the effects of gentrification on that one).Influenced by the skills he witnessed (and the aspirations he picked up) weekly while viewing Yo! MTV Raps, Pyro wrote his first rap at the age of 14. Quickly joined by his best friend, Dru SLT, Pyro fell deeper and deeper into the writing of his raps. Quite quickly, the two formed a duo, writing and rapping together; often on the theme of an on-going battle, in which both rappers were actually supposed to write their set verses and leave them as such, but both rappers' desire to better the other kept this from happening.
Regularly staying up late on school nights to catch the radio shows of Firin' Squad and Big Ted & Shortee Blitz on Kiss 100 and DJ Tim Westwood on BBC Radio 1, Pyro became fascinated by the sounds of UK veteran hiphoppers such as Out Da Ville and Karl Hinds among others, paying attention to the fact of their totally British accents and presences on records. Being from London, he was particularly inspired by hearing Out Da Ville with their Nottingham accents represent for their region, as well as the UK as a whole. This prompted him to take further measures to ensure he got his fair share of the UK hiphop scene as a listener and moderate the effects of US influences on his own style.
While this was happening, Pyro Synaesthesya had also taken to the beat-making side of things in order to support his own and Dru's writing. Aged about 15/16, using a very basic programme (seemingly more of the music production tuition kind), he began to build instrumentals for the two of them, who had previously taken to sourcing free instrumentals online.
While attending SFX sixth form, the two became engulfed in the college's music scene, being involved with performance and songwriting programmes (courtesy of a Francis Winston), performance nights and cyphers, before (and after) parting ways as a rap duo despite remaining best mates. They both focused on their individual works, including Pyro Synaesthesya taking on drums and guitar playing.
However, in 2003, the pair were (among other talented, young indiviuals) involved in the creation and performance of a hiphopera which aired at the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. While up in Edinburgh, they and their roommates (two others from SFX who were also both involved in the show), Jamie West and Froilan Legaspi (both, of the Jamie West Band) took the opportunity to visit open mic nights to perform. Upon arriving back in London, the four decided to form a band, The Prodch, a project to which Pyro attributes much of his musical growth. They never formally disbanded but have taken to their individual projects (check out the Jamie West Band in the top friends list).Nowadays sees Pyro working with the likes of Devi, Avinue and Abyss (all in the top friends list), and mourning over the upcoming loss of UK, real hiphop night Speakers Corner. Pyro's upcoming projects include Armchair 2 Da Podium and Fantastic Four (the latter, alongside Devi, Avinue and Abyss).
Pyro Synaesthesya on his nameThe name "Pyro" refers to the fire in all of us representing, firstly, our lives and, secondly, our desires. I adopted the image of fire also to represent the idea of Prometheus, who was condemned for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humans as a means of life. More generally, the name "Pyro" links the MC to the characteristics of fire (the warmth necessary to sustain life vs. the scorching heat and its ability to burn and destroy).
"Synaesthesya" is a phenomenon in which a person experiences one sense in terms of another sense (e.g. seeing a sound, tasting a vision). I took this name as a reference to my aims as a lyricist to give a listener more than just an aural experience; I aim to create worlds for listeners at the point of listening.