You don’t usually see Mura Masa stopping off in Blackpool. With its neon-lit piers, sticky arcade floors, and seafront fish & chips, it’s hardly the obvious stage for a Grammy-winning producer. But that’s exactly the point of Local, Mura Masa’s new initiative spotlighting the artists, communities, and spaces that are so often overlooked yet keep the UK’s underground alive.
In partnership with Relentless, Mura Masa scraps the rulebook and heads on a three-stop tour to Stockton-on-Tees, Blackpool, and Bradford, where the lineups are made up entirely of local heroes and future stars, each showcasing the sounds, stories, and unique energy of their hometowns. ‘The original idea came from trying to figure out a way to pay people,’ Mura Masa explains. ‘I wanted to make a zine where independent artists could tell their war stories. But that kind of blossomed into this.’ What began as a DIY publishing concept has grown into a full-scale grassroots project championing forgotten scenes.
Born and raised in Guernsey, Mura Masa understands the challenges of breaking out from a small scene and how that kind of isolation can spark something unique. ‘I tend to gravitate to people from tiny places. Towns like Blackpool – that’s where the good shit is.’ He’s not wrong. Local flag-bearer and fast-riser Mia Lily curates an inspired bill, opening up the floor to the likes of Pacemaker, D-Foc, and Hometones, who each bring their own flavour spanning hardcore, groove-heavy house, and break-neck 140.
Just as vital as the talent on stage are the grassroots venues themselves, giving artists the space to grow, connect, and build the foundations for the next chapter. Mura Masa recalls his first show at the Green Door Store, a converted horse stable under Brighton train station which ran a hip hop night called Donuts. He also remembers trying to play punk gigs to empty rooms at a local pub, the Wicked Wolf. ‘People don’t realise how vital these spaces are until they’re gone or underfunded,’ he says. ‘So it’s all about moving and shaking as much as possible to keep them alive.’
Tonight’s playground is the Bootleg Social, a 300-capacity basement venue that’s hosted the likes of IDLES, The Coral, and Craig Charles with posters from those nights proudly lining the stairs down into the low-ceilinged space. The room may be only half full, but that doesn’t dampen the energy. The crowd is engaged and appreciative, showing that selling out was never the point of Local. As Mura Masa explains, ‘It’s just about trying to bring people together. In Stockton, not many knew it was happening, so it was tough to fill the room, but everyone got on stage and it felt really good.’ The vibe is similar in Blackpool, where the crowd surrounds Mura Masa as he weaves through a genre-bending set, dropping cuts like DJ Swisha’s ‘CLUB MEGAMIXXX’, Kelis’ ‘Millionaire’, and his own ‘Love Sick’, which, of course, earns a raucous reception.
For Mura Masa, Local is about more than just giving artists a stage. It’s proof of self-sufficiency. ‘A lot of the people here just need a bit of luck or someone to notice them to make it in the traditional sense’, he says. ‘But this is about proving you don’t really need that. If you can pull something like this off with local artists and venues, it works without me. I don’t even have to be here for it to happen again. That’s the goal.’ Local champions the underground scenes that keep UK music vibrant, reminding us that real culture is built from the ground up.