Flavia Aliverti
@foreignskin
Flavia, born in Hong Kong, now based in Brighton is a freelancer, promoter and audio / visual, self styled producer of sample based electronic, ambient and hip hop music under the name of Foreign Skin. She also started SoundScreen, which will be holding its fifth show for the Brighton Digital Festival.
What was first ever gig you saw in Brighton and what was the best ever gig?
I can't remember exactly what the first gig I ever saw in Brighton was. That was five and a bit years ago as well, but I remember it was part of this three-day free music festival during September where loads of bands just played in cafes, bars , venues and you could just go in as you please.
Best ever show… there are loads, but the ones that really stuck in my head were: Beach House at Concorde 2 , Machinedrum at The Haunt and Patti Smith at St Georges.
Best place to go for a drink in Brighton?
Any and most pubs and bars in Brighton are pretty good for drinks. Just depends what type of atmosphere you want to have a drink in.
A few of my favourites are: Fitzherberts, Three and Ten, Northern Lights, The Good Companion, Neighbourhood, The Great Eastern and The Bees Mouth.
Best up and coming band in Brighton we might not have heard of?
There are loads. I'm actually pretty impressed with Brighton's music scene at the moment. It just seems to have suddenly exploded and you can't open up some music magazine without there being told about loads of new up and coming bands from Brighton.
Bands I'd shout out to (and I'm going to name a nice diverse group of bands that I like at the moment) are: Wild Cat Strike, Demob Happy, MYYTHS, Adolescent, Hypnotized, Caveman Genius…just to name a few!
Best venue?
The one that really stands out for me in Brighton in terms of uniqueness, atmosphere, character and having a diverse live scene is The Green Door Store. Its like a bric-a-brac warehouse turned venue.
The Green Door Store for me just stands out over the rest of the usual black walled venues.
Where do you stand on people taking photos at a gig?
I don't mind it, and I mind it - it's one of those things where people complain about it when they are on the receiving end, but are most likely also one of the people who do it! Also iPads...I hate people who bring iPads to a show!
Best merch you've ever bought at a gig?
I'll admit I've never really been much of a merch buyer, but recently I've been a massive fan of buying any prints or album artwork.
Is there anything exciting happening with the Brighton music scene?
I don't think there's ever not anything exciting happening with the Brighton music scene. Especially as springs is approaching and the sun's started to finally show itself, Brighton's music scene seems to be coming out of hibernation and preparing itself for festival season.
We've got The Great Escape Festival coming up in May, just had the first launch party of KLDSCP Records last week which was insane and plenty of local festivals are soon going to be starting up again. So Spring / Summer is going to be pretty busy down here!
Do you think there's a certain sound developing within Brighton?
There isn't a 'certain sound' thats developing within Brighton, but I think the whole of the music industry itself seems to be moving forward in a somewhat positive way, and Brighton happens to be one of those key city's where a lot of really good range of bands are coming out of it and generating a good buzz within the industry.
What's the biggest misconception about bands from Brighton that you'd like to challenge?
I don't think there is one. There's enough diversity within the Brighton music scene for us not to be pigeonholed.
Best thing about living in Brighton?
The people, the beach, the way of life here.