Artcha (Frshrz)

Artcha is an Artist/Producer from North London; Tottenham. Born and raised by his Mother of Jamaican decent in modest conditions with his younger sisters. A quiet child, he quickly grew to be fascinated with art and music. His early passions of illustrations developed into animation and then creating original music on a second-hand Atari ST and Yamaha keyboard in his bedroom. For years he indulged in a diet of cartoons, football and film watching and was obsessed with the attention to detail in his favorite programmes. He would claim he suffers from OCD, but this has recently been tamed since the days of ironing his socks and colour-coordinating his entire wardrobe.
His passion for music was cultivated during his 4th year of secondary school in the music room. Indeed, his school was home to UK hip hop legends such as ‘Tha 4orce’ and ‘Sway Dasafo’ – who he later formed an eleven-man group with; The One Crew.
After formal education Artcha really developed his artistry in a local studio in Tottenham run by his then mentor; UK Dan, who showed him the importance of recording and mixing. He spent days and unsociable hours perfecting the art of writing and recording himself.
Now after various singles including Good to Go and Fatal beauty, mixtapes including Musicman and his debut album Therapy Sessions (2006) he is back with his new album Urban Tales Volume: One.
Urban Tales Volume: One is a concept album part autobiographical part biographical part everyone’s story. The track order matches the growth and history of a young boy growing up; family, friends, lovers, tragedy, joy and enlightenment. As any great dramatization the album is split into three parts; volume one – expresses growing pains, volume two – delves into the labyrinth of relationships while volume three – is the understanding of who we are in the wider context of the world with all of the politics, cultures and hierarchies that shape our choices and reactions.
This is an ambitious body of work boasting a host of new and seasoned talent from the delightful Tendai on the infectious Circles to critically acclaimed TY on What do I know? and Pyrelli on the thunderous More fire. Much of the production comes from Artcha himself who seems intent on sending a nod to his own Jamaican roots and also the 90s classic Hip Hop and RNB sound. Additionally, production credits go to Mr Keys, Kensaye, Prophecy and Daniel James who all lend their musical range to cement this epic LP and build the landscape for some really raw and profound lyrics and delivery. Artcha stretches his vocal range and digs deep to capture the emotional sensibilities of tough issues like rape, knife crime, mental health and peer pressure on every level.
From the artwork to the content it is clear that Artcha’s family upbringing and environment have shaped his musicality and focus in his lyrics. Much of the album is really personal and often Artcha breaks the tradition of rap with a more spoken word approach – giving the feeling of a one to one conversation with the listener.
This album is a landmark in Artcha’s journey and captures the many urban tales hidden in every city, town and country.