Inferno Press

INFERNO WINS "BEST NARRATIVE SHORT" AT CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL HIP HOP FILM FESTIVAL 2009‏

London Urban Collective, the acclaimed youth-music project that turns inner-city kids into rising stars of the British music industry, has created an original Hipopera that sets Dante’s Inferno in modern-day London.

The film, already chosen by Community Channel in its best of 2008 programming, has now won BEST NARRATIVE SHORT at The Chicago International Hip Hop Film Festival.

Festival organizer Geoff Harnkess said: "Inferno is a unique and spectacular piece of work, beautifully shot and edited, while the story behind it's conception and creation is inspiring. We are honoured to include it in this year’s festival and delighted to have some of the cast and crew with us in the city for the screening."

Harry Leckstein, founder of the London Urban Collective youth music project and director/producer of Inferno said: "This award is dedicated to the London Urban Collective who believed that they could create something out of an idea, teamwork and dedication and were proved right.

“It's a major achievement that thirty young people from the UK can write, record and film an original Hipopera like Inferno on less than an £50k budget and have it acknowledged in such a way by an international audience. My personal thanks also go out to Inferno's music producers Resin and Carvadeya, and director of photography and Editor Marco Granese, without whose tireless work and creative genius Inferno would not exist."

Tri-State Indie, Philadelphia:

Inferno, directed by J. Harry Leckstein, is an adaptation of La Divina Commedia. In this Hip-Opera, the London Urban Collective tells the story of Dante’s journey through what can only be called: intelligent, witty and (keeping it real) gritty lyrics and vocals. LUC is a very talented group of young adults that were chosen through open auditions to be a part of this creative project. Definitely see future stars with these kids! This original score by Resin, is a must see. It’s very obvious why this was a winner for: Best Narrative Short at the 2009 Chicago International Hip Hop Festival.

’An excellent project, I hope it continues on and on’ Phoebe One, Choice FM

DJ Magazine
The Kids are alright ! This youth education project put thirty kids from deprived London boroughs in the studio with producers Resin and Jay King. The results are rough edged grime and hip hop tracks, with often wise and witty wordplay.

IDJ Magazine
Its not often that well meaning community projects produce genuinely compelling results, but the London Urban Collective – a project that takes 30 potential stars from open auditions across London, then records an album from the results in 3 weeks – is a noble exception. There’s too much new talent to single anyone out. With back up from big hitters like Kele Le Roc and Malachi lets just say you might wanna reach!

24/7 Magazine
This album is more than good enough to sit, chill and listen to and will satisfy many finely tuned hip hop heads.

Future Music
For those who prefer to go the source of hip hop/grime rather than listen to the homogenised dross served up by the majors, trust me, you will find London Urban Collective III a startling success story. (Danny Turner)

Toxic Pete Magazine
'ATL' is the third album venture by the acclaimed youth music project, London Urban Collective'; the concept is to take thirty people from open auditions across London, then write and record an album in just three weeks. The result - London Urban Collective III. The concept's great but unless you hear this excellent work of proper 'street music' you just won't begin to understand just how well it all worked out. 'ATL' is essentially urban rap, as you might expect. But it's more than that; the whole edict behind the project allows a coming together of extremely talented artists, to meld together and show exactly what can be done if you put your mind to it. The result, I have to say, is quite stunning. There's some fantastic 'orchestrations', stunning arrangements and the 'collective' writing and performing is absolutely spot on. It's really hard to fault anything about this work - whether it's your bag or not! To pull out any one individual track would be totally wrong but, there are several tracks on offer here that are extremely commercial, to the point where I could easily see big sales if promoted properly….an impressive piece of global music that deserves to get massive exposure. Superb work!

M8
The LUC is a group of young people chosen from open auditions across the capital. This is the 3rd collection from the project, created by Harry Leckstein of Freeport records and supported by the Arts Council. This time around the album was recorded in London and then sprinkled with a taste of the US where it was mixed by Karl Helibron (TLC Tupac) in Atlanta. Standout tracks include ‘Slipping’ where low slung minimal Hip Hop is sprinkled with the vocals of Kele Le Roc, ‘Night Out With The Girls’ where Sharfira steam trains her way through the Indian Influenced soundscapes, and ‘Problems’ where James Pyke raps about the daily grind over up tempo piano tinkles.

Pro Mobile Magazine
Starting with a clever jazzy intro, do not be fooled by the soft approach, as this album has plenty of street-inspired rap licks held within the rhythms. You will get the impression that Mike Skinner is listed in the inspirations list, but there are some clever boy-girl songs like ‘Can I Talk To You’. This could be a great single release, and ‘Your Love’ is a quality excursion towards the R’n’B genre. The whole thing comes together nicely for ‘Make That Dough’, which stands out as the best track on the Album.