From student nights to full spectrum community: BPM’s founder reveals the graft, struggle and passion of growing this events collective to the wide-ranging brand it is today
Scene Report: BPM Music Collective
Since its founding in a small Scottish student town called St Andrews, the BPM Collective has steadily been progressing leaps and bounds, reaching beyond its origins to make a diverse imprint in the UK and beyond.
In the cosy environment of BPM’s Soho studio at The Thin White Duke, Soundsight writer Cameron Evans linked up with BPM founder Ahmed Shareefy to discuss the trajectory of the collective that has grown over the past few years to encompass events, apparel, artist management, and above all, a deep sense of community and joy.
Ahmed gave SoundSight a glimpse into how the brand started:
“Me and four of my close mates sat in my living room saying we should all DJ. I was already a bedroom DJ and had started doing gigs. We got drunk and decided to start a label. We threw an event at [St Andrews venue] Ma Bells, and we were the first people in the town to double down and play hip-hop and R&B. Then we moved to the Vic, 400 capacity, which was selling out too…
It was like doing a drop. I’d be sat in the library, tickets would go up at 14:00, and at 14:01, everything would be gone. And that was consistent. That was a crazy moment, and I didn’t deep it at the time. That’s a lot of people sitting waiting for tickets. People were hungry for it.”
With such a grassroots community building at that time, how were things different at that point, and how has your relationship to the place where it started changed?
“It was a lot more DIY back in the day. For example, we don’t have the time or space for screen printing anymore. In St Andrews, we screen printed so much. We’d take the screens to the car wash and wash them with the pressure washers. There’d be cars waiting behind us and we’d be hosing screens down….”
“The community is really building. We went up [to St Andrews] for graduation [in 2022] and were going to run an event. So we figured we’d put the proceeds towards starting a grant to support the arts scene there, as there wasn’t much going on. We helped support some nice things there. We’re still doing lots of events there too. And now we’ve expanded into Edinburgh, too! Both of them going on is pretty crazy.”
And as things expanded and you started moving down into London, what did that process look like?
“When we came down to London, I didn’t know anyone here. We started doing London events when I was in second year at uni. We made a stupid loss on the first event. But each time a bigger group would come from St Andrews, friends in London would come and more people. And I was just cold emailing people. It was just graft…grinding every day. I could barely afford the studio, 800 a month during COVID…you really have to live it. To go through that struggle with music, the grind, meeting people all the time. That’s how you become credible, and sustainable. Sustainability is my big thing right now.”
Aside from breaking into the industry, what other challenges have you faced?
“When you get into the commercial space, it can tarnish your relationship with the craft itself. On a micro level, you have to make certain decisions because of playing into the system and respecting how the industry is set up. If you’re in both the business and creative side, you have to balance it so well. Because if you change to try and fit something, you end up losing your edge.”
Ahmed continued: “When you’re freelance, you’re forced to innovate and think every day – how can I progress and cover my overheads without sacrificing my principles? It’s hard month to month. But that’s part of the game. Looking forwards, events are very localised exposure, but music, and also apparel, is worldwide – it helps us to reach further.”
I saw BPM received a Creative Grant from the Arts Council – that must have been a huge moment?
“It’s lifted a financial burden off my shoulders. Events, apparel, freelance stuff; I would put my money in when necessary. I don’t need to pay out of my pocket, which is a huge weight off my chest. Also, it rallied up our community – everyone realises it’s a good opportunity and they want to get behind it.
The public response was crazy too – it’s a huge stamp of approval from the government. People were even messaging me on LinkedIn. It was just at the end of the year, which has set things up so nicely for growing, expanding and helping more people in 2024. Now we can focus on just planning and helping people, putting good art out without stressing about making ends meet.”
It’s amazing to charter the growth of the brand over the past few years. We’ve pointed to a good amount of the challenges you’ve faced as a brand, but how does it feel on a personal level?
“It’s a balance…I get exhausted with that kind of socialising; you have to be upbeat, welcoming and give everyone some time. Before an event, four or five hours of that day I’m running around grabbing stuff, so I’m drained. Then it starts and you enter socialising mode. It’s a lot. I’m also doing a lot of mixing and mastering. It keeps me up at night, replaying things in my head. Three or four engineers plus me – I think we have three songs being mixed right now.”
“But I’m always drawn back to it. I just love the hospitality aspect. It’s my way of being hospitable, and I do love it. At our last event, everyone was having a good time. I was in the kitchen with [Patio Pizza head honcho] Alim; he was making pizzas and I was just giving them out. That’s what it’s about.”
The family aspect of the BPM community is obvious to see – in the studio, collaborators come through to a welcoming and non-judgmental atmosphere; at events, there’s a palpable sense of momentum and excitement. Looking at the growth of the past few years and the recent Arts Council award, it’s clear that BPM is only warming up.
Make sure to keep up with BPM events, merch drops and more in London, Edinburgh and St Andrews. You can stream BPM affiliated BIYI’s latest release ‘Glass Soldiers’ on all platforms. And make sure to check out Patio Pizza if you’re around Kingston-on-Thames!
