What made you want to work with producers this time, rather than doing it all yourself?
After True Romance, I was like: “I’m never producing another record ever again.” It took me such a long time to really lock in. The process took so much out of me – I love music, what beats I like, what tempos, but I’m maybe not such a natural producer. But I get emotional when someone sends me a video of someone playing [2024 song] ‘Charlie’ in Barcelona, or like yesterday when I did a show and some guy in the crowd was rapping the lyrics to ‘Heartbreak Freestyle’ back at me, which has happened twice now.
It means that the songs I’ve made are getting played enough – even if it’s just these two people – that they know the words off by heart. That’s really touching. I think having seen that it’s giving me a bit more confidence as a producer, and also made me feel like I’ve got more to say as a producer, too. But these people that I’m working with make music all day, every day – they’ll be at the computer and be like: “Boom, how’s that?” And part of the magic for me is getting in the studio with my friends and talking about things, having conversations about the lyrics and the arrangements. So even if I don’t have any direct producer credits, I’m still working on it.
Adult Entertainment, and the wider alt-literary poetry scene seems to be having a bit of a moment right now. What made you want to start the event?
It is, but I’ve always done events. The first event that I did was called The A & The E, which started in 2012 and was a philosophy and arts project, which was born out of my desire to have a church again and a place to talk about stuff like ethics and politics, while sharing art and music. There would usually be poems and then a Q&A, but that was all these years ago and so much has changed culturally and politically.
I wanted it to come back but realised that it couldn’t come back how it did – it needed to be grown up. So Adult Entertainment is a revised version of what The A & The E was. I realised it needs to be a place for adults to have fun and mess about and enjoy themselves, and have these conversations where it’s not so serious.
Why do you think it can’t be serious?
I say serious, and I’m very serious about Adult Entertainment. I’m very serious about the fun that I have. So, in a very serious way, it’s like: “No, we’re going to have fun here.” And even though the poems are part of it, it’s really about afterwards, when you chat about who’s said what and done what, which starts its own discussion. I don’t want to imply that there aren’t serious conversations to be had, but I don’t want it to take itself too seriously, and I don’t want people to take themselves too seriously either. So, back your point, back your idea and your view, but have fun. You’re not better than anyone else – you may be on a microphone or been here since the start, but at the same time we’re all equal in this arena. My guiding A&E, Adult Entertainment principles: acknowledge everyone, arrive early, accept everything, all equal. I’m very serious about those principles.
I guess what strikes me about the poetry nights, is that they seem like the antithesis to the modern-day deluge of short form, rapid fire, onscreen content that we’re fed all the time with social media. Like it feels analogue in a way.
Yeah, I was chatting to a friend about music videos, and he was saying how he wasn’t seeing them anymore. And I was like: “What a shame.” Like everything’s going to Reels and TikTok, but it’s just 10 second clips. I’m all about evolution – things change, they move, they grow, and don’t fight it. But at the same time, if you believe in something, then you shouldn’t allow time to erode your beliefs. I really believe in poetry, hanging out, community, and sharing stuff. So, I intend to keep running nights for as long as I can.
What does Bounty Law mean to you personally?
I’m going to say freedom. It’s freedom from the EP format and the belief that I have to define what I’m doing. It is also the idea of the social contract, and as much as that is lost, there’s a freedom that comes with that. It The law of the bounty hunter means that you make your own rules – maybe we can rebuild them for ourselves. It’s the freedom to make your own choices and live your life how you want to live it.
Bounty Law by James Massiah is out now.
Isaac Muk is Huck’s digital editor. Follow him on Bluesky.
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