Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake (Rah Zen) Gilman.
Jake, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I like to trace my origin back to the first time hearing Pete Rock’s “Petestrumentals” album, when I was 15, because it was the beginning of my love for instrumental hip-hop beats. I began making beats myself a few years later, after intently digesting the catalogs of J Dilla, Madlib, MF Doom, Flying Lotus, El-P, Danger Mouse and more. Eight years later, one full-length LP (released on cassette), and a grip of curated hip-hop shows later, I launched Nightworks. Birthed on a whim of wanting to name the beat-focused show I was throwing at Mass Apparel, the name clicked and the momentum grew exponentially. Each “episode,” as we call them, was better than the last, and the hip-hop and arts community in Boston gathered behind the concept and feel of the night. Tomorrow is our sixth installment in seven months, with the second episode happening in LA, and the rest happening in Boston. Combining live beat sets, wide-screen visual projections, a pop-up records & tapes shop (The Vibrary), and featured artist exhibitions, in a third floor art-gallery space overlooking the Boylston skyline, Nightworks offers something unique to the Boston hip-hop scene, and that’s why I believe the show series is catching on. People resonate with it, get lost (and found) in the music and visuals, and are welcomed in the space, so each show has a special togetherness about it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It hasn’t all been smooth, but it has felt organic… the way the lineups and collaborators come together all happens very naturally, but there was been some hiccups and mishaps that we’ve had to deal with. Things like venue issues, miscommunication, artists not being able to make it, and sound tech issues have all occurred, but we roll with the punches. I’d say the most constant struggle is navigating budget while being completely DIY, with no current sponsorship, but still wanting to do big, exciting things.
Please tell us about Nightworks Beat Show.
Nightworks is monthly, beat-focused show series integrating virtual projections, visual art, hip-hop culture, and community. I book, organize, promote, and manage every show with the help of my team. I think I specialize in bringing people together for inspiring and transcendent experiences with music and art. That sounds heady, but it seems like that’s the thing, and the other stuff is just the practicalities and logistics. Being monthly, it’s like the fuel station for beat lovers to commune, let go, and charge up for their daily lives.
I’m also known for the music I release under the moniker Rah Zen, but Nightworks has introduced me to so many more people both locally and nationally. I’m most proud of how much we’ve accomplished, and how amazing the shows have been, in such a short time. I’m proud of our community, the respect and love fellow beat makers are showing each other, and I’m proud of our audience, for showing out, and being open-minded, peaceful, and enthused.
What sets us apart from others is the amount of time, care, and effort we put into planning and executing each show. We work really hard to make each episode special and offer something different.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
As of now… nothing. Things haven’t been perfect, but they’ve been working. Ask me again in a year… or ten.
Pricing:
- $10 w/ RSVP
- $12 at the door
Contact Info:
- Address: 338 Newbury St. Boston, MA
- Phone: 978-886-9706
- Email: nightworksbeatshow@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightworksshow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NightworksBeatShow/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nightworksshow
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxHEWL7zHkz98eXPBYu_9bQ
Image Credit:
Jourdan Christopher and Charles Passalacqua
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