nondef | CD Sounds: Rob MacGillivary

I’m going to put it out there. Rob MacGillivray is the coolest person I know.

I was already sold on Rob – our film mentor at SCA – because of his incredible game-changing claymation video for Jackie Wilson’s Reet Petite. But I didn’t know his video made it a single in the first place. Or that by gifting the label a Christmas number 1, they plucked another Wilson banger from the back catalogue – I Get The Sweetest Feeling. It struck me after the show: as a music-obsessed kid, that blew the doors off the idea that exciting stuff was always new. It pointed to a treasure trove and a whole new way of exploring.

Between every song, more revelations. He made videos for The Stranglers – an all-time favourite band. His connection to Fashion Records floored me. I realised just how important the label’s Smiley Culture was for the music I used to make. Not just his video for Police Officer, which put fast-chat ragga into the charts, but Cockney Translation which opened my eyes to something special born on this island – a major part of the family tree that leads to drum & bass, UK garage, grime.

Then there’s the decade of ads, running cultural staples like Casualty, directing Hollyoaks, Genie in the House. If that wasn’t enough, he’s a legit artist (robmacgillivrayart.co.uk). Rob thought having a job with holiday allowance was weird – most of us live in that world, but it’s alien to him. That’s the thing about people who actually get stuff done: their centre of gravity is in them, not just the wage payer.

But I’m still hung up on the music. Listen to the show. Hot Butter, Marvin Gaye, Ennio Morricone.

Like I said. Coolest guy.

Catch Rob on Linkedin and Instagram.
Ruby on Linkedin.
Most of the CD Sounds shows on a page. I have updated it!
Hoxton Radio’s Insta, Mama Shelter in Shoreditch.