Rhythm Section is an events and music label founded by Bradley Zero. The events started back in 2009, with music being released from 2014. Based in Camberwell but made in Peckham, Rhythm Section has always had a strong association with South London, a lot of the artists with releases on the label being from South London, and paying homage to the area with track title and record names. However, the label is not restricted to this and is in fact very international- with artists from Ecuador to Berlin to New York, just to name a few.

Ayiesha, label assistant at Rhythm Section International, has a range of jobs she’s responsible for: finding PR companies to market music, helping with the social media pages, promoting events, and scouting artists doing A&R. In Ayiesha’s words, and all round helper. With a flexible working schedule and a boss who’s always abroad gigging, Ayiesha and I kick back in the office and discuss what each of her roles entails.

PR, standing for ‘Public Relations’, is responsible for how an artist is marketed. The PR companies are approached, in this case by Ayiesha, in order to get the artists name out there and known. “Some PR companies might have links to a radio show that can get the artist in for an interview, or on a basic level, making sure the artist is know on our social media pages which could boost their following” Ayiesha tells me.

I ask Ayiesha what her favourite part of her job is: “I’m always communicating with people- I hate feeling isolated so that’s a big thing for me. I enjoy music in general, so being put on to new artists and going to the events that we hold, you know those industry perks.” Guest-list entry to events is Ayiesha’s favourite perk- “I’m torn between the first party back after the pandemic at E1, and the Corsica event with Neue Graffik back in November,” she tells me in response to my question on what her favourite rhythm section event has been.

I ask Ayiesha what her least favourite aspects of her role are. She tells me, “A lot of the things I do, most of the things, are done via online communication either on my laptop or phone, so it can feel quite tedious coming into the office to do tasks that I’m so capable of doing from home- but I do understand the teamwork aspect of everyone coming in, asking questions in person.” Bradley Zero, Rhythm Section founder, is very big on everyone being in the office, even he himself will come in the very next day after landing back in London from being at whichever foreign destination he was last at.

This brings us on to discuss the reasons of having this feeling about coming into the office and the way the pandemic has shaped the working environment for all jobs. “It could be pandemic laziness- pre pandemic I only did small jobs here and there that were very short term, like helping to set up events, then post pandemic I did an online internship, and when working at Universal that was all online too.” We settle on the fact that creative jobs are the future. “You can’t do stocks from home because you can just cheat,” I observe. With a growing awareness around the difficulties for those with disabilities, those with families to look after, creative jobs, just like Ayiesha’s job can be way more accessible to them than most.

I ask Ayiesha who her favourite Rhythm Section artist is. “Pinty,” she tells me, without missing a beat, “also Chaos in the CBD- I listened to both these artists before I even took the time to get to know what Rhythm Section was. When listening to music, I try not to find out to much about an artist and what they’re about because I’ll always find something that will put me off.” I ask how working at Rhythm Section has changed that perspective. “Honestly, it’s made it even worse, as I can see even more now, how bad of people some artists are, so it really reinforced me not wanting to know. However, I will admit that I’m now intrigued to know who’s signed to who.”