PAYING HOMAGE: Ben Cross & David Dabieh | Founders of Cloud X

It's that time again! We're back paying homage to some more creatives that continue to inspire us here at CGuk, and in the build up to them hosting yet another year of their increasingly popular festival, we had the chance to catch up with Ben Cross & David Dabieh, the co-founders of Cloud X.

Having launched the platform off the back of an illegal rave they threw for their 16th birthdays, the pairing have gone on to create a hub of innovation, talent and authenticity as they continue to be a driving force for the creative scene, not only in London, but across the UK as well.

As they prepared to execute their celebration of all things R&B, Alt-Rap and Soul, it was only right that we spotlighted Cloud X, Ben & David, and got to know them a little better. I hope you enjoy learning about their journey as much as I did unpacking it.

So, let’s take it all the way back to the beginning. What were both of your entry points into the creative sector?

Ben: As a kid I had a babysitter called Serena who was an up-and-coming DJ. She always played me great tunes and showed me amazing vinyl, so she played a big part in shaping my musical taste. I also trained classically on the piano from a young age and was DJ'ing and producing music as a teenager. In terms of working in the sector, David and I organised an illegal rave in Brixton for our joint 16th birthday party. It went viral before going viral was a thing. 1500 were in the venue, there was a roadblock outside & the police even graced us with their presence. So we thought - let’s do this again.

Dabieh: I was born on the Heygate estate in Elephant & Castle. From childhood I was surrounded by so many cultures - Latin Americans, Carribeans, Africans, Irish. Resources were limited but inspiration was infinite. I was compelled to be creative. I'd go to one neighbours house and be listening to Baile Funk, and then to the next and be listing to Ghana hi-life. That magical symphony of scents, smells, foods, slang - looking back, I was immersed in story telling from day 1, so I suppose that is just part of my DNA. It seeps into how I see the world and everything I do.

At what point did you both cross paths, and how long was it until you decided to launch Cloud X?

Ben: We met when we were about 13 at school. We did our first illegal rave when we were 16 and it wasn’t until a few years later - I think in 2015 - when we organised our first event under the name Cloud X.

Dabieh: That's right still.

Tell us a little bit more about the reason behind launching Cloud X, and your brand ethos?

Ben: We started Cloud X as kids and to be honest there was no grandiose reason, we just wanted to create a space for our friends and our community to have fun in. That vibe has continued into our ethos today, which is all about community. When I look back on our journey,  I think we instinctively touched upon something, which is that the UK didn’t have any independent creative homes for music - specifically for R&B, Soul & Alt-rap - and certainly no independent home run by friends that combined great music with community, storytelling and mythology.

Dabieh: Yeah Ben, spot on. To me, Cloud X never felt like it really "launched", it emerged organically from our community, a gentle and meaningful togetherness - kind of like water vapour condensing into clouds. Our ethos is just a reflection of who we are, innovation, integrity, collaboration, community.

From having Chance The Rapper at your first festival, to organising the Summer Cook Out with the late, great Jamal Edwards and SBTV. You guys have reached some huge milestones, but if you both had to pick two highlights each, what would they be?

Ben: For me, working with Jamal was a huge highlight. Everyone knows that he was an icon, the first to make a YouTube channel and platform UK rappers, and that we are still surfing the waves of his cultural impact. What they don’t know is how kind and moralistic he was - I remember meeting him when we were only kids in his office in Oxford Circus and he immediately was like “do you need a space to work from? Come work here if you want to”. I spent the following months travelling to Oxford Circus from South East London and as a kid it felt so big, important and fancy. He really helped us believe in our vision. I would say our other highlight has been to open our three storey cultural institute in Brixton which has music studios, photography studios & co-working spaces. It’s quickly become one of the most important cultural spaces in South London and I’m so proud of it.

Dabieh: Definitely, working alongside Jamal and his long time creative producer Isaac Densu (with whom we still have an amazing relationship). They showed us kindness, access and patience, and the value of perseverance. Another great highlight would be my mum coming to the first Cloud X Festival in 2021. Up till then she didn't really understand anything we did. She was very relaxed the whole day, just looking around - somewhere between bemused and fascinated. At the end she said "that was not too bad". Excellent!

Cloud X have seen great success with their record label hosting releases with the likes of 070 Shake, Kwaku Asante, Kasien and many more - what’s next for the label? Do you have any exciting projects in the works that you can tell us about?

Ben: Tell you what, I’m super excited for David’s project “us, uninterrupted” under his artist name Dabieh. The rollout began with his debut single 'Eyephone' on June 19th, a tune about human connection in a digital age. It’s beautiful.

Dabieh: Yeah my project is a concept piece - the first of its type we've released. i'm looking forward to sharing it out.

What was it like to open the 3-storey building in your beloved South London, and just how impactful has it been for the local community?

Ben: It feels so triumphant to go from running illegal raves in Brixton to having an office above a club to now where we have our 3 storey cultural institute, our new home. I think it’s for the community to say how impactful it has been for them!

Dabieh: There's more we can do for sure. We've only had it for just over a year. Changing the course of history and the landscapes you live in takes time. Ask me again in 5 years I beg.

The Cloud X festival has gone on to see an amazing response, and of course has become the UK’s largest festival for R&B, Soul & Alt-Rap, but how big can you take it? Who’s both of your dream headliners?

Ben: I don’t really think about how big we can take it, more of what cultural impact we can have. I want it to be a staple in the UK annual calendar, a mysterious, magical space for discovery and joy. Like Glastonbury, but a bit more South London ;). Dream headliner - that’s a good question. Probably Beyoncé, she’s too iconic.

Dabieh: We can take it all over the world, like a travelling circus. I wanna do: Toyko, Paris, New York, Accra by 2030. To be honest, I don't believe in headliners. The day should always be bigger than one act.

It’s been an incredible journey so far, and it is clear to see that you both have huge, innovative plans for Cloud X, but as the platform gets more recognition and expands far beyond it’s South London roots, how do you plan on making sure that those core characteristics that have led you to success, remain at the heart of the company?

Ben: For me, as long as everything we do has our values at its core then gaining recognition, expansion and success is no problem.

Dabieh: Agreed. We have an internal manifesto, and we do our best to stick to it and hold ourselves and our team accountable.

The team here at CGuk are truly honoured to have the opportunity to get some insight into the journeys and mindset of two incredibly hard working industry professionals, and we would like to take this opportunity to say...we appreciate you and the amazing work you do. Stay creative!