A cultural entrepreneur whose venture into music and arts ‘evolved organically’, Ammo Talwar is the Chief Executive of Punch Records and the man at the helm of BASS, the UK’s leading annual Black arts festival. This month the festival marks its tenth anniversary by staging ten live events paying homage to Black icons. 

What’s On recently caught up with Ammo to reflect on, among other subjects, the festival’s journey to date and his aspirations for BASS’s future.

Tell us about the origins of BASS Festival, Ammo...

It was the result of conversations with young people - particularly from Afro Caribbean communities -  in terms of representation in the arts and commissioning new work. What we wanted to do as an arts company was create something that would connect young people to mainstream arts organisations through a commissioning process. We wanted to commission new work, individuals, producers, to create something that connected their art form to the broader arts community. That was the idea in theory. The first couple of years, we were making it up as we went along, but over the years it really has become a defined part of Birmingham’s cultural offer.

Has it been easy to maintain that original ethos?

It’s been a bit up and down. Some years were easier because there was more momentum, there was a lot more investment and there were a lot more partners. Venues like The Drum or The REP would come on board and help co-commission work. Some years have been hard primarily because we’ve not got sponsorship or we’ve not got support from the local authority. But during the last three or four years we’ve really been able to define the festival. 

We were always acutely aware that we didn’t want to create a two-day, weekend festival. What we wanted to do was put together beautifully crafted small events across a period of time.

The festival historically takes place in June, so what was behind the decision to move this year’s event to October?

Because it’s the tenth anniversary we wanted it to be special. We also wanted to get a bit more for our buck, and we knew that by staging it during Black History Month we’d get a bit more media support.

We’d already planned to produce a radio station - mytenradio - throughout October to give young people an opportunity to talk about real issues. Birmingham’s airwaves are pretty poorly represented in terms of youth voice. We have a lot of commercial stations and we have a lot of niche radio stations, but nothing that represents the youth voice. So we decided on Radio Ten. We did something similar two years ago with BASS FM and it was one of the best things we’ve done - so much so that we thought we’d do it again for 2015. 

The station will be driven by the youth; we have a remit that you have to be under twenty-five. We want it to be an authentic youth voice. We’ve got partnerships with Access to Music, BOA and BCU. It’s running twenty-four/seven, with dedicated talk-and-music shows from eight to ten pm, then we go to specialist shows that cover niche sounds. It’s all very exciting, and I know when we launch on 4 October it’s going to be really good for the city.

The festival has a different theme each year. In 2015, it’s Icons. Tell us about yours...

I have quite a few. In terms of values it has to be Mahatma Ghandi. In politics it’s Malcolm X. In music it’s Public Enemy. All those personal icons have helped shape my business, obviously all in different ways.

Looking back at the festival over the past ten years, what would you say has been your highlight?

We did something called the Decypher Collective in our first year. It was about bringing grime music into a theatre space. It was a collision of ideas and people. We had grime artists next to theatre makers and we created this great work. A lot of those artists have now achieved bigger and better things. They’ve toured and gone on to carve careers out of these art forms, either working in theatre or spoken word. That was in our first year and it definitely remains a highlight.

What's your favourite festival - apart from BASS, obviously?

The best one I’ve been to is a performing arts festival in Graham’s Town in South Africa. On a local level, I enjoy Mostly Jazz, Simmer Down - all of the festivals where community meets good music.

Birmingham is renowned for its cultural diversity and eclectic artistic offer. What do you think could and should be done to further improve this?

I think the arts need to be statutory. We need to teach more arts in schools and we need the art work in the city to be more reflective of the city. We need to reflect what’s going on in Alum Rock, Nechells, Handsworth, Kings Heath etc. I think a local agenda really is the future.

What contribution does Punch make to local education?

We work in schools and work closely with teachers and academies, helping them to look at the curriculum specifically in relation to music. It’s all about us as a business or local arts organisation ensuring we look at the connectivity between theory and practice, and between learning and getting a job. 

Does the educational side play a big role in the wider scheme of things with Punch?

Absolutely. We have four core values at Punch. Those are written through everything we do and aren’t just about our business plan. To us, it’s all about creating work, touring work, educating through work and showcasing through work. 

Not everything we do is in Birmingham, but when we tour artists nationally we make sure there’s always a Birmingham flavour or feeling. 

Which up-and-coming local artist excites you most?

Lady Leshurr. She’s someone who I think is going to take the city to another level internationally. Laura Mvula has done it in one particular theme, but Leshur is definitely one to watch from an international perspective.

You were awarded an MBE in 2008 for contributions to music and young people. What was your first reaction on hearing about the honour?

I thought it was a joke at first because I’ve got some quite bizarre friends who do all sorts of weird and wonderful things. When I realised it wasn’t a prank, I was genuinely surprised. It was obviously reflective of the work we were doing at the time. Although it was good to receive it, it was always about the impact we were having on our locality and the quality of the work we were producing. I never planned to work in music or the arts. I never planned to run a festival, set up a radio station or publish books. It all just sort of evolved organically.

Where would you like to see the festival in ten years’ time?

At the moment we’re quite boutique, with some small-scale commission events locally. I’d love to bring more international artists to Birmingham, to get a feel of what the city’s about. I’d like bigger, higher quality events, some outdoors. It’s about keeping it fresh.

Finally, what are you most proud of about being a Brummie?

I'm proud to be a Brummie because Brummies keep it real.