A modern day lesson in how to have a hit. World watch out, there’s a new kid on the block
Welcome to DMCWORLD dude. Cambridge in the house finally! Massive new tune from you ‘Get Hyper’ going crazy at the moment, Radio 1’s Scott Mills has championed it as Single Of The Week, Zane Lowe all over it plus the success on You Tube has made it one of the most talked about records of the year. But we hear you weren’t aware of it’s success on You Tube, a pal from Portugal tipped you off it was doing rather well?
“I was aware of the publicity it was gaining on YouTube. I had not realized that it had actually hit iTunes until a friend congratulated me for being #2 in the Electronic charts and within 24 hours reached #1.”
It sounds like music has always been around you although it was heavy metal that first sucked you in until Dubstep came along, for which we are truly thankful – heavy metal’s loss is our gain. So what’s the story here?
“As a keen guitarist, I was drawn to the technicality of heavy metal. I have always made the music I like for almost as long as I can remember and have been playing guitar for 10 years now. As soon as I heard Dubstep, I knew I had to start producing right away. The EDM scene was new to me but I loved it and immediately began practicing electronic music production.”
Who were the early dance producers you would cite as influences?
“The first I had heard that got me into the electronic scene was probably Nero, Doctor P, Flux Pavilion, Zed’s Dead etc.”
You have been studying electronic music production – was a life in production the main goal for you then – is there anything else that interests you career wise?
“I actually studied to do graphics design and photography at college. This was the career path I had decided to take for years. Though while at college I got into production and when the time came to apply to university, I knew that sound was field I really wanted to go into. I am currently in my first year at uni doing Audio & Music Production. Digital art and photography are both still hobbies of mine.
How did the DJing side of things begin, are you self taught…are you doing your fellow students heads in practising in your bedroom?
“I first started DJing last summer when I had been given a few slots in a bar in Portugal. I am entirely self taught and quite often do get told to “turn it down” by my flat mates but they’re mostly understanding.”
Tell us about your studio set up…
“I first started just using a MacBook Pro running Ableton Live. My studio has since grown a lot, now having a Novation Launchpad and M-Audio Axiom Pro 25 midi keyboard to aid production. I also use a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 audio interface and a pair of KRK Rokit 6’s, soon to be accompanied by a KRK 10s sub. For DJing I was previously using Traktor with an S2 controller though have just upgraded to my beloved CDJ setup – a pair of Pioneer CDJ 2000 nexus’ and DJM 2000 nexus mixer. For headphones, I use Pioneer HDJ 1000’s.”
Your father though seems to be fully behind your music, wasn’t he the first person to urge you to put ‘Get Hyper’ on iTunes?
“Yes, my father nagged me to put the song on iTunes. If I had believed it would have gained even half of the publicity it has from being on there, I would have listened to him in the first place!
The tune though isn’t new though, you’ve been sitting on this for a while and have had a lot of help from the KSI army of gamers?
“Yeah, the tune is around a year old. It has gained a lot of publicity within the gaming scene online, and from doing so has given it a push to be appreciated by a wider audience.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
1. Dubsidia – Kill Humans (Dirtyloud remix)
2. Far Too Loud – 600 Years (SKisM remix)
3. Opiuo – Robo Booty
4. Myselor – Neurolife
5. Noisia – Diplodocus
6. Pretty Lights – High School Art Class
7. DaVIP & Encode – Vamonos
8. Danny Byrd – Blaze The Fire (Rah!) [Sub Zero remix]
9. Emalkay – Fabrication
10. Mandorli – Pico
What is clublife like in your home city?
“Summer back where I lived in Lagos in Portugal is always great, especially the legal age being 16 and nearly all bars and clubs are open until 4 – 6 am which was brilliant. Cambridge isn’t too bad either, considering it has The Junction which hosts both Warning and White Noise which are always amazing. Here at uni, we spend most of our nights out at the student union. Free entry, cheap drinks and know everyone. A couple of times a month we have ‘Unisex’ night, where they play decent music and often have some big name DJs come and play, next one having Jakwob and Dimension, hosted by Majestic which I am looking forward to!”
Have you hit the bright lights of London yet?
“I haven’t had much of a chance to hit London just yet, though I am dying to check out Fabric, which I must do soon. I love Hospitality at Brixton Academy though.”
You have taken your name from a Star Wars reference, have you been sampling any of the films for your music yet?
“Not in any of my songs that I have released yet, though I do have a few cheeky samples in mind to nock out in a live set.”
“It’s apparent you are eager to merge many different sounds and genres into your music – you sample MC Majestic on your current anthem. What is coming next from the Droideka studio?
“Making something new by merging modern techniques with old school influences is what I plan on. For example, remixing old funk, hip hop and jazz etc.”
Where were you when you heard your record played on Radio 1 for the first time?
“I was just in my room listening online when Zane Lowe played it. I was totally blown away, especially hearing Zane’s incredible comment on the track.”
Nice thing you said last year…”Nothing brings people together more so than music, and it’s exactly that, that I aim to achieve with my productions.” – are there any music genres you simply can’’t stand?
“No to be honest, I can’t really think of a genre that I would go to the extent of saying I could not stand it.”
Who are some of the big DJs out there you are giving high fives to at the moment?
“Of course the BBC Radio 1 DJs, Scott Mills and Zane Lowe. I have gained a huge amount of promotion from them which is awesome.”
It may not be good for my image, but Droidkea really loves…
“Science. I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to learning new interesting information, but I love it. I spend a lot of my free time researching Space and Physics. It can really give a whole new perspective on life when you have somewhat of an understanding of how the universe works from a sub-atomic to an inter-galactic scale.”
What is the greatest dance record ever made?
“Apparently it is ‘One More Time’ by Daft Punk according to an article I read somewhere. Gotta love Daft Punk, though I would personally say one of my favourite dance track would be Country Road by Pretty Lights. I absolutely adore his style and find it incredible how he can perfectly merge a classic country song with dubstep. But it’s hard to rule out one single tune as I have many favourites.”
And finally, there is a lot of love out there for you on your Facebook page. Everyone is really proud of your progress in such a short time. Can you believe everything has happened so quickly?
“No, I still can’t believe any of it is happening at all! It has all blown up so suddenly and was definitely not expecting any of this to come so soon. Everyone has been great and extremely supportive and I’ll do whatever it takes go as far as I can.”
