Essex goes Dutch as Spinnin’ sign a new boy wonder
Interview by Dan Prince
Curbi a massive welcome to DMCWORLD, our first interview with you and we are sure it won’t be the last. Where are you right now?
“Super happy to be talking to you guys! Right now I’m in my bedroom studio, working on a new track.”
What was the first piece of music you heard this morning after rolling out of bed?
“Skrillex And Diplo – Beats Knockin (Feat. Fly Boi Keno).”
You hail from the town of Halstead, I was going to ask you if you think you are the most famous resident of this sleepy Essex place, then I realized X Factor winner Matt Cardle and top radio DJ Steve Lamacq are from there. They’re no real competition though huh?
“Most definitely not…I still walk to the shop without anyone noticing me haha! I think there is of course competition, considering they’re more mainstream than me, right?”
Well dude it all went mental for you on December 17th when you signed for Spinnin’ and MusicAllStars Management. Tell us about the day…
“Crazy day. I woke up at 3am, flew to Amsterdam, met Oliver Heldens, R3HAB, Quintino and the whole Spinnin’ family (extremely nice people), had lunch with Oliver and then at the end of the day signed my contracts for Spinnin’ & MusicAllStars. What an amazing day that was! Then, the day after I was back in school…”
You are one of the two or three 16 year olds to have had a Buzz Chart No. 1, smashing it with the quite simply incredible ‘Discharge’ which is out on Monday. Please talk us through the history and sound of the track…
“This track was a joke at first. I entitled the track ‘Spit Bars’. I sent it to all of my friends and they gave me amazing feedback. Then I realized maybe this track is pretty good…I started messing around with synths and making new ones, then I came up with this bass – which has an extremely pumping attack. I added this with the main synth and I knew this was getting quite good, well better than what I’ve done before.”
Cool. Life seems to be pretty good for you right now. Eating burgers with Heldens, hanging in the studio with Solveig, having Avicii playing your music on his radio show. You seem to be taking all this in your stride though…?
“It’s crazy, I’m not used to it yet haha! Well, I’m still at school so I need to pace myself I guess. This doesn’t stop me from working on new music though.”
Let’s rewind for a moment. How old were you when you discovered electronic music and who were the producers that caught your attention?
“I discovered electronic music at around the age of 12 years old, but wasn’t too fussed about it, until I was 13 and I knew this was my sort of music. At first it was people like Alesso and Hardwell, but then as soon as I saw Martin Garrix, well he inspired me the most to make music. However, the first time I heard ‘Gecko’ by Oliver, it totally changed my perception towards house music and from then on I’ve tried to adapt to that sort of groovy and energetic house and really make my own style.”
What was your first steps into production…?
“Listening to a wide range of music helped a lot to find a sort of ‘outline’ of what I wanted to produce. Then I got myself a few DAW’s. For instance, my first DAW was ‘Magix Music Maker’. Then I saw ‘FL Studio’. It looked pretty hard to use so I didn’t bother getting it, then one day I decided maybe I should try and use FL.”
When did the idea of a career in music first start to form in your head?
“My mum always used to tell me she thought I’d be travelling the world, and have a job related to music. So as soon as I was progressing in music, and getting some nice support I was thinking maybe this could be a job. But, I never really knew if it was even possible or not, up until now I guess.”
What does your family think of your career choice?
“They think it’s a really good choice, because my whole family loves music. The only thing my mum doesn’t like is the fact I’ll be travelling around the world without her, at least that’s what I think haha! No, but seriously, she wants to travel with me.”
You posted a photo of you on Facebook of you ‘practicing practicing practicing’ your DJing. How is it going?
“It’s going pretty good I guess. I knew the basics of DJing before, now it’s just the case of really getting to know the equipment and trying to learn how to build a story with my set.”
Have you been able to sneak into any clubs yet?
“Nope, I’ve never been to a club in my life.”
What are some of the big records you are giving props to at the moment?
“I like a lot of electronic music, and it seriously varies. One minute, I’ll be listening to dubstep inspired house, and the next minute I’ll be listening to hardstyle. But at the moment, the hottest track for me is: MUST DIE! – Hellcat (Habstrakt Remix).”
You seem to have a lot of old material that you have shared with the world since July 2013.. Will any of that be revisited for Spinnin’ or have you drawn a line under that and now it’s a case of new new new?
“I’ve been working with some of my old stuff recently, but the better ideas are coming right now. I’ve got over 500 projects/ideas so I think I can work with some of those…”
What are the next releases?
“I’m not sure if I can say anything just yet, but I have a couple of remixes coming soon, and I’ve been working on a few solos. Also a couple of collaborations will be coming soon…”
What are your management’s plans for your DJ work?
“Well, we’ve been getting quite a few booking inquiries already, and they seem to be heaping up, so the quicker I can learn DJing, the quicker I can get out there. However, I’m still in school and in England we have to stay in education till we are 18. That doesn’t mean there won’t be gigs at the weekend though.”
A producer you would love to collaborate with?
“Hmmmm, I guess a lot of people will be putting words into my mouth for this one haha! I could say I’d love to work with Oliver. Also Garrix would be super cool. But I also love to work with other styles, so people like Jauz, Diplo and those guys would be dope to work with.”
And finally gotta ask, when was the last time you mum told you to turn the bloody music down??!?!??!!
“A couple of minutes ago, via text.”
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https://pro.beatport.com/track/discharge-original-mix/6330277
http://btprt.dj/1DuQ1Dw
https://soundcloud.com/spinnin-deep/curbi-discharge-original-mix
https://www.facebook.com/CurbiOfficial