Turntablist turns label boss turns chart star. Superstar alert
Interview by Dan Prince
Steve welcome to DMCWORLD, where on planet earth are you today?
“At the moment I’ve just woken up not long ago, its around 9am…I’m never usually up this early but set my alarm for 8am to order the new iphone 6 so now just prepping for a studio session this afternoon.”
So young man, we meet again! DMC are of course the crew behind the World DJ Championship, once upon a time you entered the U18 Battle and came a very credible 4th. So let’s kick off with the Turntablism scene…was this your first route into the dance music scene?
“Yeah the competitions were really inspiring – I went from playing records in my bedroom to playing in front of 2000 people at the events – it’s definitely what made me want to make this a full time job!”
True or false : Your parents gave you £300 to decorate your bedroom and you slipped out of the house to buy your first decks leaving an undecorated room?
“Hahah yeah, I bought my first set of decks off an old substitute sports teacher – I was meant to be going to B&Q but went to his house instead and picked up some Sound Lab Belt drives and a load of trance and jungle records with a friend. As a result my bedroom still looks like a 6 year old’s so the only magic that happens in there is musical based!”
Early deck heroes?
“I listened a lot to DJs like Paul Oakenfold, Fatboy Slim, Tiesto, Carl Cox, Maters at Work, EZ and also DJs like Jazzy Jeff, DJ Qbert, Shadow and Yoda as I loved the turntablism and creative side of DJing too.”
What was the plan back then, production, DJing a label or the lot?
At first I just wanted to DJ and loved it but when I got to about 16 and had a residency, I started thinking how rewarding it would be if I could make my own music for people to dance to. I stated doing RnB remixes and playing them out and other DJs and clubbers would ask me where I got the record from and I saw that potentially there was a demand so I started pressing up my own releases and distributing them all around London, Essex, Kent and Herts on the back of my Moped. The label came a good few years later as a result of the digital era, I needed a platform initially to put out my own records and it really grew from there.”
It wasn’t long before everyone started finding out about you; DJ Mag tipped you as one of the rising stars of the underground and your music was played on BBC Radio 1, Kiss, Galaxy and pirates nationwide. What do you recognise as your first big break into the industry?
“I think the first time things started going a bit crazy was when I had been putting out quite a few records independently and they started charting on BBC 1xtra sales chart – it was a lot different back then because you didn’t have all the social media exposure or platforms that you do today so you didn’t know how popular a record was or what DJs were supporting it and as I was only 16 so I couldn’t even go clubbing! – I had no contacts and was literally just putting records on shelves so the only gage for me was how many units I sold. Getting radio coverage really opened doors for me and I started getting bookings, licensing offers/deals and making contacts within the scene and industry.”
Back the present and a stunning new track ‘Shoulda Let You Go’ swinging our way. Talk us through the sound and history of the track?
“I really wanted to create something with a good amount of energy as well as to keep a deeper, more meaningful soulful element that could be related to. I also wanted to encapture the elements of sounds I was into whilst growing up. The most important thing for me when making music is that it connects with people and makes them feel a certain emotion.”
We interviewed Wilkinson earlier today on the eve of the release of the massive ‘Dirty Love’…a tune you have remixed. What was your approach to the rework when taking on such a huge original…
“I loved the original as soon as I heard it which is why I took on the mix, the record made me feel an emotion which is always important for me. Its always different when approaching a mix but with this one I started by taking my favorite elements of the track, creating a beat then I wanted to work in a more heavy bassline element – sounds that were used more in DnB rather than house and to fuse elements from the 2 genres together.”
https://soundcloud.com/djskt/wilkinson-ft-talay-riley-dirty-love-dj-skt-remix-virginemi
You mentioned your label earlier, so what are the next plans for Up-Tempo Records…?
“We’re massively expanding at UTR over the next year, we’ve had a good amount of success this year scoring a top 10 in the Music Week Indie chart, the Nightcrawlers project reaching 60 in the UK singles chart just from a compilation and then being relicensed to Ministry of Sound. The latest track we put out “As I Am – Saving Grace” was supported by Pete Tong, Danny Howard, DJ Target and Dennis Ferrer in the first week and has now relicensed it to Defected for a full release later this year.
A quote from you…“people who didn’t believe in you then, don’t deserve to be around now.” Discuss…
“I dropped out of school and dropped out of college and there were a lot of people around me that said I was more likely to end up in prison than on club flyers, I guess they were just looking out for me but they didn’t really believe in my ambition nor support it. But now I get calls and texts from them like “Hey! Where are you DJing this week?” I think it’s important to remember the people that supported you on your journey.”
Totally agree dude. Rumours abound that you are currently working on new material with vocalists from Ray Foxx and Becky Hill …what can you tell us about that?
“This year I’ve been doing a lot of remix based work which has all done really well but at the same time I’ve been concentrating on building an album of original tracks so that when I feel the time is right I can look to release material from that. I’ve been working with a number of really talented artists and songwriters from all different genres to create my desired sound.”
We caught you at The Ministry of Sound last weekend…the best sound system you’ve played on?
“Yeah it’s deffo up there – even the booth is crazy! It’s nice to be able to play and appreciate music on a really good sound system – it makes a lot of difference.”
You produced the Little Nikki monster ‘Right Before My Eyes’ – did you know you had helped create something pretty damned special or did the success take you by surprise?
“It was a complete surprise! We never really planned for it to be a massive record or even dreamed that it would end up going top 40! We literally just threw it out there to DJs and the response was mad! Within a few months I had so many massive DJs getting in contact with me and my manager asking for copies and the radio support was crazy. It managed to enter into the Shazam top 100 UK charts from just specialist radio and club play!”
https://soundcloud.com/djskt/little-nikki-right-before-my-1
Fast forward to this time 2015. You have had an incredible 12 months…what do you want to have achieved this time next year?
“I just want to be able to continue making the music that I love and enjoy and to be able to make a career out of it. I’m also going to be focusing a lot more on my label Up-Tempo Records so I plan to help give other talented artists a platform to get heard.”
The Forbes DJ Rich List 2014. Discuss.
“I think it’s a pretty good thing to an extent…every year you always hear about how much Jay Z, Diddy and Beyonce have made, it’s actually quite refreshing to see DJs on top of the pile instead of rappers! I guess with power and money comes a lot more responsibility…as long as you stay true to yourself, getting paid fuck loads in the process is just a bonus!”
I see you gave the DJ Mag 100 Poll a mention on Facebook a while back, we interviewed Arthur Baker last week, he remarked…“there are too many DJs and genres for a realistic competition, it needs to split”. What are your thoughts on that?
“Yeah that is a valid point and it would be nice to see some top 20 lists of sub genre dance categories such as EDM, Dubstep, DnB, House ect (EDM can have its own category as really it is its own genre!) as well as having a top 100 too as there are so many great DJs who sometimes don’t get the recognition they deserve.”
Who are some of the producers from around the world you are giving high fives to at the moment?
Dusky
Eats Everything
Claude Vonstroke
Chris Lorenzo
Shiba San
What is the record that…
…reminds you of your childhood?
“Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy or any Ratpack track!”
…always get you dancing?
“Colours – Hold On (SE 22 Mix).”
…reminds you of being broken hearted?
“Jagged Edge – Walked Tight Out Of Heaven.”
…you wish you would have made?
“Prodigy – Firestarter.”
When I told the DMC event posse I was interviewing you today they wanted me to ask what your skills are like today…do you think you could still hold your own in a Battle?
“Haha it would definitely be a challenge! I think I could hold my own but I haven’t actually played on Vinyl for years but I’d always be up for it!”
And finally what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“I’m in talks with a lot of majors and indies at the moment which can slow down the process of actually putting new music out but we’re currently promo’ing “Shoulda Let You Go” and I’ve got another remake of an old skool classic I’ve just finished which is sounding really good which will be out by the end of the year…plus look out for a few forthcoming “DJ S.K.T” remixes too.”
https://www.facebook.com/djskt
