Future superstar alert. The Birmingham don smashing it with ‘Selecta’…massive
Interview by Dan Prince
Dude welcome to DMCWORLD…where in the world are you today?
“I am in my hometown Birmingham, England.”
What was the first piece of music you heard today after climbing outta bed?
“A remix of Lethal B’s new single that I am working on.”
A serious new tune all over Radio 1 right now, big in the Buzz Chart…setting dance floors alight everywhere. Please talk us through the history and sounds of the stunning ‘Selecta’ which samples Craig David and the Artful Dodger’s Re-Rewind…
“To start off! It’s great hearing a track I made just for my DJ sets now all over radio and TV. I asked Jimmy from Public Demand if I could possibly have the vocals to ‘Rewind’ by Craig David and Artful Dodger. I just wanted to make a version for my sets because that was one of the first songs I fell in love with when I was in school. To my surprise, he sent me the vocals. I thought I’d sample it rather than remix it and the rest is history…”
Nice, honest words on your Facebook page a couple of weeks back when you apologised to your fans for not responding to their messages and that from now on you will reply as “I was once that guy trying to reach out to my favourite artists by any means possible”.
“I love to keep it real. I’m as human as everyone else and I’m not afraid to show that.”
Who then were the artists you were into growing up in Birmingham…?
“Mainly Midlands Mafia, Graveyard Crew, Powerhill Crew and so on. Those guys are forever legends in Birmingham’s musical history.”
You grew up listening to a lot of gospel and played Bass at your local church. Can you tell us about the moment you discovered Reason 1.0…
“I sure did and still do! I first discovered it when I was 14 whilst also learning how to play the Bass Guitar.”
I believe you have a thing going on where when you hear a new track on the radio, you instantly remix it in your mind, formulating what you would do to it in the studio…
“Sometimes I do! Sometimes I don’t…the only time I do is when I hear an amazing intro and an awful or not so amazing drop or chorus.”
An album in your collection we’d be surprised to discover you own…
“The Trevor Nelson Collection. All three volumes too. I LOVE R&B/Soul…”
How do you start a new production – how important is the riff and melody when getting going?
“Very important but these days I start with the drums. I’m always working on how to improve my mix downs and how to compress every sound correctly. Melodies and riffs are also important but it all depends on what type of track you want to compose.”
A celebrity you would not want to get stuck in a lift with?
“Jeremy Kyle.”
Tell us about the clubs in the midlands we would have found you in over the past few years?
“Erm…I’ve never been much of a raver and my first few bookings were actually outside of the midlands. Crazy, I know!”
Who do you count as your closest musical friends?
“Boy Better Know, C4, Bassboy, Joker, Roska, Teddy…”
When was the last time you pressed rewind and listened to a track over again because it was so damned good?
“The latest track I’ve done that with is a track entitled “No Flex Zone” by Rae Sremmurd. I’m a big fan of their music.”
Tell us 3 bucket list adventures you wanna coin your lifetime…
“I’d love to own a few houses around the world. Mainly in the Caribbean, Dubai and America. I’d also like to design a few houses and have my own building. I also want to gain the confidence to sky-dive because I am terrified of heights.”
A producer and singer you would love to collaborate with?
“Producer would be Pharrell or Timbaland. Singer would be Beyonce or Taylor Swift.”
Let’s flip forward to February 2016. What is the 1 thing you want to have achieved musically over the last twelve months…
“Nothing in particular. I just want to keep DJing everywhere and making sick music for the clubs and hopefully radio too!”
What did your family think of your choice of career?
“It wasn’t a choice, it was just a hobby so I can’t say. What I can say today is that my hobby has now become my career which is a hard thing to achieve. My family rate my progress!”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
“Wait and see Dan! I’m a man full of surprises…”
