Lenilson Dos Santos, aka Sky White, is a hugely talented young Producer and DJ from Mozambique. His releases have been supported by Afro house and melodic tech DJs alike, including Black Coffee, Tale Of Us, Phonique, Themba, Ralf GUM, DJeff, Da Capo, Enoo Napa, and XtetiQsoul, to name a few. As his brilliant debut album, ‘Crossing Borders’, drops on Afrocentric Records, DMCWorld checks in…
Hey Sky White! Thanks very much for taking the time to sit down with us here at DMC World. How’s 2023 been for you so far?
Thank you for having me again on DMC, my 2023 so far has been super good!
Where in the world are you answering this interview from?
I’m at home chilling in my studio in Mozambique.
Please can you introduce yourself to our DMC World readers?
My Name is Lenilson Dos Santos (Aka:SkyWhite) I’m a DJ, Remixer and Producer from Mozambique. 🇲🇿
What was the first piece of music you played today?
It was actually one of my own favourites, Sky White ‘Children Of Today’.
How would you describe your signature sound?
My sound is a fusion of Afro and Melodic Techno.
Congratulations on your brilliant debut album, ‘Crossing Borders’, what can you tell us about it and are you pleased with how it all sounds?
Thank you! It’s been a job I’ve been preparing for 2 years and it mirrors a lot of my experience through the pandemic, during which was a period of a lot of creativity for me. I made a lot of music and it was difficult to choose which tracks to feature on the album and which to release as future singles. ‘Crossing Borders’ also features some of my successful singles including my collaboration with Xtetiqsoul featuring Amel Chrispin ‘Leave This Place’, and ‘Move Like That’, which is a beautiful song from New York’s Kastro. But overall, yes, I’m very satisfied with the work done and how it all came out. I put a lot of love into making it and it means a lot to finally release my first album, especially with Afrocentric Records, who gave me my first break in 2018 and have been releasing my music ever since.
Who else did you collaborate with on the album and what did they bring to the table?
I love working alone, but collaborations are always great fun to do too, there’s a little bit of me and a little bit of them and always so much to learn from each other. I’ve been lucky to work with some great artists on the album including; the massive singer, songwriter and producer, SANDHAUS, cool South African duo De Cave Man & Tonic Volts, and the brilliant Kates Le Café who is from Durban, SA. They each brought their own signature sound to the project and each track came out great!
Which vocalists feature on the album?
I worked with a few vocalists on the album including the previously mentioned Kastro on ‘Move Like That’, Vaipatria on ‘Eternity’, Ronnie Tanny on ‘Conspiracy’ and Amel Chrispin on ‘Leave This Place. They each have such a wonderful individual personality with their vocal styles and really brought something special to the release.
Which album track was the biggest labour of love to make?
Oh, the biggest job has to be ‘Galaxy’ with De Cave Man & Tonicvolts, it took a lot of work, but the results were really worth our efforts.
How do you generally go about putting a new production together?
I usually start a project with melodies, then I work the rhythm of the song and then the ideas start to flow and I build from there.
What part of your job do you enjoy the most, writing and producing or performing as a DJ?
To be honest, this question is difficult to answer because I really like to produce and perform as DJ, they are both very different jobs, but each equally as enjoyable.
Who are your top 3 Afro Tech producers?
My favourite Afro Tech producers are: Dacapo, Moojo and Enoo Napa, all of them are brilliant!
What record makes you say ‘damn, I wish I made that’?
That has to be Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, what a song!
Finally, what’s coming next for you?
I’m currently really busy in the studio here with many exciting projects on the way, that I can’t reveal right now unfortunately… Watch this space.
Sky White ‘Crossing Borders’ Album is out now on Afrocentric Records.
https://www.beatport.com/release/crossing-borders/4059887
