SR Mix #73: Ossie [Lightworks]

Following yesterday’s bumbling and unintentional twitter debate on the deployment of tracklists for online mixes the latest contributor to our ongoing mix series hasn’t given us one. Now, that doesn’t make us hate him, it doesn’t make us think he’s being intentionally difficult nor piss us off in any respect – he may have just not realised we usually include them – but it does stoke a level of interest in listening to the whole thing in its entirety.

Ossie is a producer that’s been bubbling under for a while now, making moves on the UK funky underground with his own decidedly warped take on the house sound of now. Turning his hand from tribal jams like ‘Ossie Baba’ to R&B refixes that heat up a dancefloor he’s just released the enchanting earworming ‘Tarantula’ on the freshly minted Lightworks imprint. It’s his biggest success to date, all hip shaking percussive manoeuvres, deep pulsing synth stabs and then there’s that mulitlimbed lead line that creeps and lurks in the most resplendent corners of your room late at night. Packaged with the tougher ‘Creepy Crawlies’ and a Funkineven remix of the A side on the flip, it marks both the dawn of a new imprint and the realisation of Ossie’s music – something that, judging by our quick exchange, has evidently been a long time coming.

With more releases on the horizon, including a 12” release forthcoming on Kode9’s Hyperdub incubator, we caught up with him to learn us a few things about him, his links to Live FM (and one of Joy O’s favourite selectors) Petchy and his future endeavours. Plus he turns in the latest instalment in our ongoing mix series, #73, a 90 min mix which features plenty of his own material set amongst some of his favourite house records.

Sonic Router: What do you do on the daily and where are you from?

Ossie: Born and bred in East Ham (East London). I’m in my final year of uni, studying music technology. When I get home its straight onto the decks or logic; so it’s music all around really.

What first got you into production and what’s your set-up like? Have you got a favourite bit of kit and how do you approach working in the studio?

At an early age I was intrigued at how tunes were made. I took a production course in the summer when I was 11 and that’s when I first saw Cubasis VST. I remember going with my mum to Stratford Computer Fair and buying a crack version of Cubasis and I guess that’s where it all started. Throughout secondary school and college I was making beats in my spare time, though then it was mainly R&B and hip hop.

Set-up wise I’ve got a Macbook Pro, PowerMac G5, Logic Pro 8,Yamaha, MG16/6FX, M-audio Axiom 49, 2 Novation Launchpads and a MicroKorg.

My Macbook pro is one thing I couldn’t go without. Once that’s in front of me everything just flows. I never have a plan when producing. I just creatively mess about.

How would you describe your sound?

A fusion of everything really, I use a lot of percussion and synths, which gives a vintage but current feel. I try and have stories or mood in my tunes especially when producing house, and having produced R&B previously helps with build-ups and structuring.

I sample now and then hence the spontaneous remixes I put up on my Soundcloud, but most times I try and emulate the sounds used from the tracks I’m feeling at the time. I think I’d be a sample freak like Kanye if it didn’t cost so much.



You take influence from all over: We hear American vibes, UK vibes, Deep, Hype, African house, any house. You bring it in and make it your own, give us a clue how those strings got drawn together…

I go through phases when I’m listening and making music. I am never listening to one genre and this is what’s heard in my production. For example at the time I made ‘Ossie Baba’ I was listening to Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Roy Ayers, Marvin Gaye you name it. I don’t just listen to house so in my music you hear everything which I hope will be my advantage as there’s something for everyone. When I started making house I was listening to a lot of Bugz in the Attic, 4hero and Vikter Duplaix and at the same time UK funky was just on the horizon so I just brought all influences together.

I guess cheeky refix’s come into that somehow: we’ve heard your take on the odd R&B legend or pop freak in our time lurking on the radio waves/soundcloud… I guess that’s another big part of your sound? How do you channel that into something more Ossie…

Yeah I’ve been making remixes from day. Once again it’s because I listen to such a variety of music. When producing my versions I make sure from the start that it sounds as far from the original track as possible while still keeping the best bits - if that makes sense? That way if compared to other remixes of the same track it stands out as Ossie.

Tell us about Live FM and Petchy? You’ve mixed with him we’re all feeling it, that energy is infectious…

Petchy is my friend’s brother so I’ve always been around him since school days. Petchy was at Live FM when I had started to make house and I was swinging him tunes to get a reaction. I gave him ‘Tarantula’ after I made it, the buzz really started from then and it just escalated. That mix you heard with us back to back was the first mix I recorded. I started DJing in October and I fast tracked myself to DJ in time for the release.

Seeing ‘Tarantula’ on a 12” is pretty sweet since it’s been making moves on the UK Funky scene for a bit now. How’d that track even come into existence? Can you tell us a bit about that release, what’s the inspiration/sound for the tracks?

To be honest I don’t remember much of making it because I made it so long ago now, but what I do remember is l was experimenting with sounds. I have this method I use sometimes when I’m producing, when I open up Logic the first sound I hear I use. So instead of sieving through for ages looking for a particular sound I do it that way to be spontaneous. It cuts production time and brings together certain sounds I wouldn’t normally put together. I did the same thing for ‘Creepy Crawlies’ because time was of the essence and I needed to make the B-side asap.



Talk to us about the state of funky right now and where you fit in with it today… What music are you feeling at the moment, any producers you think the world should know about?

The state of funky is healthy and I love the fact that it’s very tribal orientated, which allows me to go crazy with my drum patterns. Hard House Banton, Fuzzy Logic and Roska do it for me. I think they’re the cream of the crop when it comes to producers in the scene right now and I’m sure the world already knows about them. If you don’t where have you been?

After this Lightworks 12” arrives what have you got in store for us? Any more releases you can chat about on the horizon…

I've got a release scheduled for May coming out on Hyperdub, the tracks called ‘Set the Tone.’ I made it about three years ago even before ‘Tarantula.’ I just had it sitting in my hard drive for a while. I haven't got anything planned after that; I'm waiting for these releases to come out and for uni to finish before I do anything else.

Tell us about the mix you’ve turned in for us...

It’s mainly all the tunes I’m feeling at the moment, a few refix’s and remixes from me. Exclusive wise the B-side to ‘Set The Tone’ is in there. It’s called ‘Power of Love.’ Apart from that it’s just a bit of everything, typically Ossie.

Have you got any words of wisdom for our readers?

Perfect your craft!

::

DOWNLOAD: Ossie – Sonic Router Mix #73



No tracklist given.

Words: James Balf & Oli Marlow

INTERVIEW: Rude Kid [No Hats No Hoods]

If you’ve been listening to grime at any point over the last three years you have undoubtedly heard Rude Kid’s beats. He’s everywhere, currently being vocalled by every MC in the scene and spun by every DJ going, causing a stir with tracks like ‘Sing 4 Me’ which featured Ghetts on mic duties, and ‘Electric’ which is receiving a raucous reception wherever it gets dropped. After 3 vinyl releases to date, the Are You Ready EP, Electric and the Jack Daniels EP, on the No Hats No Hoods label, Rude Kid dropped his debut long player - also called Are You Ready? a title taken no doubt from his recognisable production watermak- a collection of instrumentals showcasing his energetic productions style for the label.

We caught up with him to shoot him some questions and get the low down on his projects…

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

Rude Kid: My music name is Rude kid some heads call me Rudes. I’m 22 years old, come from London, and am a music producer/DJ. Ive been doing music for about 3 years properly but ive always loved listening to music from when I was very young.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

I don’t think I do much else beside music, but outside of music I’m just a normal guy I watch a lot of films and spend time with my family and friends. Im very close to them and I love having a laugh. On a normal day if im not doing music I will just relax play abit of ps3.

How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?

I used to listen to a lot of pirate radio before I started making music and got influenced by the energy the music had. I always wanted to hear my songs getting played on radio or raves it was like a dream I had to make reality, which I think I’ve achieved now. I was introduced a programme called FruityLoops by a friend in school and every since then ive made music. Nobody taught me how to use the programme I had to learn everyting myself which took long but now I can use it with my eyes closed.

What’s your production set up like?

I’ve got a very basic setup: only Fruityloops, a midi keyboard and some good speakers, that’s all I need. Right now im making good music with just the basic setup and it sounds good on big speakers in the clubs or on radio. But one day when I get my own studio I will have to get more equipment.

Where do you take inspiration from when making music?

I think just everyday life, for example a lot of my songs are named after what I’ve done that day, for example I made a instrumental called ‘Dentist’ which is on my album. That was made after I came back from the dentist and how I was feeling. It all depends on my mood and how I’m feeling on the day aswell. I also get inspired by a lot of hardworking musicians and when I see them succeeding that just makes me want to work extra harder. I feel I still have a lot to prove to show what I’m capable of.

How would you describe your sound?

Very unique and alien... I feel I have my own sound and that is one of the reasons people paid attention to my music in the first place, because it was something different to the norm. A lot of producers make beats that sound the same as their previous beats but I don’t do that. If you listen to my instrumental album you will see how many different styles and sounds I use. I got tunes like ‘Jack Daniels’ which is more dance music, ‘Electric’ which is like a dubstep sound; ‘Leave me alone’ which is a calm mellow tune. Basically the list goes on. This instrumental album I’ve got out now shows of all my styles.



How did the ‘Are you ready?’ sonic signature come about?

I sampled that of one CD I had long time ago I forgot what it was, but I used to put it in a few instrumentals I was making. Then when I started to leave it out people were like “where’s the ‘Are You Ready?’”. So that’s been my signature ever since… I’ve had that since I started making music. I also think its important for a producer to have their own signature because with me if I didn’t have ‘Are You Ready?’ before the drop of the beat hardly anybody will know I made it. So it helps having a signauture sound.

Your beats are used by some of the biggest names in grime, but what is your personal favorite vocal an emcee has laced you with?

I’ve had so many good vocals on my beats it’s hard to say; my most successful song has to be ‘Sing 4 me,’ but my favorite is Skepta ft Wiley – ‘Are you Ready?’. That song has a lot of energy and it’s a song everyone can sing along to as well. Everytime im DJing at a club and I drop that tune it always gets a good reaction.

I did a remix for ‘Man Like Me’ with their single ‘London Town’ and JME was on the remix aswell. I like that vocal aswell because its different reminds me of old skool Garage. Also the remix is going to be on the next edition of DJ HERO the game. When I got told it was gonna be on there it didn’t sink in, I was shocked to be honest, but it’s a very good look for me, JME & Man Like Me.

What MCs are you working with right now and who would you like to work with that you haven’t yet?

I think ive worked with nearly every big MC, there’s a few I haven’t worked with yet though, but I’m more looking forward to working with singers right now and experimenting with different styles. The only MC I would wanna work with is Dizzee Rascal right now. Hopefully in the future you might hear something from Dizzee and me.

You hooked up with Terror Danjah for ‘Best Crawler’ and killed it, are you working on more bits together?

Yeah definitely Terror is a good friend so its not hard to work on another beat together. The ‘Best Crawler’ was made very randomly. I was in his studio and he had the same instrument VST I used for ‘Sing 4 Me’, so I came up with the idea for me to use the ‘the best’ sounds and for him to use the ‘Creepy Crawler’ sounds. I made my melody then he had a perfect beat already which he had made before and it fit perfectly to what I made. ‘Best Crawler’ is out now on my 12”, Jack Daniels EP, out in all good record stores. It was good working with Terror Danjah because he is one producer I used to look up to when I was younger and for him to be telling me my beats are mad means a lot. He also talks a lot of sense and I know he’s seen a lot in the music scene, so he always gives me tips or advice when I need it.

Tell us about the new album on No Hoods No Hats: ‘Are You Ready?’ How did it come about and what had to be on it?

Ive had releases with No Hats No Hoods before and that’s my management so it makes sense for my stuff to come out with their label. It was my plan to have the ‘Are You Ready?’ CD come out in 2009, but a lot of planning went into the CD and in the end we all decided to make it more of an album rather than just a instrumental CD, so a lot of tunes got taken off and a lot got put back in. I’m very happy with the instrumentals that have been put on the album. Over all the CD describes how many different styles of music I have, none of them sound the same.

I think my favourite instrumental on the CD has to be ‘Electric’ I remember the day I made that beat; it made me get up from my seat and think about what I’d just done haha. That beat is very powerful and I know a lot of music listeners and DJ’s have been waiting for it. But to be honest every beat on the album is my favorite they all have their own styles and I’m very proud of myself for making them.



How are you feeling about the state of grime today?

Grime right now is still growing. It feels like people aren’t giving it a chance, but there is so much good music and songs being made in the grime scene. Hopefully people will see that and give it the break it deserves. I know a lot of people are making mainstream music which doesn’t matter at all along as they stick to making grime even if they do other genres of music. Like I make a lot of other genres of music but I will always be making grime at the same time.

The grime vinyl releases from labels like No Hoods No Hats, Hyperdub, Planet Mu, Butterz, Rwina, etc have been picking up of late, do you think that this more DJ based material is bringing more dance influences back into grime? And vice versa?

Definitely having vinyl out is good because I know there are still a lot of people who buy them. I do agree with some people who say it should come digitally as well. Right now the instrumentals being released on vinyl are all tunes that can get played in a dance and make people go crazy which is what is needed .

What other projects have you got in the pipeline?

I’ve got a lot of projects coming I want to make another instrumental music video I’m going to be working on some music with singers, Another EP and I defiantly want to make a Vocal Album.

Any words of wisdom for our readers?

Stay positive and belive in yourself.

Words: James Balf

Rude Kid’s ‘Are You Ready’ CD is out now on No Hats No Hoods.

Links:
www.myspace.com/rudekidproductions
www.myspace.com/nohatsnohoods

RECOMMENDED: Rude Kid – Jack Daniels EP [No Hoods No Hats]

"Are you ready!?!" That’s Rude Kid’s trademark sonic stamp - much like the 'Ross Car Ross Car Ross Car' sting that Roska uses or the manic cackle Terror Danjah repeatedly creeps out – and those three words have become synonymous of incoming quality when you hear it in the mix. The grime producer has been a staple of sets for so long now: shows or mixtapes hardly go by without you hearing that familiar phrase. It’s not his first time out on the No Hoods No Hats label either with the conveniently titled ‘Are You Ready EP’ preceding this one by a good few months.

The title track ‘Jack Daniels’ is a freak hybrid of hard pulsing techno, dubstep, funky and grime. The four to the floor kicks and beefy bass pulses wouldn’t be to out of place in an old Laurent Garnier set next to ‘Crispy Bacon’ or ‘Acid Eiffel’ but they’re equally at home in the boxes of grime DJs too; it’s a track that bangs hard and will always add energy to any set. Rude Kid follows this with the instrumental to his shake up of Man Like Me’s ‘London Town,’ a bubbling garage number with a grime flex, piano licks, skippy drums, rudeboy bass that pretty much hits the spot.

The flip is the grimiest: ‘Emergency’ brings out the big guns with its dirty, grizzly bass tones, raw funk and cheeky rave stabs. ‘Best Crawler,’ a collaboration with recent Hyperdub signing Terror Danjah, is the highlight of a solid package though, it’s got the hard-funk and raw power of both producers, along with both of their sonic trademarks. Plus the flip between huge bass pulses, grimy violins, Gameboy-esq bleeps and propulsive, musical trance-like elements just kills it.

Words: James Balf
Out: Now

Links:
www.myspace.com/rudekidproductions
www.myspace.com/nohatsnohoods

DOWNLOAD: Reecha - The POP Mix

Rather than a mix of Gaga into that N Dubz track that features the albino Mr Hudson which, its fair to say, probably would be immense, Dirty Canvas honcho, Reecha - fresh from the Sonic Router is 1 RAVE - drops a mix for POP mag.

DOWNLOAD: Reecha - The POP Mix (Via Sendspace)

Tracklist on the Mixcloud player.

Link:
www.myspace.com/reechamusic

EVENT: Trouble Vision vs. Dirty Canvas

Trouble Vision collide with Dirty Canvas next Friday for a Christ honouring shindig at Corsica Studios, featuring a stellar line up including Sinden, Heartless Crew, Terror Danjah and Newham Generals.

Facebook Event // Tickets

To celebrate we've been given a copy of the brand new No Hats No Hoods (Dirty Canvas' record label - yep, them that released 'Next Hype') 12" release from Royal T, his '1UP or Shatap EP,' which features a remix from the ultra suave Martin Kemp (audio of which is in his SR mix) alongside two extra tracks from Royal T and a refix of 'Beatfighter' from Night Slugs co-conspirator Bok Bok.

To scoop the vinyl simply email us the word thats missing from the statement below:

Q: The man like Tempa T definitely will not give you none of your ____ back?

A: CDs
B: DVDs
3: Bonsai Trees

The winner will be announced before Xmas.



Links:
www.myspace.com/dirtycanvas
www.myspace.com/intothefraydj

COMPETITION: Win Tickets to Why Not?

Thanks to the kind fusion of Why Not? and Dirty Canvas (who are running their own room) we've been given a pair of tickets to give away to next weekend's carnival special at The Scala in Kings Cross.

To scoop the pair just email us the answer to the below question...

The name of Brackles and Shortstuff's label is...?

A) Slumped Botox
B) Munted Warlocks
3) Blunted Robots

The winner will be announced next Wednesday.

Please make sure you can attend the event before entering.

Link:
www.whynotdubstep.com
www.myspace.com/dirtycanvas

EVENT: Why Not? A Dubstep Carnival

Link:
www.whynotdubstep.com

INTERVIEW: Reecha [Dirty Canvas]

Ahead of Dirty Canvas' Room 3 takeover at fabric this Friday we went direct to the source with one of the night's promoters, armed with a laptop, a copy of Ga(y)rage Band and an industriously inquisitive look splashed on our mug.

What happened next needs no introduction... well, it actually does, else you might be confused, but you dig the sentiment, right? Enclosed here is an interview and a completely live mix teased out in one take by Reecha.

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

Reccha: My name is Reecha. I co-run a night called Dirty Canvas and a label called No Hats No Hoods. We've just released our 7th record which is Tempa T's Next Hype - which has remixes by Brackles and Starkey amongst others.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

I am me and I make Ps

People say you’re the Asian George Clooney… Why pick the Reecha moniker when Asian George has an equally impressive ring to it?

I think that would be disrespectful to the rest of my heritage - as I am nearly as Welsh as I am Asian. However I am planning a folk gabba side project underneath the Asian George appellation. Reecha is the only nickname I had at school, whereas my likeness to the sometime Nespresso spokesman is something that occurred in later life.

What’s your involvement with Dirty Canvas?

Check question one, fool.

What can we expect from the fabric takeover?

I hope the same you can expect from any Dirty Canvas night. For me the biggest challenge is the find the balance between throwing a good party and being progressive musically. Although we have originally been more associated with grime, I like to think that our real base is garage - its all its forms and offspring - whether that's grime, funky or dubstep etc. I guess on the night that's pretty well represented by what both Brackles and Mumdance do - who both come from completely different places but manage to be great club DJs while still satisfying those who want to stand in the corner and scratch their beards (note I have a beard and have nothing against them). That for me is the most exciting thing about music right now - well the exciting thing about underground UK dance music at least - people seem to be becoming more open and being less obsessed with labels.

I think Alex Nut is a great example of that too - I pretty much listen to his Rinse show religiously and he's one of those few people who you really do trust to just bring quality whatever he's dipping into and Silkie is making really great music at the moment so I feel particularly proud of the line up.

In short, it will be amazing.



Tell us a little about the mix you’ve made for us…

Its crap.

Probably could have been tighter but there you go - its just some music I like at the moment. Its got some new stuff, but also some pretty old tunes - but I personally find it quite interesting to 'recontextualise' (i.e. pitch up +8 ) a record by placing it with something it wasn't intended to relate to. Its got on the new Martin Kemp remix he's just done for us [No Hats No Hoods] which I don't think anyone would have heard - its not intended to fully represent what Friday will be like but its just a glimpse of what I might play at least.

Can we expect any original Reecha productions at any point soon?

I used to make some fairly generic UK hip hop - but I stopped drinking tea and lost my backpack. I also wrote about 4 hours worth of punk songs about girls not liking me whenIi was in my teens so it would only be right for me to attempt to subject the world to more. I gotta sort out some shit then I'm gonna get back at it - aided by some people who are infinitely more talented than me.

You got any wisdom for the interweb you’d care to share?

You look uncannily like Gary Lucy.

::

DOWNLOAD: Reecha - Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

1. Floating Points - J+W beat (Forthcoming Planet Mu)
2. Karizma - Groove Accordingly (R2)
3. Donaeo - Party Hard (My-Ish)
4. Kerri Chandler - Bar A Thym (Nite Grooves)
5. Royal T - 1 UP (Martin Kemp Remix) (Forthcoming No Hats No Hoods)
6. Roska - Elevated Levels (Roska Kicks and Snares)
7. MJ Cole - Funky Dub (Unreleased)
8. Menta feat Ms. Dynamite - Ramp (Bigger Beats)
9. Shortstuff and Mickey Pierce - Tripped Up (Unreleased)
10. Tempa T v Dj Oddz - Strung Up Hype (DJ Oneman Mash Up)
11. Hard House Banton – Sirens (White)
12. Tiger Flight - The Great Escape (unreleased)

Links:
www.myspace.com/reechamusic
www.myspace.com/dirtycanvas
www.myspace.com/nohatsnohoods

VIDEO: Tempa T - Next Hype [No Hats No Hoods]

Digital release of 'Next Hype' out now from all good outlets, remixes from Brackles, Plastician and Scratcha DVA out June 1st on No Hats No Hoods.

Links:
www.myspace.com/nohatsnohoods

DOWNLOAD: Reecha - Trouble Vision Mega Mix #4

Dirty Canvas honcho Reecha has put together 'MegaMix #4' in aid of the next Trouble Vision Night @ Corsica Studios on April 24th.

Bits from Joker, Zomby, Starkey, that Message Is Love refix and some next level funky all in 10 minutes.

DOWNLOAD: Reecha - Trouble Vision Mega Mix #4

Links:
www.myspace.com/reechamusic
www.myspace.com/intothefraydj