KARMA KID ON NICK GRIMSHAW

I Cannot express how proud and happy I am for Karma Kid who's track It's Always has been BBC Radio 1 Nick Grimshaw's Record of the Week.

Last night Nick and Karma Kid had a little chat live on BBC Radio 1 which you listen to again here:

 

Big ups to DJ Madam X too who got the world exclusive on this track. Check out her show every Weds night on Unity Radio.

We had Karma Kid do a mix for the show back in March so if you didn't catch that you can check it again now

Coco Electro 29.02.12 w/Karma Kid Mix by Cocoelectro on Mixcloud

It's Always will be out on Bondax's label Just Us Recordings on July 8th with a digital release and on a limited vinyl with two remixes exclusive to that.

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DJ MUNGO INTERVIEW

When did you start djing/producing? What got you into it/ why did you start?

DJ-ing, I don’t produce. I’ve never been opposed to it though and would like to have a proper go when I really get the chance to get into it. I guess the positive thing about that is that you’re not tied down to any particular genre in the same way producers are when they play live, everyone expects you just to drop the stuff you make and when nobody’s expecting any particular songs from you, you pretty much have the freedom to play what you want and what you see fit, it also allows you to be more spontaneous with what you play.

Only a couple of years ago when it comes to DJing specifically, but I’ve always wanted an excuse to share music I like with people and not having to force it on them.

Who/what are your major influences?

These days the stuff I play and really enjoy is based on that bare energetic take on bass and UK funky that people like Redlight, Lil Silva and breach are famous for and the darker side of Garage with people like Sticky, Ghost and Wookie even though my knowledge of that old school stuff is limited as I was a baby when that stuff was big . My original influences were Boys Noize, all my other friends were into indie and rock stuff.
 

Who would you love to collaborate with? (1 realistic, 1 fantasy)

Lil Silva is one of my favourite producers of all time so probably him, or maybe Roska, I met him a long time ago just as a gawping fan and got a picture with him but he seemed so friendly and happy I felt like he wanted a picture with me instead. Mine would Be Grizzle, he DJ’s but doesn’t produce but our taste is very similar and he’s been a very good friend of mine for over five years so we get on well.

Vinyl, CD or digital?     

Right now it’s digital, I’ve got a pair of Traktor S2’s at the moment. I gawp looking at CDJ’s and really want some but can’t afford them at the moment, that’s always been a problem, when I couldn’t afford a controller or even DJ software I used to be so desperate to DJ I would get tunes on my Itunes and tunes on Youtube and literally crossfade them very badly from one to the other. 

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you on a gig?

Was playing at an event called P&B in Islington and during the middle of my set the sound cut out completely and the sound engineer was nowhere to be seen, we fixed it in the end but he didn’t turn up till the end of my set all sweaty and pissed ‘you played Night ahah!!’, he’d been at the bar the whole time.

Where’s your favourite place to play?  why?

I prefer doing sets for radio because I can make sure they’re perfect… that’s a properly boring thing to say, I’d like to talk about all the huge arenas I’ve played at and how crazy they were but I’d be lying, probably just where everyone appreciates or is really gets into the music your playing and isn’t being to cool.

Do you think anyone can learn to DJ and/or Produce? What’s your best tip for beginners?

Yeah, I was awful when I started but it was always something I really wanted to do so I stubbornly kept at it it, I was never a natural. I suggest getting the Traktor 2 demo, its mad if you’re a beginner because you can start off using the ‘SYNC’ button just focus on playing music you want to play and interoperating it in a way you can play to everyone else and worry about learning to beatmatch and stuff when you feel like it. They is a lot of snobbery in Djing, that your not a ‘proper’ DJ unless you use vinyl and beatmatch perfectly completely by ear which is all good but its much harder when you start off so it’s much less accessible for beginners, so I suggest Traktor 2 demo.

What do you listen to most in a track?

I think particularly these days it’s about having a healthy mixture of all the basic elements of electronic music in the right proportion, like deep bass, but not throughout all of the track so you appreciate it when it’s there. High pitched sounds but not to the extent that it becomes annoying winey, fun stuff like samples but to the extent that their overused, but it’s hard to boil music taste down to dinky little tick boxes; everyone knows what they like and nobody can really be wrong. Sounds obvious and ditsy ‘everyone is perfect and has different taste in music and we can all be right and just get along’ blah blah blah, but I think some people forget that it is just completely subjective what makes music good or bad.

What are you hoping to achieve in the long run/ whats your ambition?

To have a Rinse cd out that would be mad, to have my face there with a big banner and the Rinse logo, id get to meet Shaun Bloodworth, he did Benga’s first album cover, Skream’s and most of the Dubstep Allstars covers and he’s an inspiration to me. Ridiculously long way off ambition though. I mean, just could pretend and go round record shops picking up Rinse cd’s and sticking pictures of myself on the CD cases and write ‘MUNGO!’ over their names in Sharpie but it wouldn’t be very convincing and a lot of money to spend on printing and sharpie pens, then nobody would find it funny and I’d feel like a bit of a dick really.

Where will you be playing next/ what projects do you have lined up?

I’m playing Dingwalls on the 26^th of July and doing mixes for ‘Jacks House’ and ‘B Radio’ next month and hopefully doing Podcast for an event label I work with very closely called P&B which I won’t shut up about. I’d like to go out looking for more but its hard with A levels.

What are your favourite ways to find new tracks?

Blogs, friends and other people’s mixes, I always listen to the sets on Boiler Room and see the latest songs the Djs there are playing.

What’s the future of Dance music? Who do you think we should keep our ears out for?

There seems to by two main sounds emerging these days in dance music. Firstly, House seems to be undergoing a huge revival these days as people are finding Dubstep a bit stale but I think the mixture of house beats and grime snares and hi hats based sound that Night Slugs seemed to have really made their own is huge right now. Within that demographic that they seems to be a divide between the darker side that puts more emphasis on that grime Bass that producers such as Bok Bok seemed to have coined and in comparison to that more high pitched sound with rolling drums people such as Girl Unit produce that sounds almost reminiscent of the hip hop from sound from places such as Atlanta in which Brick Squad are collectively famous for. Or I could be wrong, I chat a lot of shit.

The other stuff that’s emerging isn’t really one to keep your ears out for as it’s the Post-Dubstep scene you could argue that the kind of people like Joy O, Pearson Sound, Koreless and Mickey Peace have pioneered as its already huge but I have even bigger expectations for in the future.
 

Why is music important?

To say why music is important I’d have to imagine life without it, which is weird, and an idea I don’t really like. Without meaning to sound pretentious, I guess it’s the way it brings people together and sharing it or going to see it can bring people together in a way that not much else can. Like, if you’re at a gig and there are loads of completely different people with different taste, backgrounds and lives, nobody even knows each other but there all in the same room hearing the exact same sound as you are and enjoying what you’re enjoying. If you say ‘aaah I love this tune’, they might disagree, but they know exactly what you’re talking about and it’s just weird to think that everyone else there does too.

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KARMA KID INTERVIEW

This week we had a mix from DJ/Producer Karma Kid who at only 17 years of age has a sonic maturity that really stands out from the crowd. Along with the exclusive 15 minute mix, he answered the Coco Electro questions, with an application that makes for a real interesting read. Check it...

When did you start djing/producing? What got you into it/ why did you start?

I started properly DJing and producing at around the same time in Autumn 2008 as I thought that it would be good to start something new. I've also always liked the idea of making people dance and feel good. That was a massive attraction for me.

In terms of producing, my main reason for starting was purely down to curiosity. I've always wanted to know how producers put songs together and make weird sounds. I hate to say it but Rusko was probably the reason I started producing. I used to be completely intrigued by his wobbles. It makes me cringe to think about that now though.

Who/what are your major influences? 

Recently, my major influences have been Rustie, Disclosure, Pasteman, Melé, Bwana and Eliphino. I just love that fact that every single one of these producers is doing their own thing, and making music that pleases them. At the end of the day, having fun is the most important thing and producers that show that through their music inspire me.

Who would you love to collaborate with? (1 realistic, 1 fantasy) 

It's half realistic, but I would absolutely love to collaborate with Troy Gunner. He's a really nice guy, and he is on absolutely top form at the moment. I'd love to get the chance to work with him before he get's huge!

If I could collaborate with anyone in the world though, it would probably be James Blake. He's just super-creative, and it would be amazing to pick up some tips from him.

Vinyl, CD or digital? 

Well, I started mixing on Virtual DJ, to pick up the very basics, then i invested in a MIDI controller, and recently I got myself some CDJ's and a turntable. I'd absolutely love to learn to mix with turntables properly; it's an awesome skill to have, but in the modern world, it just seems inconvenient. I often find that I can put on a better show if I'm using a controller, as it's a lot quicker and responsive than CDJ's or turntables. I don't have a problem using CDJ's, but if I'm DJing at my own events, I'll always choose my MIDI controller.   

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you on a gig?

The worst thing, hands down was when I was in the middle of my set at an event, and my laptop froze and crashed. All of the music stopped and I felt horrendous.

Do you think anyone can learn to DJ and/or Produce? What’s your best tip for beginners?

I think that anyone can produce music these days, definitely. My best tip would be to find out if there are any local producers that would be willing to talk to you about it for a little while, to give you a slight understanding of the very basics of production. After they have given you some guidance, get yourself on to youtube, have a look at some tutorials, have a look on some forums to see what sample packs, software and vst's other producers are using. Just mess around with it to start off with and don't take yourself too seriously.

What do you listen to most in a track?

I always look out for a clear mixdown and master. It's one of the most basic and important stages of production, but an area that is often overlooked. I'm also always listening out for fat kicks and subs that cut though on headphones and speakers.

Your sound seems to fit in very nicely with the UK bass scene at the moment, was that a conscious decision?

Thank you. I'm not really sure if I’m perfectly honest. I still don't know exactly what genre I produce. I just make music that I like listening to. In that respect, it was definitely unconscious, but there is a massive scope for producers to create these days.

How to plan to set yourself apart from others?

I'm just going to keep producing what makes me happy. Hopefully, people will just keep listening to my music. If my music sounds like someone else’s, I don't mind because I'm not trying to 

imitate anyone. 

What are you hoping to achieve in the long run/ what’s your ambition? 

My ambition has and always will be to have fun. If you look to get famous or make lots of money you simply won't succeed. Producers that have fun with production will always have better quality music than people who chase fame and fortune.

Where will you be playing next/ what projects do you have lined up?

I've got a few free downloads to come on the soundcloud in the next month or two, as well as a possible release on King Pigeon with Warrior One, which is exciting stuff! I also have forthcoming tunes on Immersed Audio and L2S in the next few months that I'm rather excited about. Look out for those on digital!

What are your favourite ways to find new tracks? 

Youtube is my first choice place to look for samples. It's like having the world's best record collection at my fingertips. I'm always venturing into the dark corners of Soundcloud too for new music. It's amazing how many awesome artists there are.

What’s the future of Dance music? Who do you think we should keep our ears out for?

I reckon this year will be big for the following producers:

Magical Mistakes - INCREDIBLE producer, currently living in Japan. He releases physical copies of his music himself, but is extremely under the radar. Imagine Gold Panda / Baths,

Kyogi - A friend of mine. His tunes have been off the scale recently, and his fan-base is growing as rapidly as his production skills. Check him out for some nice future garage.

Tom Parker - Another friend of mine. He is one one the reasons i moved away from from dubstep, to start producing garage and stuff. He's massively talented and will no doubt be pulling out some bangers this year.

Troy Gunner - Really nice guy who's just signed to Mindset. Supported by Ifan Dafyyd, Synkro, Giles Peterson amongst others. Some massive things from him this year surely!

Thriftworks - I came across this guy on a random blog, but he gives all of his tunes away for free and he is mental. Imagine Rustie, Two Inch Punch, Slugabed.

Compa - This guy has some of the darkest beats around at the moment. Strictly dubplates!

Mr. Tickle - I have a gut feeling that Mr.Tickle will get closely involved with the Rinse.Fm crew this year. He's already had a release on Roska's Kicks and Snares and support from SBTRKT in their essential mix. Big things coming from him. Citrus (Don't Get Lemon) is a personal favourite of his.

Damu - Absolutely amazing procuder. He has been supporting Disclosure and SBTRKT recently on their tour, so it will be interesting to see what happens for him this year.

Why is music important?

Slightly cliché but I think that music brings people together and allows people to express themselves. It promotes freedom of speech and creativity, and I think it will always have a massive role to play in people's lives.

What are your 10 of your favourite tracks at the moment?

Francis Bebey - Akwaaba

Pasteman - The Movement

Kidnap Kid - If

Michael Jackson - PYT (Ridney Re-Edit)

Quantic - Not So Blue

Mak & Pasteman - Do The Same (VIP)

Nas - Life's A Bitch (Starburst Remix)

Seiji - More of You

King Krule - Out Getting Ribs

Disclosure - Flow

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KIDNAP KID INTERVIEW

Freshly signed to Black Butter Records, talented producer Kidnap Kid took time out from his busy schedule of final-year studies and big city gigs to muster up a Coco Electro Mix for the show this week and of course to answer "all you need to know" style questions. Here be his answers.

When did you start djing/producing? What got you into it/ why did you start? 
I started djing on my 15th birthday, I was heavily into jungle at the time so just decided to start buying records. I started producing when I was 18, just seemed like a logical progression really.

Who/what are your major influences? 
It's a constantly changing thing really I guess. I'm listening to a lot of old Disco and French House at the minute. I've always liked the Beatles approach to short simple love songs, I think that has definitely had an effect on me.

Who would you love to collaborate with? (1 realistic, 1 fantasy) 
Realistic - 123Mrk, love his style. Fantasy - Scuba, #1 producer of all time for me, he has a consistently incredible output over all his styles.

Vinyl, CD or digital? 
I have a lot of records, but I'm increasingly moving over to CD.

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you on a gig? 
Taking the needle of the wrong record, done that a few times, always makes your stomach drop!

What’s the best night out you’ve ever had? 
Hmm. That's a tricky one. I saw Siriusmo in Germany recently, that has be up there. The man is a genius.

Where’s your favourite place to play? why? 
I don't have a favourite really. I only play places once usually, so it's hard to develop a favourite. 
I enjoyed my recent gig for Sistemsiz in Amsterdam a lot though … so I'll go with that.

Do you think anyone can learn to DJ and/or Produce? What’s your best tip for beginners? 
Yes definitely. I believe that about everything though. It's 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. The only way to do is put a serious amount of time in, so that be the tip I guess. Do them both all of the time!

What do you listen to most in a track? 
I'm a bit obsessive about percussion, so if the drums don't sit right for me then I find it hard to like a track. That and interesting harmonies.

What are you hoping to achieve in the long run/ whats your ambition? 
Keep writing music. Albums/singers/live shows/the lot. I would like to do this for a long time

Where will you be playing next/ what projects do you have lined up? 
I'm playing at Corsica studios, London at the beginning of March for Church's 3rd birthday. My EP “Alphaville” will be out on Black Butter Records on the 5^th March. I'm finishing 2 remixes off at the minute, then starting the next EP. I'm working with vocalists too so pretty excited about that.

What are your favourite ways to find new tracks? 
Being sent them haha, I'm quite lazy that way.

What’s the future of Dance music? Who do you think we should keep our ears out for
I'm hoping a continued merging of genres that we've seen over the last few years. It's a positive thing. I like music I never thought I would.  Keep your eyes out for Timbah, he's a young guy from Sheffield, got some seriously cool stuff going on.

Why is music important? 
Because it brings people together. It allows the chance to record sections of human emotion and share it with other people.

What are your 10 of your favourite tracks at the moment?
Timbah - Eski Hugz 
Sirismo - Nights off 
Hudson Mohawke - All your love 
Badbadnot good - The world is yours/Brooklyn zoo 
B-Ju - Mia got a new haircut 
Perseus - Running back to you 
Bonobo - Eyesdown (Floating Points remix) 
Jessie Ware - Running (Disclosure remix) (unreleased) 
Rudimental - Spoons (unreleased) 
JonasRathsman - Feeling you

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