There’s a new man about town… and we want to give you the lowdown before anybody else does. Meet London based Swayzee : a young, up and coming producer who’s just brought out an EP entitled ‘People Power’ on Canadian outfit Monique Chronique, which is a subdivision of the prominent Monique Musique.
Chronique has recently been providing a platform for some great underground artists like Marko Nastic, Dink & Alex Bizarro to bring out their music, and they’ve not been doing too bad – Check out the powerful Nunavut EP by Berlin based Snad or Plastiksound’s Tomorrow EP.
Back to the man himself though, as it’s this new EP that’s brought him into the limelight, it has garnered support by Stacey Pullen & Reboot, its tracks are appearing in mixes all over the internet and generally its attention that’s well deserved.
People of Detroit is an obvious choice that stands out, but Piece of Disturbance is one of my favourites, with its slow building, rhythmic formula and encircling sample, it knocks without ever being out of place, hence why it fits well into a lot of mixes.
We were impressed with Swayzee and his new EP so much so, that The Noise Gate had to grab him for a quick interview.
Here’s what went down when it happened.
Do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself? How did the name Swayzee come about?
I’d been making music for quite a while and had quite a few releases under different names, they did pretty well but I was never really satisfied with them. I always felt I was making music that I was able to, rather than the music I wanted to. I think as I got more experienced in the studio and my confidence grew, I felt it was time to start a fresh with a new name which I agonised over for weeks. One day I was messing around with some new names and logos in Photoshop while a Patrick Swayze film was on the TV. I wrote it down and it looked good, told a couple of people and it just stuck. I wish it was more interesting than that!
How did you first get started out in music?
I’ve always loved all types of music but Hip Hop was the first music I really got ‘into’. I started trying to DJ was when was about 13, it was a lot harder back then, you could hardly buy vinyl anywhere. I used to bunk school and get the train up to the west end and buy records. Then as I got a bit older and started going out to clubs I got into US House & Garage and it was game over for me, that’s all I wanted to do from then on. I took a Midi course, I can’t remember what software it was bit it was long before Logic or Ableton, and at the time it felt more comfortable behind the decks so I didn’t really pursue producing, I don’t think I had the patience for it back then. I was DJing a lot and through that I got into running my own events, it was just as Electro was getting massive and we ended up throwing some of the biggest parties in London. As the parties and DJing slowed down a bit I found myself with a lot of time on my hands and a lot of ideas so started messing around with Logic and it suddenly all clicked for me in terms of making music.
What’s been your biggest influence(s) in music?
Cliche as it is, I would have to say my Dad, not because he got me into any particular genre but I definitely inherited my eclecticism and openness towards different styles of music from him, oh and a love of vinyl, he has a pretty classic collection.
How does it feel to have your tracks supported by some big names?
It’s always amazing to have support from big names especially from someone you admire or has influenced you in some way, but it always means a lot more to me when you get a message from your average house music fan. It makes you feel like you are connecting with actual people when you hear they like what you are doing.
What’s next in the pipeline for Swayzee?
I’ve been working really hard in the studio for a long time now and have some nice releases coming out between now and Christmas. I’ve had some nice feedback from top labels so it’s made me a lot more determined to get my head down and get more tracks out there. It’d be nice to take a break from the studio and get out and do a few more gigs though, there’s nothing like seeing how your music works on the dance floor.
Have you got any favourite tracks you’ve been playing on repeat lately?
There’s so much great music around at the moment, I’m loving pretty much everything on the Little Helpers label.
Sounds awesome to us. Thanks for taking the time to chat today!
You can find Swayzee’s ‘People Power’ EP here, and stay tuned for more upcoming releases from the producer! In the mean time, check out the SoundCloud preview of ‘Woman Trouble’ below!
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