(Producer Interview) - Behind The Music: Glitch.
“People say grime is dead, but it will never die.”
In my previous interview with producer and mixer SJ he mentioned the absence of a middle ground in the UK music scene. In a lot of cases anything that strays in between the two popular sounds gritty and dark vs upbeat pa
rty music struggles to find its feet. If there's one person who can lead the multi-genre revolution of our music scene it is Glitch. The South-East London based producer, and DJ continuously finds a way to blend drill, jersey club, grime, and house effortlessly into his beats all while giving each genre the respect it deserves when created individually. I believe a new sound is headed to the UK scene, and Glitch is the flag bearer. I had a chance to pick the producer's brain, discussing grime revival, releasing a house EP, and his advice to aspiring producers.
How did you get into making music? I started making music when I was 16, but before that I'd always been creative, I used to dance and draw. But 16 was when I thought yeah, I'm actually going to go into producing and actually making music.
What artists/producers inspired you when you started making music? I'm a grime boy, I love all UK music but grime especially. Dizzee Rascal was a big inspiration, he was my idol growing up.
Who’s been your favourite artist to work with and why? It's probably the person that I've had the most connection with, personally and sonically, and that would be Cleeshay. He was in jail serving 12 years since he was 16. When he came out, he just went ham with the music. The stuff he raps about resonates; it really cuts deep.
What's your creative process when making a beat, what do you start with? It depends really but moretime I start with the melody. Melody or drums you can catch a vibe with either and just go from there.
You have some of the most unique beats I've heard. When mixing so many genres, is this something that comes naturally? I'm very ADHD when it comes to this, I can't focus on one thing. I never box myself in. So yeah, it just comes naturally. But sometimes I might infuse things together on purpose.
On the topic of grime, what do you think about the current state of the genre, do you see a second wave of popularity in the future? 100%. I'm seeing a whole new wave. The last wave was the Radar Radio days which was around 2014, people like AJ Tracey, Big Zuu. I was part of that wave, but this wave is crazy there even younger now. I love it man, I love Grime, people say grime is dead, but it will never die because its underground, it will always pop up. The genre is in a good place, there are a lot of producers coming through too.
I saw you released a house EP; you've also done some DJ sets. How did you get into making house music and is this something you want to focus on going forward? Definitely, I'm still perfecting my craft but when it comes to DJing and producing, it goes hand in hand. I get to test the waters too and see which of my tunes people are vibing too.
What advice would you give to aspiring producers out there? Stay consistent, network and don't box yourself in. Also don't just stick to one genre because there's so much to experiment with. and just be humble man.
What trials and tribulations have you experienced as a music producer that others may be able to relate to, and how did you overcome them? Just in general the times when you're low and depressed, music helped me with that. Even if you have no inspiration never stop creating. Sometimes I'll just fry myself, I will go ham making beats until I can't anymore, but sometimes you do need to just stay away from it for a while, and you will come back ten times harder.
What's next for you? The DJing for sure. I want to really focus and network on the DJing thing. I'd like to work with more people, some international artists and just mix bare different cultures and sounds. My first album is in the works too, I've done EPs and stuff like that but never an actual album. It will have a bunch of artists with vocals on it like a proper producer album.
