Rivmixx Rising: Swindle > <

Sat, Jan 24 2009

The Great Grime & Soul Man Swindle

Rivmixx Rising: Swindle

2008 was a busy year for grime producer Swindle. Headhunted by former So Solid member Ashley Walters, he signed to Walters’ label AD82 and became an executive producer on his self-titled album, then left the label again to pursue his own production company and debut album.

He's worked with grime royalty Wiley, as well as Nate James and The Mitchell Brothers, and still found time to collaborate with various other heavyweight UK artists such as Nolay, Nikki S, Nyke and Ghetto on his firin’ ‘140 Mixtape’ - and on their own projects.

Swindle's been tipped as the next big thing by numerous top UK DJs and has had tracks play-listed by 1Xtra and Choice FM. Oh, and he's still only 21.

It's official: Swindle is That Guy for 2009. Rivmixx caught up with the hugely talented producer to find out what he's got planned.

RIVMIXX: You got a lot a love from the scene last year, what was the highlight for you?

SWINDLE: “Last year was a good year for me. I think the highlight for me personally was being featured in Computer Music magazine. I've been reading it as long as I can remember. It was also great to be named Best Newcomer by Touch magazine.”

RIVMIXX: How have you made it to this point in your career so far?

SWINDLE: “In all honesty, it's a natural progression. I've been making music since I was 12. I'm about to turn 22, so if I hadn't made any progress I would probably be thinking about giving up! The truth is, I still make most of my music in my bedroom - although I now need a bigger bedroom for all my equipment. It's about making your surroundings inspire you rather than get you down.”

RIVMIXX: You've received a lot of support, in terms of radio play, from some of the big UK DJs - Ras Kwame, Westwood, Cameo and Logan Sama. How do you feel about your growing rep in the UK scene?

SWINDLE: “I appreciate every play I receive, whether it's Radio 1 or the local pirate. To know that people appreciate my music is something I've always wanted and even now find it difficult to get my head around. I don't want to adopt the attitude of a diva, I'll just keep being me and not get too wrapped up in my own hype.”

RIVMIXX: Ashley Walters’ album is about to drop, you were an executive producer on it. How did that come about and how did you find working on Asher's album?

SWINDLE: “There was a period when myself and Ash were in the studio a lot, we found it easy to make hot tracks together and it was fun. It came about because his A&R contacted me and said he would like to get me involved. It just all kind of went on from there.”

RIVMIXX: The single, 'With You' featuring Mutya Buena, from the Ashley Walters album, is a completely different sound to ‘The 140 Mixtape’ and in the past you have cited Quincy Jones and James Brown as your musical influences. Would you consider yourself primarily a grime producer or would you say your work spans multiple genres?

SWINDLE: “I do also produce other genres. I'd say my roots were in soul and jazz and I do produce r&b, hip-hop, drum & bass and reggae - but I'm not a jukebox! I think more than anything it's important for me to push my own sound. I'm a producer that loves grime and translates it in my own way. I'm very open-minded in terms of the artists I work with. I would love to work with an indie artist or a jazz singer, you know, something different.”

RIVMIXX: The next project you're working on is an instrumental album, is that true? Tell us a bit about it, when's it dropping?

SWINDLE: “It's true! It's done now and I'm aiming at a mid-March release. It's a collection of instrumentals I have collated from other projects, ‘140’ etc. Like any producer, daily I receive messages and phone calls from other artists after a bit of production - it's difficult to keep up! I've never released instrumentals before and I hope this will give MCs and singers beats to vibe to, or even vocal. I'm looking forward to hearing other artists’ versions of my tracks. I just wanna see people have fun with it really coz that's what it's all about.”

RIVMIXX: Last year was a good year for the UK scene in general, how do you feel the scene is growing?

SWINDLE: “Last year was good, very good, but I think this year and the next few years we'll really see a change in the music industry as a whole. People are becoming recognised from MySpace and getting to number one through iTunes these days. Last year I was play-listed on Choice FM and I'm supposed to be an 'underground grime producer'. The UK is warming to the idea of underground artists being successful and soon the underground fans will warm to the idea of the mainstream picking us up. There has never been a more positive time for us - and we're still on the way up!”

RIVMIXX: Who should we be looking out for this year?

SWINDLE: “Lioness, Purple, Bless Beats and Realist - to name a few.”

RIVMIXX: And what else can we expect from Swindle in 09?

SWINDLE: “This year will see the launch of my YouTube channel, an album and a lot of work being done with other artists. I'm also working on my production company. I've always released under Swindle Productions and I'm soon to make it official. There are a lot of artists that I work closely with that I hope to push through the company and build a foundation for the future. Up until recently I have done everything myself - from marketing and project planning to A&R - and now I have some good people around me I'm hoping to accomplish much greater things.”