Benjamin Hill recently caught up with super-producer and DJ, Starkey. He has remixed and worked with some of the biggest names in the UK music scene and has become an innovator of a sound which combines dubstep, hip-hop and grime, which he’s labelling, ‘Street Bass’. With the release of his new ‘Space Traitor Vol 1’ EP out now, The Wrap Up gets to know the guy behind the beats in the first of this two-part interview…
TWU: Hi Starkey! Firstly, can you give everyone a little bit of background info on who you are and what it is you do?
Starkey: I'm Starkey, a music producer and artist from Philadelphia. I pretty much make music that falls into the dubstep, grime and hip-hop worlds, but we like to call it ‘Street Bass’ because it doesn't necessarily single out specific genres. Plus, public perception of what kind of music is associated with a specific genre name changes from person to person, so it's easier to just say that you do something that no-one really knows what it means, plus it sounds cool (laughs).
TWU: Okay. So tell us about your new release, ‘Space Traitor Vol 1. What was the concept behind it?
Starkey: Well, the concept or story behind the title is in the short story or narration that accompanies the release. It's kind of a continuation of the short radio dramas I started back on the Grim FM; Werk Discs compilation, which I named, ‘Starkbot Beats’. It's just me having fun really, building a world around the idea of who Starkey is. It stems from my fascination with science-fiction movies and comic books really. Musically, this release feels more like me just making beats and deals less with complex song structures and all the epic flourishes of the last album. It doesn't mean that there isn't much production behind the album, just that it feels a bit more immediate and to the point.
TWU: It’s fair to say your music is complex with the arrangements you use, especially on the EP opener, ‘Robot Hands’. You also have tracks like ‘Paradise’, which is fairly mellow in comparison, so how do you go about writing completely different types of songs?
Starkey: I have a tendency to really layer and produce things out. I think that's probably why I have such respect for really simple 8-bar grime tunes. They're not layering six sounds together to make up a snare; it's just one snare sample, or one clap. I do use a lot of classic drum sounds like 808s and 909s, but I also find myself layering really rich synth’s and samples around them to give the tracks colour and texture.
TWU: Is it right in saying the follow up should be out early next year?
Starkey: Yeah definitely. I'm working on it now. I think the songs are there and right now it's about getting the vocals finished up and choosing the right tracks. Volume 2 is looking like it's going to be pretty epic, like ‘Alienstyles 2’, or something. But there's also this track I've written called ‘Sunlight’, which is probably the most dancefloor-dubstep type tune I've done to date. I've been dropping it in the club and it's been getting a huge response. I really can't wait for people to hear this one.
TWU: Will you be touring in support of the new EPs at all?
Starkey: I'm doing some dates in the US for the rest of the year and then I'll most likely be back in the UK around January/February times. Most likely February for some live shows and January for some special production sessions.
TWU: You also teamed up with Brighton-based vocalist Anneka again on another epic song together called ‘Paradise’. Would you ever consider doing a fully vocal-based release in the future?
Starkey: There were a decent amount of vocals on the last album and the Seclusiasis ‘Street Bass Anthems’ series is heavily vocal-based, so yeah. I may not do a 100% fully vocal album next year, but it's definitely something I see myself doing at some point. I love vocals, as do most people. They provide that extra layer of human connection with the music and coming from a hip-hop and R&B city, we hear vocals in our music all day long.
TWU: Your music is very hard to pigeonhole as it combines hip-hop, grime and dubstep, amongst other genres. Do you consider yourself a sort of pioneer?
Starkey: I wouldn't come out and say that I'm a pioneer, because that could be perceived as arrogant, which I'm not. But I do think that I live in a world that is left of centre most of the time, yeah most definitely. First and foremost, I make my music for me. I'm my biggest fan and toughest critic. I think you have to be if you're really an artist. So if I want to pick up a mic and sing on a record, I do it. If I want to collaborate with a MC on a tune, I do it. I appreciate every single play my music gets out there, but I let the music just do what it wants to do in the studio. That's what keeps things interesting. Take this for example, I did a tune with P Money on the last album called ‘Numb’ and it's an introspective, chilled out track. Now, I could have sent him something that was wild and really heavy, but I heard the track and thought of him immediately. He absolutely smashed it with the vocal as well. People have told me it's their favourite cut on the album as well.
TWU: Can you explain a little about the ‘Street Bass’ sound?
Starkey: ‘Street Bass’ is a term that was coined by Dev79, who I run Seclusiasis with. He's really good with coming up with great phrases to describe things and that one just kind of resonated with me because it really describes in two words the kind of music that we play in our DJ sets. I suggested that we throw a series of parties and just put ‘Street Bass’ really big on the flyer and the rest is kind of history. We came up with the idea of doing the ‘Street Bass Anthems’ mixtapes and singles as a way of showcasing the type of music that we were doing, as well as other producers, DJs and artists that are on a similar page as us. I think it's more an attitude than anything else.
TWU: So moving on to the album before this, ‘Ear Drums and Black Holes. That album went down really well and got a lot of praise. You seem to have a lot of love from people over in the UK. That must be over whelming sometimes?
Starkey: I have a lot of respect for the music culture in the UK. Living in the US, you don't get the same kinds of opportunities like you do in the UK and even throughout Europe. There aren’t really any radio stations playing independent electronic music, besides a few college radio stations. DJs barely get any choice in what they play throughout most of the country. I wouldn't say it's overwhelming, just very much appreciated. Like I said, I'm thankful for every person that goes out and buys a copy of one of my releases and tells their friend about it and then they come out to a show when I'm playing their town. That really means a lot. I also find that a lot of people that are into my music have everything; they literally have every single thing I've ever put out and that's the most flattering thing ever. It's amazing at shows when someone in the front will request the most random track of mine from my catalogue; you know that they're one of those people who really care about what you're doing. It kinda brings me back to when I was a kid and would go to record stores every Tuesday on release day and look through all the import singles, bootleg live recordings and really just try to get everything I could from my favourite artists and bands.
TWU: The Badness vocal for ‘OK Luv’ wasn’t featured on that album, but the instrumental was. What happened there?
Starkey: I'm not really sure to be honest; I wanted it on the album. I love the vocal. I only ever play the vocal version out. It came out as a single before the album dropped, right before the ‘Stars’ single, so people can still get it.
TWU: Do you prefer writing whole albums with a concept rather than just making single by single?
Starkey: I think I enjoy writing albums or EPs, longer releases in general. However, I enjoy the aspect of B-sides and remixes’ that goes along with singles. A lot of people think that the album format is a dying breed because of iTunes Shuffle and the ability to buy single songs from albums. But I still prefer listening to full albums on my iPod, in the car, etc...
Starkey: 'Space Traitor Vol 1' - is out now.
Stay up to date with Starkey on Twitter - www.twitter.com/Starkbotbeats
Words: Benjamin Hill
Online editing: Joseph 'JP' Patterson
