We had the pleasure to sit down with Compa before his set at Cervantes Other Side this week to discuss his origins, the stateside crew, and some music he’s feeling.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us how you first got involved with music production?
My name is Compa, signed to Deep Medi Music, Boka Records. I run a white label series called WXWR. I was at College when I was about 18 years old studying video production. One of my teachers turned out to be a hip hop producer. One break time I went into class early and he was making beats on the computer. I asked him to teach me to make tunes and I started making music on break time, after school, before school. I downloaded reason software at home to make music on the side. During the last year of the college course, I just loved music way more than I loved video production so I decided to go to university to study sound engineering and music production.
So your first releases would have been coming out shortly thereafter?
Yea, basically two of the first tunes I ever made at university were Sentence and Beginnings which ended up getting signed to Boka and that was my first vinyl release.
How old were you when Mala signed your release to Deep Medi?
Okay so every time Mala played in Manchester, I used to cut a dubplate and then I went outside the club, meet him, give it to him, say hello. And through me doing that 2-3 times, he got to know who I was, got to know the music, and one day he took my number down. A few months later, he called me up and was like I really like one of the tracks that you gave me – do you want to release it on Deep Medi?
Which tune was that?
That was Narabeh. We didn’t actually have a track for the other side so I just kept sending him music until we found something that fit the other side. The record didn’t come out until probably a year, year and a half after we had that conversation. I think I was 20 years old when he asked to sign me and 21 when it came out.
Whats the scene like in Manchester right now?
Compared to how it used to be when I first moved there. There was dubstep nights once a week. Now there’s dubstep nights once a month or every couple months. But a lot of people still love the music. When good nights get put on, they sell out. One of the last nights I played in Manchester was with Mala and Coki and that was a sold out show that went really well. The love is still there; it just happens less often.
Are the venues similar sized to Cervantes?
Yea I’d say it’s like 300-400 people. It’s a small scene compared to house and techno, but it’s quite an in involved scene.
How does the scene in America compare to back home?
Man, America is the one. America just feels so special. People love the music so much. Because in a lot of the country, there’s not as much going on as in the UK, so you guys appreciate it more. I always feel so loved over here. It’s so much more welcoming and friendlier and I love that. That’s why it’s so great to come to over to play.
How about Denver specifically?
Denver is a special place for me. This is the first place I ever played in America in 2012. It was probably about 10 months after Dem A Talk came out. That was when everything was going crazy for me. This is my 3rd time playing here tonight. It is without a doubt the best place to play in America. You just have a dedicated following here; it’s simple as that really. I think that’s a balance between how much energy Nicole has put into bringing people here which has generated the scene. And the strength of the club, and the people, and the sound system which has solidified it. It’s very similar to Reconstrvct in New York, but Denver will always be special because it was the first place I ever played. I wasn’t even signed to Deep Medi when I first played here, so that shows even more dedication to Nicole for booking me.
Heard you had a release coming out on Zam Zam? Anything else forthcoming you can clue us in on?
Yes, towards the end of last year I really got into the dubby, reggae style dubstep. To be honest, I used to absolutely hate it. But Zam Zam was the reason that I really gave it a chance and got into it. Ever since I was making it over the last year year and a half, I’ve been sending loads of music to Zam Zam. After a little while, they liked two of the tunes that I sent them and asked if I wanted to do a release. I’ve got my first four track ep coming out that will be my first like full artwork, fancy sleeve release. It’s basically like four of my best tracks from the past 2-3 years. It’s like four completely tracks as well. I’m really looking forward to putting that out.
Some producers you are feeling at the moment?
Going off my dubplate sack and record bag… Mala – I’ve been hammering some tracks off his Cuba project. AxH - he made this one tune, I can’t even think what it’s called but I’ve been playing it every set for fucking months. EGOLESS - once again because I have a dubplate in there that I’ve been playing every set. Gant - I love Gantz music. Goth Trad - been playing his new Medi record that’s coming out soon. DJ Madd! He is my favorite producer right now - been playing like 5 of his tunes every set. I fucking love it. There is a tune in my bag that DJ Madd released in 2009, it was just some white label. It didn’t even have his name on it. I found out recently that it was by him and I was flicking through old records for what to bring on this tour.
Anything about dubstep that makes it click for you personally?
I used to play drum and bass. One day I was in a record shop and listened to the track Midnight Request Line and I thought it was drum and bass. I said to a friend “Check this record out - I found this really cool, slow drum and bass”. And he was like “Na, it’s not drum and bass, its dubstep.” That was when it clicked for me. Ever since then, I’ve just been obsessed with this music but I don’t really know why. Part of me wants to say it’s the space in the music. I love the percussive elements of it – it’s not quite as crazy as other dance music. Another thing that really resonated with me was the sound system- the impact of the environment. I’ve made loads of different music, but I always end up getting back to dubstep. It just feels right.
