ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW:
Imagine a sound comprised from the various elements of US Hip Hop and UK bass music – a hybrid unlike anything heard before yet one which sounds uncannily familiar. Well you need imagine no longer as that is what Stefan Ringer aka REKchampa delivers. His excellent debut album ‘Pocket The Rest’ is out now on San Francisco based Two Circles Records and he has a number of tunes knocking about on a name your price basis which you really ought to take a listen to.
He is part of an emerging underground scene in the Atlanta area alongside artists such as P Villa, Time Wharp, heRobust, Ethereal and Divine Interface. These up and coming artists represent a brand new direction for bass music that people are gradually paying more and more attention to, and whilst the big money currently flows elsewhere this fledgeling scene comes from strong foundations and will continue to grow.
REKchampa kindly took time out to talk to us; Here is what he had to say.
We can definitely hear UK garage influences in your music as well as home-grown hip hop vibes. Which artists from these scenes did you listen to as you came up? Is there anybody in particular you would like to pay homage to for influencing your style?
I enjoyed listening to Timbaland when I was younger..the tracks he made back then are some of my favorites. as I got older I started going into electronic genres..I really enjoyed listening to jungle.. Remark, Ray Keith, Tom and Jerry, ShyFx..
Nice! We are pleased to see that your mix is made up entirely of your own tracks. Is this your blueprint for playing out? What kind of venues have you played to so far and where did you get the best reception?
When asked, I’ll get together an ableton set and play out that way.. But I get a few dj’ing gigs around the city.. Ive played at mostly bars, lounges, medium-sized venues… I like this spot in East Atlanta called 529 they play many different styles of music.. I played there my first time ever doing an ableton set performance… The place was smaller at that time but the crowd was there.. Everyone seemed to be really feeling the set.. The vibe was dope.. All love..
We’ve seen you say that you are trying to get out of the habit of using vocal samples in your beats. Will you produce purely instrumental tracks from now on or are there any vocalists you are planning to write songs with?
I’d say that right now, I am still trying to get away from using vocal samples. I’ve been recording my own voice a bit recently. I have made a few tracks that are purely instrumental. I wouldn’t mind working with a vocalist. I have before.. I would want the vocalist to be experienced in writing lyrics.
We would love to host a show for you here in Manchester. Are there any long term plans to tour in the UK?
I would definitely like to do that..But I would have no idea of how to get something like that together.. I’m novice to touring and things of that nature..I would love to come out there though..
We’ll see what we can do.. Finally, what’s the largest animal you can throw over a crossbar?
Tasmanian tiger.
We would like to thank you for this incredible mix, and we wish you great success for the future!
TRANSMIT V, LAUNCH!
http://soundcloud.com/rekchampa
http://rekchampa.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/rekchampa
http://facebook.com/pages/REKchampa
Robot Bodypop 