Certified Banger: Can you tell us your necessary background details so we can build on basics for the rest of the interview? For example: who you are, where you are from, projects you have worked on, people you have worked with.
The Riddlah: Cool, yeah, I grew up listening to many different types of music. From as early as I can remember I have been surrounded by music around the house, back when I lived at my mum’s, with my older brother heavily involved in the underground metal scene in Scotland and my older sisters’ love for musicals and plays. I’ve always had a passion for music and kinda wanted to do something. Once I got to the age of choosing a genre so to speak, Hip Hop was what I had grown to like the most. I grew up in Leith, Edinburgh, and went to a prominent Leith school, made lots of friends due to my outgoing side, and Leith became my ‘hood’. Once leaving school time came, when I was 16 (in ‘98) I started to show more interest in writing rhymes and I wondered if it was possible for Scottish people to rap. Things have moved on in massively over time, and I’ve now worked with a lot of the biggest names in the Scottish Hip Hop scene, and I continue to try and push our Scottish sound further south for listeners. I’m always contributing beats and rhymes to projects artists are working on, and you can find quite a lot of my work on local releases, but I also release my own UVBeatz Volumes, on free downloads and printed CDs with covers, these releases are proving to be quite popular with them getting downloads from other countries too, not just in the local scene, im currently putting most of my energy into the LP I’m working on. It’s gonna feature artists from all round the globe but still dominantly Scottish. Release details will follow in the near future with it being a more proper/professional release.
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
TR: Well I can cater for many different sounds and styles but lots of people have told me you can tell it’s one of my beats. I personally can pin point my sound, I like to make all different feelings through music, so I could come out with a soft almost R’n’B beat one minute, then the next day feel in the mood and end up making something banging or dark. Then these beats are normally chosen by an artist When I personally want to make a track, with me spitting on it (which I don’t do so much these days) I normally choose the hard beats.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop producers have inspired you?
TR: Wow, there are tons, dunno where to start so I’m just gonna shout a couple names that are big inspirations to me: Film maker - I like to listen to the emotion put into the scene of a film and make that work with music. John Carpenter was a massive influence to me; I just love his simple synths and melodies. RZA has a massive influence too; he lives the producer’s dream! The work he has done on film is amazing! Always gotta show respect to Dr. Dre too.
CB: Do you have a musical background? Do you play any instruments?
TR:Funny, ‘cause no I don’t really have any experience of playing any instruments, again lots of people have told me I should have done music at school or even college. I can play a keyboard for recording to make beats, but I believe if you claim to play an instrument, you should be able to just play it.
CB: How did you find out that you were handy when it came to crafting beats?
TR: When I started making music with Madhat in a group called Dark Rumours I began to make beats and I found it fascinating how many different things you can do and over time have learnt more and more techniques and nice touches that make a beat. Man, it ended up taking over from wanting to spit; I just wanted to make beats.
CB: Do you feel like many producers are overlooked or overshadowed by the MC's that rap on their beats?
TR: Well, I think it comes down to how into the music you really are as a fan, and how the individual single or album is marketed. If you really are a true fan of something, you end up checking the CD to see who produced what track but a lot of people just like the music and label it by the MC on it. On the marketing topic, some Albums have the MC and the producer as the main concept of the album - I like this and think it makes people more aware of the talents of individual beatmakers. I mean, check out the marketing put into Timbaland, Kanye West, DJ Muggs, Dr. Dre - they all try to put the message over to bring recognition to the producer. I don’t think its really a topic to worry about, in fact I think the beatmaker/producer profile is going upwards.
CB: What are your three pieces of equipment do you value most when it comes to production?
TR: Im a big believer in having the right speakers (or monitors), you gotta hear exactly what your end result is; no good using poor speakers. I got EDIROL MA-15D, my keyboard is a main player in my production, coming up with a melody naturally; an old Panasonic connected through midi, touch sensitive, running and connected through FL Studio 8 Producer Edition, on PC - very under rated programme, you gotta know what your doing.
CB: What other programs/equipment do you use?
TR: I got a copy of Sonar for recording and Sound Forge, an Allen & Heath ZED 14 mixing desk/console, a Behringer mic, Eltax Sub Woofer, deck and crossfader, and my ever amazing brother on Guitar - he loves his Les Paul.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track?
TR: Well, I don’t really have a set course, more like a few different ways to go about it. So to get different sounding beats, if you start of with percussion or drums you will most likely end up with a drum orientated beat. Start with the music and it goes the other way around – I keep changing and switching.
CB: How do you prefer to work when collaborating with rappers?
TR: Again, it all depends on circumstances, some people record elsewhere and send me lyrics, some come to my lab, some ready written, and some chill and write at in the studio with me, that’s when I end up writing too, and dada! you got Riddlah on a track. It’s not often that I plan to be on a track or do a solo one, normally just an off the cuff thing.
CB: What tips would you give to an aspiring Hip Hop producer?
TR: You end up learning as you go yourself, with the technical stuff, like connections and quality setting on things, I like to chill and watch other beat makers doing there thing, I love chilling with Nasty P and learning more things he does that I don’t, but also things I do he doesn’t - so beatmakers out there, I’m watching!
CB: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any exciting projects?
TR: Well yeah, I’m working on my LP as I said; really looking forward to getting it completed, dunno what’s planned for me production wise other than that, but I’ve always got other things I’m involved in with other artists on their projects, as long as Scottish Hip Hop is still pushing and making moves I'll be there doing my thing!
CB: Any last words or plugs?
TR: Show support to Scottish Hip Hop, a growing scene full of talented artists, make sure and get your self a copy of my recent ‘UVBeatz Recordings Vol.2’ FREE DOWNLOAD LINK: http://rapidshare.com/files/236858968/UVBeatz_Recordings_Vol.2.rar , and keep up to date with: www.myspace.com/uvbeatz , lastly shout out to, Madhat at MCF Records, Blasfimasinna also on MCF, Wardie Burns one of the Twisted Methods and WERD at SOS for all his help! Alexis at Savage Sound System, Nasty P KFM Records, Jonny on the Guitar, Steg G at Powercut Productions and Jay at MCF Records also - all these people keep me busy and keep me involved, Thanks! Sorry if I missed you out, you know what these things are like, you always forget someone. UVBEATZ!
The Riddlah: Cool, yeah, I grew up listening to many different types of music. From as early as I can remember I have been surrounded by music around the house, back when I lived at my mum’s, with my older brother heavily involved in the underground metal scene in Scotland and my older sisters’ love for musicals and plays. I’ve always had a passion for music and kinda wanted to do something. Once I got to the age of choosing a genre so to speak, Hip Hop was what I had grown to like the most. I grew up in Leith, Edinburgh, and went to a prominent Leith school, made lots of friends due to my outgoing side, and Leith became my ‘hood’. Once leaving school time came, when I was 16 (in ‘98) I started to show more interest in writing rhymes and I wondered if it was possible for Scottish people to rap. Things have moved on in massively over time, and I’ve now worked with a lot of the biggest names in the Scottish Hip Hop scene, and I continue to try and push our Scottish sound further south for listeners. I’m always contributing beats and rhymes to projects artists are working on, and you can find quite a lot of my work on local releases, but I also release my own UVBeatz Volumes, on free downloads and printed CDs with covers, these releases are proving to be quite popular with them getting downloads from other countries too, not just in the local scene, im currently putting most of my energy into the LP I’m working on. It’s gonna feature artists from all round the globe but still dominantly Scottish. Release details will follow in the near future with it being a more proper/professional release.
CB: How would you describe your sound? Is there any one track that would best define your style?
TR: Well I can cater for many different sounds and styles but lots of people have told me you can tell it’s one of my beats. I personally can pin point my sound, I like to make all different feelings through music, so I could come out with a soft almost R’n’B beat one minute, then the next day feel in the mood and end up making something banging or dark. Then these beats are normally chosen by an artist When I personally want to make a track, with me spitting on it (which I don’t do so much these days) I normally choose the hard beats.
CB: Who have been your biggest musical influences and which Hip Hop producers have inspired you?
TR: Wow, there are tons, dunno where to start so I’m just gonna shout a couple names that are big inspirations to me: Film maker - I like to listen to the emotion put into the scene of a film and make that work with music. John Carpenter was a massive influence to me; I just love his simple synths and melodies. RZA has a massive influence too; he lives the producer’s dream! The work he has done on film is amazing! Always gotta show respect to Dr. Dre too.
CB: Do you have a musical background? Do you play any instruments?
TR:Funny, ‘cause no I don’t really have any experience of playing any instruments, again lots of people have told me I should have done music at school or even college. I can play a keyboard for recording to make beats, but I believe if you claim to play an instrument, you should be able to just play it.
CB: How did you find out that you were handy when it came to crafting beats?
TR: When I started making music with Madhat in a group called Dark Rumours I began to make beats and I found it fascinating how many different things you can do and over time have learnt more and more techniques and nice touches that make a beat. Man, it ended up taking over from wanting to spit; I just wanted to make beats.
CB: Do you feel like many producers are overlooked or overshadowed by the MC's that rap on their beats?
TR: Well, I think it comes down to how into the music you really are as a fan, and how the individual single or album is marketed. If you really are a true fan of something, you end up checking the CD to see who produced what track but a lot of people just like the music and label it by the MC on it. On the marketing topic, some Albums have the MC and the producer as the main concept of the album - I like this and think it makes people more aware of the talents of individual beatmakers. I mean, check out the marketing put into Timbaland, Kanye West, DJ Muggs, Dr. Dre - they all try to put the message over to bring recognition to the producer. I don’t think its really a topic to worry about, in fact I think the beatmaker/producer profile is going upwards.
CB: What are your three pieces of equipment do you value most when it comes to production?
TR: Im a big believer in having the right speakers (or monitors), you gotta hear exactly what your end result is; no good using poor speakers. I got EDIROL MA-15D, my keyboard is a main player in my production, coming up with a melody naturally; an old Panasonic connected through midi, touch sensitive, running and connected through FL Studio 8 Producer Edition, on PC - very under rated programme, you gotta know what your doing.
CB: What other programs/equipment do you use?
TR: I got a copy of Sonar for recording and Sound Forge, an Allen & Heath ZED 14 mixing desk/console, a Behringer mic, Eltax Sub Woofer, deck and crossfader, and my ever amazing brother on Guitar - he loves his Les Paul.
CB: What process do you go through when writing a track?
TR: Well, I don’t really have a set course, more like a few different ways to go about it. So to get different sounding beats, if you start of with percussion or drums you will most likely end up with a drum orientated beat. Start with the music and it goes the other way around – I keep changing and switching.
CB: How do you prefer to work when collaborating with rappers?
TR: Again, it all depends on circumstances, some people record elsewhere and send me lyrics, some come to my lab, some ready written, and some chill and write at in the studio with me, that’s when I end up writing too, and dada! you got Riddlah on a track. It’s not often that I plan to be on a track or do a solo one, normally just an off the cuff thing.
CB: What tips would you give to an aspiring Hip Hop producer?
TR: You end up learning as you go yourself, with the technical stuff, like connections and quality setting on things, I like to chill and watch other beat makers doing there thing, I love chilling with Nasty P and learning more things he does that I don’t, but also things I do he doesn’t - so beatmakers out there, I’m watching!
CB: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you currently working on any exciting projects?
TR: Well yeah, I’m working on my LP as I said; really looking forward to getting it completed, dunno what’s planned for me production wise other than that, but I’ve always got other things I’m involved in with other artists on their projects, as long as Scottish Hip Hop is still pushing and making moves I'll be there doing my thing!
CB: Any last words or plugs?
TR: Show support to Scottish Hip Hop, a growing scene full of talented artists, make sure and get your self a copy of my recent ‘UVBeatz Recordings Vol.2’ FREE DOWNLOAD LINK: http://rapidshare.com/files/236858968/UVBeatz_Recordings_Vol.2.rar , and keep up to date with: www.myspace.com/uvbeatz , lastly shout out to, Madhat at MCF Records, Blasfimasinna also on MCF, Wardie Burns one of the Twisted Methods and WERD at SOS for all his help! Alexis at Savage Sound System, Nasty P KFM Records, Jonny on the Guitar, Steg G at Powercut Productions and Jay at MCF Records also - all these people keep me busy and keep me involved, Thanks! Sorry if I missed you out, you know what these things are like, you always forget someone. UVBEATZ!
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