The Red Bull Music Academy is a multi-layered conference / marathon studio session / festival / all-out musical extravaganza, celebrating the pioneers of what we call club culture today – and showcase those who will be soundtracking our summer nights in years to come. With the 15th edition currently underway in New York City, we teamed up with them for a series of exclusive mixes by artists from their stellar roster of graduates, covering the full spectrum of electronic dance music and beyond. For this seventh edition we present a mix from Berlin's Ten Thousand Yen honcho and Modeselektor/50Weapons cohort Doc Daneeka.
It's just fun. If you spend any amount of time here you're just like, "why the fuck would I go back to Britain?" It's just a good vibe in Berlin, man. There's no reason not to be here. We were in a nice position when we got here and I actually met a lot of friends from the Academy here as well. After RBMA in Madrid loads of people from our term moved to Berlin. It's a big crew of us. We see each other loads.From recording that album with Ben – having a very condensed time period and working with another artist – how does that differ from working on solo projects now? Do you find that as more of a tiresome, endless-seeming process, or is it good having that creative freedom?
I tend to spend a lot of time meandering around before I really get to work on a project. When I really start writing, it's actually really fast. I know that fast is generally better for me. That's why the album worked the way it did in that time frame. I try to keep the same sort of ethos when I'm writing just for myself. Whenever I'm too busy to really get to work on something, I try to collect ideas that aren't anywhere near finished. Little sound pallettes, samples, drums, beats… So when it gets to the actual writing process, I'm not thinking about tweaking snares or anything, I just throw things in and then I can write a tune in like 2-3 hours.In a previous interview, you mentioned that Patti Jo's "Make Me Believe In You" is pretty much as close to perfection as it gets. What is it about that tune that gets you?
Everything. That's why I say it's perfect. [Laughs] The melodies, the hooks, the production… everything. It's just surreal.Is soul generally the kind of music you gravitate towards, as a listener?
Yeah, definitely. Especially over the past year. There should be a mixtape in the pipeline very soon. Me and a really good friend of mine, we really dig the Latin oldies scene from California. Super rare, weird, over-the-top deep soul, that's definitely where I'm at, listening-wise. I listen to a lot of African music as well. I don't listen to that much house. [Laughs]I think that's also really reflected in the sound of your latest EP for 2020Vision, which is very soul-oriented. Were you planning to put something like that out for a while now, or how did that idea come about?
That was actually a collection taken from a bank of tunes that I had written over a year and a half or so. It was curated by Kazim from somethinksounds and 2020Vision, who convinced me to put a few of these out. It's the culmination of sketches of tunes I did during that time. I've been doing that soul thing for quite a long time really. I did "Hold On" back in 2010 and that was a similar vibe. That's the kind of where I've come from. That Gilles Peterson-style, broken beat, early Benji B stuff. When people would be playing soul and music from all over. Bugz In The Attic, Dilla… I've been listening to soul for sampling for years. It's kind of funny that my earlier stuff came out on a harder tip than maybe I intended. My own productions are becoming more soulful these days.In the past you've also said that there was a time where you felt like you had to distance yourself from the UK Funky scene…
Did I say that?Yeah, I think that was in an interview with Benjamin Damage about the album. Is steering clear of categorization a thing that is important to you?
Yeah, absolutely. At the expense of success, too. I think the rate at which people try to homogenize music at the moment stifles everything. I'm not saying I'm a completely groundbreaking producer or anything. I just wanna stay in my own lane. When people expect a funky banger from me, I wind up doing a soul tune. It's nice to keep people guessing. But I do think there's a general pattern. In my mind it makes a lot of sense. When I DJ, then I can DJ all my tunes together. I hope that over the course of time people will see that it's all coherent in the end.How does that translate to the perspective of a label head? I feel like with labels, even more so than with artists, people start expecting a certain sound at some point.
It's kind of weird, because I actually think we've got a sound that's really quite distinctive. They all sound kind of similar to me.Was that an accident?
No, I think it's just natural. We A&R through our own taste, not because we think we can sell 3000 units or something. Really it's just mine and Ian's [Yeti]'s taste. It's the same with my music. It's not really thought through that much, beyond the fact that I like something and therefore I want to pursue that. That's what it's about, innit?
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Doc Daneeka is a soul man. It may not dawn on you the minute you put on his Berlin-inspired collaborative LP with Benjamin Damage – which was also recorded in Berlin within a mere three-month window – but the Welshman is really more of a Mayfield guy than a four-to-the-floor mercenary. His latest Sketches of You EP on 2020Vision sees the 2011 Red Bull Music Academy graduate lay open his roots more than ever, with dusty hooks and a clear-cut digger's spirit on all four of the infectious tracks. We had a chat with the Ten Thousand Yen co-founder about Berlin, beats and having the balls to remain bold.What convinced you to stay in Berlin after recording your album with Benjamin Damage?
It's just fun. If you spend any amount of time here you're just like, "why the fuck would I go back to Britain?" It's just a good vibe in Berlin, man. There's no reason not to be here. We were in a nice position when we got here and I actually met a lot of friends from the Academy here as well. After RBMA in Madrid loads of people from our term moved to Berlin. It's a big crew of us. We see each other loads.From recording that album with Ben – having a very condensed time period and working with another artist – how does that differ from working on solo projects now? Do you find that as more of a tiresome, endless-seeming process, or is it good having that creative freedom?
I tend to spend a lot of time meandering around before I really get to work on a project. When I really start writing, it's actually really fast. I know that fast is generally better for me. That's why the album worked the way it did in that time frame. I try to keep the same sort of ethos when I'm writing just for myself. Whenever I'm too busy to really get to work on something, I try to collect ideas that aren't anywhere near finished. Little sound pallettes, samples, drums, beats… So when it gets to the actual writing process, I'm not thinking about tweaking snares or anything, I just throw things in and then I can write a tune in like 2-3 hours.
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Everything. That's why I say it's perfect. [Laughs] The melodies, the hooks, the production… everything. It's just surreal.Is soul generally the kind of music you gravitate towards, as a listener?
Yeah, definitely. Especially over the past year. There should be a mixtape in the pipeline very soon. Me and a really good friend of mine, we really dig the Latin oldies scene from California. Super rare, weird, over-the-top deep soul, that's definitely where I'm at, listening-wise. I listen to a lot of African music as well. I don't listen to that much house. [Laughs]I think that's also really reflected in the sound of your latest EP for 2020Vision, which is very soul-oriented. Were you planning to put something like that out for a while now, or how did that idea come about?
That was actually a collection taken from a bank of tunes that I had written over a year and a half or so. It was curated by Kazim from somethinksounds and 2020Vision, who convinced me to put a few of these out. It's the culmination of sketches of tunes I did during that time. I've been doing that soul thing for quite a long time really. I did "Hold On" back in 2010 and that was a similar vibe. That's the kind of where I've come from. That Gilles Peterson-style, broken beat, early Benji B stuff. When people would be playing soul and music from all over. Bugz In The Attic, Dilla… I've been listening to soul for sampling for years. It's kind of funny that my earlier stuff came out on a harder tip than maybe I intended. My own productions are becoming more soulful these days.In the past you've also said that there was a time where you felt like you had to distance yourself from the UK Funky scene…
Did I say that?Yeah, I think that was in an interview with Benjamin Damage about the album. Is steering clear of categorization a thing that is important to you?
Yeah, absolutely. At the expense of success, too. I think the rate at which people try to homogenize music at the moment stifles everything. I'm not saying I'm a completely groundbreaking producer or anything. I just wanna stay in my own lane. When people expect a funky banger from me, I wind up doing a soul tune. It's nice to keep people guessing. But I do think there's a general pattern. In my mind it makes a lot of sense. When I DJ, then I can DJ all my tunes together. I hope that over the course of time people will see that it's all coherent in the end.How does that translate to the perspective of a label head? I feel like with labels, even more so than with artists, people start expecting a certain sound at some point.
It's kind of weird, because I actually think we've got a sound that's really quite distinctive. They all sound kind of similar to me.Was that an accident?
No, I think it's just natural. We A&R through our own taste, not because we think we can sell 3000 units or something. Really it's just mine and Ian's [Yeti]'s taste. It's the same with my music. It's not really thought through that much, beyond the fact that I like something and therefore I want to pursue that. That's what it's about, innit?