RADIO SLAVE: “For me, house is the defining sound of electronic music”

Prior to our opening season with Rekids, we spoke to the legend himself - Radio Slave

By now you should know we are hosting Rekids with Radio Slave and Hilit Kolet in Peti Kupe this friday! (13 September).

If not, you do know now, and who best to introduce Radio Slave than the man himself!

Full interview below.

Hi Matt. Thank you for doing this with us! Perhaps not a lot of people know this, but you make music under a slew of pseudonyms. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, and your new LP - Venti?

Radio Slave: Well I’ve always been into so many different types of music and growing up in South London during the 80’s I was exposed to everything from soul to electro, later house music and of course some of the best pop music that was ever made; And it was this decade that truly defined my musical palette so when it came to actually making tracks I’ve always found it difficult to stay in one lane and over the last 20 years I've made everything from “slow mo” house under my “Rekid” alias, tripped out exotica as “Quiet Village” with Joel Martin, and with Radio Slave I’ve made and released tracks that range from 85 to 140bpm and beyond, and this is something I tried to illustrate on my recent album “Venti”.

This was created during the pandemic and it’s undoubtedly my most personal work to date and it was a fun and productive way to really be creative and I also learnt so much from having this time at home.

You've been active on the scene nearly from the very beginning - the early 90s, even being one of the first DJs that played the legendary Ministry Of Sound. What attracted you to electronic music, raves and club culture then?

Radio Slave: I was super lucky to have some older friends who were already going out in the late 80’s to all the cool clubs like “The Trip” and “Shoom” and they introduced me to “The Milk Bar” in Soho around 1990 and this became my weekly hang out. The residents included Pete Tong and Danny Rampling and I just got totally obsessed with house music. I was already heavily into DJ culture, Hip Hop, breakdancing, having been into movies like “Wildstyle” and I already had a lot of record so this just seemed like a natural progression. From there I started playing and within a few years I became a resident at the Ministry Of Sound from 1995-1998. I would play these really long sets in the bar and I got to meet and hear so many of my heroes like Derrick Carter and Carl Craig.

How would you compare the global scene as it is today to back then? What's better today compared to the 90s or early 2000s, and what's worse?

Radio Slave: There’s so many things that have changed and it’s easy to to be negative about this and that but there’s so many positive aspects with electronic music that just weren’t around 20 years ago.  Globally we’re so connected it’s a wonderful thing to be able to meet and work with like minded people and with the Rekids I’m working with artists from everywhere around the globe. I also think that electronic is becoming more regional and there’s less focus on big cities like Berlin or London and this s good thing. Local scenes need to develop and exist and this is paramount in keeping the electronic music scene fresh and exciting.

As we've told you before, we are big fans of Rekids, and we are honored to host you guys in Zagreb! Can you tell us how, when and why did you start Rekids?

Radio Slave: So I actually had the idea to start a label in the early 2000’s and by 2004 my Radio Slave alias was in full swing.  I’d started touring internationally and I was getting to meet a lot of producers and DJ’s, and I think there was a moment in the summer of 2005 when I was like, I need to do this, and within one year Rekids was launched and it’s now been running for 18 years; And looking back the direction of the label has hardly changed musically and I still play a lot of the early releases and I’m also super happy with the where the label is right now and we have so much great music coming.

How do you discover new artists for your label - do you sit and wait for a really big demo to drop in your email, or is it more about looking at who's doing what and then getting in touch with them?

Radio Slave: I guess it’s a combination of things and apart from trawling the web looking for music I’m also connected with so many producers (young and old) and I’m actually receiving way too much music and in fact thats’s why I’m launching a new label “Rek’d” as a springboard for new and upcoming talent.
Right now the biggest hurdle for any aspiring producer is getting gigs and if I can help promote them through the label then I'll do everything I can. I wanna see the right people making it in this business.

Even one of the biggest names in the world right now - Solomun has done a remix for your label. How did that come about?

Radio Slave: It might seem like a strange combination but I’ve know Mladen since the late 2000’s and I have the upmost respect for what he does. I also really like his remixes and when he heard “The Lunatics” he asked for the stems and Mladen transformed the original its this modern yet 80’s inspired piece of electro pop and I just think it would be perfect for a series like “Stranger Things”.

Just a few years ago, you moved to Croatia. How is your life here, and how do you compare it to the UK or Berlin, your previous residence?

Radio Slave: I was in Berlin for 15 years and life now on the island is so different. I have more time for music, the label(s) and my family. It’s probably also way better for my health and after the pandemic my family and I were ready to move. I’m a city boy at heart and Berlin was a great place to be and I was lucky enough to be there when it was the centre of electronic music but it’s changed so much and with my work I can operate from anywhere as long as there’s an airport and there’s nothing quite like coming home on a boat.

What's the best thing about living in Hvar? And the worst…?

Radio Slave: Where to start. I love living here and I don’t really have any bad words to say about the island. It’s an incredible place to live and I feel extremely lucky that my family and I have ended up here.

You've been into acid house, techno and everything in between. What's the one thing you can always come back to musically no matter the trends or the era?

Radio Slave: House music!!! For me it’s the defining sound of electronic music and it still gives me so much pleasure and I can’t see that changing.

Club gig or a festival gig?

Radio Slave: It depends and I love clubs but I also love playing outside and in fact it was great to play for you at Barbarella’s. There’s something about being under the stars which can magical and I spent a lot of my youth playing at illegal outdoor parties in the UK?

Do you consider yourself more of a producer or a DJ?

Radio Slave: That's a great question and I guess I’m more of a music fan. I still buy and consume music on a daily basis and I love discovering new sounds or old tracks. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was very young and I can’t see myself stopping.

A message for fans new and old coming to DH invites Rekids this Friday?

Radio Slave: I’m always super excited to play in Zagreb and I’m sure its gonna be a wild night with you guys and I can’t wait to hear Hilit. She’s an amazing producer and a great DJ and it’ll also be her debut in Croatia.

Tickets are available on Entrio.hr