Bushido on Red Bull Studios Riddim Rally

Red Bull Studios' Riddim Rally is a producer clash that brings together beatmakers from around the UK to compete for the title of Riddim Rally UK Champion. Consisting of four heats – North & Scotland, Midlands, London, and South Of England – the eight producers in each heat are given a three-hour studio session in which they must record three tracks live. 

With previous releases on local label Astral Black, Bushido's productions are a unique blend of grime, bass and underground beats. The Glasgow producer won the North & Scotland heat back in March, and this week he will compete in the Riddim Rally Final in London. We caught up with him to hear about how he's preparing for the showdown.

The Skinny: How did you get your start in music and what are your main inspirations?
Bushido: My family are very musical which has been a massive influence. My mum especially has an amazing and diverse taste in music. As a teenager I started to listen to a lot of electronic music, got a copy of FL Studio, and started trying to make music I liked.  

How did you become involved in Riddim Rally?
Good question! Ha. Red Bull just hit me up, and I was more than keen to take part.

What was your experience of the heat like, having to create tracks in such a short window of time?
It was really good, I've never been a part of something like this before so it was an amazing experience. I found it pretty hard though, I haven't worked with those sorts of time restraints before. It was good to get out of my comfort zone and I learnt quite a bit. 

Were you nervous, and were you pleased with the response to your production?
I was really nervous yeah, I'm surprised I was able to get three tracks done! I was really pleased with the response I got too, obviously winning the North & Scotland heat has given me a lot of motivation to keep stepping up the levels in my productions. 

How have you been preparing for the final?
I've just started a new job so I've been pretty preoccupied trying to settle in to that actually; bad timing! I've just been practicing making outlines of tracks in ten minutes, I feel getting down a basic idea will leave me more time to develop the track. I would like to say I've been working hard, but to be honest I have kind of been putting my head in the sand... until last week.

How do you think this event will help your career as a producer?
I'm not too sure yet, hopefully it will be good promotion and lead on to more opportunities, but it's been great sparring with other producers from the scene and trying out new techniques and sounds with my music.

Which grime artists are you currently listening to?
NSUS – I've only recently discovered him but his tunes are so sick. Been smashing them on repeat. 

How do you think the grime scene in Glasgow is doing in general, do you think it's a genre that will continue to increase in mainstream popularity?
I think it's in a really good place right now, [there are] so many talented people coming out of Glasgow at the moment. I'd be keeping my eye on it for sure. The scene has definitely been doing a lot and I feel it will continue to grow, but music trends are always hard to predict.

What projects or productions do you have in the pipeline for this year?
I have another release coming out on Astral Black later this year which I am looking forward to. I'm currently sorting the track list; I'm constantly working on new tracks, which makes it a bit tricky picking the best songs that compliment each other. I'm also playing at Eden next month with one of my friends, which will be a sick experience.

What are your long-term career aspirations?
I want to develop my production techniques and knowledge and grow as a producer. I really enjoy trying to make genres I haven't done before. I've been lucky enough to travel a few places abroad to play which I really enjoyed so it would be amazing if i could take that further and be able to perform in new cities.

I have always enjoyed working with other producers but have rarely been able to work with vocalists which I feel would be the next step for me. Obviously to be able to do music full-time would be a dream come true.

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https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/projects/riddim-rally