S.P.Y

Bringing his love and passion for music over to London from Sau Paulo, S.P.Y originally moved to complete a year-long educational course over in the capital of music and culture, and then head back to Brazil. Fast forward 9 years, and S.P.Y is still in the midst of the Big Smoke, proving to the industry and his huge fan base that he is one of the most forward-thinking and talented DJs and producers in the Drum & Bass scene at the moment. Each one of his tracks is personal and sentimental, and his belief is infectious when it comes the crowds. BBM enjoys talking about raving in Brazil, the changes in music throughout the last few years and where S.P.Y wants to be in 5 years time.

Good morning S.P.Y, how are you mate?

Yes I’m very well thank you, I’m just going to paint the house, maybe wallpaper and do some labour work. I thought I’d put in some effort, after all I’ve been playing at the weekend. I have about 2-3 gigs per weekend now which is cool.

What would you say has been your defining moment of your career so far?

I think the defining moment for me and every producer is trying to finish a track, instead of me trying to form a fresh one; I just work on the same one and just see what happens. Also when you hear it in a club and it’s something that you’ve produced that’s a crucial moment.

Why did you decide to move to London from Sao Paulo? What was it that intrigued you about the city of London in the first place?

It was a big move but it’s alright, they had some of the courses I wanted to do here and the some of the best of them are over here in London. So I decided to come here to learn more, and also to get involved with the music as well. I said to myself that I would come over to London for a year, do my courses, and enjoy the music and then go back home…but it just never happened and I’m still here after 9 years!

How did you first get into music? Was there a huge music scene where you grew up?

I think it was all down to my father to be honest because he was a drummer. He used to be in a band and do different bits and pieces because he was in charge of all the music. I always used to follow him everywhere and he had a massive record collection that I could go off and listen to, soul, funk and a bit of every genre of music really.

Where was the best rave you have ever been to?

Probably back when I was in Brazil; I went to a basement night for Drum & Bass and I could properly hear the bass and the beats, which was one of the best nights as there wasn’t that much Drum & Bass around in the late 90’s. It was back in 1997, and was probably the first one I ever went too. This was when I realised this was the genre of music I liked. We never had parties in Brazil, we had all the tracks and records so when I had the chance to go out to it, I really enjoyed it.

You are also a talented remixer with high-profile commissions for the likes of Deadmau5, Claude von Stroke, Zinc Ft. Ms Dynamite, Delilah as well as Hospital’s own London Elektricity, how do you decide a track you wish to remix?

Normally it isn’t down to me, I get sent the tracks but then I get to see which ones I like and want to remix for. If I get sent a track and I really like it I can go back to them, and say that it’s good and I can do something with it. That’s how it goes.

How did it come about getting signed to Hospital Records?

I was signed to Med School when I started out; trying to find my sound. They wanted to try and keep the sounds minimal so when I got an offer from Hospital I was shocked. I didn’t think they would want to put my tracks out, it’s a bit of everything but it’s mainly mainstream Drum and Bass. I showed them the album also and they said that’s why we chose you for Hospital! It was good to go to Hospital and I have a good relationship with everyone on the label. I always have my own style, and never have someone else playing the stuff that I play.

Your music career has escalated massively in five years, where do you see yourself in another five years?

I’m just going to try and improve, and up my game a little I think. I want to learn more and more, because I think we can never know enough. I just need to progress in my career because I never really think too much about the future. You need to work hard in the present to get far in the future.

How do you decide what tracks you will use to make up a set? When I have listened into your collection of sets from the net, they were all quite different, what are the reasons for this? And when you play out do you just read the crowd and go with the vibe?

I have a selection of the good ones that I know will get a fairly good reaction already listed to be played, but it’s mostly determined by the crowd. I’ll try something mellow at the beginning and see how they react and then see how it goes from there. It’s the always the way you read the crowd and sometimes if they’re really hyped you know where to go and it gives you energy and if they’re not reacting so well it makes you want to improve. So either way really it works out!

Love hurts is more of a heart felt Drum and Bass tune, why is this?

Actually every single song on the album has a meaning, I’m not going to tell you everything about it in detail but it’s about a time that was very, very difficult. That goes back to what I was saying about the future- you have to look out for the things in the present as they might affect your future. It’s funny because I get the idea and then I start the track but then I don’t always get to finish it so I have loads of tracks that are currently half finished. I need more ideas and things to happen to give me inspiration to finish them or to write new ones.

What programs do you use when making a track?

I use Ableton to produce my sound, as it was the way I learnt in the beginning.

How do you see Drum and Bass changing in the future?

I can see it changing-it changes a lot all of the time with the Dubstep and Rock, Pop and House audiences all coming to the Drum and Bass nights now. They hear Dubstep and it’s mixed with other styles of music, like Electro, and then you get a wider group of people coming as they hear different music from different places. It gets bigger all the time.

Thanks so much for chatting to us here at BBM Carlos, we wish you every success in the future.

Thanks Frankie!

By Frankie Salt

Check out BBM’s chat with another of Hospital’s artists, one that happens to be one of the biggest producers in LDN. All hail London Elektricity!

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