November 20, 2020 |
Everyone loves a bit of UK garage, don’t they? The soundtrack to every London dancefloor throughout the late nineties/early aughts, UKG has become as quintessential to life in Britain as tea and lager. Whether you’re hosting a BBQ or having a few tinnies in the park, you’re bound to keep everyone happy by sticking a bit of garage on.
Blasting your favourite garage tune will transport you to a place when the sun was out, the bevvies were flowing and life was good. Whilst mega-hits like “Flowers” by Sweet Female Attitude and Monsta Boy’s “Sorry!” might only see the light of day across Kisstory’s airwaves currently, there’s a whole slew of exciting DJs and producers propelling UKG into its next frontier.
Leading the pack is Bristol-born, London-based Conducta: an avid Arsenal fan and Michelin Star chef when it comes to dishing up one banger after the next. As label boss for Kiwi Records, Conducta – real name Collins Nemi – has played an essential role in crafting some of the catchiest hooks to come out of the UK in the last five years. You just have to look at AJ Tracey’s 2019 summer anthem “Ladbroke Grove” to understand that this producer is a full-throttle hit machine.
Whilst life in lockdown may seem like a gloomy underworld in comparison to those sun-kissed UKG listening sessions we all know and love, Conducta is back with another big tune that’s bound to pick up your spirits. “Time” sees this UKG connoisseur team up with South London vocalist JGrrey for a buttery smooth love song that could still warrant a few gun fingers. “[Me and JGrrey] bumped into each other at one of my club nights and we were just big fans of each other,” recalls Conducta of how the collab came about. “It took us three sessions to finish the song and the first two we actually did nothing- just chatted and listened to tunes. It also sounds completely different to how we originally left it in the session but we’d been going back and forth perfecting it and I’m so happy with how it’s sounding now.”
With a new single under his belt, as well as a DJ Mag award nomination for the Best DJ of the year (wahey!), we thought now would be the ideal time to grab Conducta for a quick natter.
1. Who are three up-and-coming UKG artists we should be keeping our eyes on?
“1) Gemi – recently released on my label & has distinctive, energetic sound. Also very funny on Instagram, go check him out.
2) Prescribe Da Vibe – Criminally underrated. His drum patterns are the best to me.
3) Para – just released a massive pack of dubs & edits via his Bandcamp. Definitely has a big 2021 in store.”
2. What’s one garage club from back in the day you wish you could’ve played at?
“I would’ve loved to play a Sun City event and The London Hippodrome. All the online footage makes me envious and I think id fully go in with my outfit for the rave.”
3. How did you celebrate when “Ladbroke Grove” got to number 3 in the charts?
“I’m still deciding on the tattoo I was meant to get! I thought might weird getting “Ladbroke Grove” on my back, but why not…”
4. How did you stumble upon the name Kiwi for your record label?
“I was on my way back from a festival and realised I had a bunch of Kiwis in my headphone bag.”
5. What’s the first garage song you can remember obsessing over as a kid?
“So Solid Crew – 21 seconds. The energy was unmatched!”
6. What’s the widest thing that’s ever happened at one of your sets?
“I played at a silent disco in Slovakia and there were a bunch of people tightrope walking as I was playing. It was weirder because it was as if no one noticed?!”
7. You’re big on your footy – if you had to make an ultimate five-a-side team full of DJs, who would you have on your side?
“We’d rotate goalkeeper but centre back with Toddla T. Midfielders – Emerald & Sammy Virj. Royal T as striker.”
8. What’s the Conducta cure for a hangover?
“Sparkling water, Lucozade & a heavy midday takeaway…”
9. What’s your favourite footy shirt you own?
“I’m an Arsenal fan but best shit is my Newcastle 1998 third kit. It looks like a Hockey jersey but the colours are 5 stars.”
10. When the clubs open again, where do you plan on going first?
“I Really want to head back to Dublin. Have played two of my favourite shows at a Venue called Wigwam. Crowd amazing, venue perfect and a sound system to die for.”
Top image by Vicky Grout. “Time” by Conducta featuring JGrrey is available to stream on all major platforms here.
