Interview: Skenna takes us To The Moon with Partygate Vol.3

After heavyweight outings from Riigs and Olympic Pool Maintenance League, Partygate 3 sees Skenna on rare form on his Londam imprint.

‘Raveman’ blends techno and trance together in a perfect way. It brings a deep mysterious vibe like its coming from another planet. ‘To The Moon’ brings a driving Berlin techno vibe and adds some experimental sounds to create something unique. This will set a dance floor off!

With the EP out now, we had a chat with Skenna about what to expect.

What initially inspired you to become a music producer?

I like to create things. As a kid I always made a lot of drawings and paintings. For me it’s something I have to do, I feel kinda useless if I don’t create something. It’s satisfying to have something you created and look back at it.

Can you share a memorable experience or project that had a significant impact on your career?

For me that’s the underpass project. It really defines that sound that got me and Riigs together and start the label. I like that when you create something together with someone and something magical happens. You just start to create things you could never create on your own.

How has your musical taste evolved over the years?

I used to listen to hiphop as a kid. Later on that became drum and bass and now a days I listen to anything really haha. I enjoy good music!

Tell us about why you set up Londam, and what kind of releases characterise the label?

As mentioned before we started it to release our own music. We couldn’t really find a label that would release something like this so we just thought, why not start our own. Now it’s a nice place to also release music from our close friends.

Is the label’s artwork something that’s important for its identity?

Yes we thought about this a lot. For us it’s important to have artwork that feels personal because the label is so close to us. Next to that it needs to have a reference to the rave scene and feel experimental.

Your new EP Partygate Vol.3 is part of an ongoing series for the label – what’s the idea behind this?

To make music with a bit more energy. I started to produce some music at 140bpm just to get out of my comfort zone. At the same time Riigs was also making a bit more clubby music. When we shared it with each other it we thought this might be a nice serie, since its a bit different from what we usually create.

Partygate Vol.3 has some distinct trance-like sounds – were there any artists or era’s in particular that inspired its production?

Yes it’s a bit inspired on Alpha Tracks and Ki/Ki. I really like the nostalgic old school feel they add to their music.

In the studio, what’s your set-up? Any particular favorite bits of kit at the moment?

I got my own studio space since the beginning of this year, with that I bought a new set of speakers and that’s my favourite gear at the moment. It’s ATC SCM100, I would never go without them anymore!