Exclusive Low Steppa interview for Egg London

We sat down and had a chat with Low Steppa before his Easter Thursday gig at Egg London..

Since emerging in 2013 with his explosive bootleg of Route 94’s ‘My Love‘ having clocked up over 2.75 million plays on SoundCloud and becoming a regular feature on Kiss FM and BBC Radio 1 Xtra, Low Steppa has rapidly made a name for himself as a pioneer of the bass house musical revolution. In addition to releases on some of dance music’s most respected labels including Armin van Buuren’s acclaimed Armada and Shadow Child, Toolroom & Kry Wolf’s Food Music, Low Steppa’s label Simma Black has risen to become one of the most respected imprints around– regularly dominating the Beatport and Traxsource He continues to host a monthly show on Rinse FM every third Friday of the month from 1am.

We sat down and had a chat with him before his gig at Egg London tonight..

Hi Will. You're from Birmingham. What were your clubbing roots? Is the city's night life similarly strong now?

Well, my roots are really in Bristol as I went to UWE and then lived there a while after that too, this is where I really learnt my craft doing bars and long sets. I would play house, disco, rare groove, all sorts really. I think this is why I always play to the crowd, its just natural for me. Bristol was mainly bars so when I went back to Birmingham it was very exciting, was just a totally different city. Moneypennys and Godskitchen were the big nights then, love them. I only went up for a night out and ended up relocating after that to chase my dreams further. I became a resident for Godskitchen and played Gobal Gathering a few times too in my early years!

LS

Can you tell us about your label Simma Black. Who are some of the artists on it and what do you look for in the track you put out?

I actually chose the name Simma many many years ago way before ever having a record label, came from a track me and a friend would always play in Bristol. Years later it became my outlet to release my own records, its now turned into a full blown label, we currently have the remixes of My House out, my record with New York's Mr V, they have all charted on Traxsource so we are really happy right now!

You've just put out a track on Armada. How much does releasing on a label with that much reach extend your profile? What's next on the release front?

I think its a big help to gain more followers to release on some of these larger labels, they work the releases a lot and the previous record on Armada has now hit 10 million streams on Spotify which is really exciting. I have another single coming soon on Armada too, cant say too much!

Tell us about your relationship with Rinse FM. How long have you had a show with them and who have some of your guests been?

I've had my own show about 3 years now, I love doing the shows because when I travel people always mention my Rinse show, its a good feeling. I have never really gone for the biggest guest mixers, I prefer to give people I believe in the chance to show their sound. Guys like Scott Diaz, Greco, Made By Pete, Skapes, Wouter S, Golf Clap etc.

You're supporting Idris Elba. Have you met him before?

I've never met him but gotta say I'm very excited! I've seen a few vids of him playing my music. I've also just binged on Luther, I'm a huge fan of him.

Were you a fan of The Wire, like everyone else in the world? What's your current box set recommendation for life on the road?

This is bizarre but I've not done the Wire, I'm about to start it though. Luther, Breaking Bad, SOA, Vikings, Homeland, all faves of mine.

Idris is a DJ turned actor turned DJ again. If you had to go off and do another fantasy job, what would it be and why?

I think Detective, secret agent, FBI, something like that. I almost became a policeman once, maybe in another lifetime. I do wish I had been an actor though.

What three tracks sum up what you're likely to play at Egg?

Low Steppa & MR V – My House

Latmun – Everybody's Dancin

Golf Clap, Jojo Angel, Matteo Rosolare - Everybody

How low can you go?

I can go pretty low to be fair!

Ls2