There’s been a whole raft of awesome producers breaking onto the drum and bass scene since lockdown, and Vektah is undoubtedly one of them.
A 25-year-old with a love of blending melodic intros with naughty choruses, in the space of a year this Bournemouth-based artist has caught the eye with a diverse string of releases on Soulvent (especially his Request single and Culture Shift EP). It’s the reason why big players in the D&B scene and beyond – including Eats Everything – have been keeping tabs on him.
But strong tunes are not the only reason Vektah’s name is being put on the map. From unique promo strategies utilising video games to a drive to network in the scene anywhere and everywhere, Vektah is testament to the determined attitude all up-and-coming producers should have.
UKF got Vektah on a call to learn a bit more about an artist the scene is starting to wake up to.
It’s fair to say you’ve been getting your name about the scene recently. It’s great to see!
I try my best. It’s been a long time coming because I’ve been making music for nearly eight years. I’m 25 now and have been making D&B since I was 18.
Music has been a big part of your life for a while then?
Absolutely. Before D&B, I played guitar and violin at school, which my parents pushed me into. I wasn’t keen on violin at the time, but I think the musicality of it has influenced my productions. I also studied music technology at college, which gave me a good base of knowledge for my career.
Having that background must have been a good springboard for you.
Definitely. It’s funny because I’ve always known I wanted to do something in music. When I played the guitar I was really into rock and metal. I wanted to be in a band. Then, my music interest changed and I started listening to hip-hop and grime. But when I started going out to raves and festivals, I completely fell in love with D&B. The energy and vibe at the events is incomparable.
It sure is infectious. I see you’ve got your own studio now where you can really express your love for D&B.
I’m very lucky to have this place as it helps me feel professional. I try to spend as much time here as possible because I feel guilty when I spend too long away from the studio. I took the space over from Submotive, solo alias of James Davidson from Ulterior Motive. He produces for Goldie and they also have an alias together, Subjective, so a lot of great music has been made here! James has always been happy to help me with mixes and industry advice, which I’m grateful for. Funtcase’s studio is upstairs so it’s a great place to come every day. I can hear him making D&B at the moment.
No way! Have you tried standing outside his door waiting for an introduction?
Haha, imagine. I’ve bumped into him a couple of times but he seems quite quiet. I’m sure I’ll break him down eventually…
From what I know of you, you seem like someone who loves to network. That’s important for newcomer producers.
For sure. I try to go to as many raves as I can, and any time I go to one I always aim to network with people. Even when you’re chewing your idol’s ear off, it helps to get your face known.
As important as it is making good tunes, it’s arguably just as important to promote yourself, otherwise people won’t find your music.
Exactly. The networking side of things comes easy to me because I’m always eager to talk about music. I can be a little awkward at times, but when I’m talking to people about a craft I’ve dedicated so much of my life to, and they have also, I find we have lots to talk about. It’s something any new producer should be doing. Working with Soulvent came about from me chatting to label manager Joe Goss in a club. Being active in the scene helps to get your face about. Someone once said to me that you need to be in the room as much as possible, and naturally, opportunities will come your way.
So true. It looks like Soulvent have been influential to your journey so far.
They’ve been so supportive of any ideas I’ve had. I feel like they’ve done a lot more for me than other labels might have. I came to them with no profile and they helped me build one.
Judging by the diversity of your releases, they’ve allowed you to explore your sound too.
Yeah. I love exploring different styles of D&B. Although, one of my goals this year is to refine my sound. You can still tell a Vektah tune, but it needs to be more streamlined. This year, I want to collaborate with as many producers as possible as I’ve only done one so far with SKG. That’s the plan.
I do feel like the Vektah style is starting to shine. Especially in the basslines, there’s a sense of familiarity there.
Definitely. I quite often try to use some of the same FX samples and instrument presets I’ve made. That allows me to be versatile with the sub-genre of the tune, while still making it sound like Vektah. This also helps to write tracks quickly, which is so important. It’s good to get as much of the idea down in the first session as you can. I’m just trying to enjoy the process and not put too much pressure on myself right now. I want to make as much music as possible.
Your latest Every Time / Good To Me single on Soulvent is a great example of that. One side is a nice liquid number and the flipside is heavy. But they still sound like Vektah.
I always try to make liquid and it ends up being something hard… I can’t help it, haha. I do love musicality and melodies, but I also love heavy bass music. A bit like what Break does, I want to try and blur the lines between light melodies and heavy basslines.
You released your latest single with a video game too. That’s very cool.
It was a random idea I had. My best friend is studying game design at uni, and the intro arp of Every Time reminded me of a classic arcade game. So I asked him if he wanted to put a game together. He based it on Streets of Rage, which is an old school beat-em-up style game. We brainstormed a concept and he absolutely smashed it! That’s one of the first full games he’s done, so it was a brilliant experience for the both of us.
Fighting zombies in a rave is the dream film scene we’d all love to experience.
Literally. It’s completely different and a bit of fun. We wanted to have some records being thrown like in Shaun of The Dead, but unfortunately we were unable to implement that.
I like the relevancy of it because we’re used to seeing zombies at the rave…
Haha, exactly! I don’t know if it’s that obvious, but the bigger zombies are meant to be bouncers. Then there are male and female ravers also.
Love it. So looking at your releases in general, are there any in particular that stand out to you?
Request is probably my favourite. Every time I play it, it gets instant crowd reaction. Eats Everything played it on Radio One when he was doing a residency. It was on a Friday night at 7pm.
No way!
I was blown away. One of my friends rang me up and told me. Considering he’s a house DJ for the most part, I couldn’t believe it. He only played four D&B tunes the whole show and one of them was Request. After he played it, he said something along the lines of “I don’t care what music you like, this is absolutely massive”. Now, every time he does a D&B set he hits me up on Instagram asking if I’ve got any tunes.
That’s pretty cool, especially as you’ve only been releasing for a year. It seems like you, and many other newcomers, came out of lockdown firing on all cylinders.
I think lockdown helped a lot of people to put more time into their music. I’d been working at my music for a long time beforehand. I listen to tunes I made three or four years ago and they were probably ready to release at the time. It makes me reflect on how I could’ve been further down the line right now. But it’s just the way things go. I’ve come through at such a competitive time, but it’s a good way to be because it benefits the scene as a whole.
Definitely. You’re from Bournemouth aren’t you? It seems like the south east has been a solid stomping ground for you.
There’s a good scene down here. It does struggle with nightclubs though as there’s not a good mid capacity one for raves. But there’s a lot of love here for D&B. It has been a good place for me to grow up.
I’ve always felt like the Bournemouth scene is a bit overlooked, but there’s a whole host of wicked promoters and artists.
We’ve got artists like Krakota, Submotive, Rizzle, Operate, Kira, Ama and Vital here. Then there’s promoters like Enter and Drumfunk who’ve been doing their thing at the The Old Fire Station for years. The 02 Academy is also a great place for larger style events, and The Vault has just been refurbished. It used to be called The Winchester and that’s where I played my first DJ set a few years back. There were only about five people there but it was the first of many sets in that club.
And now you’re due to play Hospitality Weekend In The Woods this year b2b Charlo!
I know man, I can’t wait. I’ve had a few wicked bookings come in this year. Soulvent Sessions at Pickle Factory in London and Multifunction’s 12th Birthday at Volks in Brighton have just been announced too. I feel like I’ve had good success with the tunes so far, and it’s now time to start converting them into gigs.
Your time will come man. So after pushing Vektah for a year, do you feel like you’re starting to get recognition for your efforts?
I think so. It’s just a case of being consistent and continuing to push the project. At times, I’m guilty of thinking things will fall into place after each release, but you’ve got to be in it for the long haul. I just need to keep getting my tunes out there as I want as many people as possible to hear my music and play it out.
What else can people expect from you this year?
I’ve got a release coming on Onyx Recordings’ V/A this month, a track with Submotive on Sofa Sound, a remix of a high profile D&B artist, and I’m working on a collaborations EP where I’ll be linking up with various friends in the scene. There’s also a tune with Levela in the works, which I dropped a sneak preview of in my Hospital guest mix. So you’ve got all of that combined with some exciting event bookings to look forward to.
Vektah – Every Time / Good To Me is out now on Soulvent
Follow Vektah: Soundcloud / Instagram / Facebook
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