Conversation With Tradge

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?

A: Erm growing up in a afro Carribbean household music was almost part of family, as my mother is from Barbados and my father being Jamaican we had everything from Soca,Reggae,Bashment to Motown in our eardrums.

Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Tradge”?

A: I feel I have a unique sound..as much as I am inspired by UKG as not only a nostalgic stand point but I feel as if the UK Garage scene and genre has had such a impact on the UK and globally. That if you hadn’t heard the genre before or for example wasn’t around during it, that new listener’s will catching a vibe while old school Garage heads will be taken back down memory lane.

Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?

A: Right now believe it or not is probably burna boy as he has the Midas touch right now. I personally believe he is today’s version of Bob Marley for the culture, in terms of being a black man with the outreach globally with his message and fan base.  As for where I find my inspiration, I find it in everyday life of being a Londoner and from alot of the people I grew up listening to who I am now honoured to call my personal friends. For example Kele Le Roc, MC Bushkin, MC DT and my music manager Nicholas Gallante (3 of a kind).

Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the track, “LITTLE THINGS REMIX”?

A:  I can’t say there’s much of a story or message to it, my main objectives to do the remix justice as it has been a huge success for Jorja Smith,PJ2 and New machine.

Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?

A: Bouncing

Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “LITTLE THINGS REMIX”?

A: None that my engineer couldn’t fix with the recording aha shout out to my younger brother SJ from the duo 2fvded. As for writing it I think the only problem I really has was the fact I had too many references to the UK garage scene of the 2000s along with special mentions, In which I then had to cut down on 

Q: Could you discuss any specific musical elements or techniques you employed to give the remix a distinctive sound compared to the original track?

A: Well for a start we added a few noticeable samples to the track with the first one being from the greatest YouTube clip of all time… I’ll leave that there for you guys to go back and listen to. But other than that we added a sound bite from Kele Let Roc’s “My Love”. And then payed homage to my favourite British collective and track of all time “Blinded by the lights” by The Streets (Mike Skinner). With a beautiful mash up nearer the end of the track for both old school garage heads and new to enjoy.

Q: How did the collaboration between you and Jorja Smith come about for the remix of “Little Things”? Could you share some insights into the initial connection?

A: We don’t actually know each other personally I know a few people she does know infact I was on Choice FM with MC DT on his show and he has told me I should send the track to her as he has met her a few times and she’s really nice. But I think what inspired me to remix it was the fact it’s the genre of music that I already make, and for my fans I just knew it was something they would love to hear.

Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?

A: I would say what ever it is you do whether it’s singing, producing or music writing you get up and go for it, and now. Because one thing I’ve heard over and over again is “Tradge if you was doing music back when garage was popping, you’d be huge now”. Keep in mind when UKG was killing it I would have been like 10 years old! But what I’m saying is I didn’t hear that and then say yeah your right and didn’t continue. I carried on I made friends with people who’s posters  I used to have on my wall. I’ve performed at shows I used to buy a ticket to attend as a customer, so my advice is why waste time… Go for it because now they’ve gone for saying what I mentioned above to “Tradge is gonna bring the scene back, He’s the New King Of Garage”.

Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?

A: Everything is about timing so be patient 

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