Nardene Scott catches up with one of grime’s finest producers and musician, DaVinChe to find out what he has planned for 2010, why he’d like to work with Kelly from Stereophonics, having a special studio bond with the lyrical genius Wretch 32 and how the haters need to just fall back.

Hey, how are you doing?

I’m good thanks, how are you?

Good yeah thanks, so what have you been up to since the last single release?

I’ve been up to a lot man; I’ve been busy putting the rest of the album together, I’ve been talking about it for a while and we’ve just been pushing back the date pushing back the date. I’ve got a track coming up with Mark Hill from Artful Dodger featuring an amazing vocalist but I can’t say who it is yet. So yeah, I’ve just been finishing off my album working with loads of different artists.

I see you’re always on Twitter, and you must have the busiest studio ever! You’ve had Ny, Mz Bratt, Wretch 32, Bashy in there over the past couple of weeks. Can you tell us what those tracks are sounding like?

Yeah I’m working on Bashy’s new album, Aggro Santos, P Money working on a track with him it’s sounding crazy like some T.I. business. Again working with Mark Hill from Artful Dodger and also Mz Bratt we’ve done a couple of tunes for her project. Me, Bashy and Wretch did a track this week as well which was huge, it’s kind of like our music but they brings their own vibe to it. Its good man I’ve just been getting it in and just been working really hard.

Can you tell us some behind the scenes studio gossip, who do you really love working with in the studio and who takes the longest to put together their bars?

I love at the moment working with Wretch, I mean like we’ve got a week in the studio next week and its like once you catch an energy and a vibe, I mean I enjoy working with everyone but there is always someone that you and that person are just talking the same language when you get in the studio straight away and you jump on like a brainwave and an energy; and me and Wretch have just kind of got that at the moment. It’s like when we get in and he starts spitting and we just roll through it but at the moment that’s just my vibe and he doesn’t even write down any of his lyrics; I’ve seen a lot of rappers and MC’s say that that’s what they want to do following Jay Z but he’s not doing it for effect. He’s not doing it just to prove a point I think it’s just a lyrical genius thing, where the lyrics just come to him in his mind and he just catches a vibe and he just walks around the studio putting the lyrics together, half an hour later he’s got his whole song. It’s crazy. Diva in the studio, no one really, we’ve all been friends for years now it’s kind of gone on like that we’ve all been doing grime and we’ve come from that scene so no one is really a diva in that way.

Also, I noticed on Twitter that someone put you in touch with Dallas Austin, what do you think about him as a musician and have you got back to him about possibly working together?

I really am on my twitter, but Twitter is my way of venting to the world or more me sharing my thoughts with the world that’s what it is. It was actually an artist I worked with, a girl from America called Sibley (MySpace.com/SibleyK) brilliant rapper that put us in touch. I met him briefly, I haven’t worked with him yet but I’m working on her project, I’ve got a couple of tracks. She’s from LA it’s hard for me to try and compare her but I think the closest comparison would be Kesha but that’s doing her a bit of an injustice she’s just a vibes girl man but yeah I’ve been working with her which is really, really good.

What is the plan for 2010, when can we expect a new single/album? What is the sound going to be like? Are we going to see you working with Perempay again?

Yeah, definitely Perempay and I have a single coming out with Cleo Soul at the moment it’s called Addicted so we’re just looking at getting the video and everything done, it’s touching the clubs and Target’s been rinsing it and a lot of the other DJ’s are starting to get it out. People have been asking for it all the time but we’ve been holding it back because we like to get the whole thing in place before we just give it to someone. So Addicted is what we’re about to roll with for the next single and we’re always in the studio, I mean we’ve been friends for years. We’re looking at like the 4^th quarter or just at the end of the 3^rd quarter for the album release.

Obviously lately there have been some new producers like Labrinth rising up from the scene what do you think about the UK scene right now, including Americans trying to get their little grime fix?

Firstly, Labs not a new producer, I met Lab like two maybe three years ago and he’s been on his grind working very, very hard, he’s crazy talented so it’s kind of like it’s just his destiny you know. He’s not really a new producer it’s unfair to say that you know he did the whole Master Shortie project which sounded heavy. Its good it’s been a really great time for us, before we didn’t really have a good infrastructure for the whole grime scene to be heard commercially now those who are making good songs have the chance to go up against the pop songs whereas before because of the genre we were kind of kept underground even though the fan base was pretty massive and people used to love the music. But I think it’s a really good time for us now and I can understand why the Americans are getting into it our sound is fresh, fresh that’s what music is about!

What do you think about those people that are hating on the success of people like Chipmunk, Tinchy and N-Dubz?

I hate them, but to be honest I don’t have the energy to hate them because I just don’t see the point because Chipmunk is way too talented man, it’s crazy! I don’t understand what their problem is…again I don’t really understand why they hate.

If you could work with someone that no-one would expect like someone from a completely different genre, who would it be and why?

I was saying to someone yesterday I want to work with Kelly from Stereophonics just because he’s mad soulful man. I reckon he’d just bring a mad vibe to what it is we do.

You must have a lot of artists approaching you both established and emerging are there any new talents that you are looking forward to working with?

Yeah like all the time, I mean if you look at my old album a lot of the singers are all probably people you wouldn’t have heard of, you have now though. For instance, Cleo (MySpace.com/CleoSol) was someone that I had hit up on MySpace and was just like, I love the way you sound but I didn’t know her from association it’s just because I look out for emerging talent and that is just what she was. Henrietta Bond (MySpace.com/Hennessyb) is another girl that I worked with on a track on my last album which just got placed on the soundtrack to 4,3,2,1 so check that one out. She’s actually signed to Labrinth’s production label like Cleo is signed to mine. Yeah again, I didn’t know her from anywhere, I just liked her sound and hit her up on MySpace and said can you please come down and catch a vibe and lets see if it works. That’s what it’s about, it’s about evolution, what new beats and new energy can you bring to the table.

Since our next Issue is going to be our 101^st we’ve got a little Room 101 theme going on so wanted to know if you could place another producer into Room 101 who would it be and why?

I don’t know, someone who produced like Mr Blobby or something like that…actually can I place the haters in Room 101, yeah let’s put the Twitter haters in Room 101 definitely a waste of energy.

Any Last Words?

Look out for the new album man it’s coming soon, look out for the single Addicted, Dancefloor featuring Wretch and Cleo and just look out, I’m coming soon.

Follow DaVinChe on Twitter @Davinche

Tags: Aggro Santos, Artful Dodger, Bashy, Chipmunk, Cleo Sol, DaVinChe, Grime, Hip Hop, Interviews, Labrinth, Mz. Bratt, News, Ny, P-Money, Soul, Wretch 32