El Londo is undoubtedly one of the brightest young producers currently residing in the UK rap space.

As a producer attempting to create in a bustling market, perhaps the most essential characteristic of their work is a signature tone and sonic palette that allows them to stand out amidst the oversaturation. Easier said than done. El Londo has succeeded in bringing this sought after quality to his instrumentals; combining breezy, vibrant samples and melodic intricacies with booming drums and bass, the producer has pinpointed a sweet spot that feels effortless yet energetic, nonchalant yet refined.

Known for this work with many of the trailblazers of a scene that has been rising to fruition over the past couple of years, the beat-smith boasts collaborative projects with Ashbeck, Capo Lee and Namani. Building a discography that flaunts his talent at unlocking the best out of the artist set in front of him, the next creative step for the producer became obvious – a solo body of work.

In early June, El Londo unveiled his debut LP, THANKSLONDO, a fifteen track project that illustrated the depth, graft and accessibility of the producer. Enlisting regulars like Capo and Ashbeck, as well as esteemed collaborators across the alternative community such as Bawo, ayrtn, Meron T and Youngs Teflon, the album is sonically diverse and explorative, whilst remaining firmly fixed in the foundations that Londo has carved his seat at the table on. An impressive and sprawling effort, THANKSLONDO leaves the scene at the producer’s mercy, poised to proceed towards bigger collaborations and more impactful projects.

We had the pleasure of connecting with El Londo; delving into the psyche of the producer, we chat humble Garageband beginnings, the essence of his style, and the process of creating THANKSLONDO.

Listen to THANKSLONDO…

Read the full interview…

What influenced you to begin producing?
My dad and my mom were both heavily into music. From a young age I tried to pick up instruments at school. I found GarageBand on my laptop, started making weird beats. Then I didn’t even think about any of that for years, untill I was maybe 15 or 16. I picked it up again, and I was like, actually, yeah, this is cold.

Why is it important to you to build a relationship with the artist you’re working with?
I only ever make beats in sessions really. I like to build a beat from scratch with the artist with me. I like to show them in person to see if they’re really feeling it. I usually start off by chilling with them, getting to know them, getting comfortable and relax, then we start to cook. That period where we are chilling allows me to gauge the vibe of the session. It sets the tone. Personally, I think that if you have a relationship with them and have chemistry with them, it reflects on the music.

How would you define the essence of your production style?
The melodies, the chords, the samples will make you want to fall in love, and the drums and the 808s will make you want to hit a lick.

Your approach is very individualistic, was it a lengthy process to find the pocket you create in?
I’ve always made beats that sound like this, they just weren’t as good, just an empty version of what I’m doing now. It’s always been my vision. Most rap beats were drill beats when I started producing properly – they were all dark and aggressive. I was listening to a lot of neo-soul and R&B and I wanted to take that soulful side into rap beats. I wanted the contrast of someone talking just straight greaze over a beat that is kind of innocent sounding.

The alternative rap scene in the UK has come on a lot in recent years. How much more room for growth do you think there is? Do you think it can go fully mainstream? Would you want it to?
I want to be able to live off it. So in order to live from it, I guess it would have to get to that point. Yeah. But I do feel like once it gets to that point, it can get diluted, and tired. Once it gets to that point, I feel like I’ll just move on to the next thing and start making something new. I like to experiment a lot with my sounds, the music that I have out now is nothing like the music that I’m making currently. By the time the audience receives the music, I’m already past that stage of my life, and I’m already working on something completely different. I’ve maintained the same kind of swag, but I like to kind of switch it up and bring new elements into it from maybe a new genre that I’ve discovered or bring in certain elements from that, whilst maintaining my own sound.

Who’s standing out to you in the alt rap scene?
Jim Legxacy for sure. I love what he’s doing. Reek0’s doing this thing too. Obviously, there’s the big names like Headie One, Dave and Central Cee as well.

What did you set out to achieve with your new project, THANKSLONDO?
I want to do a proper production project on a bigger scale. In 2021 I started kind of running a lot of sessions with a lot of artists and I ended up having like a massive vault of bare unreleased music. I was thinking, I have all this music and not all the artists want to keep all these tracks because they have too much music as well, so it’s just sitting on my laptop right now. So I was thinking, yeah, why don’t I try to make something? For two years, I was literally crazy. I was literally going everywhere, couch surfing, going to different countries as well to meet new people and get more inspiration. I was just trying to do everything I could to get as much out of myself as possible. Then I just kind of picked out the songs that I thought were significant to that journey. By the start of 202, it was time to narrow it down. So I started going through, perfecting songs, adding songs, changing things. That’s how it all came together.

You’ve released this project almost as an artist in your own right. Was that quite a big leap for you being the epicentre of a release?
I always sort of did it that way. When me and Ashbeck dropped our first project, I put my name on it because we were equally involved. We always had that thing, if we’re doing a project together. I want to build up a catalogue of joint projects with all my favourite rappers and singers.

Do you feel like producers often don’t get the credit they deserve?
No, they don’t. I’ve got a lot of friends that are producers. Artists, generally respect producers. But labels, they don’t respect producers, even though the producer does so much. You’re not the face of it, so you’re not going to get the credit like the artist does. They’re going to give you as little split as possible because that’s how it’s meant to be. I want to see more producers do what I’m doing here, in terms of collaborating with artists in a way where it’s like, you build a relationship with them, as opposed to just sending beats to them. We should get the credit we deserve.

What are your future goals? Where do you want to take your artistry?
I don’t really know you know, I’m just kind of rolling with it right now. There’s things I want to do but you need really know what’s going to happen, music can be so unexpected. I’m just seeing what happens, seeing what rooms I end up in. I’m staying on the right track.