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He’s received a MOBO nomination for Best Newcomer in 2013 and has collaborated with some of the hottest names in the urban scene – Shakka is one to watch. Wonderland suspects that this guy will soon have an amazing break-through into the musical scene, especially after having heard his latest track “Say Nada”, featuring seminal grime artist JME. The track has received some amazing attention, with many pronouncing how much of a ‘banger’ it is. His raw talent oozes out of the way he manages himself on screen and his potential comes through the minute he speaks about translating from Portuguese and tasty meat.

Party vibes and some super colourful animation, together with some lyrics that are hard to keep out of your head, make “Say Nada” one of the hottest tracks of the year. The feel-good summer vibe make us even more excited for Shakka’s forthcoming EP: The Lost Boys. Where was our invite to that house party Shakka?

So you’re from Notting Hill? That’s the home of Wonderland! Do you think growing up in London has influenced your musical style?

For sure. I grew up in a flat with my parents just round the corner from Portobello Road. One journey up that road and you can hear music and and smell food from 20 different countries. Both my primary secondary school had the attendance of students from all over the world. Romania to Vietnam, from Ghana to my home country Dominica. Plus my father was a reggae musician, so as a child I went with him to the studio and to rehearsals.

You’ve collaborated with JME in your hit “Say Nada”. What was it about JME that made you decide that you wanted to work with him?

He had unorthodox methods of describing the things that people wanted to say and hear. “Don’t @ me”, “Man Don’t Care” and “No You Ain’t” we’re constantly on repeat from his Integrity album. Plus Frisco told me that he would understand my nerd-dom and boundless energy.

You have achieved so much so far and have many followers, with some big people in the music industry behind you. What do you think you’ve learnt so far in this journey?

I’ve learnt that most famous and highly talented people I’ve met have no egos. It’s like they’re as eager and as hungry to make cool stuff as they were when they first heard the thing that made them want to make music in the first place. And in turn, I’ve also learned that all that matters is how much your music moves mankind. Everything else is secondary.

And what was it like working with Wretch 32 a few years ago?

I realised it was easy to see rappers as just rappers and not musicians like Stevie Wonder, or Bob Marley. It hit me when I saw him pacing up and down the room when writing his lyrics for “Blackout”. Watching him conjure up flows and putting together patterns and such, was just like how I saw Labrinth or Raf Riley put chords together. Plus he’s a fun guy to vibe with and bounce ideas off of. We share the same excitement for music haha.

Can you tell us a little bit about the process you go through when making music? Is there a particular place you work best at or something that you do to get creative juices flowing?

Simple really. Airplane mode, a warm room, and the fattest mug of earl grey. If I don’t start from a voice note in my phone that I’ve hummed or beatboxed, I’d start from scratch grabbing the first rhythm or melody that comes to my head.

Then my body goes fishing. Words, cool chords, sound bites from a distant time period. Anything to help take the person into the world of the song. They’re all thrown into the mix until I’ve got something remotely comprehensible.

Who are your main inspirations?

Chris Martin, Andre 3000 and Bob Marley. For sure.

And what’s the dream – the light at the end of the tunnel?

Aside from greatly contributing to eradicating world hunger, and the equal distribution of wealth across the world, I’m not sure. With music I wanna put our accent on the map; the Wiley version rather than Michael Caine. Wanna sell out Madison Square, maybe make a festival in the favelas of Brazil. Definitely direct movies, write and act in ’em. Make a creative agency, like Saatchi or DONDA. Got a few ideas I guess.

How do you make sure that you will #NeverLiveABoringLife?

Add to a list of things that scare me. And do em once a day. I’ve also gotta put money aside for an elephant, a tiger and a panda named Chicho.

So Wireless? That must have been cool! Tell us about that experience and what it was like being on stage with Wretch 32?

Again, his energy and animation on stage is like few other people I’ve shared the stage with. It ain’t like he wants to pick up the mic, recite his words, get paid, and leave. He has a hunger to giving the people a good time. However large the stage, and whoever he’s performing with. He wants to give it 110 every time. And that vibe is infectious.

Are you excited for your EP release Lost Boys? What are we to expect?

Hella excited for Oct 16th. I’ve created a world set in a dystopian London, where music is banned, women have been relocated, humans are controlled by a serum, and my boys and I try to escape the madness. So this is my attempt at making a Mad Max without visuals. Tom Hardy/Mel Gibson, eat your hearts out.

‘The Lost Boys’ will be released in October and you can pre-order it now.

Words: Marianna Mukhametzyanova

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After what was an incredible performance at London’s Wireless Festival at the weekend, which saw Netsky team up with the incredible Emeli Sande, the DJ/ Producer extraordinaire has returned to fine form with this absolute summer banger, “Rio”. The track is the first piece of new music from Belgium’s premium export, and serves as the follow-up to last year’s ‘Running Low’, which featured Beth Ditto on vocal duties. This time round we have London-based dance-orientated outfit Digital Farm Animals providing the slick lyrics.

Hailing from Belguim, Netsky has, in a few short years, built a reputation for delivering relentlessly on-point, hard hitting drum & bass anthems which have earned him numerous awards and accolades the world over and has quickly become one of the most talked about and talented names within the electronic music world. His trademark sound, an explosive fusion of stirring vocals with a unique and soulful take on the drum & bass sound has earned him respect and support from across the industry and an extensive, dedicated global fan base. Seamlessly blurring the lines between artist and superstar producer, Netsky also boasts an impressive cast list of remix duties, having re-mixed a number of huge anthems including Swedish House Mafia ‘One’, Rusko’s ‘Everyday’, and most recently putting his magical touch to remixes for Ed Sheeran and Jack U.

‘Read All About It‘ star Emeli Sande, joined the DJ on-stage for a special performance of their collaborative new track ‘Thunder‘, during Saturday’s Wireless Festival, in London.

‘Rio‘ is out now.

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Secret Garden Party 2014.

THE GARDEN

When: 1st – 8th July. Where: Tisno, Croatia. What: “Dancing together since 2006”, The Garden is an electronic festival in Croatia. Go see Bonobo for the beats and Banoffee Pie just because of that name. If you get tired of dancing (shame on you) Tisno town is just ten minutes away and you can go recuperate in paradise. Onsite accommodation includes apartments, luxury Shikar tents and Podpads. Beats a broken tent anyway.

WIRELESS

When: 3rd – 5th July. Where: Finsbury Park, London. What: The party starts before the festival even begins with Wireless’ 10th anniversary party on 28th June. This extra date at Finsbury Park sees Drake, Chance the Rapper and Katy B (amongst others) come together celebrate a decade of Wireless. Headlining this year’s weekend, sponsored for 2015 by high street staple New Look, are Drake, AVICII, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj and finally Kendrick Lamar, who we’re most excited to see after that surprise album release. Go see Major Lazer for some of the best twerking of your life, Ms Dynamite for ultimate throwback and Charli XCX for some pure unabashed pop. Also, a performance by Jaden and Willow Smith? There’s got to be some kinda weird twist there, right?

EXIT 

When: 9th – 12th July. Where: Novi Sad, Serbia. What: As far as locations go, Exit wins. Held in the Petrovaradin Fortress on the Danube River, the biggest festival in South East Europe takes place in 18th century surroundings. Previous headliners have ranged from Lauryn Hill to Morrissey. This year, The Prodigy are our favourites on the bill but make sure to check out Wilkinson and Simian Mobile Disco back to back with Roman Flugel.

BENICÀSSIM

When: 16th – 19th July. Where: Benicàssim, Spain. What: Despite being on the sunny shores of Spain, Benicàssim’s line up often feels like a Best of British list. This year Blur are the major headliners and while the four boys aren’t as cute and baby-faced as they were in the 90s, they can still play “Song 2” and that’s all you need really.

LATITUDE

When: 16th – 19th July. Where: Henham Park, Suffolk. What: A family friendly festival (kids under 4 go free!), Latitude is 10 years old. A little more artsy and cultured than other festivals, where your primary concern might be getting absolutely off your face for four days straight, Latitude offers up poetry, theatre, comedy and cabaret for your viewing pleasure. This year you can see Noel Gallagher and Alt-J headlining and everyone’s favourite awkward adult, Jon Richardson, will be on hand to help you laugh that hangover away. After that it’s party time and you can stay up all night dancing to the bizarre beats of The 2 Bears and the master, DJ EZ.

LOVEBOX

When: 17th – 18th July. Where: Victoria Park, London. What: The fact that Lovebox was founded by Groove Armada is essentially a promise you’re going to have pretty good time. We can verify that the moment you hear Pharrell or Snoop, who’s Saturday’s headliner, break out into those swirling oo’s at the beginning of “Drop It Like It’s Hot” you will lose it, don’t worry, it happens to us all. The man lucky enough to hold the title, Coolest Person in The World, Mr. Mark Ronson will also be making an appearance at the East London Weekender. Hunt down Despacio in the gaps in your setlist timetable. It’s LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and 2ManyDJs circle of speakers, designed to make disco sound its best.

THE SECRET GARDEN PARTY

When: 23rd – 26th July. Where: Cambridgeshire. What: Feeling nostalgic? Been known to enjoy jelly, ice cream and sprinkles? Secret Garden Party is for you with this year’s theme being Childish Things. What could be better than going back to the good old days of endless energy and eternal summers? As boutique as festivals come, you won’t find any huge names on the stages, but the music is a wonderfully eclectic mix, from funk beatmakers Jungle to soulful serenaders Angus and Julia Stone and Marika Hackman. Not in it for the live music? You won’t be the only one, what with lake swimming, paint fights, dance-offs and a late night venue called Little Gay Brother, you could have a packed weekend without seeing a single band.

KENDAL CALLING

When: 30th July – 2nd August. Where: Lowther Deer Park, Lake District. What: Another 10th birthday celebration, at Kendal Calling you can take a Northern Soul dance class in the morning, catch Kodaline in the afternoon then sway to the dulcet tones of Elbow all night. The award winning festival has already sold out for this year but watch all the highlights and mark the date on your calendar for when 2016 tickets go on sale. Looking at some old performances, it looks like it’ll be well worth the advance planning.

STANDON CALLING 

When: 31st July – 2nd August. Where: Standon, Hertfordshire. What: Founder of the festival, Alex Trenchard still maintains that it’s just a party for his mates that got out of hand. Strange things have been known to happen at Standon, if you see a fairy beckoning you towards a field, you’re (probably) not tripping, it’s usually a secret surprise. With 5am DJ licenses, you can really let your hair down. The Dandy Warhols are playing Standon as their only UK Festival date so plait your hair, throw on something swishy and go get bohemian like them.

Y NOT

When: 31st July – 2nd August. Where: Pikehall, Derbyshire What: Wanna get loaded and have a good time? Go see Primal Scream at Y Not in the Peak District. While you’re at it, stay for Bo Ningen’s set too. Haven’t heard of the Japanese acid punk band yet? Where have you been? If the rather eclectic genre of acid punk isn’t really your bag, try grunge group Black Honey, led by the enviably cool Izzy Bee. If you like guitars and looks that could kill, they’ll be your new favourites, promise.

Words: Lily Walker

Photography: Samantha Milligan

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When producers James Tadgell and John Clare started working on Vanya Taylor’s solo work, it wasn’t long until they knew they had to take their combined talents further. Mixing their blend of Garage and House with Vanya’s soulful and anthemic vocals, the trio have found their sound in the form of Electro-soul – and we love it.

We joined them at Made in the Shade, Hoxton, for this exclusive performance of ‘Remedy’, which can be found on their newly released debut EP, ‘Go Slow’. We’re looking forward to checking them out at Wireless festival this summer.

You can have the EP for free here – http://allaboutshe.bandcamp.com/

Or stream it here – https://soundcloud.com/all-about-she/sets/all-about-she-go-slow

Video: Greg Barnes – @clingfilms 

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