It has been three years since Ste McGregor, aka Kidda, unleashed his debut album, Going Up, on the world. It is a record soaked in sun lit tones and soul vibes; drawing on the great Northern Soul tradition out of the UK. It was an instant hit helped in no small way by the track Under The Sun being featured in a Bacardi ad campaign. Add in a great club remix from Herve and he was onto a fast winner in the clubs too.
The story starts with a lot of hard work on McGregor’s part. Whilst he was working as an animator his tracks got the attention of Catskills Records in 2004. After releasing two EPs through them he was signed to UK label Skint Records. Based in Brighton, where McGregor now resides, the label is also home to Fatboy Slim, Midfield General, and Lo-Fidelity Allstars. He couldn’t have asked for a better platform to release Going Up.
Three years later and McGregor has finally finished work on his follow up album, Hotel Radio. It features vocal contributions from Gary Lightbody, Psycho Les from The Beatnuts, Blak Twang and many others.
On the phone from his home he tells me that the tools haven’t changed so much but his approach has. “I’m still mostly a computer based musician, but this time around I wanted to write the songs myself. Using samples is cool, but it’s kind of a one way street, creatively; you’re only going to get a good track if you found a great loop.”
McGregor explains his working process on Hotel Radio: “So, this time around I’d start with a sample and then take it to bits and put it all back together using different instruments and approaches, the tune would shoot off in another direction into something much more exciting. I’m still after huge hooks in my music so I began writing lyrics. While being something I only started at the end of the last album, it’s become something else that I can work at, and for the most part, it works.”
And he’s going for the jugular: “Arrangement-wise, I have tried to make the tracks as short and punchy as possible, no 10 minute-soul-wig-outs on this one, my goal is to write the perfect 2 minute pop song – I don’t really want any pissing about on this record.”
Strange title for the album though right? “I was djing in Sheffield back in February and flicking through the channels in the hotel room,” McGregor explains. “I came across the radio channel, with the words ‘Hotel Radio’ stuck in the middle of the screen. I took a quick photo of it and it just looked like this weird message that lit up the room.”
And here’s the thought behind it all: “It kind of sums up everything stupid in the world, like having to have it explained that you’re listening to the radio, plus I’ve spent a lot of time in hotel rooms in the last couple of years, so I guess it reflects the delightful relationship I’ve struck up with these weird, transient buildings.”
McGregor really is a musician who is never afraid to speak his mind. Earlier this year a post popped up on his blog with ten commandments for producers. Apparently a magazine had called and asked about his tips. He confesses that the assignment was boring and he chose to do something interesting instead. “Whenever a conversation starts between dj’s and producers about ‘kit’ and ‘plug-ins’ it just makes me yawn. Like, ‘you spent all that money on some flash machine to write that pile of shit?’ – for me it kind of misses the point of making music, it’s a consideration sure, but little else. So I took the opportunity to list my general rules of thumb when making music in the vain hope it strikes a chord with the cyborgs who buzz off technology too much.“
And in a world where there are so many faceless producers or DJs it is refreshing to find McGregor speaking his mind. “Well fuck me for having a voice!” he faints anger and surprise at my opinion that he is just about to unleash hell upon the world at any time. But, speaking more seriously, he continues, “I think people take dialogue for granted, like they just say ‘stuff’ and none of it really matters and doesn’t mean anything, most people would be happy to talk about shoes and mortgages till they die.”
McGregor continues on this train of thought: “But thinking is really fun and all I do is afford myself the time to ask ‘why?’ about a lot of things. If you do that and have a dialogue with the world then it makes life a bit richer. People think that to have an opinion about something is kind of political and shy away from it cos it might bring confrontation and, god forbid, you might have to do something about that, but if you choose not to give yourself a voice then where’s your power?”
“I used to get frustrated that kids don’t get pissed off about all the shit in the world, until I realised that with £20 for weed and a wi-fi connection, they were happy and didn’t want for anything else. It doesn’t make them selfish or mean spirited, it’s just another inevitability of modern life and the way we communicate.”
McGregor is spending the rest of 2010 touring and working on a new live show for next year. After waiting so long to release Hotel Radio he is also intending to start work on the follow-up.
Kidda (UK) plays Super Disco at the Prince Bandroom this Saturday 14th August, 2010
http://kiddamusic.com/
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http://www.discogs.com/artist/Kidda
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Im so excited for this new album! Love you Kidda….