(maybe on a blackberry hype?)

The man pioneering the UK’s intelligent funky house scene right now was kind enough to answer of few of our questions. If you’re not familiar with this sound, I highly recommend L-Vis 1990′s UK funky mix via Curb Crawlers and this great article recently released by xlr8r which features Roska himself. He has been DJing for the past few months, and has recorded a few shows for the legendary Rinse FM which I recommend seeking out. Check the interview for more info. Enjoy.

S: The sound of UK house has definitely changed over the past year. I feel like the music you’re pushing with a few others has been really spearheading this scene. I mean, with tunes being played out by dubstep, 2-step, grime, techno, and house dj’s it’s obviously getting a good response. What is your musical background and how would you describe your sound?

R: My musical background is rooted in hip-hop and garage, then grime, house, broken beat and now UK funky.

S: For how long have you been producing?

R: 8 years on and off. It was mainly a hobby and I started  taking it serious in the last 2 1/2 years making sure the sound is correct and also taking care of the business side of music.

S: Recently I feel like some of the trends in dance music are being a bit overdone. With tunes like your Zed Bias ‘Neighbourhood’ remix, the ‘underground’ sound and feel seems have had a little bit of a revival. Are you trying to stay away from all of the mainstream funky sound with all of the silly skanking and what have you? What do you think is the sound people are trying to capture at the moment? Who, in your opinion, is making some especially fresh tunes?

R: I just do me. I might wanna make an MC based tune or a ‘mainstream’ tune but at the moment I’m happy keeping it underground and taking it straight to the dancefloors. I’m not staying away from all the skank tunes I just choose not to go that route musically.

Those making the fresh tunes at the moment for me are Shortstuff, Scratcha DVA and Geeneus.

S: In terms of your production, how do you approach writing a tune? Is it different for originals vs. remixes?

R: With remixes you have to go with what fits sometimes or angle the track in the direction you want to take it. Most of my remixes have been raw enough for the dance floor speakers and that’s how I like it.

For my original work it’s whatever I am feeling to write that day. Theres no real agenda to my tracks.

S: Top 5 tunes tearin’ down the dance right now?

R:

Zed Bias – Neighbourhood (Roska Remix)
Speech Debelle – Spinnin’ (DVA Remix)
OB – ER (Invasion Records)
Geeneus & Dynamite – Get Low
Zinc – Blunt Edge

S: What’s in store for the future for Roska? Any EP’s or remixes we should look out for?

R: Look out for -

J.Kenzo – Robots (Roska Remix)
Ghosts on Tape – Predator Mode (Roska Remix)
Zed Bias – Spare Ribs (Roska Remix)
Beezy – Thoughts of Retrospect (Roska Remix)
Tempz – Boy off da Ting (Roska Remix)

Those, plus my remix EP featuring tracks from D Malice, Zed Bias & J Kenzo. Also look out for my album sometime next year.

S: One last question. Some of us here at Squeegie are producers ourselves and always appreciate tips from the pros. Is there anything you can suggest to us either technically or generally that has helped you make tunes achieve their maximum potential?

R: Take time with your tracks and make sure you got quality sounding monitors. Personally I don’t think it matters what you have its what you do with it!

Indeed. Thanks again to badman Roska, keep pushing this awesome sound. Check this beatport link for everything Roska, and be sure to pick up the Zed Bias remix when the thing drops as it will surely rip paint off your walls.

posted » September 29th, 2009 by MacGregor
tagged » dmalice . geeneus . jkenzo . lvis1990 . rinsefm . roska . scratchadva . untold . zedbias