The build up to the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival has created a palpable shift in energy in the city. Many of us will tick off significant sections of our music bucket lists as our icons and inspirations descend on Cape Town for a weekend of mind-bending, soulful sonic wizardry.
One of the reasons many of us have our knickers in a twist, is Greg Feldwick AKA Slugabed. He is a prolific producer having released on the likes of Donkey Pitch and Planet Mu followed by the ascension to Ninja Tune as well running his own imprint, Activia Benz. It’s quite clear the man has a golden plan and is armed with the determination to match. The announcement of his performance sent childlike squeals of joy through the studios of every sample hacking, button bashing beat-maker and their closest cohorts.
We had a chance to catch up with him ahead of the festival to hear his thoughts on South Africa, the record label game and what we can expect from his live show at CTEMF.
What impression do you currently have of South Africa and what is the most ridiculous advice anyone has offered you about travelling to Africa?
I’ve been to South Africa once and was there for my 8th birthday. I got really sick and had to have an injection in my butt cheek and couldn’t sit down for a day. Aside from that, we had a braai on my birthday and it was super chill and the kid’s TV shows were weird. That’s about all I remember. As for ridiculous advice, I haven’t received any, because I only hang out with sensible people.
Have you heard any South African electronic music and are you keen to meet and possibly work with our local artists?
I’m not a huge expert on South African music, but I’m a big fan of John Wizards, DJ Spoko, Okmalumkoolkat, Spoek Mathambo. Will hopefully meet some of these guys while I’m out there, and would love to work with any of them to be honest. I just realised that John izards and Spoko are on at the same time on different stages at CTEMF so I am currently bummed out about that.
Ninja Tune is an iconic label, were you influenced by any of their artists growing up and how does it feel to be part of the label now?
Yeah I guess everyone (particularly in the UK) was influenced in some way by Ninja Tune, as it had such a huge reach throughout the ‘90s and onwards. It’s sort of surreal working with a label that influential but they’re very chill to work with and are a great bunch so you kinda get used to it.
You have your own label, Activia Benz. What are the challenges and benefits of running your own imprint?
Me and my buddy Jake started Activia Benz as a just a kind of a fun little outlet for us to put out some weird music we like and try and help some unheard-ofs to get heard, etc. We also were very set on focusing on the visual element, keeping it stupid and interesting. Since starting in 2012, another buddy of ours, Steve Smith, has joined forces and helped us to set up ilovesingles.club which is one of our coolest ventures yet (check it out right now). In some ways its great fun to curate stuff like this because it’s a chance to showcase what we are into and create a sort of a “brand” or help forge a “scene” or something, but also its a pain in the arse and you have to always upload stuff and send emails and stuff, but all in all its probably worth it.
Soundcloud has cracked down heavily on copyright infringement. What are your thoughts on other artists creating bootlegs of your tracks and how do you approach sampling in your own work?
I feel pretty good about people creating bootlegs of my tracks. It’s a pleasure to have a stranger do something with my music. I don’t mind at all. It’s nice if its labeled as a bootleg though, not just stolen, haha! I like to sample in my music, although I don’t rely on it or do it that heavily. It’s just another part of composing for me, like another instrument I guess. I’ve done a fair few bootlegs too. They are fun.
What are the challenges you face when translating studio productions into live performance ready tracks?
I like to make simpler, “clubbier” edits of some of my tracks for shows, ‘cause in that environment sometimes the intricacies of certain parts will get lost, or become irrelevant. Sometimes you gotta get drunk in the studio and listen through your stuff and see if you get bored or confused. Look out for “Slugabed’s Drunk Edits 2015” coming soon. Maybe.
What is your gear set up for your live performances and do you prioritise efficiency over intricacy?
Always prioritise efficiency. I don’t want to over-complicate things and create so much of a challenge that I don’t have a chance to enjoy it, or it becomes less of a party and more of an exhibition of music gear! I’ve done a few live sets in the past where I have keyboards and samplers and stuff, and it was ok, but the overall experience of the show was not as fun as a simpler show. These days I mostly DJ, because for me that is the funnest. Both as a performer and a punter, I like to party rather than stroke my chin and wonder “what does that knob do”. I understand other people might feel differently, but I’m not really that techy and I just wanna hear cool music.
Which 5 visual references would you use to describe the music you make to a hearing impaired audience?
This sounds like a kinda cruel exercise but ok – slime, reflections, sunlight through the leaves of trees, goatse, nike swoosh.
Who would be part of your production fantasy team if you could collaborate with anyone on an album?
I dunnooo, I’d like to collaborate with a lot of people but not necessarily famous people or dead people. But maybe Rick Rubin just so I could watch him work for a day. Boring answer I know…
Listen to Slugabed’s CTEMF Mix below and catch him at CTEMF on Saturday at 23:00 in the Audiotorium.
