#oasisblack

Having done my usual routine browse of Soundcloud and also with some guidance from a friend, i managed to stumble across South London based music producer Moteleola. I found it really easy to warm towards his music and ended up having a listen to the majority of his tracks. What i liked the most was the amount of variation and creativity amongst his production. Many of his tunes have a mixture of musical elements, predominantly Hip-Hip, there are also touches of R&B, Grime and then more soulful blemishes of jazz and funk that are extremely subtle. It was almost instantly i took it amongst myself to get to know the artist himself a bit more. I was intrigued to find out what influences and motives Moteleola, so what better way to find out then to interview the artist. The interview went as follows. You can find his sounds on his Soundcloud channel here – https://soundcloud.com/moteleola / https://soundcloud.com/moteleola/sets/produced-by-moteleola

Hi, I’m Ezekiel and i was hoping to ask a few simple questions to get to know you more as an artist.

Your music is very creative. Where do you draw inspiration from?

My biggest inspiration is music, incredible records that blow my mind and makes me want to turn on my equipment and create something truly spectacular. Whether that be classic albums such as Blu & Exile’s Below The Heavens or Notorious B.I.G Life After Death or even recent releases like Kendrick Lamar’s GKMC or Oddisee’s Tangible Dream. Although I must admit before I start a session of beat making I listen to Drake – Furthest Thing, from start to finish, it gives me chills every time I blast it through my speakers, Jake One really redefined my approach to drums in production through that one track.

So you have quiet few tracks you’ve uploaded to your channel. When did you first start producing properly?

The first instrumental track I ever released was in April 2012 on YouTube. Although I believe I started early 2011, that was during my second year of college. I completed my 2 years and I wasn’t heading to university for further education so I really needed to apply myself to something. I was finding it incredibly hard to get a job, tons of agencies and job websites were really overloaded with young people just like myself looking for work, so my time was really occupied producing beats continuously. As time went on I became more confident and skilled at producing, to the point I released my first instrumental EP “Kids Looking For Gold” December 2012 and I haven’t looked back since.

During your time producing, what other artists have you worked with / Music labels etc?

I’ve produced for a wide variety of artists of which I am genuinely a fan of their works and respect musically. For example Olivia Louise from up in Chester http://soundcloud.com/olivia-louise-dunn/skin-deep-produced-by to Cheer Dolor from New Jersey and Brooklyn’s Sene https://soundcloud.com/moteleola/so-good-feat-cheer-dolor-sene Just this April I produced 2 tracks for North London rapper & producer Wize, for his “The Road Trip EP”. Because of that opportunity i’ve now been lucky enough to produce a record for Remus, which will be on his album featuring Cee Major. On top of that I have unreleased/unfinished records flying around in emails and hard drives that I can’t wait to share when able to. For now I love being as direct to the artist as possible, in terms of connectivity, input and ownership it really helps. A lot of that gets lost I believe working with music labels, although we’ll see how that progresses when that time comes for me if ever.

What personal music projects such as EPs / Albums have you already worked on?

I’m currently in the making of my latest project “OASIS BLACK”, completely produced, arranged & mixed by myself, featuring a wide variety of artists handling the vocals. From Signif hailing from Milwaukee, who recently put out a track with Slum Village legend Elzhi, to Mello Music Group’s Has-Lo, to my younger brother Taunts, 1/3 of SWB, also of course Olivia Louise, a beautiful singer who I have repeatedly produced for just to name a few. I started producing and gathering verses for “OASIS BLACK” late 2013 and have been gradually building to it since. I really want it be spectacular and stunning sonically. To the point it’s hard to imagine I put it all together in my bed room, with my little sister in the next room playing Pokemon, or even my younger brother playing football in the corridor.

At 21 you are still a very young producer. What are your future prospects and ambitions?

I really want to stay an independent artist for as long as possible. I believe ownership of creative content is the highest priority of all. Landing actual album placements is a big goal for me heading into 2015, I hope to continue fortifying relationships i’ve built with artists i’ve produced for in the past and bloggers/A&Rs that i’ve connected with throughout this year. Good music.

Moteleola then ended the interview with…“Thank you for this oppurtinity, i’m truly grateful for real”.

His new Album “OASIS BLACK” is due to drop this Winter 2014.

Moteleola – Oasis Black