5 Minutes With… Xtrah

One of the new breed of talented producers making a name for himself within Drum & Bass circles, Xtrah has amassed quite a following and fan base in a pretty short space of time. Early collaborations with long time friend Basher on tracks like Hubble on Subtitles and Xerox on Ram Records marked him out as one to watch and led to releases on labels such as Dispatch, Symmetry and Critical. His dark and thumping production style caught the ear of the folk over at SGN:LTD and has delivered more quality music on his latest offering Shock Treatment.

I took a little time to catch up with the London based beat maker.

You’ve recently released your new single Shock Treatment. Give us the lowdown on it…

Shock Treatment and Going Deeper are two bass heavy Drum and Bass tracks out now on SGN:LTD.  I’m really happy with them both and have had some positive feedback on them so far, which is really good!

What’s the most shocking thing you’ve ever seen or heard personally?

The Tough Mudder course I put my body through recently was rather shocking to be honest. It was hard work but I managed to do it!

How does it feel being part of the SGN:LTD revamp and how did the link come about?

I feel pretty honoured to be part of the Shogun imprint and it’s been a label I’ve been following for quite a few years now, purely as a fan of their stuff. The link up was quite simple really. I sent Ed (DJ Friction) some music, him and KT wanted those particular bits for the label and well… here we are!

You’ve put out tunes on other respected labels but not yet aligned yourself to one imprint. Any reason or do you prefer the freedom you have at the moment?

I’ve been listening to and DJing Drum and Bass since I was about 11 or 12. I always wanted to see my name on certain record labels, some of which I have done already and some of which I haven’t. I want to try and continue ticking some of the other goals off my list before I lock myself away and start writing albums and whatnot.

Both Shock Treatment and Going Deeper are some seriously dark steppers. What’s your process for building beats like these? Do you have a routine or is it different with each track?

It’s always different but I guess anything can inspire an entire song. I do like to work on the drums first most of the time, just as a starting point.

What have you got coming up next on the release front?

I have an EP for Symmetry Recordings on the way. I believe that I am the first person to have such an opportunity on the label, which is another honour as Break has been one of my personal favourite producers for many years now. Plus, he’s just an all round great guy. I did a remix of his tune Something New last year and I’ve also done a track with him that will be on my EP.

I will say this… If you had tried to tell me I’d be doing these sorts of things five years ago I’d have called you nuts!

Who or what inspires you creatively? Does being a dad factor into your writing process at all?

Life itself definitely inspires me and having two beautiful kids is such a blessing. It genuinely does really help.

What music are you listening to currently?

All sorts although I do have to mention Lowkey and his album ‘Soundtrack To The Struggle’. One of the best albums I think I’ve ever heard. Bonobo’s new one The North Borders is flawless too. To be honest I don’t have as much time to listen to albums as I’d like because I’m so busy on my own music.

Shock Treatment / Going Deeper is out now on SGN:LTD have a listen below.