Interview #540: Bless Beats

How Bless Beats isn’t a household name is a mystery. Having regularly worked with grime’s biggest names, such as Roll Deep, Chipmunk and Ruff Sqwad, his biggest release to date was Wiley’s #2 hit Wearing My Rolex, for which he composed the beat on his mobile phone. As a joke. He is currently working on his debut album, which is sure to be huge, kicking proceedings off with his new single Let It Go, featuring Remi Nicole, Wiley and Plug One (De La Soul).

I Like Music caught up with Bless to chat about the creative process, collaborations and his newly assembled Hoxton crew, Rude Nation.

“I Like Music because…I can be myself and express myself however I feel.” Bless Beats

ILM: How and when did you start making music?

Bless Beats: I’ve liked music since I was about 14. In school I used to see the older kids, the year 11s, making backing tracks on Cubase and that. I was really interested in all of that. I was fascinated by it. So I kind of started early, making my own beats from about year 8.

ILM: What equipment do you use to make your music?

Bless Beats: I like to use Reason. That’s what I make most of my beats on. I use Logic a bit as well, for vocals and stuff. But I mainly build stuff on Reason, which is what I’ve used my whole career.

ILM: How would you describe your creative process?

Bless Beats: I like working at night. I work any time though. Sometimes I get up at seven o’clock and make a beat first thing in the morning. Whatever, I just go with my vibe and my spirit at the time.

ILM: You’ve done a lot of collaborative work, how do like to approach working in tandem with somebody else?

Bless Beats: There’re two ways it can turn out: good and bad. When you’re all creative you can all have creative input. You’ll either come out with something good or bad. So it’s just about being open to new ideas. That’s just part of being creative.

ILM: Who have you been working with recently?

Bless Beats: I’ve been working with Dionne Bromfield quite a bit. That’s something a bit different. And I’ve been working with Hermes. There’s this new act Jay Ell Dee who I’ve been working with quite a lot recently too. I’m just putting an album together with her. We’ve just started a new crew called Rude Nation. JLD’s in it, Maxsta, RoxXxan, Pace and myself. It’s kind of like a Hoxton crew that we’re putting together. It’s cool. You’ll hear some stuff coming out this year.

ILM: What impact has coming from London had on your music?

Bless Beats: It’s definitely got a bit of an edge. It’s a hard life in London; city living. Obviously the music is fast-paced. I’ve got that London kind of attitude in my music.

ILM: How do you push yourself and make sure that your music is constantly fresh?

Bless Beats: I just like to challenge myself. I always need to prove to myself that I’m better. I make music for other people, but I make it for myself as well.

ILM: What kind of music do you listen to as a fan?

Bless Beats: I like loads of stuff. VYBZ Cartel’s new album is pretty good. It’s got 46 tracks! I like Trey Songz new album. I’m into R&B at the minute, I think it’s going to come back. I’m listening to Drake. Loads of UK… That stuff’s all American but I’m obviously listening to the whole of the UK; Tinie Tempah, Skepta, Chipmunk.