"Hello, Boddika!"
Locked up in the late night hours of a Benji B show in autumn last year is where I first heard Boddika. His track Electron ended a mini-mix from Loefah that profiled all Swamp 81’s future releases. It was dark, acid-tinged, built ceaselessly and left me fully charged.
Named after the baddie from Robocop, Boddika may feel like a new name to some but he is a long serving member of British club music. Perhaps best known as Al Bleek, one half of d’n‘b duo Instra:mental alongside Kid Drama (who have just released their terrific debut album ‘Resolution 653’), he’s also clocked up hours in the studio with Skream and dBridge of Bad Company, is the man behind Nonplus records which has brought us releases from Kassem Mosse, Jimmy Edgar and, most recently, the beautiful Harrier ATTK/Gershwin by Actress. With all that in mind, perhaps best to take his answer to our “Previous Experience?” question with a heavy pinch of salt.
Instra:mental and dBridge’s Automonic podcast series and FabricLive CD of the same name, turned a lot of heads. Regardless of whether it was d’n‘b, techno, house, they genre-hopped seamlessly, and Boddika channels all of that cherry-picking across sounds, resulting in tracks that simultaneously feel brand new but with a touch of well-grooved, dusty classic about them. This is also attributed to his love of Roland drum machines, giving tracks a depth and soul of often missing from laptop production. The result? Good, honest EPM (see below).
His double 12” is out this week on Swamp 81. ’2727/Sometimes/Soul What/Rubba’ has four tracks all qualified to be deemed an A-side. Personal highlight, Soul What opens ominously and gives way to the straight-up sexy “Oh yeah” on top of minimal drums and a pinch of booty slap. In honour of Monday’s release, we should all get to know Boddika a little better.
Soul What by Boddika aka.Instra:mental
Name? Alexander Green
Age? 33
Current location? Just outside LDN
Your sound? Electronic Party Music (EPM)
How do you record? Through dirty valves.
Previous experience? None.
Heroes? Drexciya Kraftwerk AFX
Previous releases? Swamp 81 -ElectronUnderground. Naked Lunch – Boddika’s HouseSyn Cron. Nonplus – You Tell MeBreezin
Next release? Boddika EP- Swamp 81 – 2727Soul WhatSometimesRubba
Next playing? Vienna
How is working as Boddika different to working as Instra:mental? The only difference is that I don’t have to get confirmation about sounds I’m recording.
You are a fan of both software and hardware – if you had to pick only one to produce with for the rest of eternity, which would it be and why? Hardware. I love machines and the buzz of hunting down old equipment, the sound i get from the machines I just love and always will do.
Soul what? Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Ele Beattie interviewed Boddika over email on the 13th April 2011
Swamp 81 released Boddika’s EP ‘Boddika’ on the 18th April 2011
