Behind The Beat ep.4- El Train
Welcome back once again to another instalment of Behind The Beat, the monthly series where we explore the hottest producers and DJ’s making waves in their respective scenes.
This time round we’ve been blessed with the company of El Train, the man who’s been making waves on both sides of the Atlantic with his ability to blend Hip-Hop, R&B and Electronic vibes with a heavy nod to the US West Coast production scene.
The past few years have seen El Train self release his first album, Puzzles, a project that fuses sounds from Hip-Hop, groove and future beats that all work together in perfect harmony to create a selection of progressive and refreshing tracks. As well as this, the beatmaker and Dj has appeared at multiple festivals, ran his own show on SohoRadio and has dropped a catalogue of singles and remixes.
His work has been supported globally, with backing from Soulection DJs, Rinse Fm and NTS; not to mention releases such as ‘Tell Me Where’ being selected as Radio 1xtra’s introducing track of the week.
We caught up with him to talk about his journey to where he is now, and what he may have in store for us in the coming months.
1) What’s your name, where are you from and what do you do?
My name is El Train, I’m a producer and DJ originally from Brighton but just recently moved to Manchester.
2) How would you describe your sound?
It’s influenced a lot by hip-hop and RnB but also takes elements from electronic music so I guess it’s them all fused together. I always try to keep that soulful vibe running through all my music as well.
3) Who were your 3 biggest musical influences growing up?
The Neptunes, Hudson Mohawke and more recently Kaytranada.
4) Is there a significant moment where you realised this could become a career for you?
There’s probably two that are on par with each other. One was a few years ago when I played Glastonbury- it was only in a tiny tent but just to do that and being able to tell people like ‘yeah I’m playing Glasto’ was crazy. Then the second was when I won a competition to play at Cape Town Electronic Music Festival which was like 6 months after Glastonbury.
5) When’s your fondest memory of a concert you’ve been to?
Seeing Kaytranada at a Donuts event in Brighton. It was when he was just getting some traction mainly off of his remixes- he was playing in London and the person running the event contacted him and then there he was.
6) What’s your favourite track that you’ve been involved in?
I produced a track called Something True for Barney Artist- it’s one from his debut album. That’s how he then came to be on my album, we’ve got like 5 demos that will most likely never be released.
7) Who would your dream feature be?
Kendrick hands down, I’m sure a lot of producers would say that!
8) What can we expect from you in the coming months?
I’ve just been trying to work with as many people as possible, so lots is gonna be production for others. I’m trying to decide whether to put out a smaller project or just wait for an album. But before the end of the year, there’ll definitely be a project of sorts out.
9) For someone that’s been in the game a while now, what‘s your stance on the current climate of the UK scene? Are you a fan of where it’s going?
I think it’s in a really strong place. The British Soul and RnB scene is really taking off at the moment which is nice to see. Obviously drill is huge at the minute, especially commercially, even though I haven’t explored too much I really like everything I’ve heard so far. It’s nice to see the divide between the UK and US landscapes closing a bit as well; I saw Slowthai was on the Jimmy Fallon show the other night. So yeah, I’m very excited to see how it’s going to continue developing and progressing.
10) And finally, have you got any gems of wisdom for any young producers or DJ’s out there?
Diversify yourself as much as possible. I think one thing Covid has shown is the need to be adaptable, whether you’re a DJ or producer putting out sample packs or whatever, it’s so important to have multiple skills within the industry so that you minimise the risk of finding yourself in a difficult situation.
Be sure to check out El Train’s Twitch account, where he regularly streams production and DJ content to keep you entertained and educated during lockdown.