After his performance at Stone Island Presents, Sega Bodega discusses his upcoming projects and his relationship with the internet
Sega Bodega is one of the most exhilarating UK producers you might not be familiar with just yet. Opening the recent Stone Island Presents party at Glasgow warehouse space SWG3 ahead of acts like Darkstar and Zomby, his mix of harsh, mind-bending club abstractions (think destructive, euphoric and oddly calming all at once) made for a positively bewildering welcome to the city. Set against a backdrop draped in slick, HD Stone Island-branded visuals, Bodega’s style wasn’t what you’d expect at 9pm on a Thursday night. There were no easy mixes and he reserved little time for groove or rhythm – instead, it was an onslaught of future club sounds, often punctuated by throwback R&B samples and pitched-up, chiptune vocals, served up with little regard for those gathering at the bar area. Bodega was setting his own scene.
Bodega’s approach to both his DJ sets and production work feels all the more interesting given Glasgow’s relationship with house and techno. While the city’s nightlife is defined by iconic club spaces like Sub Club and DJs like Optimo and Slam, under the surface you’ll find producers like Bodega – a born-and-bred Glaswegian – working hard to redefine that image. His Sportswear EP, released on Slugabed’s Activia Benz label, is a good entry point to his sound, although recent collaborative work with Russian internet duo WWWINGS and Chicago rapper Mikey Dollaz has seen his music continue to take on bold new shapes.
Following his set at Stone Island Presents, we caught up with Sega Bodega about the relationship his music shares with the internet, designing tracksuits and what he thinks the future holds for club music.
Your Sportswear EP on Slugabed’s Activia Benz last year label saw you release a tracksuit alongside the music – reckon you could design one for Stone Island?
Sega Bodega: I reckon if they actually came to me and genuinely asked I’d probably do it, yeah. Why not? Might be shit, might be great.
How do you think Stone Island have influenced fashion culture within dance music?
Sega Bodega: The party itself had a really good feel to it, and to see so many people come out and support Stone Island just as much as they supported the music was nice.
Your own sound touches on some of the new, URL scenes shared in by producers like WWWINGS, Sami Baha and Silk Road Assassins. How would you describe the relationship your music has with the internet?
Sega Bodega: I think the only relationship I have with it is that it’s where I host my music. I’m not usually interested in putting up tracks online here and there, and if I collaborate with somebody it’s usually best IRL, in my opinion. That being said though, me and Coucou Chloe have a project called Y1640 and recently we did a collab with WWWINGS via the internet. It was surprisingly easy. We trusted their direction and they trusted ours. As long both sides have trust I guess the whole process is a stress-free, fun experience.
We’ve noticed you’ve been producing for Chicago rapper, Mikey Dollaz, too – how does producing for rappers differ from writing your own club material?
Sega Bodega: I think Mikey seems to be open to working on beats that maybe others wouldn’t want to. I send a lot of stuff around and tend to get the same ‘it’s cool, but not for me’ response, and I had even sent that Mikey beat to a couple people with the same response. I wasn’t really expecting anything to come from sending it his way but he came back with the finished thing in like an hour.
Do you write music with anyone or anything in particular in mind? If so, what is it that makes your work tick?
Sega Bodega: Nope! Usually it’s a pretty empty space I come from, sounds influence melody influences rhythm influences arrangement and then there’s just a finished tune.
Which other artists are you inspired by at the moment?
Sega Bodega: My friends are doing the most right now, which is really nice to see. Shygirl, Coucou Chloe and Bonaventure all have some really exciting stuff coming soon that I think will resonate well with people.
What do you think the future is for club music?
Sega Bodega: I’d like to see an end to kickdrums.
What can we expect in 2017?
Sega Bodega: Y1640 have some cute things planned and I’ve been putting some stuff together with Shygirl that we’ve been patiently waiting to share with people. Maybe, just maybe I actually might put out some of my own stuff too, but probably not.
