Zone Magazine 047 Feature Interview – Sherpa –

Also from the UK we catch up with Sherpa who has burst onto the scene by landing releases on Perfecto Black, Pure Progressive and most recently Krafted.

This meteoric rise is not without graft and a lesson in chancing your luck! Sherpa’s introduction into producing and releasing the music that he loves, began in a slightly unusual way, but now sees him with high level plaudits and an ever-growing army of fans. His latest release is the fantastic ‘Let Me Think About This’, a collaboration with Jan Johnston no less. We caught up with the Sherpa to find out more.

You’ve had quite the musical journey so far, with early support from Oakenfold and Solarstone, and now your latest release alongside Jan Johnston. Where did it all start for Sherpa?

My music production journey actually started over 25 years ago on the PlayStation with games called Music & Music 2000. They had all the basic features of music production software and I would make house and techno choons then recreate some of my favourite tracks etc. dare I say it, I had these games maxed out from playing them for so long up until I joined the Army at 17 years old in 2001.

It wasn’t until 2020 during the pandemic that I started learning how to use Ableton Live. I guess I just picked up where I left off all those years ago. It took me just over 2 years to make something half decent and finish my first ever track which was a remix of the classic Summersault by Taste Experience. To be  honest I didn’t think it was good enough, I guess I just listened to it too much. I sent it to Russell from Tastexperience and was shocked when he told me he loved it and it was one of the best remixes he had heard: shortly after, Solarstone played it on his radio show. This was a massive deal to me, a dream come true!

I was making other remixes and bootlegs sending them to Solarstone for his radio show when a friend said you should start making your own tracks, so I laidoff the remixes for a bit to work on something original of my own. I started messing around with a vocal sample which seemed to catch the ear of everyone in my house, especially my wife, so I thought I must be onto something. Anyway, I built the track and named it “Tears” which I sent to Paul Oakenfold and he signed it to his Perfecto Black label.

 

How would you best describe your style? We recognise a real nod to the old skool from the piano breakdown of Let Me Think About This. Was this planned for the track or did you suddenly just start raving out 90s style?

I’m still trying to figure out what my sound is myself, every track I make is experimental, unique and built completely different from the last…. I’d say it’s a mixture between progressive house & progressive trance.

Version 1 of “Let me think about this” was actually a progressive trance track but I just wasn’t feeling it, so I let it sit for about 6 months before coming back to it with fresh ears and new ideas for Version 2, the only thing that remained the same was the key, BPM and the vocal.

The 90s piano vibe was, again, an experiment that just seemed to fit and get juices flowing. Who doesn’t love a piano, right?

 

Who are your influences when it comes to being an artist/producer?

I find this a difficult question to answer to be honest.  I don’t really listen to dance music anymore, I don’t enjoy it like I used to. For the past 5 years I’ve pretty much only listened to chill out music. Every original track I make comes from somewhere within me so I wouldn’t say I have any stand out influences per se. I do have people who have helped me out with advice and an open ear, my good friend and producer Mark Reynolds, Graeme Laverty and Rich Solarstone.

 

Your latest single with Jan Johnston is on constant rotation here at Zone! How did that collaboration come about?

Thank you! That’s really nice to hear. I saw Jan post on her social media that she had just finished recording loads of new music and she mentioned some new up and coming artists too, so I thought I’d chance my arm and ask. I sent her some of my tracks and got the seal of approval. What a dream come true!? She’s really lovely, amazing to work with and of course an absolute legend. We have already talked about a follow up.

 

Have you any other awesome collabs planned?

I actually don’t, but I do have a list of other vocalists I would love to work with sometime in the future. I’m also open to offers from other producers with similar music as myself too.

 

You are from Belfast in Northern Ireland. What’s the scene like there now?

We have had one of the best dance scenes for many years, some may say we still do but I suppose it depends on what genre you’re into and like most cities throughout the UK, many venues didn’t survive the pandemic sadly.

 

Your previous release Skabana on Solarstone’s Pure Progressive label landed straight into the Top 20 in Beatport. That must have been some real affirmation for you as a producer?

Yeah that was pretty cool! I think it got to No. 5. I remember checking the top 100 in descending order and when I got to around 50 I was thinking it hadn’t even got into the top 100. I was about to give up scrolling down, but there it was at No. 20 the day after release.!

 

So what’s next for Sherpa?

Good question, I love nothing more than opening up a blank screen in Ableton and just seeing where the journey takes me. It’s my therapy. I would class myself as a loyal person and like to remain loyal to those who have supported me, some more progressive trance tracks coming out on Solarstones Pure Progressive and I have some more progressive house tracks I’d love to release on Krafted Records.

 

Words By Simon Sinfield