3 London Based Independent Soul Producers You Should Know
I know you’ve got soul
Eric Lau & Kaidi Kat (From Belfast, Ireland): Although not officially a group/production team, they might aswell be, having collaborated on a number of occasions to fantastic results. If we take Eric Lau’s last album “One of Many” for instance, Kaidi is credited with having played instruments such as: Bass, CP-70, Flute, Hi-Hats, Juno 106, Matrix 1000, Moog, Minimoog, Piano, Prophet 5, Rhodes and Solina while Eric steps into his familiar production/mixing role.
Their minimal usage of samples seems to work more to an advantage than limitation, along with their combined experience in Hip Hop, Funk and Jazz music. Songs like “Here (Feat. Rahel)” and “Everytime (Feat. Rahel)” display the duo’s affinity for vibrant basslines, and sultry rhode sounds that flow well with the beautiful vocals.
Alfa Mist: Alfa Mist is an enigmatic London producer/composer that has made huge waves with the release of his EP “Epoch” alongside singer/producer/songwriter Emmavie. His production relies heavily on Grand Piano and other keyboard sounds that take listeners back to the feel Andre Harris (Dre & Vidal) brought to English group, Floetry.
On songs like “Retrograde”, his keys provide a chilled backdrop for Emmavie’s cover vocals, while his drums sit under the bassline with a very laid back swing to them. From his production credits, one can tell that he seeks to work with a lot of fresh faced talent in the UK. This is very healthy for a music scene that has long relied on well known talent of the past to co-sign and provide trajectory to newer acts.
Tom Misch: Well renowned for his skills on the guitar and keys, Tom Misch has utilized these talents into a sound that verges somewhere between neo-soul, indie rock, and jazz influenced production. The young composer’s J Dilla styled solo work, sees him playing multiple instruments on a single song. With tracks like “Where Were You” he chops up a dope horn sample and integrates his guitar into the blend to create an awesome collage of sounds.
While he hasn’t yet amassed a huge list of production credits, vocals from random singers over his beats are not too hard to find on music platforms like Bandcamp and SoundCloud. It will be interesting to see who’s official project his multiple talents appear on in the near future.
