A LITTLE SOUND - MAY 2024
( Digital Covers ) - Thursday 30th May 2024
Words by Isaac Solanki. Photography by Sami Taylor. Styling by Pele Eugene using pieces from Eunoia and Tides Studios. Thanks to Jake Kleinman (Insanity Music Management).
Not only is A Little Sound undoubtedly one of the hottest DJs on the scene right now but she’s also well on her way to solidifying herself at the forefront of female dance as a prominent DnB vocalist. Her ability to seamlessly blend her own vocals with electrifying collaborative beats has captivated numerous audiences worldwide across the last year or so; something that’s beginning to set her apart as a standout artist not only for the future but for NOW. Her relentless dedication and self-taught talent continues to propel her career to new heights, already earning her several accolades in the DnB community alongside countless sold-out performances. Both behind the decks and at the front of the stage with a mic, she continues to refine her creative craft and solidify her position as a unique force to be reckoned with. It really is incredible to see what perseverance, creativity, care and attention can do to a career destined for greatness.
I spoke to the little bundle of contagious energy and infectious joy about her inspirational story so far, the beauty of collaboration in DnB, the feeling of playing live and her advice for both perfectionists and upcoming DJs battling the current carnage of modern day life. Last week, Sami Taylor (photographer) and Pele Eugene (stylist) worked their magic in the minutes leading up to A Little Sound’s killer set at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Luton to capture all of the stunning visuals you’ll see below.
Firstly, let’s talk about your incredible story so far. From acoustic covers and musical theatre to a record deal at Ministry of Sound, huge gigs at Printworks, Motion and Drumsheds, numerous DnB awards AND an upcoming debut at Reading & Leeds Festival this summer... how’s the journey been, what challenges have you faced along the way and how does it feel when you take a step back and look at what you’ve achieved so far?
“Honestly, when you put it like that it really does start to sink in. Over the past 4 years of my career, I have been living in younger A Little Sound’s Hannah Montana dream and I find it really hard to believe that it’s actually me. My first ever performance in front of a big audience was at the age of 9, playing Jiminy Cricket in a amateur dramatic show of Pinocchio - I had the most lines to remember as the narrator of the show and it was in that moment that I experienced what it was like to receive a positive reaction from an audience. I now feel so grateful that I’m able to fulfil that same feeling every week on the road. Although DJing and singing live at DnB events is a very different world from when musical theatre occupied my life, I still get the same adrenalin rush leading up to a show as I did back then.
You mentioned Printworks, Motion, Drumsheds, etc and I can’t quite believe that I ticked off so many bucket list moments in the last year or so, all since joining my new management team at Insanity. These are just a handful of the leading venues that I wanted to get the opportunity to play at some point in my career, so to perform my self-curated show at such iconic clubs so early has been a real honour.
If we’re talking challenges, it’s actually quite a bittersweet feeling thinking back to early last year when I was experiencing the most exciting parts of my career at the same time as trying to manage my mental health, which had never been so bad before. I don’t often touch upon this part of my journey (I was able to manage it enough to continue my work) but I think it’s important to briefly mention how much I have suffered with anxiety in the recent years. The more I progressed in my career, the more I realised that a lot of the parts of being a touring musician made me feel very anxious - having a fear of one of the physical repercussions of anxiety has made travelling and lack of routine pretty hard to manage but once I was able to find a manageable solution, a supportive team and regain a positive mindset, things have been going from strength to strength.”
How much has the city of Bristol influenced your sound and journey so far and how much has the DnB scene impacted your love for music, playing live within such a close-knit community?
“Where do I even start? Bristol has my whole heart and I have an awful lot to thank it for - from the second I stepped foot in the eclectic city of music, I found that I was attending 3-4 events a week. When studying at BIMM (British and Irish Institute of Modern Music), I was thrown into all things live music and I found myself exploring all kinds of genres from acoustic to different dance influences. After travelling an hour up the M5 from my hometown (where we had very minimal live events/clubs), I felt like a kid in a candy shop and I couldn’t wait to dive into everything that Bris had to offer…so I went in head first and I’m so glad I did.
After a couple months of exploring all of the madness, I realised that there was one part of the city that I just couldn’t stay away from - the rave scene. To anyone that has walked around the streets of Bristol at night, they will know that it only takes a couple steps before you’re greeted with a rave - from 140 UKG to the inevitably loved jungle and DnB, it had it all and I couldn’t have been more involved if I tried.
In early 2019 I was picked up by Aries and Kelvin373 who founded the underground label Born On Road. This was when things really started to get moving; they saw potential in my brand and gave me a safe space to grow. I wrote my first single “Fallen” with Gray (who was signed to the label) and it went on to gain a lot of traction in the free party scene before we released it on Desolate Recordings. The Born On Road guys continued to push my writing and collaborative process, all whilst letting me jump on their live sets to perform what I was working on. Once I was a fully integrated member of the Born on Road family, I started to realise how incredible being part of the DnB scene was in general. We all shared the same love for the music, it’s culture and everything that comes with it. After years spent deliberating which part of the music industry was the right place for my sound, I knew I had finally found it. That is why Bristol is and always will be so very important to me and my unique journey.”
What made you decide on the name A Little Sound so early on and what’s encouraged you to stick with it?
“Now I wish I had was a super interesting story for to tell you for this but unfortunately it didn’t happen that way - I used to upload covers and originals onto a YouTube channel back in 2010 and knew that I needed to find a memorable name. I remember thinking, I’m little and I make a lot of noise, which makes me “A Little Sound”…and it stuck - technically A Little Sound is 14 years old and that is crazy. When I first started to release properly, a well-respected producer in the scene told me that I should “drop the A and just be Little Sound” but I’m so glad that I stuck to my gut.”
Talk to me about collaborating - how have some of your collaborations come about, what makes you decide whether or not to go forwards with some of the tracks you create together and do you enjoy working with other talented creatives on personal projects? It feels like collaborations are slightly more popular in and around the DnB scene as supposed to other genres, have you got any ideas why?
“If someone told little old me before starting uni in late 2018 that collaborating would be so fun, I’d have been all over it. I love collaborating, honestly, it’s so rewarding bouncing ideas off one and other and getting to combine multiple great ideas to create something even greater. As mentioned previously, Gray was my first experience of a producer/songwriter collaboration and we worked super well together. I sent him a voice note of me singing while playing an idea on guitar, he then turned the voice note into a DnB tune for the dance and he actually kept the acoustic guitar elements in the final release, which I think is a great insight into my acoustic to DnB crossover; I love how it sounds.
Alongside releasing “Fallen,” Kanine had hit me up after seeing one of my acoustic covers on YouTube (which I was convinced no one would watch). I sent him the vocal for our first release “Face Away,” followed by the top-line for “Back In Time” which we were both even more excited about and had to release asap. Following Kanine, Technimatic also reached out after seeing my cover of their tune “Parallel” and we wrote one of my favourite releases of all time, “Lakota.” The reason this song means so much to me is because it was written about meeting my current boyfriend of now 5 years - we met in Bristol’s renowned venue “Lakota” in 2018 at New Year whilst Technimatic headlined the main room. Every part of the story alongside Technimatic’s gorgeous harmonics and melodies still make me feel a certain way when I listen to/perform it.
Following some of my first releases surpassing a million streams on Spotify, I have now had the opportunity to work with the likes of Friction, Rudimental, Hedex, Disrupta, Document One and many others. It’s evident that the art of collaboration has really allowed me to get creative with my writing across multiple sub genres and allowed me to work on a number of highly produced ideas. When you’re not a producer, it’s super helpful to have access to incredibly talented producers to work with and I have definitely been lucky in that sense.”
Over this past year or so, you’ve performed to some crazy big crowds and not too long ago went on tour down under. How was it and if you can, describe to me the feeling of playing live and seeing these ever-growing crowds singing along with you.
“I will never get over how incredible the crowds have been over the past year of shows. My 2023 summer ended shortly after playing my biggest crowd to date. I was lucky enough to play on Boomtown’s Origin Stage, following the highly respected Shy FX where the crowd surpassed 25,000 people. I knew it was going to be a big show but you can never be sure how many people are going to turn up at 2pm on the last day of a festival, let alone stick around for the entirety of the set. I was blown away by the amount of love I received for the duration and when people ask if I get scared, I say “no, it felt like a big blanket as I knew they were staying there to see me.”
Another set that absolutely knocked me for six was my headline show in Guildford. The venue had a capacity of 180 people but every single person in the room was bringing serious energy and sang along to every single word of my songs. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing to a big or small crowd, as long as I can feel that the vibe is reciprocated, I instantly feel at ease and know that the set it going to be an enjoyable one.
It will never not blow my mind when I catch people singing - every musician dreams of witnessing strangers singing their words and the more I release and play out, the more it happens to me. I also get excited watching bigger vocal acts like Becky Hill and Bru C perform their chart hitting anthems, hoping that one day I could receive the same reaction from every single person in the crowd.”
As a young creative mastering her craft in the music industry, have you got any advice for other up and coming vocalists/DJs who are perhaps struggling to break into the increasingly competitive UK dance scene?
“Everyone’s journey is different and there isn’t necessarily a rhyme or reason to someone’s success. I had been writing songs since I was 11 and up until I was 18, I still didn’t know what the right direction for me was. One thing that I consistently did and continue to do now though is showcase what I’m about online. Whether it was posting my covers on YouTube, sharing upcoming progress or projects on Instagram or using Musically/TikTok to post more laid back and playful content. Yes, a lot of what I posted didn’t receive any traction but I was always aware that it was a journey and that it only took that one video of Justin Bieber to be seen by Usher before he was signed. An example of how this same process worked for me, is back when Kanine and Technimatic reached out to me from my YouTube videos. In my experience, social media has played a HUGE part in my journey but I’m sure it’s the same as playing out at open mics and live gigs, it just takes the right person to see.
My advice would be to post that video that you were umming and erring about, you just never know, it may do better than you initially think or could fall onto the screen of the right person. For a lot of people (including myself), it’s not an overnight process but it definitely is a step forward in getting yourself out there. However much it may seem like it was overnight for me, I can assure everyone that the journey dates all the way back the decision to post my first original song on YouTube in 2010. Once you have created a solid base to work from, you’ll hopefully find your niche and specific audience to you.
“I was laughed at a lot during school for posting videos on YouTube but I stuck to what I believed in and continued to post - now the same people have no choice but to hear me across national radio and I feel so proud of myself for sticking to my guns. Yes the scene is competitive but if you can bring something new, then bring it and start now.”
How do you do know when a project or single is finished? Something that I struggle with a lot is knowing when a magazine page layout is done or when an Instagram reel is ready to post, so what makes you look or listen back to something, decide that it’s the best it can be and break past the creative block that so many of us face so regularly?
“You never really know, honestly - as a perfectionist, I find the finalising process so hard but sometimes you’ve just got to accept that a song will perhaps never be “perfect” as such. As long as you’re happy with it in the moment and it succeeds in making you feel a certain way, I’d say you’re done.
In terms of feeling when a post is finished, I find that the less time deliberating on it the better. It’s so easy to let something eat you up for hours but you’ll usually find the best content is the stuff that goes out with little thought because it’s far more organic and truer to you. If I listen to a master on my speakers and it hits in all the right places, I’m signing that off. Obviously, there are always going to be times when a snare could hit more, or vocal levels could be amended but once it’s been tweaked, we’re all good to go. I can’t go back and forth too much, I’m too excited to get in the studio and write another.”
To finish, talk me through “Escape The Lights” with Disrupta; looking back at the collaboration, do you feel like it was a success and how proud of it and where it’s taken you are you?
“I love this track, Disrupta is one of the most talented producers of our generation; I’ve been a fan of his music ever since he released “The Night” EP on Born On Road in 2020. Since then, he’s showcased his talent through a number of releases from liquid, all the way to the scattiest jump up you could hear. We’ve both been on a similar journey since releasing with Born On Road and it feels super wholesome that we finally got into the studio together to work on this single in Reading. After spending hours on a single idea, we decided to give another one a go and Kieran played the instrumental of “Escape The Lights” to me - instantly, I started writing a top-line and the lyrics kind of began writing themselves. This is when we knew that the song had potential and after pitching it to Ministry of Sound, we were delighted to find out that they wanted to put it forward as my second single.
3 months on since its release, it's now solidified itself as the closing track of my set and it still never fails to get the crowd singing along. As a songwriting DJ, seeing your self-written tunes receiving such a positive reaction live is unmatched and this one turns the dance into a karaoke night. I hope to work with Disrupta again in the future and look forward to seeing where this crazy old journey takes us next.”
