British DJ, producer, remixer, and label manager Syncia has released his music on record labels like Alan Fitzpatrick’s We Are The Brave, Dense & Pika’s Kneaded Pains, and the label he runs – Release LDN.
Release LDN is the official imprint of the same club that Syncia is now a resident of, Studio 338 in South East London, where promoters such as ABODE, Sankeys, and Space Ibiza have all hosted nights.
We spoke to him about his plans as a producer going forward, his approach to holding down a long term residency, and what else he hopes to achieve in 2024. Read the full interview with Syncia below.
Where are you right now and what are you up to?
Hey, I’m at home in the UK, sitting in my studio listening to mixes I’ve just done at Metropolis with a Grammy winner and wondering how I can get to his level! The level of detail and space he created in the mix has blown me away.
Anything special happened for you so far in 2024?
Some pretty amazing opportunities have come up already that I’m really excited about, 2024 is my year of working with other artists on projects rather than flying solo as much. Towards the back end of 2023 I did a number of remixes for some great artists and that has opened up the door to working with major international record labels.
You’re a resident at Studio 338, how have you found that experience?
Being a resident anywhere is a real honour as you get to learn the club, the sound system and ultimately the dancers, musically you can explore more and try music out that may take a while to gestate and grow on people. I’ve been lucky over my career as a DJ to play all over the world and hold residencies at some amazing spaces and both opportunities offer different experiences, when I started playing in europe I got to hear loads more other DJ’s play, their styles both technically and musically are very enlightening. 338 and Release have given me a home both to DJ and release music to the world and for that I’m eternally grateful for their belief in what I absolutely love doing.
What challenges does a residency bring compared to a one-off gig at a club?
Tough question, that is, both have their merits and possible downsides. It’s not something you see as much today as in the past but there were nights that would run a party every week and we would have a pool of residents on rotation and sometimes big tracks or a particular crowd would expect that resident to play the same set or tracks as the last time they were in so you can get kind of pigeonholed. On the flip, touring to other venues means you are in and out and don’t get the time to explore musically as the crowd may have seen a big moment on social media and are expecting that.
You’ve previously released music on We Are The Brave and Kneaded Pains, which other labels might we expect to see you on this year?
I’ve got tracks coming up on Juliet Fox’s Tregambe, Vicious in Australia, and a handful of others, obviously more on Release LDN as well as remixes for Kink, Soul Central, and a collaboration with Gawp.
What goals have you set yourself for 2024?
I’ve really enjoyed collaborating with other artists and engineers, learning their processes and bouncing ideas around and not having to make all the creative decisions, so I would like to do more of that. I need to finish the restoration of my Cobra that I’ve swapped the engine on and it’s kind of stalled at the part where it’s ready to paint. A small goal is to wear my ear plugs whilst playing, I often take them out mid set but wear them either side of performing.
Is there anything else you want to mention before we go?
Look after your ears – dancers, DJ’s, and venue staff need to have ear protection. Sound systems are extremely loud, we are mixing and mastering tracks louder than ever before and I have seen some close friends recently have serious challenges with their ears and it’s not fun.