‘Snakehips’ aka Ollie Dickinson is the pioneering hip hop producer from North London weaving soulful, East Coast nostalgia with the modern edge of the glitch-hop movement.
Hot on the feet of crews such as Glasgow’s LuckyMe, Snakehips is the latest to join the hip hop resurgence – gaining high-profile online admirers including LA producer NOSAJ THING. Despite a rousing live gig with Beaty Heart at Dalston’s Shacklewell Arms, appearances are a valued rarity – his popularity almost solely fuelled by online hype and by constantly churning out beats to his large, cyber fan-base.
His new Hoffman West EP, out for free-download on Bandcamp, showcases a triumphant first year of producing. A beat-tape of eleven short tracks they each evoke their own unique blend of ingenious soul cuts that will have your eyes closed and head bobbing. So zip up and zone in as i-D online chats to Snakehips, coming soon to a pet shop near you.
Where did the name ‘Snakehips’ come from? A dance move I used to do inspired by Earl ‘Snakehips’ Tucker. He used to dance to really early jazz in the 30s or 40s on telly. He had these really ‘eccentric’ dance moves – kinda fucked up but kinda cool. He’s the man who invented breakdancing… Sort of.
What are you listening to at the moment? There’s so much great new music the moment – Blank & Kytt, Camouflage Children, Young Montana?. Last thing was probably Ta-Ku. He’s awesome – really soulful. He always digs the best old samples. But they’re also really well produced. It’s my perfect hip hop – technically fresh but also really raw.
What’s your process when making a track? I don’t really have any set way of making stuff. I’ll just listen to a whole load of old records – sometimes I’ll sample drums, stick a beat together and work from there. I’m always listening out for that special bit in the record… It could just be a chord or a couple of bars that I can chop and twist into something truly vulgar. I try to make instrumental hip hop that doesn’t sound like it’s missing an mc, that works perfectly as a composition.
If you can have one rapper on your record who would it be?John Barnes…
Tell us about your inspirations… New skool producers – Hud Mo, Ta-Ku, the Brainfeeder guys – but because they emulate the sound of classic underground hip hop – the greats like Pete Rock, J Dilla, Mad Lib, Lord Finesse – it’s the use of the old vibes and combining it with modern ways of producing – that’s what I love. I listen to an enormous amount of stuff outside of hip hop though and get just as much inspiration from bands and musicians as I do from producers.
You’ve had numerous guitar bands, solo acoustic material as well as being a professional jazz musician. How have these influenced your music? I used to play folk music… maybe I shouldn’t mention that! I guess it changes the samples you look for and helps you be more creative with it. Jazz always helps – just searching for breaks and things like that. It’s the feel of jazz isn’t it!? If you’ve always played jazz and swing music – you’re always going to be feeling hip hop. I’ve really only been producing hip hop for a year. I’m used to writing songs so when I produce, I try and make them sound like a piece of music – rather than just a beat.
What’s next? Keep pumping out as much material as I can – constantly updating my soundcloud – bringing out new beats every week to keep people listening.
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