Akito is one of them illusive cats who is always chipping away. Building trax, throwing raves, partying too long…he even hooked me up with some of the best fried chicken in North London once. Safe to say he’s at that connoisseur level of being.
With his music output bubbling like a pressure cooker thats left been on all weekend – Akito has been putting in solid work and making serious progress since his early wideboy days as FilthyYello. Its been pretty satisfying to see him come correct with his recent club pop-off jawn ‘Metamessage’ and of course shit hit the fan when good vibe heavyweights Murlo & Eno stepped up for the remix too…imagine smashing up a piñata filled with Grey Goose miniatures and having an impromptu booze shower. Yeahhhh thats riyut.
Akito took some time out from some serious track construction ahead of the Sub Skank Baby Box Takeover to chat about our favourite status drink Grey Goose, being put in a head-lock in Bond Street station and getting involved in excessive breeding…
Big up pal!
Name. Where you from. Your crime….
My name’s Akito Hearnshaw. I’ve lived in North West London all my life and been playing and making music on and off for a decade now.
Whats your favourite type of music?
UK Funky. The darker side of it, not the soppy crap, there’s not enough of it – this will change soon though. Random shit would be synth pop, like the 80’s sounding stuff. I don’t know any of it by name but I like the sound.
What inspires you beyond music?
I like design in general from Graphics to Architecture, by nature I’m more of a visual person than auditory; I’m just more passionate about music, plus books inspire me all the time and are my biggest source of source of motivation. Any time I’m lost or down I read or make edits for my DJ sets.
Whats the deal with your label Sub Skank right now? Whats coming up in the next few months?
CDNephew’s got the next release and there are a few more this year that I’ll keep secret for now. Been thumping ‘O’Clockage’ for like a year now and glad it’s coming out officially. Plus the rest of the EP is fiyah as well…soon come.
CDNephew – O’Clockage [Forthcoming Sub Skank – mix rip] by Sub Skank
Any clubs/movements you’re really feeling in London right now? And any DJs / producers to watch out for?
My favourite club nights ‘House of Trax’. I got into it through their OG party spot ‘Rhythm Talk’. Fools and Rushmore are mavens in the curating game.
DJ wise Trimmer, Mungo, and Riz La Teef kill it every single time…auto gun fingers at the ready. Production wise the people I play out most frequently now are probably Sentiment & Lemonick.
You grew up in London….how has the London music scene changed over the past 10 years / since you started going out?
We used to play loads of Grime & Garage when we first started, it’s not far off what we play now I guess. It’s just developing in different directions. I still play loads of both with the bass, funky bits and the dubs people send. For me the vibe is pretty similar, that’s what I look for, to evoke certain feelings.
First London club memory?
14 years old. Fake ID in Trafalgar Square with Jason & Co. Dead music / wavey times.
First music memory or experience?
Making Grime trax and learning how to use Fruity Loops with Jason and Tony…patient guys. They also taught me how to use Reason, then J taught me Ableton. In fact Jason taught me how to use computers…now I need to teach myself how to get off them.
Weirdest or most wave thing that’s ever happened to you.
Would have to be St. Patricks day this year…a member of TFL staff escorted me out of Green Park station in some fucked up arm lock for “being too drunk”. I think I was tiyad and tried to catch a cheeky kip on the platform seats! It was a long ting. I wobbled all the way to Bond Street to continue my journey…
Dream outfit for a set?
Black and White Sub Skank x Moschino off-key shirt, jeans with matching snap back, a pair of one away Reebok Workouts with white to blue fading LED lights in the sole that are synced to the sound system.
Where d’ya wanna be in five years?
In Japan, breeding as many women as possible. I hear they have a real issue with the decline in people having sex. If I’m still based in London, I’ll be doing what I’m doing now, building and playing music hopefully at a larger scale. I plan on designing and building a house as well – on my Grand Designs ‘ish.
Favourites:
RnB babe: Cassie – she’s a hot spice for life…not just Christmas
Wave juice aka boozy drink: Grey and Tonic. Exceptionally clear buzz, Tsunami surfer certified.
Restaurant: The Libertine – arguably it’s a pub but their pizza and wings game is very strong.
Bashment riddim: Bookshelf Riddim – only because I wish I made it.
Fast Food: Sam’s Chicken Steak burger (when they used to make them)
Grime MC: Skepta – gas mark 10 material
Grime track: Visionist – First Love…this shit gets me every time.
Epic last song: Sizzla – Dry Cry. I switch things up and end on an emo tip, I’m probably quite drunk at this point as well so I’ll drop the up fader in and out to catch off key and wrong lyric gang. I’ll sing along from time to time as well.
Sweets: I like M&M’s, light blue packet, crunchy.
Check out his recent mix for Circadian Rhythms here.
You can catch Akito and the Sub Skank fam at the Baby Box takeover tonight at Ministry of Sound ‘longside Famous Eno, Trimmer, CDNephew, D Warrior, Mungo, Sanga and more…Thursday Tsunami surfing.
Over n out.
