For our first mix of 2024, 1 More Thing welcomes rising Welsh artist Sempa.
He comes packing his first ever 100% own productions mix. Flexing from UKG to jungle and all bubblesome multi-genre shades in between, it’s a serious calling card for his versatile skills which have so far landed homes on labels such as EC2A and Kingdom Audio and platforms such as Silly Ugly and Scandal Sounds.
On top of that, he’s also the label manager of one of the most exciting and fresh talent stables in D&B right now: PullUp Recordings. Based in Cardiff, just down the road from Sempa’s Newport HQ, PullUp are a maverick team of D&B heads who are responsible for a whole host of unique and interesting events such as pop-ups and their own festival Gemfest.
We caught up with Sempa – real name Matt Wilkins – to find out more about his mix, his persy stash of over 70 finished procuctions, his work with PullUp, his time management and what he has store in the future. Press play, read on, get to know!
You’ve been pretty busy haven’t you? Before we get to your music, you’ve been running pop-ups as part of your role at PullUp, right?
Yeah we had Badger in a barbers a while back and it was pretty wild. The thing about pop-ups is that they’re busy straight away so it’s instant vibes. All of a sudden you’ve got 100 people in front of you straight away. It’s an interesting dynamic and definitely the way forward right now. We’re not spending anywhere near as much as we were and it’s really good for branding.
Unusual events too!
Yeah that’s it. It’s almost like a brag to your mates. These things are so limited, it’s a special thing to go and do. And the thing is, it finishes at 10 so if you want to go out after, you can. But if you’re keeping it chill and trying to keep away from the alcohol or whatever, it’s still a proper vibe and something cool to do.
Oh true! Very inclusive in that way and not a focus on staying out and getting smashed all night.
Totally. Some places haven’t got licences anyway. You look at pictures or videos of the night no one has got drinks in their hand. They’re there for the experience. It’s quite an original type of rave, no one is filming, everyone is in the moment. Like more personable if you know what I mean?
Very much!
You can lose that at raves can’t you? I’ve been to massive events that have cleared out by midnight. The main headliner has played, fans have got their videos of the DJs they’ve seen online and want to see and they’ve gone home! It’s a very different vibe out there right now.
That’s the difference where people go for a line-up instead of for the vibe.
Definitely. I can’t complain too much, as I’ve chosen to be a promoter. We’re just navigating a really challenging market right now. We love the new generation of ravers as they’re the ones who pay our bills.
New gen ravers are the bread and butter! So let’s talk about you as an artist. You work full time on PullUp and you’re an artist. I always have a bit more respect for promoters who also make music as it shows how invested you are.
I guess it shows that you live and breathe it doesn’t it? It’s all I do with my time. If you’re doing it for online clout or likes or fame then you’re not going to get far. It’s the life isn’t it? You can’t fake that for an extended period of time.
Definitely! Take us on your musical journey!
Like a lot of people my age, it started with bassline. Skepsis, Bush Baby, TS7, all of that Nottingham bassline era stuff. And that’s what opened the gates into all forms of electronic dance music for me. I started my own brand Spyral to get my hands dirty straight away. That was when I got into D&B and before I even DJ’d.
Did Spyral begin as a label brand or party brand?
It was actually a uni student brand when I was studying in Bristol. We put out music from people I knew and that blossomed into me setting my own DJ stuff and events. The brand is now part of PullUp as a sister label and we’ve got some exciting plans for it next year.
Oh nice!
The plan is for it to be for the headsier stuff to be on Spyral as the more mainstream sounds that stream well are on the main PullUp label. We love it all. I’m really proud of Spyral and the doors it opened for me. It was like a stepping stone that got me to where I am now with PullUp. I wouldn’t be here without it as it shows the knowledge and experience I had to teach myself. There aren’t many tutorials online to teach yourself label management!
Very true. Quite a dark art. Not a huge amount of tutorials on running a label.
Yeah and it’s fun. PullUp asked what I like doing and I said I like doing events but they stress me out to my teeth. They can be so unrewarding. But with the label there’s a lot more personal fulfilment. Like the relationships you build with the artists, you know?
Definitely! What were the biggest lessons you learned from Spyral that got you the job?
I think getting stuck-in in general is the best thing I learned. Obviously knowing people is a huge benefit but everyone I’ve met, I’ve met through networking and getting stuck-in and creating opportunities anyway. I do get asked by people how I’ve got to do the things I do and I always say it’s down to getting my sleeves rolled up and trying to make things happen and learn on the job. It gives you your own unique twist on what you’re doing and no one can copy that can they?
Absolutely. And that can be extended to your mix can’t it? Have you done an all productions mix before?
No this is my first. I haven’t felt I’ve got enough music to do that but over the last six months I’ve stacked up 70 odd tunes so felt I had enough to at least give it a try.
Wow 70 tunes!!
That doesn’t include anything I completed in the first six months of producing. I cringe when I think back to those tracks but we all start somewhere and that’s how your learn isn’t it?
Totally! Musically you can hear your roots – there’s a lot of bassline vibes in your sound
Yeah I do try and incorporate a lot of grimey elements too which you find a lot in bassline. I never go to the studio and go like, ‘Okay I’m going to make a bassline tune today!’ It’s all based on vibe or an idea I’ve had from a sample. Samples are the biggest source of inspiration or motivation to get into the studio, I’d say.
Sick. You’ve taken to production incredibly quickly if you’ve only been producing for less than two years!
When I finished uni I got stuck in properly and that gave me a lot of progress. And I do spend as much time as I possibly can on this. Time has given me the edge and after a while you get an ear for samples you know will catch an audience. It’s what I love doing and I’m so dedicated to it. It takes up all of my life.
Love that. Do you think you’ll settle down with one sound eventually?
Who knows? I did wonder about building a new alias the other day but I see DJs like Badger who switch it up all of the time and smash it and I figure there’s no need for multiple artist names. I will say, though, the levels at play between D&B and stuff like house and garage are so different! A D&B tune will take weeks to finish while a garage tune will take days. So full respect to D&B producers because it’s so technical!
Whole other playing field!
Just with the elements alone. A D&B tune will have 100 channels open in the DAW while the most complex garage tune I’ve made has had no more than 50. There’s so much going on in the mix but I love that as well because it’s a challenge to rise up to.
You’re definitely rising to it! You’ve had a release lately, haven’t you? On EC2A?
Yeah that’s out now, part of their dubplate exclusive series. It sold out within 30 minutes which I was majorly gassed about.
That’s very impressive!
EC2A are pretty headsy and their supporters buy up any vinyl pressings pretty fast so that’s more of a reflection on the label than me.
Haha. Is that your first vinyl release?
Yeah it is. I’m very proud of that. I collect vinyl anyway so it’s nice to add my own vinyl to that collection. It’ll go straight up on the wall!
Sick! What’s next?
I’ve just put out quite a few things on Soundcloud. There’s D&B flip of Meekz on Scandal Sounds. It’s quite niche, it’s a drill flip. We’re calling it drill & bass and it’s been doing quite well on TikTok. Then on a garage vibe I’ve got a release on Silly Ugly with Marswalkz called Rudeboy Lovesong, which is out now. Then we’ll see how it goes in the future, I’ve found that releases seem to get signed in batches so who knows what’s coming?
How about PullUp?
The pop-ups are our main focus and something we’ve found that people really want. We’ve got some exciting events for Q1 with a new pop-up tour which we’ve just announced and we’ll be taking over Vaults for the Cardiff leg of Amplify’s tour in March. We’ve also got our own festival Gemfest and a packed release schedule remixes of Bsearl’s Radio from James Hiraeth, which is one of our most asked-for tunes along with All A Dream from DRZ and the Krasia boys which we dropped last month. They’re so exciting and we feel they’re destined for the top, their production skills are mind blowing and they’ve got the bangers locked. We’re sat on a lot of great music!
Releases booked up until 2026 then?
No not at all! Only Q1. I’m a big believer in not booking up the label too far ahead. How can you give the artists the promo and time they deserve if you’re stacking them up? We want every release to have the chance to get out there and reach that magic 100k mark and when you’re release schedule is packed too heavily you can’t put firepower behind things when you need to. It’s a constant learning curve though – especially with such an ever-changing industry, but I love it.