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Spenda C

indexSydney DJ and producer Steve Lind, aka Spenda C, is performing at Metropolis Fremantle this Friday to promote Bass Trap, a new trap music compilation with mixes from Lind and Adelaide’s Leah Mencel. He speaks with JOSHUA HAYES.

As one of Australia’s most prominent bass and trap music producers, Steve Lind is an ideal fit for Onelove’s latest compilation.

“I spoke to the guys (at Onelove) about doing a compilation based more on the trap-ier styles and they were really keen on the idea,” Lind says.

“It’s more than just trap; we’ve got stuff that’s really current now, like a bit of the twerk movement, 100BPM stuff, as well as some drum’n’bass, big room stuff and I’ve got a little bit of drumstep-y stuff as well. It’s got a whole lot of different genres on there, so it’s not just trap but that theme holds it all together.”

Both Lind and Mencel will be performing this Friday and Lind says his set is very close to his mix on the CD. “They’re all tracks that feature heavily in my sets anyway,” he says. “It’s pretty much an accurate portrayal of what I do and what I play.”

He’s particularly happy he was able to get permission to include DJ Snake’s Bird Machine (“that’s just a really cool, forward-thinking club tune”), Jackal’s Shakedown (“in my live sets that’s one of the biggest songs”) and A$AP Rocky and Skrillex’s Wild For The Night.

“All the Skrillex stuff and stuff on (his label) OWSLA is quite hard to license,” Lind says, noting the song was released on A$AP Rocky’s label, Sony. “To actually get a Skrillex song and be able to put it on a mix CD was a pretty big deal because he doesn’t really licence any of his stuff to mix CDs, so I was happy we got that.”

Lind’s mix also has a number of his own tracks and remixes including, Use Yo Mouf – a collaboration with fellow Sydneysider Nemo that was just released by Klub Kids; and two songs with female rapper Zuri Akoko – Another World and In The Back. He is currently working with Akoko on the Another World EP, which will be coming out soon on Klub Kids.

Lind’s two other projects – The Mane Thing with Jax Carr (aka Deckhead) and The Hump Day Project with Heath Jansson (aka Athson) are currently taking a backseat to his work as Spenda C. The Mane Thing is only throwing a monthly party, The Mane Event at Sydney’s iconic venue Chinese Laundry, while The Hump Day Project is on hold as Jansson recovers from problems with his hearing.

“He’s on doctor’s orders to rest his ears,” Lind says. “He’s cancelled all of his gigs for a whole year just to try and get his ears back to normal. That’s a word of warning for all DJs out there: wear earplugs.”

In the meantime, Lind continues to focus on production and remix work as Spenda C and as his music evolves, he’s heading in a direction that lends itself to working on a full-length album.

“I’m moving more towards writing tracks that are more song-based with more structure… but there’s no glimpse in my eye yet about doing an album,” he says. “But I’m definitely heading in that direction.”

 

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