How did you start out making music?
I first picked up a recorder aged 4, then clarinet and piano at 8, sax at 11, on which I got my grade 8 aged 13. My early musical experiences came from performing in classical and jazz ensembles at my schools and music service, I was lucky here, we toured all over Europe and played on TV and the radio. All the while I would be making tunes at home on my Casio keyboard and basic midi sequencer, with my fast sampler arriving aged 18. I remember it taking ages just to get going, using floppy discs to load samples: it could be an hour before I’d even started. It makes me very grateful for the technological advances in my studio today.


What inspired your latest single?
“At Least We Can Dance” is all about going back to the basic tribal instinct of finding your little space on the dance floor and shaking your ass. Whilst writing it I thought a lot about the best clubbing experiences I’ve had, the ones where there’s no pretence, just a real connection between you, the music, and the people around you. I also have a quest to make girls dance, I’ve been to too many club nights of late where blokes just stand around admiring each other’s DJ technique, there’s not enough actually dancing going on.


What process do you go through in creating a track?
My writing style differs from track to track, but when I’m working on Dekata Project I will normally start using beats and synths to get the basic chords, bass line and groove established. Then I’ll work on the lyrics and vocal melody, often using my sax to find the right lines. I have a pretty good work ethic and normally will have the crux of a tune done in a few hours. Then I call up my band and they pop in one by one to add more layers, then it’s up to Manchester and Zed Bias to finish the production off.


Why a vinyl edition?
There’s just something so magical about vinyl and technics, when I was a student up in Leeds, everyone had decks, they were the equivalent of having a sit down and a sing song around the guitar for my generation. It’s also a great way of targeting hardcore music fans, and getting my music into record shops around the world. I can’t wait to smell my first vinyl release, hope that doesn’t sound too weird.


Which artists influence your work?
On this project my influences would include Moloko, Basement Jaxx, Jamiroquai, the Brand New Heavies and other less obvious things like Steely Dan, songwriter James Talyor and Level 42. I’m trying to pick up where acid jazz left off, and although some of that stuff sounds horribly dated now, there was a great spirit and some classic tunes that I still drop when DJing. My fellow producer Zed Bias has also been a massive influence on our sound, he made my stuff sound hip and fresh, and I also work with Kwame Kwaten from ATC management, originally from D’Influence, who gives me top advice and helps me make tough decisions about my music and where it’s all going.


What's this Art competition you’re running?
Harvey James is an incredible comic style artist, who has absolutely nailed the art for Dekata Project to date; I truly believe this has had a huge impact on our success so far. At one point he posted some of the artwork on his blog, and the art community just reacted and started posting their own versions of the little characters that featured on the artwork, as he called them, the black lions. I was so blown away by the standard of work, that I started a competition with a prize of £100 for the best comic strip based on our artwork or the concept of “At Least We Can Dance”. Entries have already started coming in, and are amazing, I will be blogging the results, and intend to use some of the entries on flyers and other promo in the future.


How did you hook up with Natalie Williams?
I first heard Natalie via a mutual friend in Jules Buckley, who conducts and leads the Heritage Orchestra, a contemporary take on what an orchestra can be, signed to Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label. I went to see them play at Cargo in London, and Nat was on the gig: the moment she started singing I knew I had to work with her, it was like the orchestra had disappeared, all I could hear was this sweet yet powerful soul voice. This was a few years ago now, when I’d only just realised my tunes could be songs, and she was the first singer I ever worked with in the studio on my own stuff. She is without a doubt one of the best musicians I’ve ever worked with, gets most things first take, and sets the standard to which all of my other singers now have to aim. Her own material goes from strength to strength as well, I would seriously recommend people check it out.


What should people expect from your live show?
Dekata Project was primarily a live soul/funk band at first, gigging out under the name of Pack of Six for a while back there. Thus live musicians have always been the focus of the group, and we tend to go out as a whole range of styles and sizes depending on the gig. At the max, we are a 9 piece funk/soul/house outfit, as with our launch party at Favela Chic, which had a couple of hundred people dancing away. Soul singers, horns, and a heavy rhythm section is what makes our sound, all of our guys are top pros on the session and touring scenes, and most are artists in their own right. We also do a more cut down / acoustic soul vibe with double bass, fender rhodes, and percussion, which suits singer/songwriter venues well, and is better for support slots. I’m increasingly DJing out at the moment too, which invariably involves Nu Jazz, Neo Soul, House, Latin, Classic Funk/Soul and the odd bit of Tech and Electro stuff too, again changing it up depending on the gig.


What would you say to someone listening to your music for the first time?
Like most artists, I would say keep an open mind: even if the genre / stylings aren’t immediately your cup of tea, I have worked really hard on the underlying songs and arrangements, it just so happens that it turned out to be soulful house music this time round. I’d like to think that my background in jazz and live music (vs. coming via the DJ route) means my music is unique and interesting, and not just the same as other dance music out there. I would also encourage people to strip down to their pants, turn the lights off and make some shapes, this is the whole point of what I do.


What are your ambitions for your album, and for the future?
At the moment I’m just enjoying running my label, Doshiwa Records, and knocking out the tunes – we have an album pretty much done but the aim is very much to build the label and group one step at a time. We’ve had some airplay on radio 1, been featured in iDJ magazine, and are charting well on the dance music websites. As for the future, I’m up for all the usual stuff: remixes, doing horns and live sessions for people, producing and finding new acts, and collaborating with as many top singers and producers as I can. When it comes to other labels and publishers, I’m always open to people coming in on my team to help me get to where I want to be in terms of exposure, releases and live gigs, it’s all good, I’m in no hurry, I just want to make sure the music is the best it can possibly be.

Sam from Dekata Project has given us a fantastic new mix which you can download here