IN CONVERSATION W/ INDIGO KIDDA
Having been surrounded by pirate radio and DJing from an early age, the foundations of underground music and pirate radio has formed not only a monster being the decks, but an ingenious content creator with an ambitious demeanour and a passion for scran. 2020 has left everyone in sticky and manic times, although with the presence of DJ and producer, Indigo Kidda, a brighter light is beaconed from his abundance of online content. We caught up with the man himself, about his history in music and clubs, his new online show, Tha Indigo Show, how to help one another in these problematic times and plans for the year a lot of people are waiting for, 2021.
So how did you first get into production and DJing?
I was raised on reggae through me Dad every single day, it was such a big part of me life and by age ten me Dad, who was from Dublin, started a strictly reggae pirate radio station and he called it Weed FM 106.1. It used to reach from Seacombe to Blackpool and Manchester and who knows where else, it used to knock Kerrang FM off air every weekend it was on because the transmitter was stronger than theirs. They used to phone Ofcom over and over to get it took down, it lasted about a year and was took down by the DTI and the plod about eight times, even twice in one week when it first went on air. I was only ten and that’s what I was around and I have never let go of that part of my life, it’s led me to where I am now, so I have me dad to thank for that. So when I was old enough at age 20 I started it back up by myself, but by 2013 nobody was tuning in to radios much so it wasn’t very successful, but the first day I turned to online radio by the morning it connected me with the Liverpool drum and bass lot, jungle heads and reggae dub events. I used to turn up to jungle and dub nights and air them live from the venue to FM and it was actually a buzz.
I’ve been DJing since I was 12, I was handed my first vinyl from DJ Rasp at a DJ workshop in the six weeks holiday and then I had to get meself a pair of decks. I seen him again for the first time since the last year and got the chance to thank him in person. So I’ve always been a DJ but I was focused on Scouse house from age 12. That paid off for two years when I started playing all the classic Scouse house in a club as a job, it fully changed a little club into a donk venue and some people tried to take over it on the sly even though I made it happen. People were trying to take it for themselves and they failed. I started doing dub and jungle sets in 2016 with me mate Hylevel, he started a night up, Different Levels, and I just started getting sets all over when I came up as Indigo Kidda.
What’s the jungle scene like in Wirral and Liverpool?
There used to be a quality jungle/drum and bass and dub scene when I was active in 2014-2016 but I don’t know how much it’s being going on now, I don’t think these events now play enough local DJs and many people agree. A bunch of lads from my side of the water was doing sick dub and jungle nights, Xjukebox, and they had me on loads and even booked me favourite, DJ Hybrid, so it got special for me haha, still grateful for that to this day.
Seen you’ve released a couple tracks in the last few months, you been keeping up on the production?
Been having a blast trying to make some bangers there, I don’t put enough time in to be getting the results I want, but got some heavies on go at the moment. Been at it for three years now and I’ve only just got meself a midi keyboard so now the tunes are becoming better and writing themselves.
IT'S ALL ABOUT FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF LIFE AND BEING PERSISTENT WITH THESE VISIONS
How did the memes and socials start kicking off? Seems to have gained a bit of attention in recent times.
I’ve been making memes and little videos since 2012. I’ve always been a creator, especially since a young age. I love it because a lot of people go out their way to tell me how much they laugh from the content and it’s brought a lot of good into me life also.
How did the idea for Tha Indigo Show come about? I think a lot of people are pretty grateful for the content in these times.
I’ve been making voiceovers since 2016 and I’ve always wanted to merge a load together, like a show with blag adverts and mad sketches, but I’ve not had the equipment and confidence until this year to fully go in on it. I have been telling people for years I’m gonna be making a show that will blow heads off and it will help some people in certain ways. I’ve been preparing the sketch scenes for about five months now since getting all the stuff to do it. I’ve been making the scenes for months and finishing the practical side in just minutes per scene. Yeah pure people are loving it now, get the most supportive of messages daily when I’m bangin' content out.
You promote a lot of positive messages which I think is needed right now, and it’s pretty cool to see stuff like that.
I am here to spread them vibes, I’ve always kept it humour based because that’s the way in with some people, if you put quotes and positive things up many people won’t take in the message so I like to blend it in with me memes so they have no choice haha. From 2013-2017 I was running a pirate radio and online radio station in a few places over Merseyside and I named it Positive Radio 106.7. It was on nearly every weekend of those years and it was reggae based, it lead me to meet a lot of boss people and gave me a lot of good opportunities. I miss them days but it had it’s problems.
What do you think people can do to support each other in these weird times?
I’d say try keep up with checking in on each other, even though I struggle to keep up on me own close people, it is a way to help. What got me through this year while dealing with me own life was realising that you can literally create your own peace and happiness (even on your own), by being grateful for what you have in your life. This lead me to be grateful for things I wanted and now I have some of them, it’s all about focusing on what you want out of life and being persistent with these visions and it will come into your life one way or another.
The Youtube page has been doing some bits for a while now, from Grafters Paradise to Da Chedinator, do you script the voiceovers or are you just freestyling sorta thing?
I get the ideas in me head while I edit the films into voiceovers and I remember every idea while I’m doing it, so I don't need to write anything down, ever. Same for me sketches, I just do them on the first attempt and they work. I’m having a reach problem with me pages, now I used to post a voiceover and it would get about 10k views in an hour or two and most of the best ones have up to a million views or more and reach millions on Facebook, now I don’t even get 5k views in two days. So something snidey going on behind the scenes there, but it will take a lot more than that to make me stop doing what I love.
GUARANTEED TO BEND HEADS AND OPEN MINDS
Tell us a bit about the mix you’ve cooked up for us, what flavas are going down?
Blended some nice vocal drum and bass and took it up and down with some naughty ones I’ve not had a chance to play out live cuz of all this going on at the moment, you know how it is.
What’s the plans for 2021?
2021 is going to be the come up for a lot of people. I’ve just now got confirmation on a few things I could have dreamed of in the recent past. I have about four seasons of this show already planned and prepared, I just have to do the acting side which is easy. I just started doing it and it’s gone down well, so it’s going to lead to major things. I have my own Black Mirror style show planned and half wrote, it’s guaranteed to bend heads and open minds. Also I have multiple films and shows I will have to choose out of when the serious time to get shit done arrives. I’m in me first year of doing a Philosophy and Psychology degree now, but I will take time out to make some heavy drum and bass and some film scores maybe some lofi, and I’m taking Lil Jimbo from the show worldwide with his heavy bars.
Matt Knight
December 10th 2020