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- So “Bedroom Eyes” marks the beginning of Sugar, your collaborative EP with The FaNaTiX. What inspired you to bring this project to life, and what made them the right creative partners to help explore a new musical direction?
The FaNaTiX are OGs, I genuinely love their music outside of what we have done together which made the collaboration easy. As creative partners they were open to different sounds and to working with even my most eclectic influences. Being open is such an important part of music. Dancehall isn’t my main production genre, but I love it and learning the ins and outs of their production style has been really fun and important. We’re still in the process and I leave every session excited for the next.
- You’re known for bringing vibrant house energy to your work, while The FaNaTiX have built a reputation through their dancehall and Caribbean productions. How did you approach blending these different sounds, and what did you discover about your own musical identity through the collaboration?
We started with a lot of listening to each other’s music. I played the boys loads edits, I also have files of specific synths, vocals, percussions etc that I like as well as whole songs. Everything was done in the room together, production, writing and arrangement which avoided the back and forth that happens sometimes. As for my own identity, I discovered I’m versatile but very sure of what I like. My markers aren’t always genre based. Something clicks when a sound makes sense to me, and I can hear when to draw back, when there’s too much going on and it’s getting muddy. Space is just as important.
- You described “Bedroom Eyes” as Afropop but still very London. What does that combination mean to you, and how does your experience as an Australian DJ, producer, and radio host influence the way you interpret London’s diverse musical landscape?
London does genre fusion so well, it feels very nuanced to me, our party and music culture is so diverse but feels seamless. Not being from London makes me realise how unique that is. For a Londoner it’s normal, but I get excited by unexpected fusions and the inspirations behind the London music scene. There’s a lot of colloquialisms in the music here that I had to learn. Bedroom Eye’s does this nice little dance on that fusion with Afro percussion, a Vocal that is more pop but with the first verse that nods to Jamaica.
- The song explores attraction, eye contact, and the unspoken communication between two people. What initially drew you to this concept, and how did you translate that playful, flirtatious energy into a production that feels equally suited to a club or a rooftop party?
The image in my head for this song has always been that look you share with someone in a club, rave, or wherever. The phrase ‘body language’ exists as its language that’s universally understood. I think people should spend more time noticing body language than what’s being said. Production wise, we wanted to keep the bass heavy so people dance. The vocal is so sweet though that it gets away with a rooftop party too. I’ve just been DJing in the Maldives for 10 days and I can vouch that it holds its own at a beach party.
- As a DJ and producer, you have the opportunity to experience music from both sides of the dancefloor. How does your experience behind the decks influence your production decisions, particularly when it comes to bass, rhythm, and building an infectious groove?
It definitely influences arrangement, as well as bass and rhythm of course. Knowing how to build is important in a DJ set and it’s just as important in a song. It’s all about when people hear things. In Bedroom Eyes we moved the chorus to the very start so it would grab people’s attention. We wanted it to be a fun song, and hearing the vibey bit early tells people they can dance to this one. Balance is something you are sensitive to as a DJ. You have to know when to bring the lows, mids and highs in and out, and that naturally crosses over into production.
- You’ve described Sugar as the place where your sound and The FaNaTiX’s musical influences meet. Was there a particular moment during the recording process when you felt you’d found that shared identity, and did the collaboration push you outside your usual creative comfort zone?
Honestly, it was there from the beginning. We worked together seamlessly straight away, which is so rare in studios. Energy is everything. Nobody was pushing their own style to be the loudest. I don’t think I was ever really outside my comfort zone, because these are genres and spaces I love and know in different capacities. But it has made me learn and grow as an artist.
- The FaNaTiX have worked with major artists such as Nicki Minaj, Popcaan, and Vybz Kartel. What was it like working alongside a production duo with such an established background in dancehall and Caribbean music, and what did you learn from their approach to creating records?
The artists they have worked with are a reflection of their craft. But C Dot & Dro are very down to earth and it’s an easy room to be in. You always want to be around people you can learn from. There’s a lot of mutual respect there, for something to work everyone has to bring something to the table, and I think we all feel with our project.
- The “Bedroom Eyes” video, directed by KJ Spio and shot by Sparbz in London, keeps things relaxed and intimate, allowing Äyanna’s personality and performance to take center stage. How involved were you in shaping the visual identity of the single, and how important is it for the imagery to reflect the music’s playful atmosphere?
Imagery is important and I love to be involved in all of it. It’s our first song together, so we wanted a relaxed space where we had a bit of grace to get things right. It also felt right for the song. KJ Spio is a artist who has a really good eye for visuals that crosses, fashion, art, video etc. Sparbz is an amazing videographer who got the concept immediately and we had Simmy Kanda on photography, who is an excellent photographer but also such a fun, easy vibe, so it was a great team. You learn something from every shoot and take it into the next one. It started from a really strong place and it’s only going to get better.
- As someone working across DJing, production, and radio, you occupy several different spaces within the music industry. How do these roles feed into one another, and does hosting radio help you discover sounds, artists, or cultural influences that eventually find their way into your own productions?
They all feed into each other organically. DJing and radio keep you constantly crate digging, discovering artists, listening to mixes and seeing live what people are dancing to. For the last two years I’ve been doing my law degree too, so I’ve had to lean on other resources a bit more than the club to stay on top of the scene. That’s actually been really interesting because it’s opened up new ways to discover music. DJing and producing overseas is also a big inspiration, seeing what different industries are doing. I was just in Paris with my friend and artist Legzdina, working on more house/ club focused stuff. We popped into Universal for a session while we were there and it was great to just listen a range of new music there.
- With “Bedroom Eyes” introducing listeners to Sugar, what can you reveal about the musical journey ahead? Are there particular genres, rhythms, or influences you were especially excited to explore on the EP, and what do you hope this project communicates about DJ Lala as an artist?
Ooh, there’s so much going on in the rest of the EP! Right now, we’re ordering the tracks to make sure the story builds. You make so many tracks and so many versions of them to get a body of work together, so we’re fine tuning the last bits. What I can say is there’s a lot more energy. Bedroom Eyes is just the start, Sugar is a sweet sweet progression of everything.
Listen here – https://ditto.fm/bedroom–eyes
