- Words Notion Staff
The west London producer reveals his musical firsts, from festival epiphanies to teaming up with Finn Foxell and kicking it with KAYTRANADA.
The growing intersection between alternative hip-hop and electronic-adjacent genres is clear for everyone to see, but over here in the UK, we’ve needed a poster boy: a familiar figure who can take the crossover to new heights. In Casnova, we may have just found them. Hailing from west London, the producer blends garage, house and the dexterous wordplay of our finest rising rappers to make something inherently new. On his latest project, Alignment EP, he enlists KAM-BU, Bawo and Finn Foxell for verses while Khalia offers up more soulful tones for the infectious four-to-the-floor jam, ‘Need Your Love’.
As well as making intricate dance records, the multifaceted musician runs his own club night, ARTA: a name that encompasses his Iranian heritage and translates to the poignant otherworldly phrase, ‘the cosmic order of stars and planets’. Selling out Phonox with a line up that included Main Phase, A For Alpha and manj is all in a days work for the artist, who has also appeared at revered venues like Fabric, Village Underground and Colour Factory.
This month, Casnova released the music video for ‘Ricky Hatton’, featuring KAM-BU and Bawo. Evoking the blissful nostalgia of ‘90s dancefloors, the slippery UKG number glides effortlessly underneath the wordsmiths’ disparate flow patterns. Although the lyrics pack a punch, it’s a two-stepping drum pattern and glittery melody that steal the show, raising the hand of and championing Casnova as one of the most forward-thinking producers our country has to offer.
