- Words Cal McIntyre
We get London-based production duo, iLL BLU, to curate a playlist of past and present tracks that inspire their genre-blending sound.
The beauty of iLL BLU’s signature production is that it weavers effortlessly to and from genres, giving them a multitude of musical hats.
Take their latest banger for example, ‘Dumpa’, sees iLL BLU join forces with M24 and Unknown T in a track that merges drill with dancehall. With feel-good energy embedded into the track’s DNA, if you haven’t jumped on this track yet then it’s the perfect way to start your week.
If you’re new to the duo, then you would have definitely heard their distinct and energising sound. Since 2008, iLL BLU have continued to push the envelope of what production can do and were the masterminds behind “Chop My Money” featuring Krept & Konan, ZieZie and Loski and have been working with the likes of Geko, James Morrison, JP Cooper, Not3s, Kyla, IAMDDB and Young T and Bugsey.
When it came to the curation of their 10Trax, the duo revealed to us; “Naturally, we all love going back and reminiscing and since being on lockdown we have found ourselves often going down the rabbit hole that is Youtube. Here are some of the tracks that we have been listening and watching; music past and present that provide inspiration that goes into the creation of our genre-infused productions.”
Dive into their playlist below and start your week off right by listening to their new anthem here.
"Soon As I Get Home" by Faith Evans
"RnB is a huge influence on us growing up during the 90's. We love sweet lush female vocal tones and harmony. We sampled Faith Evan's vocal from this when we produced ‘Home' for Headie One."
"Rock The Boat" by Aaliyah
"Maybe the queen of the sultry airy R’n’b vocal. The production on this track is timeless, a track we wished we had produced. The stuttered drums on this is so unique to this track."
"Egyptian Riddim Mix" by DJ WOLFPAK
"Both of us come from the Caribbean reggae and dancehall foundation so you will find a lot of Jamaican influence scattered through this list. So many tunes on this riddim, Vybz Kartel’s ‘Sweet To The Belly’ was a favourite. The Egyptian vocal on this inspired our whining vocal hum on our single ‘Dumpa'."
"She's A Bitch" by Missy Elliott
"When it comes' to groove Timbaland is one of the greats. We wish we made this beat. From the futuristic off-the-wall visuals to Missy just easy flowing on this ultimate club banger."
"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes
"The swag on this, the drum groove on this is classic, the video amazing."
"Oi" by More Fire Crew
"The skippyness in the drum programming the flow of the MCs."
"Original Nuttah" by Shy Fx
"The bassline energy, make us wanna mosh."
"R U Sleeping" by Indo
"A UK Garage anthem, vocal chops galore on this - also a common production technique we use in our productions. UK Garage was where we heard this first."
"Dipset (Santana's Town)" by Juelz Santana
"Loved this when it came out still can throw this on and get hyped. The orchestral sample, jump-up energy almost has a grime drill energy to this."