- Words Liam Cattermole
Recoiling from the club to record music for the new year, we break Sherelle’s partial slumber to talk Relentless' Freeform Forum, creating a legacy and why the jungle renaissance has managed to resonate with so many people.
“I’m always willing even when super busy to help someone fulfil their dreams because it only takes one shit moment to stop you from doing what you want to do,” says Sherelle on a dreary afternoon from her home in east London. The original date for our interview had to be pushed back because of her radio commitments, hosting jungle legend Tim Reaper on an electronic traversing BBC Radio 6 Music show. Ascending from the UK club circuit after a series of viral videos, most notably her Boiler Room five years ago and that ‘RIP Groove Refix’ moment, the last half a decade has been a heady mix of boisterous headline sets, turbo-charged tours and ferocious footwork releases, primarily for her Hooversound Recordings imprint, for the Walthamstow born, Arsenal F.C. fanatic.
Yet still, she always finds time to give back. You could be a tipsy fan mustering up the courage to ask for a track ID in the club or a media company looking for a quick interview in the smoking area, if there’s time, she’ll try and you help out. It’s why she was so keen to work with Relentless and Pirate on Freeform Forum, where the producer-DJ has been mentoring a selection of lucky people looking to find their feet in the creative industry.
“I’ve got a cool group of people who are switched on. It’s nice when you’re chatting away about their ideas, you give them some advice, and they take it so much further than you’d have ever imagined,” explains Sherelle, who’s keen to highlight that she can have all the wisdom but it’s the mentees’ ideas and their originality that’s ultimately helped them to stand out. This ethos, not conforming to tropes and placing emphasis on longevity, is why in the mind-numbing digital age, Sherelle has managed to stay relevant.
Recoiling from the club to record music for the new year, we break Sherelle’s partial slumber to talk Freeform Forum, creating a legacy and why the jungle renaissance has managed to resonate with so many people.
How have the Relentless Freeform Forum sessions been and how did interacting with people on the scheme make you feel?
I’ve got a cool group of people who are quite switched on. It’s nice when you’re chatting to people about their ideas, you give them some advice, and they take it so much further than you’d have ever imagined. I’ve been in the scene for a while and I wish there were more initiatives like this to talk and share ideas. It gives you more belief.
Tell me a bit about what drew you to working with Relentless and their Freeform Forum?
Working with Relentless and Pirate has been really chilled. Everyone has a similar ethos and wants the same thing. I’m always willing even when super busy to help someone fulfil their dreams because it only takes one shit moment to stop you from doing what you want to do. In the creative industry, you never get paid properly but if you stick around long enough, then realistically, it will eventually pay off and you get to do amazing things. It’s shit, at the moment, especially in this country, there’s not that many initiatives going on to help young people do what they need to do. Relentless and Pirate are on the same wavelength and want to push people in the right direction, uplift them and help them have an amazing career.
What’s the number one mistake you’ve made that you don’t want others to?
Choose your team and the people you associate with very carefully. Last year, I took myself away from a group of people who I started working with early on in my career. They didn’t have experience on a lot of levels. Thankfully, I’m in a better position now. I think working with friends can be great, but only if everyone is on the same wavelength and has the same level of respect for each other. Just make sure they have your best intentions at heart.
Was there a particular moment that defined your creative upbringing? Or made you want to become a DJ?
Back in the day, Wireless used to book quite a range of acts and one of the acts they would book relentlessly was Chase and Status. This was when they’d just come out with More Than A Lot. My friends weren’t interested but I’d always go and see them, get involved with the moshpits. I remember seeing their performances and thinking that I’d like to get into DJing. I listened to a lot of Radio 1, especially Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw’s show; that was a foundational era in my life.
In such a male-dominated scene, who were the womxn in music that made you realise that a career in one of the most precarious industries was possible?
DJ Chemistry and DJ Storm, without a shadow of a doubt. I always love bumping into and chatting to Storm at festivals. The likes of DJ Flight and Mantra too – they’re part of a younger generation. Hopefully, I reach their age and can be as prolific as them. I had a conversation with Nia Archives recently; we were both sad after DJ Randall’s passing. It shook us up in terms of understanding where our place is in the scene and the legacy that we want to create. Nia has achieved so much and is going to achieve even more. Women, especially within the faster tempos, are doing the most to push the scene forward. At the same time, there are a lot of allies in our scene. It’s still very male-dominated but you have lots of good guys like Tim Reaper and countless others who are changing the scene for the best.
Freeform Forum is part of Relentless’ greater mission to champion subcultural scenes. As a key member of the UK’s jungle renaissance, why do you think the scene is managing to resonate with so many people?
To be brutally honest, the world’s a bit shit at the moment and people’s morale and energy needs boosting. There’s not as much money, there aren’t enough jobs and rent is high. It’s a global thing. I think the music helps people to let loose. It cuts through anxiety. It’s a release. I’m not sure how I would be able to navigate this social media-led world now, which is ironic considering how I blew up. But that was very accidental. The Boiler Room resonated with people because it was a bunch of friends dancing in a video and everyone was getting gassed over a jungle tune. It happens plenty of times, so you can relate to it a lot.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a creative career?
The advice that’s come from a lot of DJs I look up to is that you’ve got to do your own thing. You have to stay true to yourself. I would have changed my sound ages ago if I wanted to make lots of money. But I really believe in what I’m doing. Work with people who have a similar ethos to you as well. Longevity has been forgotten because we live in a society where social media is so prominent; it influences music, and I think that’s an issue. Legacy is incredibly important to me. I want someone to look back and think that I did some pretty cool shit.
With a relentless tour schedule, a revered BBC 6 Music show and everything else that you do, how do you make sure you have the time to stay creative?
I need to meditate. I’ve got a month off because I’m finishing up music for next year, so that’s super exciting. I think it’s important to have time off and I hadn’t realised, how little holiday I was getting. It’s not good to be constantly on the go; it’s not good for your mental. When you’re creative, you need to do nothing to recharge. I like going around on an e-bike rather than getting a train; on the way back from my radio show yesterday, I was whipping around and listening to an RP Boo album. Small moments like that are lovely, they make me happy.
Right now, who’s in your music rotation? Give us a song, artist or album you’ve loved recently that fans might not expect from you.
I came across this hardcore band called Speed and they’re fucking lit. Their aesthetic is sick, the songs are sick – they are only ever two minutes long. They remind me a bit of Bad Brains even though they aren’t really like them. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve been listening a lot to Dorothy Ashby. Two very different vibes but both are really great.