If you haven’t been spinning Col3trane‘s new mixtape ‘BOOT’ all weekend, you’re going to need to sit down for this. At just 19, the North Londoner has made quite the impression with his releases to date. His debut mixtape ‘Tsarina’, which featured SG Lewis‘ sunset hit “Smart Aleck Kill”, put a stake in the ground when it was released last year, commanding the attention of production overlords, from Rogét Chahayed (Solange, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott), to DJDS (Kanye, Charlotte Day Lewis) Nicky Davey (The Internet), and Cadenza (Jorja Smith).
Their Midas-touch fingerprints can be heard across ‘BOOT’, a record that showcases Col3trane’s soulful vocals through pensive lyricism, expansive textures, and lush melodies. Before he hits our shores next month for the Listen Out circuit and a couple headline shows, we had Col3trane fill us in on his precisionist process, the impact of growing up with a dual cultural identity, and his ongoing artistic evolution.
Best Before: “Fear & Loathing” & “Britney” are already making huge waves. Can you tell me the story behind those two tracks?
Col3trane: The double video is loosely based on Hunter S. Thompson’s book ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’.
I guess they’re both about being stuck in a situation that feels impossible to get out of. I dunno… I like people to listen and take their own meaning from shit, rather than explain it myself.
The builds in “Britney” and vocal layering in particular is insane! How did you keep it so rich and so minimal at the same time
It took a really long time to get it right. Me and Jay (J Moon) spent about three weeks just mixing it. The sounds are really harsh and distorted, so it took a long time to make them sound how we wanted. So thank you for picking up on that!
You worked with visual mastermind Oscar Hudson on the trippy new clip for the tracks. What was that experience like?
Oscar is amazing. The thing that struck me most about him was his attention to detail. Every single shot or technique that we used he has planned and coordinated down to a T. Was a pleasure working with him, for real.
What role does your cross-cultural identity — your Egyptian heritage, verses American/English upbringing – play in your creative life?
I think being from a multicultural family is cool. It means that there’s new things I learn about my heritage and ancestry all the time. Especially with my Egyptian heritage — there’s so many stories I get told by my grandparents about, or I find out myself, about Egypt that are really inspiring.
You appeared on Colors last November. Can you tell us what that experience was like i.e. performing for a global digital audience, many of whom were probably encountering your music for the first time?
That was really cool. The guys at Colors are really talented and the whole thing they have going on there is great, I was just happy to be a part of it! I had been a fan of them for a minute, and to see how it was done was really cool.
You worked with a diverse cast of producers on ‘Breathing Out Of Time’ What did you learn from working with them, and how did you achieve such smooth cohesion through the mixtape despite the differing influences?
Shout out all those guys! Really talented people I’m blessed to work with. I learned a lot from all of them in different ways; they all do such different things so well. Having a cohesive project is something that’s really important to me. I still heavily believe in the idea of the album that you listen to top to bottom, and I hope that’s how people listen to my shit. Me and Jay spent weeks mixing all of these records so that, no matter how different the songs are, they’re still gonna be cohesive and sound whole. That’s really important to me. I’m happy you picked up on that!
“Penelope” has racked up over 6 million plays online to date. Did you expect it would receive the response it has?
NOPE! I had no idea. I had a lot of people tell me that the two-part thing wasn’t gonna work, and to just stick with one or the other but, yeah, I love that song. It’s my favourite thing I’ve made, and it makes me happy that people feel the same way.
How has your songwriting process evolved from ‘Tsarina’?
I’ve learned so much this past year, that I’m more open to experimenting with new sounds and trying new things. That’s why I think that ‘BOOT’ has a lot more breadth to it sonically than ‘Tsarina’ does.
Is there an overarching theme to ‘BOOT’?
‘BOOT’ stands for ‘Breathing out of Time’ and, to me, that’s talking about when shit isn’t going right, and your life isn’t balanced — when things just don’t fall into place how you want them to, no matter the effort. That can be talked about from a lot of different angles, which I think you’ll see on the project.
What music did you listen to growing up, and what were you listening to while writing the album? (We can hear some Frank Ocean in there, even Justin Timberlake!)
I listened to a lot of rap and rock music and a lot of jazz growing up. As I’ve gotten older, getting into making this project, I really just try and listen to as much music as I can. I dunno if I can narrow it down to just a few artists… there’s a lot.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Touring Australia in September, UK & Europe in October, and then just more music! BOOT is out on Friday, and imma already finish my next single before it drops. I’m not tryna keep people waiting so long this time!
Is it going to be your first time in Australia? If so, are there any things you have planned to tick off your bucket list?
Yeah, first time! I don’t know really what to expect. I know Aussies like to go a bit wild, so imma try and immerse myself in the culture.
Groove out to ‘BOOT’ here:
COL3TRANE | AUS TOUR DATES
Saturday 22 September — Listen Out @ St Kilda — Melbourne
Sunday 23 September — Listen Out @ Western Parklands — Perth
Tuesday 25 September – The Workers Club – Melbourne
Wednesday 26 September – The Lansdowne – Sydney
Saturday 29 September — Listen Out @ Centennial Park – Sydney
Sunday 30 September – Listen Out @ Victoria Park — Melbourne
For tickets and more info head to livenation.com.au.