Toddla T: old enough to feel the vibrations

Sheffield-bred producer Tom Bell, alias Toddla T has been criss-crossing dancehall, dubstep, electro and West Indian sounds, both perched atop DJ booths and in the studio, since the tender age of 14. The British beat maker with the baby moniker is flying high with a regular slot on BBC Radio 1’s In New DJs We Trust, a Fabric compilation and the widespread belief that he’s leading the charge for the next generation of Ninja Tune. NIGHTLIFE reached out to the rug rat of rhythm as he was toiling away, sweating bullets in an AC-deprived studio.

 

Your debut album is entitled Skanky Skanky. A reference to the ska and reggae dance style or just plain lewd behaviour?A beat can be skanky if it’s a bit rough around the edges. If a girl is being sleazy, she can also be skanky. The word is a bit dirty, rugged and horrible – a combination of dancing and having fun. It describes something that’s rough and not very nice, which a lot of the sounds that I use kind of are – hard and rough-edged rhythms, instead of clean-cut, polished shit.

Was your DJ residency at Radio One initially a challenge? Definitely, it was quite intimidating. It’s such a different outlook from club land – you’re not staring at a dance floor or relying on people being there physically. It’s all about selecting the right music, and you’re playing tracks you normally wouldn’t play. It’s a great opportunity to express music in a totally different way, and to reach an audience much broader than any club could ever hold.

Anything you fancy indulging in during North American tours, which you don’t do back home? It’s just a fuckin’ mad place, I can’t quite get my head around it all. I like the convenience of everything, the food is so unashamed. If I have a burger and milkshake in England, it’s considered a bit… indulgent. In America, it’s pretty much celebrated! That’s wicked – it’s the fun part of life, having loads of sugar or whatever it is. D’you know what I mean?

Toddla T | September 4
20 years of Ninja Tune at Piknic Électronik | Parc Jean-Drapeau
piknicelectronik.com | toddlat.com