Andy and I sat down with a cuppa and a pack of digestives in the middle!
Hello Andy, how are you?
Greetings Del, fantastic thank you… gearing up for the Christmas season!
Congratulations on the release of “What In The World?” How does it feel?
Mostly a relief. I probably created the musical concept a year ago, and as it progressed getting more people involved became a bigger undertaking. It ended up becoming a team effort, and we’re all delighted with the result.
What an epic track. What’s the story behind it?
You don’t have to look very far for the subject matter, whether it’s climate change or war…
My main criteria, which I passed onto the guys for their verses, was to create something reflective, apt, but not too dark. I didn’t want it to be overly depressing or morbid, but thought-provoking, with a slice of cool-ness added in there as well 😉
It was the same with my idea on the anime-style artwork, even though it’s a very ‘real’ topic, I wanted there to be an element of fantasy in there as well. Slightly off-kilter on the characters as well, not like-for-like on our images. I had considered rolling with a full on futuristic Manga style, as cool as it would be to give us ‘powers’ and crazy spiky hair, I eventually changed my mind on that one.
It was a collaboration with some incredible people, from its conception to release did it turn out the way you expected?
No single track ever does, or should! You have ideas in your head how you think it should turn out, but it’s always different, and usually (hopefully) even better.
Through my line of work I am blessed to have many friends I can approach and ask, all of these insanely talented guys I had worked with first (and still do), so then we formed our own genuine relationships over time where I am now able to hit them up about this project and my own music. It was never a ‘life plan’ though, as I hadn’t even considered creating music myself when we became friends.
Once I had a half-decent demo I reflected on the piano riff, the way it was coming together, and really felt Slug of Atmosphere would be a perfect fit for this track. For people who aren’t familiar with Atmosphere’s music, get lost in their back catalogue (you won’t regret it!) as there are many heavily piano-driven tracks.
From there I asked Koncept and Lane Shuler to also be involved, adding diversity from their styles to complement Slug’s verse, and I trusted all of them to create something epic.
What were the main challenges and triumphs in putting it together?
I sat on the intro idea for about three months. You have to be inspired, map out that creative idea and concept in your mind, you can’t just sit there trying to create music as it’ll never work. But then, one day in the shower the Chopin idea suddenly came into my head and the rest was history.
The most exciting part is to receive the verses back, aside from giving an outline brief I had no idea what they would send back… they all smashed it.
It was awesome to have Joe Mabbott at Hideaway Studios in Minneapolis to mix this one as well, a lovely guy who has been involved in an endless array of epic albums. Shout out to Lane for setting that one up.
You’re a producer, plugger, PR man and so much more from Liverpool — how did it begin for you?
I’ve been a musician for the majority of my life, from studying to doing various internships in the business in London; I was also in a band called ‘elmor’ during the mid 2000s (on keys and sax) — we did pretty well, nominees at the 2008 Vodafone Live Awards for best unsigned live band that year, even performed at the pre concert for the NFL’s annual match at Wembley Stadium.
By 2011 I was in Liverpool, grew Steaming Kettle over time (more info on that below), I was still playing in various projects, but then you become a father. So things went on the back-burner for a while, and it wasn’t until Covid and lockdown that I was able to be fully creative. I had a Bass Clarinet my grandmother had given me when I was younger, but I hadn’t used it for years. I decided to sell it, but in honour of her I put all that money towards new musical gear for creating and producing. So that’s what I did… and here we are now.
Montao stands for ‘My Way’, the name stuck in my head and I couldn’t move away from it, ‘Mon’ being Portuguese for ‘My’ and ‘Tao’ in Chinese philosophy meaning ‘Way’. I’ve never been a ‘songwriter’, I have tried and failed to write lyrics and a melody but I cannot… I can create musical landscapes, ideas, paint pictures, and so I’m doing all of this….My Way!
What did you listen to growing up?
From childhood memories of my parents playing The Beatles and Ray Charles in the car, plus a lot of Jazz, to the early 90’s being given recorded tapes with the likes of Guns n Roses and Nirvana, soon followed by the Gangsta Rap craze in the mid 90’s. Once I was a teenager I was a Britpop 90s kid without a doubt, it was an incredible time to grow up in the UK, and the colossal amount of bands and artists that took over here. I was more of a Blur fan, but hey, who’s judging!
As I grew up my ears and mind formulated clarity on what I did and didn’t like. I lived in Vancouver for a year in the 2000s and worked at the prestigious Commodore Ballroom, and from being there I discovered so much new music, especially underground Hiphop and Folk artists. In fact, we had Atmosphere perform and I’d never heard anything like it before. Little did I know we’d be working together one day, and collaborating on a track.
Who’s your favourite Beatle?
George! I can relate to him musically and his diverse input over time, and he was, simply, supercool.
Tell us about Steaming Kettle PR.
I formed it amidst the walls of the Albert Dock by the Mersey in Liverpool 2013.
It’s a music PR company mainly covering the aspects of press, radio, TV, podcast, and streaming playlists for releases and tours.
It has been an honour to build over time, and how the majority of clients have been through organic recommendation and circles that I already know.
Working on music that I really love — we don’t just take on anyone.
Some great friendships have formed as well, and it’s great to look back on.
Also a shout out to the guys at US label Rhymesayers, they are such incredibly supportive and awesome people to work with, it’s a shame they’re across a big pond, but it’s a beautiful family to be a part of.
Bring on the next chapter…
This is us: https://www.steamingkettlepr.com
Wearing so many different hats, what does a typical day look like for you?
Most artists release music on a Friday, so it’s usually my busiest day when most other people are winding down. Monday and Tuesday it’s usually catching up on all the admin and social media for the illustrious results that had been forged.
A lot of the time is spent fighting the good fight for the release / project that’s being promoted. There is so much competition out there, and only so many places going, so it’s about being on my A game all of the time.
Once this is all done there’s not much time left to be creative, or I’m too tired for the evening to do anything, but that’s just the way it goes. I love my job, so can’t complain!
Being a producer, who are your three main influences?
A difficult question to answer, I listen to so much music and I suppose everything I listen to influences me in some way.
I will say that I feel most drawn to Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, upbeat Indie Rock, Jazz, and Lo-fi, and that probably reflects through my music.
To name three influences I will have to go down the Hip-hop route on this one, I would not say these three people influence me directly, but more so inspire me:
DJ Premier due to his endless catalogue of creating music and beats, he’s a legend. I think he’s the best, period.
Apollo Brown for his incredibly unique style and sound, there’s no-one else out there like him and nobody could even attempt to match up to his output.
Ant of Atmosphere is always pushing boundaries with what he’s doing, he never conforms to one formula and stays within that lane. Consistently progressive and exploring new ideas in what he does.
Even though I work directly with two of them, and have even promoted a couple of DJ Premier produced tracks in the past, this would have still been my answer without a doubt.
What have you learned about yourself in the last three years post covid?
Not to take time or life for granted, try not to just let the weeks pass by, and feel too comfortable or passive.
To always strive to be better as a person.
Did you pick up any new skills?
Music production editing, video creation and editing, running further, and using Zoom (!!!).
What are you listening to at the moment?
Another impossible question.
I always take the time each week to put on a couple of my vinyls and listen through albums that I own, so I’m not lost in the digital world all the time.
I usually check out the Release Radar in my Spotify account, sometimes it’s great, sometimes I despair haha.
If I was to pick three new albums I’ve been listening to really recently and recommend I would say:
Bombay Bicycle Club — My Big Day
Jungle — Volcano
Aesop Rock — Integrated Tech Solutions
Oh, and the new Beatles single, Now and Then… I mean come on, it’s amazing.
What’s next for you?
My final release of the year drops Friday 8th December, a Lo-fi instrumental take on my favourite carol, Oh Holy Night!
I wanted to end the year with a chilled drop, one for the fireplace at Christmas-time.
Already working on music for next year as well, more plans and not slowing down. Hopefully moving towards a mini album in 2024.
