Interview: Young DLC on vibing

Born Darlington Lazarus Chikwewo, Young DLC began doing music at an early age. He learnt how to use studio equipment from his father who is a gospel producer. His carefree attitude towards the creation of music has led him to do work with Coke Studio Africa where he co-produced all the cover songs made on the show this year.

Some would call it fate but he calls it a vibe, and just by vibing with artists he landed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV. Simple!

Music In Africa sat with Young DLC, who recently graduated in sound technology and music business from the Campus of Performing Arts in Pretoria, South Africa, to discuss his growth in the music industry and his vision for the future.

MUSIC IN AFRICA: When did you decide that you wanted to do music?

YOUNG DLC: I was nine when I produced my first official song – I don’t know where it is but I won’t play it for anybody. But maybe one day, depending on how I feel, I could just decide to release the song. The song was mostly production. I started doing vocals years after I started production. I wasn’t comfortable with my own vocals on songs. I always felt the need to produce for other people. But once you see that people are difficult to get, you come to a point where you say, ‘Let me just put my own vocals on a song.’ It worked for me so I decided to keep doing it.

Which song in your catalogue made you known and which one is your favourite?

I don’t think I have a song that has put me on the map yet. All the songs are okay but I don’t think I have the one. The remix of ‘Man’s Not Hot’ is huge but it’s not the one. It’s not a song that I would say is the one that put me on. The one is yet to be made.

I don’t have a favourite song. Whichever song I make at the moment will be my favourite until I start working on a new one that will be my next favourite. I’m constantly making new music, so to have a favourite song would really be hard. The new stuff always sounds better than the old stuff.

Do you intend releasing an album soon?

I don’t like to overthink things, right now I’m just vibing. I will only think about the logistics after. I don’t want to think about whether or not I’m making an album or trying to decide the direction the music is supposed to take. So far I’ve just been dropping singles. When the time is right it’ll happen.

That’s how I started doing music – I do it because I like it. Thinking about an album would mean I have to group songs together that have a similar style and that’s limiting. I make the music depending on how I feel and I release it when I am ready.

Who or what inspires the music you make?

I like producers who sing – Pharrell, Timbaland – and I like people who introduce new sounds, like Skrillex. I listen to people who bring new music and those who are flourishing in the commercial world by doing things similar to what I’m doing like singing and producing their own music.

Why did you choose EDM?

EDM is the path I want my career to follow, but right now I’m vibing with everything. I could have an Afrobeats song and people would wonder because they know me as an EDM artist. I started doing EDM because of how it is perceived. People look at EDM and say it’s for white people or a certain culture. Actually it is for everyone.

The most important thing in EDM is love, peace, happiness and joy. like the lifestyle, it’s like every day is a party. From a production point of view, if you know how to produce EDM you can basically produce anything because it covers every production technique that has ever existed. That’s how I view it at least.

What challenges have you faced since you broke into the mainstream?

One of the biggest challenges is producing quality music but not being playlisted on radio. Some people want money just so they can playlist the music. It makes it very difficult because it prevents me from reaching a wider audience with the music. The radio station that have shown support for my music are Algoa FM and YFM because they recognised that the music was good.

If you weren’t producing music, what would you be doing with your life?

I’ve never pictured myself doing anything that is not music. I don’t even like to think about the possibilities of what I could have been. I don’t want to bring that kind of energy into the Universe. But I remember once telling my mother that I want to be a scientist because I thought chemicals blowing up was cool. But I am a music scientist now.

How did you land the deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing?

I produce music with a friend of mine, Tristan, who is also signed to Sony/ATV. We were invited to a Sony writer’s camp. He told the people at Sony about me. Tristan and I attended the camp as a duo. We made three songs in a space of two days with other artists. I began joining other artist to make even more music in other sessions. After the camp they requested to meet me. We spoke and the rest is history. I am signed as a songwriter and producer. Sony will handle my admin and provide opportunities for me to work with artists and songwriters from other countries.