Sonic Router: So… Who are you? What do you do on the daily?
Epworth: My name is Nathaniel Coltrane Wilson; I’m a 22 year old producer under the alias Epworth. The reason behind the name Epworth is that is the place my Granddad grew up in Jamaica so it’s really a way of me paying homage to him.
You were telling me before about running a shop up in Nottingham…
Yeah… my daily grind is pushing my clothing shop Mimm which I set up last year in May with the help of the Princes Trust Charity in my home town Nottingham, I also promote nights with the same name which focuses on bringing the newest underground sounds and we have art exhibitions and live art in store on a regular basis. I try as fuse all creative aspects with what I’m doing at Mimm as I feel Nottingham has some amazing creative people who need an output and place to network.
Do you have an idea what the next step is?
Well, I am currently in the process – after a successful first year – of moving to a new shop which will be located in Hockley, in the heart of the city centre. The outside of the shop is currently pink so I’m contemplating hard on if I need to change it haha. All jokes aside, after being situated quite away out of the city centre I’m hoping this next year will be real successful, with it being central now. The people of Nottingham have been so supportive so everything is there to take it to the next level.
So, how long have you been producing music?
Music has always been a integral part of me growing up, my old man used to listen to a lot of Jazz, Motown and funk, he gave me my middle name out of his love for John Coltrane and my Mum listed to a lot of Bristol based music Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky. Being exposed to a array of musical genres had a positive effect for sure.
I have been producing properly for just over a year, it was a natural progression for me after learning how to DJ. I remember being taught by my good friend Zoutr (The Elementz) how to mix, he owned a studio which he would invite me up to record mixes, after seeing him making tunes and then playing them in the club with people feeling them I was like ‘I need to get on this.’ So I brought myself some production software and started messing about with tunes, it took me a good 6 months until I got something down which was worth playing but now I have a certain way of doing things after learning various techniques off other producers. I really feel the enjoyment in the whole process now and that’s what it’s all about when it comes down to it… good fun.
You are premiering a remix you made with Hackman… How did you link up with him?
It was a bit crazy, I sent out the first tune I was really happy with (‘Love Lost Love Found’) to Jay 5ive; it was a jazzy vibe and he played it as the intro to one of his Rinse shows, which I was massively grateful for. Off the back of that Hackman popped up on myspace and asked if he could grab a few tunes, I was stoked because I had recently been rinsing his More Than Ever EP and consider him up there with some of my favourite producers. I got talking to him and asked if he would be up for doing a little collab if he had the time and we came up with ‘Fusion.’ I think it’s great that he is willing to work with up and coming producers. I learnt a lot from him which I appreciate. In a year’s time I would like to of made a similar impression on the scene if possible.
Have you got any releases coming up?
I feel very fortunate to say that I have a forthcoming 10″ vinyl release on Dutch imprint Tube 10 which will feature ‘Mo Reilly’ and ‘Inside’ scheduled for this summer. I am also setting up my own digital label with my good mate Oli, it will have the same name as the shop and nights to tie it all in. Mimm will feature tracks from myself alongside some wicked bass driven music from Majic, Toyc, Ooko and Saulya. The label will launch alongside the new Mimm website with a Free EP with a track from each artist so look out for that.
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