Next up in our Kelburn Garden Party 2022 mix series is Anikonik, co-promoter of Junglism Scotland and resident DJ at Electrikal Sound System. We caught up with her about working with RAM Records, her BBC Radio 1 Christmas mix and other bucket list moments.
Kelburn Garden Party: Hi Anikonik! Can you introduce your mix to us in a few words?
Anikonik: The mix is based on tracks I’ve played often at Kelburn that I think fit the vibe. It’s a bit more daytime than my usual, but it’s fun. It’s fast. It’s not dark like I usually go. It’s very much my idea of festival vibe drum and bass.
Kelburn Garden Party: In 2020, you were one of the producers chosen to be part of the drum n’ bass mentoring programme EQ50. How has that experience been for you?
Anikonik: It’s been incredible. It’s taken my music career to the next level. I’ve met so many amazing people and I’ve got to play so many amazing gigs. Working with both RAM Records and EQ50 was really good. I’m not quite there with my productions, but I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so that’s probably going to take me a while for the level that I want to release. But the support has been amazing. I’ve met so many amazing women and non-binary people through it as well, It’s just been top notch.
Kelburn Garden Party: Do you have any favourite gigs that you’ve done as a result of EQ50?
Anikonik: Fabric is hands down the best gig I’ve ever played. It was an incredible event. I’ve never experienced it where I’ve had 10 women behind me absolutely just loving it. You never see loads of girls behind the decks going mad for it, the energy was just next level. That one’s going to go to the grave with me.
Kelburn Garden Party: Why did you decide to start producing?
Anikonik: I had been DJing for maybe six or seven years already, and I was at Let It Roll in 2019. I was walking between the stages and it was Black Sun Empire on the Factory stage, Noisia on the mainstage & Annix (i think) was on The Madhouse in front of me. I was just walking about like, man, these guys have got such cool jobs playing on these absolutely incredible stages. How did they get there? How do you get to their level? I thought, ‘Wait a minute, these guys all started somewhere as well. At some point they knew nothing. I know nothing, so I can go learn from the beginning and then work my way up’.
Kelburn Garden Party: You got to make a mix for BBC Radio 1’s drum n’ bass Christmas Special last year. How did that come about?
Anikonik: DJ Sweetpea, who was my EQ50 mentor, she got a slot hosting on the Rene La Vice DnB show for the Christmas edition. She’d heard my mixes a few times, and she knew that I mixed lots of different sub genres. I don’t just stick to one particular genre within drum n’ bass, I’ll go for neurofunk, jungle, jump up or rollers, I’ll go for everything, because I don’t like to stay the same. I think she wanted somebody that could bring some variety, so she hit me up about it, which was an obvious yes from me.
Kelburn Garden Party: Have you had any other bucket list moments that you’ve ticked off?
Anikonik: There is an upcoming show at XOYO in London for 30 years of RAM Records, which I’m playing as part of the EQ50 stage. RAM’s obviously one of the biggest labels in drum n’ bass, so being a part of that is pretty incredible.
Kelburn Garden Party: Tell us a little bit about Junglism Scotland. What are you up to?
Anikonik: We do the castle party every year now. We like to keep an eye on the Scottish jungle and drum n’ bass scene – who’s up-and-coming and stuff like that. We like to pick the DJs who don’t typically get to have spotlight slots in Scotland but put in the graft towards the Scottish scene. We kind of do it so the longest running nights, like Jungle Nation or Symbiosis, get the top slots. It’s their time to shine, and it also means other promoters can see other DJs from Scotland and book them.
Kelburn Garden Party: Do you have any up-and-coming DJs or producers from Scotland that you’d like to recommend?
Anikonik: I would definitely shout out imo-Lu. She is releasing some amazing liquid tracks. She’s signed with Hospital already. She’s only been doing it for a year or so and her DJing skills are also really good. And also Ekwols, he’s a neurofunk producer from Edinburgh. He’s making huge tracks. Those two I think definitely are ones to watch for sure.
This is the 13th part of our Kelburn Garden Party mix series, which features acts who have played at Kelburns gone by – with some due to appear at the festival this summer! Listen to the rest of our Kelburn Mixtape series here on Mixcloud.
Book tickets to The Kelburn Garden Party 2022 on Ticketline.
