Cadenza
“Tek Dem On”
(The Full Hundred/Columbia)
Cadenza, aka Oliver Rodigan, returned to 2017 with the first track from his forthcoming Hijack EP. “Til We Do It” features Jamaican artist Bugle, and the UK’s Prynce Mini, an artist and producer who has worked with the likes of Nadia Rose, and more. The UK Rap track served as a further reminder of Cadenza’s incredible ability to fuse together Jamaican and UK artists in his music, as has also been seen in his previous single “Foundation” and 2016’s “People”, which featured Jorja Smith and Dre Island.
Cadenza then took us into another realm of his versatility, with his second offering ‘Tek Dem’ co-prod. by La Panga (AKA FOXTROTT): “I linked up with Foxtrott at my studio last year as i was a big fan of her beat tape. We talked about doing some dancehall ideas and we made 3 sketches, one of which was the start of Tek Dem. I sent the rough version to Suku of Ward 21, and he came back the next day with this killer verse. I spent a couple more months trying different things out and finally came out with this sort of twisted Dembow feel, which I’m super happy with.”
Speaking on the third instalment “Glory”, Cadenza takes us through his process of creation: “I made the beat in the first week of Jan this year. I opened up something i had totally forgotten about and just re worked it. I had already worked with Young T & Bugsey previously, so i just reached out and we made it happen – then Jevon came through and added the finishing touches…”
The final track from the EP hits hard, and carries the same title as the project. Speaking on “Hijack” Cadenza describes: “When i heard the Equiknoxx album “Bird Sound Power” i was fully blown away. The beats were so weird but they still had that 92’ dancehall minimalist vibe to them. We started talking and decided to try something out, so i sent Gav some drums and he came back with the melodies. We both wanted one of the pioneers to do this track so getting Mad Cobra to jump on was special; he’s one of the OGs…”
The producer and tastemaker has previously toured as a member of Major Lazer and has released club records on Dipole’s Mad Decent and Fools Good Records. Cadenza is known for bringing the freshest talents together in collaboration; tipping the likes of Loyle Carner, AJ Tracey, Jorja Smith, Avelino, Mabel, and more before they burst into the public eye. He has also received production credits on Rag ’n’ Bone Man’s debut album Human, with their collaboration “Healed”. Drake also recently co-signed him for his production on “Where Did I Go” by Jorja Smith, as one of his favourite tracks of 2016.
Cadenza’s music runs with Reggae and Dancehall influences, but is also heavily leaning towards Hip Hop and Electronic. He remembers crate digging with his father, David Rodigan, as a child – and is still able to raid the family collection for samples to this day.
