UK-based producer satellite landed a spot in our Focus Five column in early April after I was completely blown away by his sound. Blending UKG and breaks with influence from RnB, hip-hop, and classic house, his addictive signature is assured to be a favorite amongst FUXWITHIT fans. From exceptional bootlegs of Drake and Sam Smith x Jessie Reyez, to a list of impressive originals including ‘Lay Me Down’ and ‘One More Time,’ his ever-expanding discography will pull you into its orbit and be stuck on repeat.
To showcase the producer’s captivating sound and to get to know him better, we invited satellite to join us for a Guest Mix + Interview. The mix showcases a number of his originals, a few of his remixes, and additional music from artists like borne, Burial, Pocket, Overmono, and more. Our interview explores his musical journey, his label Unmade Records, the potential impact of AI-generated music, what makes him happy, and more. Dive in below and get familiar with satellite.
Tell us about the mix. What was your vision when putting it together? Where are we going when we press play?
I curated this mix as a playlist with a lot of unreleased music, some new edits, and some songs that I love at the moment. The soundbites throughout are from the Apollo 10 Space Mission and track its descent back to Earth, I wanted the mix to reflect that journey and create something immersive you could lose yourself in.
What first inspired you to start making music? How has your journey evolved?
When I was growing up I was always playing instruments. I had guitar lessons and then taught myself piano over time, although I didn’t really play in bands or anything like that until much later. At Secondary School (High School) I had an English teacher who produced music in his spare time, one day he started covering our music lessons with the plan being to write a song and eventually record it one of the school computers. Sadly, he only covered a few lessons then went back to teaching English. However, it inspired me to start recording music at home, so using my built-in microphone on my first laptop, I downloaded Reaper and started recording guitar multi-tracks and playing over anything I had on my iTunes, mainly Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and John Mayer.
From there, I started experimenting more and more with recording and eventually evolved from poorly recorded multi-tracks into writing songs, then gradually moved more and more towards electronic music after hearing The North Borders playing in a HMV, I bought the album immediately and studied it back to front. My car music alternated between that and Channel Orange for so long that the covers were all bleached out, that’s when I really started to pay attention to production. After that, I started to find artists like Burial, Aphex Twin, Tourist and later Bicep and Overmono, and all these artists started informing the music I was making. It was around then I started to realise how powerful a Macbook, Midi keyboard, and a bit of patience could be.
What are the key ingredients to a satellite track?
Beat, Emotion, and Me.
Can you expand on the idea of being “Always in Orbit”?
Initially it was a play on words with my artist name, but it also has a correspondence to an idea that I love that ‘someone is always listening’. I personally like to keep my music very insular, but once you put music into the world, it becomes part of people’s lives in ways we can’t expect. So even though my music has left my world it’s always out there in someone else’s orbit, taking on a life of its own and going on its own journey. So ‘Always in Orbit’ is my little ode to the idea somebody is always listening.
Artists and their art are the epicentre of culture, whether that be music, literature, visual art, or film-making. We define eras based on their culture. Artists are the architects of our culture and music soundtracks our lives, therefore the composers of that score should be treated with the respect they deserve.
Your music has been getting a lot of love on BBC Radio 1. What does the support mean to you? Has it had a meaningful impact on your career?
I am just grateful if one person wants to listen to my music, so the fact that it’s been played multiple times to thousands of people on the biggest radio station in the country, if not one of the most notable in the world, is an extremely humbling experience. Regarding the impact on my career, people started to take both me and my music more seriously since it’s been played on Radio 1. I think most artists would agree that it takes a lot of individual factors to really propel a career but without a doubt, Radio 1 has a huge part of that, for which I am thankful.
How did Unmade Records come to life? What made you want to start a label?
I started Unmade Records as a platform to release my music, which all my music, bar one record, has been released on to date. It is still in its early days with regards to building out a roster but my goal with the label is to create an environment and community in which the artist is valued for their artistic and creative vision. There are too many stories now in which the artist has been treated unfairly, had their work deconstructed and reconstructed for corporate gain, or had their careers interfered with due to labels. Of course, it would be naive for me to claim this is a universally applicable statement, but the hope for Unmade Records is to build a welcoming space for artists to feel comfortable in expressing their vision. Artists and their art are the epicentre of culture, whether that be music, literature, visual art, or film-making. We define eras based on their culture. Artists are the architects of our culture and music soundtracks our lives, therefore the composers of that score should be treated with the respect they deserve.
It has been a dream of mine to start a label. I have always been inspired by labels like Ninja Tune, XL, and Erased tapes. Labels that really curate their roster and sign quality music that doesn’t piggyback trends. The aim and unwavering goal for Unmade is to sign artists for their art, without allowing social media metrics to influence the opportunity to share their work.
The next fifty years of human history will see the fastest growth of technology we have ever known. It is just my hope that both creators and consumers retain the sentiment and desire to experience genuine art.
AI-generated music has become a hot-button issue in the past year or so. What are your thoughts on the subject?
Realistically, a computer cannot fully understand the acute nuances of the human spirit. Therefore it’s my opinion that AI wouldn’t be able to create original, meaningful, and purposeful music independently.
That being said, it has the ability to mimic and is exceptionally good at breaking single problems into complex equations that permit the interpretive recreation of anything input into the system. In a few years, I am sure there will be a day that I can write into an AI engine “Write me a song like the Beatles, featuring Hendrix on guitar and bring Chet Baker in as a session guest, emulate a recording in Abbey Road with Rick Rubin producing it, mixed by Spike Stent and mastered by Chris Athens” and it will spit out something that may or may not sound anything like the above.
It’s really like any tool, if you were to try and hammer a nail with a screwdriver, it will break both nail and screwdriver. If we collectively use AI positively it has the potential to significantly enhance how we make music. However, if we use it negatively, then it has the possibility to become an industry standard allowing labels, companies, or whoever else to input data into machines and pump out concurrent Top 40 records, removing all human input from music altogether and turning the industry into a money printing machine.
The next fifty years of human history will see the fastest growth of technology we have ever known. It is just my hope that both creators and consumers retain the sentiment and desire to experience genuine art.
Your press photo is quite unique with you looking into a claw machine filled with golden eggs. Can you tell us the backstory and significance behind the image?
I wish there was something more subliminal about that image. The truth of it is I was on the south coast of England, close to where I live getting some more press shots for a release back in September 2023 and the wind picked up, so we went into the arcade on the seafront for a little while and the lighting in there worked quite nicely, so we just got a few shots in there and that was one of them. Did you notice the little Satellite easter egg in the photo?
What do you have in the works musically?
There is a lot of music waiting in the wings that I am hoping to release in the latter part of this year, including my EP titled Test Flight which I currently finishing up and working on the release schedule as we speak.
give yourself some time to breathe, go out, and find inspiration, all those experiences will inform whatever it is you are creating.
What makes you happy outside of music?
Through Covid I convinced myself that I had to work on music 24/7 and shelter myself away from the world to do so, which I know is a common outlook and a sign of the times, but it is also complete rubbish. It’s important to get out and enjoy life and detach yourself from your work for a while. If you are in creative and reading this thinking the same thing, give yourself some time to breathe, go out, and find inspiration, all those experiences will inform whatever it is you are creating.
To answer your question, outside of music what makes me happy? I spend time with my dogs, I recently took up golf, I love reading, and I try and get outdoors as much as possible. Taking time for myself and enjoying my surroundings me makes me happy.
Any final words?
Thank you for all of your support and giving me the opportunity to share my music.
satellite FUXWITHIT Guest Mix Tracklist
Satellite – Brooklyn
Satellite – On My Own
Satellite ft Drey Armani – The City
Bfoursix – day n night interlude
Rosalia – A Pale (Overmono Remix)
Vaarwell – Real (Satellite Remix)
Holdo – Alene
Pocket ft Gbnga – Another Night in London
Benomorph – Siempre
Sugababes – Round Round (Two Shell Remix)
Capo Lee – Liff (Satellite Remix)
Little Simz – I aint Feeling It (Satellite Remix)
Baby Keem, Kendrick Lamar – Vent (Satellite Remix)
Central Cee – entrepreneur (Borne Remix)
Drake – Sticky (Satellite Remix)
Burial – UK
