The Berlin-based producer bambinodj has been refining his brand of hypnotic dancehall-inflected electronic music for a minute now, and Silent Dispatch, his most recent release on the label OST, might just be the most crystallized version of his sound to date. The four tracks build on the work that he has spread around the internet for years—this is highly tactile, shimmering music, linking the trance influence that is latent in much of the best dancehall of the 21st century with sunrise chill-out luminosity. It’s been on repeat over here at Nina HQ, and we wanted to learn more about his history and the many influences that go into his music. Read our interview with the artist and listen to Silent Dispatch below. 

Can you remember the first piece of music you heard that made a major impression on you?

Yes! That was "Saly" by Salif Keita. My father liked to play it in the car on our way to a swim at the shallow banks of the Niger river close to the city of Faranah, Guinea, where I lived with my family during my early childhood. The song reminds me of the immense anticipation of the river, the guitar solos still trigger this great euphoria in me. That build at 04:40 :) :) :) :) :).

What was your local scene like growing up? Did you go to shows or raves?

Some of the first club events I went to back in 2015 were parties organized by the Bass Gang, a Berlin collective of four DJs: Tuan Anh, Paul Souljoyce, Ostblokkk, and J. Cloud. At the time, Bass Gang was the only collective I knew of that combined Jersey club, grime, UK funky, ballroom house, trap, and gqom in their club sets in Berlin. Whereas I was listening to this type of music before already, but mostly on my own or with close buddies, the Bass Gang parties were the first place where I experienced these sounds in a context where they really belong. Bass Gang were important drivers of the UK and US club sound in Berlin back then. They also put me onto Night Slugs and Fade To Mind, which had an undeniable impact on me. 

Is there a producer in particular that inspired you to start making tracks?

That would be my friend Maxi (Cephimix). We met in boarding school in 9th grade, he was in the science branch while I was in the (classical) music branch. One day I was walking past his dorm room and heard some very smooth music coming from inside. When I looked inside, he was sitting in front of his laptop and a MIDI keyboard, and the music that was playing was actually his own. I was extremely impressed by Maxi's ability to use Ableton and recreate styles such as Jersey club as we had heard them on SoundCloud. Maxi was also the only one around me at the time who knew the mysterious world of SoundCloud and had a passion for digging niche electronic music. It was Maxi who taught me the basics of Ableton and showed me how to make the seemingly impossible and magical come true.

Can you recall the first track you ever produced? How about the first track you made that you felt really proud of? What was that learning curve like?

In fact, I've just made my first ever produced track public so that you can get an impression :). I like how abstract and unique the track is, I knew exactly what I wanted to produce back then. Funnily enough, at the end of the track you can hear me sampling Salif Keita's “Saly,” the first piece of music I ever heard. 

The first track I was really happy with I posted about three years later, a remix of Trinidadian Deep's “Trini Ting.” Again, a very clear vision, but this time the dancehall influence is much clearer. My production techniques were still very simple, all I did was basically sample, use stock synth sounds, arrange and use reverb and delay where needed. That didn’t change for a while until I began to understand synthesis and get a deeper understanding of Ableton and its session view around two years ago. It’s been since then that I’ve been slowly beginning to use Ableton as an instrument, translating ideas into sounds without much thought and painstaking problem solving.

How did you become interested in dancehall music?

SoundCloud plays a central role here again, as do the various SoundCloud niche communities that already drew influences from dancehall heavily back in the early to mid 10s. I can spontaneously think of bkbeats, Ballo, Dinamarca, Mobilegirl, the whole Staycore collective actually, just to name a tiny few. I got into flex dance music (the clubby and more intense version of dancehall from Brooklyn) through Bok Bok, who played Fdm in his Rinse shows and released music by HMXGOD via Night Slugs, which was also transformative for me. Watching Boiler Rooms from London and listening to Rinse and Radar Radio shows also brought me more and more into contact with dancehall.

Equally important was a voluntary ecumenical year I spent in a refugee centre in Vittoria, Sicily. There were mainly West Africans at the facility I was working at, many of whom shared a great passion for dancehall and reggae in general. There I was taken to a dancehall party attended almost exclusively by Africans where a DJ from Gambia was performing. He was welcomed like a hero and delivered an incredible dancehall set. The euphoria I saw in the dancing, lighter-wielding dancers was very impressive and magical for me. That's when I decided I wanted to try my hand at dancehall riddims myself. The result was "Loodi (Remix)" and Bumboclaat Riddim.

What does the ideal DJ set sound like to you?

I guess I don't have an original opinion on this: The ideal DJ set for me is surprising and yet coherent. I like it when a DJ plays a variety of styles while always keeping a common thread. And of course it's also interesting when the DJ picks up on the musical zeitgeist and plays with it or intelligently juxtaposes it with other music eras. Other than that, I just like to be inspired and surprised by the philosophies of other DJs :).

Any current non-musical influences?

Faith. I am increasingly coming to terms with human faith and find it a fascinating and deeply moving thing. I find it marvelous from how many directions you can approach the subject, and yet there is this common unreachable, omnipresent sphere that different religions in the past and now revolve around. I love engaging with this sphere and being touched by it, not only because it goes beyond rationalisation and the linguistically tangible. I love all art, music, and literature inspired by religious stories and spiritual wisdom. 

It’s similar to listening to music and making music. Music can touch you deeply, open you up and comfort you, make you feel at peace with existence without you knowing exactly why. When I make music, I also let my intuition guide and remote control me, translating visions into something that suddenly exists (or always existed) in our (seemingly) mortal space. I will never get over this miracle, it leaves me speechless.  

How about dream collaborations?

Phew, I have to smile, that's very personal. For one, my obvious dream would be to produce for a real dancehall vocalist, someone of the calibre of Masicka, Alkaline, or WSTRN. Equally great would be to produce for female singers like SZA or Aya Nakamura. All of these singers have that sauce and sensitivity that would make them my dream collaboration.

Apart from that, my dream collaborations would be with my personal idols Malibu, Oklou, and Mikey Enwright, with whom I feel very much at home musically. There you have it. Now it's out…

What contemporary artists are inspiring you right now?

It's difficult to narrow it down, I could name sooo many. Depending on my state of mind, I would probably name completely different people. Who I currently find exciting and cute are Niko Demus, DJ Something, TDJ, ESP, and Velv.93. My all-time favourites and sources of inspiration continue to be Malibu, Oklou, Mikey Enwright, Special Guest DJ and Xenia Reaper.