Kingston Jamaican Hiphop and Grimehall artist Fyah Roiall teams up with Kiwi producer Oakley Grenell for what can only be described as a Party Trap Anthem steeped in technical double time lyrics and hard sub bass beats. The two met when Roiall was touring Australia and linked with the Central Records producer at his home studio in Melbourne. From there, Flavour was crafted and the two bonded over their love of music, greenery and life. In 2020 Roiall released his debut LP ‘Underrated’ which expands his musical prowess and ability to flow over a myriad of genres and tempos.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
What first got you into music?
My father (John Grenell) was New Zealand’s biggest country singers when he was 19 so my siblings and I all grew up around music our whole lives and my mother organised music festivals every summer on our farm. 5000 people would pitch tents and have a weekend of music and dancing, this happened from when I was 2 until about 17. Naturally I wanted to learn an instrument (guitar), my older brother picked up the bass and we told our little brother to play the drums and at 13, our first band was created - ‘Blues Town’. Form there, I continued to play guitar and gigs all through high school, then 3 years of Jazz Guitar study where I was awarded a scholarship for my final performance (an hour’s worth of originals).
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
I actually teach music for my day job, and schools usually finishes around 3pm in the afternoon, giving me potentially 3-4 hours to tinker, record and edit after work. In the early days when I was living in London (2003 – 06), I would record all the great radio shows on my minidisk stereo, then listen to them on the way to work, get inspired and make beats every night. This has slowed down more recently but I still go back and salvage some ideas or beat patterns from that very productive time and update them with new techniques, samples and vocalists.
Your latest song is 'Flavour'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Fyah Roiall from Jamaica was touring Australia in 2019 with a great producer called Monkey Marc. I saw the show, got in contact and sent 3 beats to his tour manager. He chose the Flavour beat, I picked him up and we recorded at my home studio and he did maybe 2 takes and that was it, a real professional, came correct and smashed it out the park lyrically, rhythmically and musically. Beat wise, I have been stuck in a ‘trap’ so to speak since 2014 – making trap style beats and this one is interesting because the bassline is actually not on the root note, it’s on the flat 13 (jazz speak) making for an interesting listen. I was super lucky to link with Fyah and collab on this track, he has his second full length album coming out in June.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Back yourself! To me ‘music is magic’ and early on I decided to be involved with it in every aspect that I could. Teaching, doing sound for bands, promoting and touring have kept me busy. The best is collaborating. Intertwining someone else’s music history and influences with mine is where the magic happens. So find your ‘magic’ and see if you can make that your life.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
Teaching : ) sharing my knowledge, passion and gifts in music is the best! And a lot of hiking – I love getting into nature and the mountains, it totally resets my brain.
How do you know when a work is finished?
When I listen to it and don’t hear anything out of place or anything I can do better.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
My live band played a festival called Parihaka in New Zealand and we were on the main stage and the peak time of 9pm, we absolutely smashed it and it was high vibes!
Do you have a mentor or coach?
Hmmm no, but I do read a lot of autobiographies and follow inspiring people in all aspects of life, not just music. Kevin Smith is a big inspiration because he is someone who continued to create his own brand of media and is super unapologetic about it.
Who is your favourite musician?
Tough one, it would be a clash between Ben Harper (one of the best song writers), Bireli Lagrene (one of the best guitarists) and J Dilla (the best producer).
What are your plans for the future?
This year my independent label Central Records celebrates its 20-year anniversary since my first release (Jaded EP 2002). I used to release and album every year, but now it’s more like a 6 track EP every year so we have a new single called ‘Payroll’ coming out in early July, an EP in September and a best of 20 years compilation in November