Esteemed BBC Radio 1 DJ, presenter and now producer Arielle Free chats to Headliner about her recently released debut single, Soul Full, featuring Joe Killington with Mortimer via Defected’s D4 DANCE label, and her excitement about returning to the stage for some big festival sets this summer…
Despite only just starting her music production journey during the first UK lockdown, Arielle Free’s trajectory from radio DJ to beatmaker is one that makes a whole lot of sense.
Released on Defected’s D4 DANCE label, Soul Full is a big, unapologetically fun, soulful house number that is sure to get feet tapping – a track that its creator likes to think all generations can enjoy. But how does Free feel about kicking off her career as a full-fledged producer?
“It’s a bit weird,” she responds. “Because when I first started dabbling, I felt like I was hitting my head off a brick wall. I was using Ableton at the time, and then a friend recommended I try Logic, which I just got a lot better at and allowed me to learn more. I was working with my friend who works for Community Music, an organisation based in Brady Arts Centre on Brick Lane, and I was really lucky because I used to do pirate radio in that building…
“I did a few lessons online, and I was put in touch with an amazing mixer in Bristol who I went to learn with in the studio. We soon started a little project, and by the end of day we had Soul Full, just without the vocals.”