Boom Dice on Gang Signs and Prayer and Extroverts: "You need to go with the flow"

A true journeyman of the music industry, Bryan Wilson, aka Boom Dice, has done it all. Winning a Brit Award for his production work on Stormzy's Gang Signs and Prayer is only skimming the surface. He releases dance music and always features the most exciting young talent, and runs Boom Dice Presents, a label which puts on events and is an opportunity for him to mentor young musicians. We talk to Bryan about his latest single Extroverts, his incredible career so far, and why he's so keen to give a helping hand up to younger artists.

Originally hailing from Toronto, Wilson moved to the UK several moons ago to see his production career take off. And what a glistening career it has been: he has already worked with Sofi Tukker, Stormzy, Wolf Alice, Disclosure, John Newman, Lianne La Havas and Emeli Sande, and this of course is only naming a handful. Headliner asks about that work with Stormzy in particular that won him his Brit Award statuette.

“I was there in the early days of Gang Signs and Prayer,” he says, Canadian accent still intact despite his long residence in London. 

“I was there around a month or so, helping formulate ideas with the live musicians who would come in — I was more involved on the ‘jam’ tracks like Blinded By Your Grace Pt.2. It was incredible to see how that song evolved over time. 

"Fraser (T. Smith) and Stormzy had just flown to New York, then one morning when I got to the studio, they had recorded all the choir parts for that and sent it back to me in London. So it was very much about putting the focus on making their vision into reality.

“I didn't always know who was coming in next — one of the days I got to the studio and was having some coffee, and then Lily Allen walks in. So next thing you know I’m working on one of the tracks on the album with her. 

"You’ve got to just be nimble with what you're doing. Generally, as a piece of advice to be a good engineer, I think you need to be flexible, and you also need to go with the flow.”

And yet Wilson still finds time to release music as an artist-producer, a brilliant case-in-point being his latest single Extroverts featuring Florida-born, Serbia-based singer-songwriter MadLeo. An extravagant slice of dark-pop, MadLeo jumped on this Boom Dice track to deliver a narrative song about her experiences with social anxiety.

“She wrote it from her perspective of feeling like an introvert surrounded by extroverts,” Wilson says. 

“Which I think is quite a common problem. And it was fitting, because this was her first time collaborating with anyone outside of her solo material. So a new thing outside of her comfort zone to try to figure out. I thought she tapped into the mood really well.”

In terms of Wilson’s studio, a name that has recently become a key part of his work is Hedd Audio, who he entrusts with his studio monitors. He got himself a pair of their speakers in “2019 I’d say. And that was huge. I was lucky enough at the start of my career to be working in some of the best commercial studios with all of this classic gear. 

"But it became impractical for me to pay five or 600 pounds a day just to try vocals out with somebody. And so I set up in my bedroom at home and I developed the home studio and the Hedd Type 20 Monitors were such a savior for that. The weight that they have is fantastic. 

"I don't have a huge amount of room but with these it’s not an issue. They sound clear and crispy; they give you the weighty bass when you need it. Once I find something like this in terms of equipment, I tend to be very loyal. So I would certainly continue to use these for the foreseeable future. I have been out there recommending them to everybody.”

Whether you’re feeling extroverted or introverted today, go and double click on Extroverts now for Boom Dice’s irresistible bassline and MadLeo’s sultry vocals, and follow his other work, particularly his admirable efforts to elevate his fellow artists.