A CHAT W/ BOYDELL

As UKG continues to spread across the globe, New York welcomes garage with open arms, and Boydell is a testament to that. Following his latest release on Transistor titled "Terminate", we picked the brain of Alex gandhi to understand how the NY scene growing, what draws him to the genre, how he noticed early sucess, his UK influence & much more.

 

Who are you and where are you from?

 

My name’s Alex, aka Boydell. I'm a garage dj/producer currently based in Brooklyn but I grew up in London, Hong Kong, and New Jersey.

What is the scene like where you're from?

 

The garage scene in NYC is exploding right now. Every garage show keeps getting more packed every year. The difference in crowd sizes year over year for artists like Oppidan or Sammy Virji is insane. Locally, there are at least 4–5 party series focused on UKG, and so many amazing producers are working within the genre.

What draws you to this genre?

 

For me, garage feels limitless, especially when it comes to sampling. You can pull from any genre to make a garage track. When I first started producing garage, I was combining Bollywood samples with swung drums and heavy basslines to make something unique. Right now, I’m focused on incorporating hip hop samples, since that’s a genre I spent a lot of time in before garage. You can really draw inspiration from anywhere to make a sick garage tune.

Describe this track in as few words as possible

 

HEAVY

What is your favourite thing about this track?

 

Two things. First, the vocal sample before the drop is so sick, it’s unique and counting down to the drop builds tension perfectly. Second, the bassline, it feels fun but also dark at the same time. I love how those two energies come together.

Who is your biggest influence & why?

 

MAIN PHASE. Been absolutely obsessed with him since I saw him in NYC. Not only is his production quality world class, I LOVE that he cannot be defined in a single genre. He’s primarily known as a garage producer, but I find his newer stuff to be extremely unique. You can’t put this guy in a box. I ultimately want to be in the same category as him, I don’t want to be know for just one thing, I just want to be know as a producer with unlimited range.

What describes you outside of music?

 

I’m pretty big on just experiencing life. Like traveling, trying new food, meeting new people, and generally just being out in the city. I’ve been lucky to grow up around a mix of cultures (London, Hong Kong, Jersey) so I’m always looking for new experiences. Outside of music I’m also just trying to stay balanced overall and building a life that actually feels good day to day.

What describes you as an artist?

 

I make music for the dancefloor first. Stuff that really makes people dance or have a physical reaction. A lot of it is rooted in UK sounds like garage, speed garage, jungle, but I’m always mixing in different influences and flipping things in my own way. I don’t really like staying in one lane. If anything, I want my sets and tracks to feel energetic, a bit unexpected, and fun, like you don’t fully know what’s coming next but it still makes sense.

 

What are your plans for this year's music?

 

 

For a long time, I didn’t have concrete goals with music. Last year I decided I want to become a touring artist. A big part of that is releasing as much good music as possible. My goal for the year is 12 tracks out by the end of it. I’ve got a lot more music on the way and I’m super excited to share it.

Anything else you'd like to say?

 

Something I wish I heard earlier was to just fucking go for it. Once I started taking my music seriously, things started falling into place I didn’t expect. Releasing on a label felt impossible at first. So if you’re thinking about putting your all into music, just start now.