VINCH : In Studio
Vinch Is not a rapper. As a truly versatile artist that not only writes but produces and masters his own music, Vinch is one of the underground kings in the bubbling London sub-culture due to take over the music scene across the world. At 24, Vinch has already experienced enough in his life to writing a compelling biography of highlights, troubled times and teachable moments. However, Vinch pours all these thoughts, emotions and sounds into his music. As an artist with over a month worth of unreleased music in his hard drive...literally, Vinch takes versatility to drastic measures as we were met with his catalog from the beginning until the current day.
Vinch invited us to his home studio where he recorded songs such as 'Flightmode' and 'Cheque'. We then discussed what forces him to make whatever type of music he is inspired by at any given time, reflecting on his career thus far and understanding his process on how he aims to take things to the next level. In this meeting, we get to understand Vinch not only as an artist but a person that sees escape and therapy in music.
Check out our In Studio experience with the talented artist below, full of unreleased freestyles, instrumentals and more.
I never wanted to be a singer or a musician. My focus was football, then after that fashion and then art. After a while, music became my calling.
Listening to your older music there has been a shift in the sound, what caused that transition?
V: You mean my transition into trap?
NW: Yeah, what made you want to tackle that lane
V: At First, what made me want to write trap music was Juicy J. I’ve always been a Three Six [Mafia] fan and listened to trap but I never really wanted to make it, I just appreciated it as a fan of music. But when Bands Will Make Her Dance came out…
NW: [Laughs]
V: I’m not even joking. That song changed my life, I fell in love with everything I shouldn’t. I felt like – Take me to Magic City, that’s where I belong after that song. Then Rihanna came out with Pour It Up and I said to myself “This is getting too much”. I started looking at ‘Juicy J’ type beats, but then other artists such as A$AP Rocky and Travis Scott were influential. I remember at the beginning of my career looking at these guys like “wow”
I also think it's about how much control they had, knowing that Juicy J is a producer, at the time Travis was also producing most of his tracks. And then PARTYNEXTDOOR, that’s when I got into more of the R&B side of things, I was already kind of doing it but-
NW: Yeah, you mentioned you were already singing before rap
V: When I was singing, I wasn’t singing to be a singer. I just liked to sing, I never wanted to be a singer or a musician. My focus was Football, then after that fashion and then art. After a while music became my calling.
NW: In terms of trap, the era you speak of was definitely where trap music was at its peak. Do you feel like you were coming at it from a standpoint of showing that you're capable of making a popular sound?
V: Definitely not though, in secondary school and college I was the guy that would research things and find out about a song 2 months before anyone knew it. Guys like A$AP Rocky and Travis Scott – When I was Jackin’ them, I was the only person playing that shit. I couldn’t go to anyone and say, “Have you listened to this?”, they would be like wtf?
I think it was when I went to my second year of college, Antidote came out – and that’s when everybody kind of jumped on Travis Scott.
NW: Yeah that’s true
V: But by then I wasn’t as much of a fan. That’s how much I was listening to him though.
NW: We’ve been listening to Travis Scott since 2012, when he released songs like Love Sick and 16 Chapel, even before he released Owl Pharaoh.
V: Oouu! This is it! Remember he had a song with Wale?! That’s what got me into him.
NW: Was the song called Rotation?
V: They both were on it and I was like “Who is this Travis Scott guy”?
NW: No, actually, Travis wasn’t on rotation, he just produced it… Oh! Quintana!
[Vinch has a eureka moment and jumps out of his seat]
V: OHH MYY GOOOD!! Nah, bro! Oh My God! That song…Oh, My Days.
Straight from Mexico call her Quintana!
That’s the first type beat I ever downloaded. It wasn’t even the official beat, I had to get the remake.
NW: he released it as a single on SoundCloud, the beat was so distorted looking back but it had such as dark and energetic feel to it.
V: I have to play it…
I want people to look at me like…Pharrell, in a certain sense. Pharrell is a god in this, I want to be a god in this too
NW: Your music is so diverse, what brings out a particular type of Vinch at any point?
V: I can’t just walk into the studio and do anything. I literally need inspiration. If I have inspiration, I’ll probably make one of the best songs I’ve probably ever made because of that topic
NW: So, your music comes solely from life experience.
V: That’s literally the rawest form of inspiration [An instrumental plays in the background]
It has to be from my life or someone else’s. That’s where I always try to take my inspiration from. Sometimes not necessarily my life but my fantasies. It might not be something that has happened, but I want it to.
NW: What type of Vinch do you want ppl to know when the catalog is complete
V: I want people to look at me like…Pharrell, in a certain sense. Pharrell is a god in this, I want to be a god in this too, but I mean if Pharrell dropped a track with Playboi Carti today, you’re not going to be confused about it. If he dropped a soul song, you’ll be like – “yeah, it’s Pharrell”, if it’s funk the same thing. That is what I want, similar to Frank Ocean – hearing him on songs like Raf Simons with the A$AP Mob, no one is surprised Frank Ocean is rapping.
NW: Exactly, we know that is where Frank Ocean started
V: Literally, just like the song Odie, you remember that?
NW: Yeah, he had the best verse on the song.
V: And he was effortless… Even Tyler as well though, I think people that are respected as more than just a rapper. I am not a rapper, that’s why when people ask me if I’m a producer or an artist- I am what you want me to be, whatever you thought I was, that’s what I am. I want to mean something [different] to everyone. I want to be able to make songs for my guys in the ends on the block that want to listen to trap shit. I want to make music for people that probably do live in the ends, but they don’t listen to trap, they listen to R&B/Soul, they’re like me. I came from R&B, I fucking love R&B – I want to be able to make that as well.
NW: You probably want to even make music for your mother even.
V: Facts, I’ve literally done stuff for that before. I made this afrobeat’s song, it's not finished yet though – I freestyled it in one take as well.
[Vinch plays an unreleased Afrobeats song, produced by himself]
NW: Where does ‘Vinchi Saatchi’ come from?
V: Essentially, I needed a beat tag and had to find one. I did a freestyle over the Mike Jones ‘Still Tippin’ instrumental.
[Vinch Plays Still Tippin freestyle]
V: I samples myself; I was freestyling when I said that. Listening back, I was like whaaaat?? This is it! I’ve found my beat tag, and it’s so catchy. If I go into a room right now and say “Vinchi Saatchi” – everyone is going to be like “On the shit, it make it bounce”. I felt like I hit the nail on the head when I said that it was just a freestyle, I was literally just talking.
Vinch is also a pioneer of a budding sound in the UK scene. As an artist that is capable of almost any musical style finding his own sound and pocket was important to keep him inspired and to inspire those around him. Vinch and frequent collaborator and friend Herbo released a joint project in 2018, a heavily trap-influenced project with gritty instrumentals and unorthodox flows are the foundation for a sound that we expect to soon make rounds within the UK