Claye
The Million Dollar Question
“The deals you see with some artists are disgusting, so I’m glad I understand the royalties side of things...” he had nothing to lose at the time. “When I came to live in the UK, I was young and semi-reckless with no commitments, so I thought I’d give music a go. It wasn’t even a planned thing. Then the family comes into the picture, so I can’t leave again [laughs]. At the time I was teaching music, so I decided to stay and pursue musicmaking.” Although citing slick R&B / hip hop producers and artists Timbaland, The Neptunes and N.E.R.D as influences, Claye’s music tastes and inspirations are broad – his favourites are actually Maroon 5, Coldplay, Bon Jovi and Journey. “I love classical music too – I’m a big Hans Zimmer fan; I love soundtracks. Classical music makes you appreciate music. But my drumming influences come from Timbaland, as I’m a drummer second. I’m multi genre: I could do a rock song if I needed to, but I wouldn’t [laughs]. It wouldn’t be as good as my first music – reggae, dancehall and R&B. You can hear those influences in my music - take away the beats and vocals away and you hear R&B harmonies – I can’t get a way from it!” When he’s not being inspired by daytime TV, Claye is open to discovering new music on Spotify. “I’m like a kid in candy shop when I hear things. It helps me to stay fresh and inspired; I don’t listen to a lot of radio. When
I’m creating, it’s what I’m feeling, and what I know how to do. I’m not being fed by what’s popping.” In the studio, Claye is using an Arturia Keylabs 49 hybrid synthesiser, a 27in iMac, a Novation Impulse MIDI controller keyboard (“l like it because I can map stuff, and I like the feel of the keys,” he says), and a combination of Eve Audio SC207 and Yamaha HS50 monitors. Emulating different hardware in plugin format is a Universal Audio Apollo MKii interface, while he also relies on a Native Instruments Maschine Platinum Edition, an Akai APC Mini and a Sontronics Orpheus Mic. Claye is a big Waves fan: “I have a lot of waves plugins – Waves is old school, and it works,” although his particular favourites are the CLA-2A and dbx 160 compressor / limiters, the Rvox vocal compressor, RBass and MaxxBass for bass enhancement, RDeEsser to remove the harsh frequencies and sibilance in vocals, and H-Reverb. A big moment in Claye’s career came when he signed a publishing deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, although he didn’t immediately jump at the chance. “I was procrastinating,” he admits. “I bit the bullet and went and saw their new space in London. I didn’t know what to expect, but the game-changer for me was the name [Roc Nation]. If you know how
to use it, it can open doors.” So what is Hova like in person? Claye is honest – he has no idea. “I didn’t meet Jay Z. He’s so busy, and it would be weird to bump into these level of guys. I’m weird…I probably would have seen him and not said anything. He’s probably busy and not open for a general chat [laughs]. What I’d love to get from him is his top five tips – no selfies, just knowledge. I watch all the interviews these guys do, because I like to understand what they’re thinking.” Considering his initial blasé attitude to getting into the music scene, Claye now takes the business side of his career very seriously, preferring to oversee every aspect himself. Being part of the Roc Nation family meant there were opportunities to attend ‘writing camps,’ where he learnt about all the different aspects of the music industry. “I spent that time doing the pitching, which I hate now, but I didn’t realise that I was honing the whole craft. If I wasn’t working in music I would probably be in something in branding – I love business. I’m very much behind the business of what I’m doing. The deals you see with some artists are disgusting and ridiculous, so I’m glad I understand the royalties side of things to avoid that happening to me. It needs to make sense for the artist.”
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