Oliver Lee of Snakehips Chats About Early Success and a Bright Future
Aryeh Harris-Shapiro
Downtempo electronic duo Snakehips emerged as part of a wave of young producers making their name on Soundcloud and Hype Machine, remixing such artists as Banks and the Weeknd. In 2015, Oliver Lee and James Carter broke through with their single “All My Friends” off the EP of the same name, featuring American R&B star Tinashe and Chance the Rapper. The track’s warmth and infectious hook disguised a remarkably complex fusion of hip-hop, R&B and dance music, and the song quickly became a worldwide hit, especially in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. The duo is currently touring worldwide and releasing new music such as the single, “Cruel.” Oliver Lee recently spoke with Entertainment Voice about the group’s history and its future.
How has the tour been going?
Been good man. Been really, really good. Been about three weeks, we’re just about to go out to the West Coast and do LA and San Francisco and stuff. It’s been wicked, man.
You and James Carter originally met in Hong Kong. How did you end up forming Snakehips?
We just met randomly when we were out there. It happened about three years ago. We just started talking music and ended up working on music together when we got back to London.
Where does the name ‘Snakehips’ come from?
It’s a stupid dance move I used to. I had a tight pair of jeans, and I used to pull them up pretty high and do a stupid “snakehips” dance move. I don’t do that anymore.
Like many dance artists, you started in the Soundcloud remix world. How do you stand out as an artist on such a crowded platform?
You just try to put out as much stuff as you can, I guess. Just trying to reach as many people as possible. It’s luck as well. People sharing your music – I dunno, It’s pretty crazy really. Once people knew us, we could start releasing our own original stuff.
You recently released an EP of official remixes for your new single “Cruel.” What defines a good remix and how did you pick the producers who appear on the EP?
I guess a good remix is just taking something and completely putting your own spin on it. We always try to take the full vocal of a whole song and totally redo the production behind it. We do the beat like we would have done it but keep the vocals the same. I guess it’s just about being imaginative and understanding the track you’re working on. As for the EP, we’ve got so many friends that produce, like Ta-Ku and Mxxwll, and we just kind of reached out. It’s cool having personal friends of ours do our remixes.
You’ve collaborated with some of today’s hottest rappers. What draws you to working with rappers and hip-hop as an influence?
We’ve always loved hip-hop music, that’s where we come from really. That’s a huge part of what we do and a big influence. It’s just wicked to get to work with cool rappers.
Snakehips records in both London and Los Angeles. How does location affect your creative process?
It’s always sunny in L.A., it puts you in a good mood. I think we make better stuff out there than we do in London where it’s always raining.
Do you have any new material coming out?
We’ve got an album that we’re working on. New single as well. That should be December or January sometime. Just did a new remix for Tory Lanez that’s coming out soon. I love it all. For our next single, actually, we worked with a singer who’s one of our favorite artists. We can’t give all the details, but I’m really excited to get it out.
Snakehips will be performing on Nov. 19 as part of Red Bull Sound Select’s ‘30 Days in LA’ Festival. How did that come about?
They just kind of reached out. We had a tour when that whole thing was happening and it was a cool way to do an LA show at a cool venue.
Do you guys like to party when you’re out on tour?
Little bit, little bit. Drink a little bit too much and stuff. But we always have a lot of fun.
What should fans expect when they come see you live?
Just good vibes, man. We just try and play tunes that we think we’d want to hear if we were out. Just good vibes and good fun.