Toddla T Breaks Down Every Track On His New Album ‘Foreign Light’

Electronic dance music has always been open to experimentation; in the UK especially. And one producer whose club-ready, "digital dancehall" cuts have consistently banged since his start ten years ago, is DJ and producer Thomas Bell—who performs under the buoyant moniker of Toddla T. A representative of Sheffield—aka "Steel City"—Toddla T's unrelenting penchant for intermixing bashment, R&B and rap vocals with house, garage and grime beats has afforded him plenty of room in the upper echelons of underground dance. And with countless remixes for major artists, a long-standing show on BBC Radio 1 and now his third studio album on the CV, despite the quirky alias, Toddla is far from a minor.

With his recently released third album, Foreign Light, Toddla T formulates a bass-heavy, pre-rave, pre-carnival, summertime set that includes his formative influences as well as more dub and reggae elements. On the 10-track project, Stefflon Don, CASisDEAD, Coco and Wiley all make appearances alongside the singer Andrea Martin—whose R&B vocals feature on nine out of ten songs. For a deeper look into Foreign Light, Complex called up Toddla T for a quick track-by-track breakdown of an album set to make Best Of 2017 lists right across the board.

“Blackjack21”

"My friend, Andy Nicholson, put some bass down on 'Blackjack21' and it swings so well—we left it super loose. This is one of the early beats I took to the session in New York with Andrea Martin, and she demo'd it right there and then... She sounds absolutely mental on it."

“Won’t Admit It’s Love”

"'Now, this is one of my favourrite tracks on the album. The switch in the middle was actually an accident; it was meant to be a bridge, but turned into the second half of the tune. CASisDEAD was in the studio working on something else but heard this, loved it, and just rolled it out."

“Beast”

"I sampled Bart Hoven to make the instrumental, and again, Stefflon Don was heading to the studio to work on different things but she heard this, combined with Andrea's 'Beast' concept, and in 10 minutes, the whole track was finished. A really natural link up on this one." 

“Ungrateful”

"Jazz musician Kaidi Tathum really helped bring this record to life—it had so many different versions and genres that worked with Andrea's incredible vocal. I wanted it to have a busker-esque feel to the beginning with the choir, and then... BAM! Just have the song start."

“Foreign Light”

"This one was mad! I made the title track with Matt Helders from Arctic Monkeys. He helped with the synth parts, but it took ages to get Coco's delivery right; as his lyrics are so deep and honest, the recording needed to match. Eventually, we nailed it, and I think it's one of Coco's best performances 

“Foundation”

"I built this alongside Addis Pablo, son of dub legend Agustus Pablo. We took the beat to Mark Ronson's studio to use all his old space echoes and old pieces of gear, which Benji B oversaw. 'Foundation' is a tribute to dub music—the foundation of so much music that I love."

“Always”

"Andrea had sent me a hummed melody, which I crafted a bass line around. It just worked; reggae lovers' vibes. Silki, who's a highly respected Jamaican artist I met whilst I was out there, completely smashed the vocals. I love the crocodile lyric a lot, and just the whole vibe is wicked."

“Tribute”

"This is a skit taken from Notting Hill Carnival; I wanted it to feel like you were walking through the streets of a lively carnival. It's purposefully placed after 'Always' on the album, so it reflected the mash-up of soundsystems that all sit alongside each other. 'Tribute' is a tribute to the grime scene and soundsystem culture."

“Faithful Skit”

"'Faithful Skit' is a song I tried to get right with Andrea, but it just wasn't working. So instead I turned it into a moment on the album of just pure vocals and chords, and it features a choir called Mango Music."

“Magnet”

"In order to marry the incredible delivery of Andrea's vocal and the music, I decided to call Chilly Gonzales on this track to take it to the next level. He added the keys and some pads, and it really came alive."