CajunBeatz Is Bringing Heartbreak to the UK Garage Revival
Punk Head: You mention staying “deep in your feelz” as the origin of this release—how do emotions translate into electronic sound design and structure?
CajunBeatz: All of my music is an emotional expression of how I'm feeling at the time of creating. Each tune has its own origin story and I typically allow my mood and feelz to lead my sound selections with each track.
Punk Head: Your lyrics in “Keep Me Right” are very intimate. Do you see a convergence between vocal storytelling and dancefloor energy, or are they deliberately separate?
CajunBeatz: Yes they sure are! I generally like to weave my beatz around a strong vocal narrative as my usual creative starting point, in a way which draws you into the energy of the track and keeps you deliberately emotively engaged.
Punk Head: Switching from drum and bass to UK garage involves rhythm, structure, and mood changes—what’s the most challenging part of genre-hopping as a producer?
CajunBeatz: My artistic approach of building beatz around sensual vocals enabled me to genre-switch in a seamless way. With my main challenge being ensuring that everything still sounds on point to a totally different BPM.
Punk Head: UK garage has a storied history—what elements of the genre do you feel compelled to preserve, and which are ripe for reinvention?
CajunBeatz: For me you gotta to retain the two-step rhythm for sure, also many of my favourite garage classics have a strong and provocative vocal accompaniment too. Personally I enjoyed having a play with different wobbly baselines and synth samples to bring a different flava to this OG sound.
Punk Head: You’re gearing up for summer festival season—how do you decide which tracks from #OffCutz will thrive in a live setting versus studio listening?
CajunBeatz: All of my releases are created with high energy live settings in mind, but equally sound just as fine in the cans for the gym or even bumping in your kitchen rave!
