Richard ‘Sticky’ Forbes built his reputation as one of the United Kingdom’s leading club music producers at the height of the UK Garage scene. His productions not only kept the clubs on lock, but they also launched the careers of a number of the UK talents, including the Mercury Award winning Ms. Dynamite. Sticky has re-emerged on the scene in 2009 with a recent embrace of UK Funky and the “Jumeirah Riddim” is his biggest statement yet.
Sticky’s sound is intended to “forge a blend between credible street sounds and the pop music industry” and his discography bears this out. He has collaborated with Kele Le Roc, Stush, Tubby T and Twista, and been called on to remix pop stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah, Sugababes, Hot Chip and Erykah Badu.
I caught up with Sticky to discuss music, his musical roots and where he’s headed in the future.
Tell me about some of your first DJ gigs. What was the atmosphere like when you started?
I started DJing in the late 80s when I was a teenager, and most of the places I would play in were house parties. They were very dark rooms, hardly any lights, and the atmosphere was electric because nobody saw each other!
Tell us about one of the first songs that had a big impact on you, and why.
One of the tracks that had a big impact on me when I was young was Soul2Soul’s “Keep On Moving”. The reason why I love this track is because of the fusion between a reggae singer, hip hop beats, reggae bassline and live strings. Wow!!!! That’s what made me want to start producing.
