Some serious heat is boiling up within the UK dance music scene, an exciting new DJ/production trio are setting out to change the game and sprinkle a concoction of London’s culture across the globe. Are you excited? Well we are… allow us to introduce you to Mad Teeth. The group’s three members David Stewart, Jessica Agombar and Yash Sohodeb are no strangers to the music industry however, as a group, they are now onboard a new journey and we wanted to find out all about it.

As individuals, Mad Teeth have each been in the music game for more or less 10 years. David Stewart, a West Londoner who sings, writes and produces music, has toured with the likes of Status Quo, Simply Red and spent five years on the road with singer/rapper Example. He even ended up signing to Ludacris’ label ‘Disturbing Tha Peace’ and moving to Atlanta for two years.

Representing Bow E3, singer-songwriter Jessica Agombar was heavily influenced by Grime, having grown up amongst some of today’s biggest MCs. Despite fantasies of wanting to be Lisa Mafia from So Solid Crew, Jessica’s entry into the industry was from starring in ‘St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold’ and assisting Xenomania with the film’s soundtrack in 2009. This then led to Jessica becoming a member of the five-piece girl band Parade, although they later disbanded in 2013. Jessica loved the experience however, she recognised her calling and want to write music.

DJ / Producer Yash Sohodeb also known as ‘Stikmatik’ (via the streets), always knew he wanted to get into music. Although not sure of the exact lane he wanted to venture, he started making beats and DJing on pirate radio stations such as Heat FM, Rinse FM and DeJa Vu. Growing up in Tottenham, North London, Yash found himself working alongside locals such as Skepta, Wretch 32 and Chip. Yash later turned his hand to the dance and electronic scene, keeping the influence of Grime and also UKG in his tunes and mixes.

The trio arrived at the Tottenham studio enthusiastically and full of smiles for their interview and shoot. Their energy was friendly and pure, excited but composed - giving clear indications that they were going to be an absolute dream to work with - I wasn’t wrong either. It was such a pleasure to speak with them, our conversation was extremely fulfilling and very insightful.

Intrigued by how the trio spanning North, East and West London actually came together, I asked for the story here. David explained that he and Jess had known each other for around seven years and had been working together as Pop songwriters for the most recent. “We’ve been working pretty much day in day out for three/four years, I mean I see Jess more than I see my girlfriend and my parents put together,” jokes David. A backstage chat at an event abroad, is what officially brought the trio together. The talk of getting into the studio was on the agenda but it literally went ahead and happened. “You know when you meet everyone and you’re like ‘yea we gotta get together and do something!’ It was one of those things that came together. We actually did formalise,” explains David. “It was one of those moments that just kind of worked on that first session, we were like, ‘we gotta make something happen here.’” Yash adds in on the fact it’s really helpful that between them, they have a lot of mutual friends, “I guess through the whole UK scene, the three of us were able to connect the dots.” Everything was in alignment, they knew the same people, they had all worked in the music industry for around 10 years and their affinity as a unit was tight. “We all get in rooms with people every single day and that synergy, that connection doesn't always happen,” shares Jess.

That one session led to great things for the trio and Mad Teeth was born! They continued to get in the studio and things evolved very quickly. A few meetings with some record labels and they were offered a deal with RCA, Sony Music. They’ve already got a bag of tunes up their sleeves as they share they’ve made around 40 tracks, all of which have been written, produced and pieced together by the three of them only. Everything happened so naturally and organically they tell me and it really seems to be working well for them. “We understood from that first session, that click doesn’t happen all the time. So for us, it just felt natural to carry on in that lane with each other,” explains Jess.

What I found quite magical about Mad Teeth is that although they are all from London, they are all so different, yet share the exact same vision. They are a great representation of what London looks like today, especially coming from Bow (East), Maida Vale (West) and Tottenham (North). “We all come from different worlds, we’re all from London but we always say Mad Teeth is London in 2019, completely,” shares Jess. “Being brought up in London but having totally different upbringings and totally different backgrounds, the synergy that we’ve got - we are three young Londoners, that just wanna have a laugh but make as much music as we can and take over the world.”

On that note, taking over the world is exactly what Mad Teeth plan to do. Although they are starting out in the dance and electronic scene, the trio are not looking to be pigeonholed whatsoever. They see themselves as a multi-genre act, with the ability to create real music and songs featuring an array of acts, delivering sounds that are individual to each project they work on. They would love to work with Stefflon Don and they even have a track ready for Usher. “We just wanna do kind of like what Calvin Harris has done and all of the greats like Daft Punk, where you can just go through music and have a journey and as long as it’s commercially good, we can release whatever we want,” shares Jess. “So that is Mad Teeth for me, it’s just the three of us mashed up in a project.”

“A lot of dance music doesn’t have too much depth to it,” adds David. “What we’re doing at the moment is the opening gambit and then, we can open it up to get into real actual songwriting, which is like what we do day to day.”

If you are anything like me, you are probably wondering where the name ‘Mad Teeth’ even came from? I ask the guys and they explain that it was a name David actually came up with, in fact it’s a name he’s had in mind since he was thirteen however, never had any use for it. On making their first track, they realised they needed to label what they were creating, David threw the name out there and they all agreed. “It was a five minute decision. There was no white board,” says Yash. “I think that’s been the way we’ve been able to pave it, moving forward anyway. There’s been no strategic plan, apart from if it feels right we do it and if it doesn’t feel right, we won’t do it. Honestly, I think we are all in a place now as adults where we are able to voice our opinions in the most reasonable manner, to each other and everyone around us.”

It makes all the difference when an act knows what they want and what they are trying to achieve, it seems things can just flow a lot easier and I guess that comes from the amount of experience they’ve each had in the industry. “Creatively, we know what we want. So we’ve been doing what feels right for us and we’re having fun, the main thing is that we’re having fun with it,” admits Yash. “You know, having been in the space that we’ve been in, we’ve worked with a lot of artists, a lot of writers, a lot of labels and heard a lot of no’s – so we’re in a great positive place where we are just having fun with it. We are in control now.” Enjoying the journey is so important and a lot of the time, that’s the part that gets left out. With Mad Teeth, it seems as though the great energy and enjoyment they create working together, is what helps make things transpire for them. “You try so hard to make something happen and when you get that no it hurts so bad,” shares David. “The funny thing is, we didn’t try to make this happen, at all.”

With today’s current landscape of music being very disposable and with a lot of acts lacking authenticity and generally just jumping on the bandwagon of whatever is working at the time, I asked the guys what they would do differently from other acts they have perhaps had to work with in the past, “I think now, we couldn’t do it any other way,” shares Jess. “Because we’ve done our 10,000 hours in the industry and because of the current climate of music, as you said, music is so disposable so quickly. If there is an artist that is uncomfortable with what they are putting out or is at loggerheads with their label, you can tell straight away because you can see it and we can feel it (working with them). With us, every single organic idea comes from within the three of us, every note played on the piano, every lyric, every melody, every mix, DJ set – there’s nothing taken from outside.” Jess continues to share that David came up with the treatment for their new video ‘Saucin,’ Yash spent hours at Pirate Studio (the trio’s rehearsal space) perfecting the DJ mix for their upcoming performance at Tomorrowland. “So everything, even more so than the music, the branding, the artwork, what we want, comes from us. We can’t go wrong as we would only fail in doing what we love and that’s not a failure.”

Listening to the guys, it’s apparent they know what they want and they most definitely know what they are doing. Their experiences within the industry have not only given them talent but also the insight to know how best to navigate within quite a challenging space. So I asked each of the guys to tell me what advice they would give to their younger selves, “I would say to anyone now - just say yes! Say yes to everything, show up to everything, connect with everyone,” shares Yash. “It might be the person you meet in the room who doesn’t do music, who’s the receptionist who’s brother is a great musician and who’s sister is a great songwriter. Just connect with everyone.”

“You’re bigger than what your music is these days,” states David. “You’re a brand – so you gotta spend time really DIY culturing – building with people, connecting with people, talking to everyone and being a cool person as well. Just be a cool person and everyone will be cool, I generally believe that. It’s a personality thing that people are gonna hold on to, more than the talent half the time.” David also goes on to stress just how important it is to learn every aspect of the music business, be it the business side and practicing your negotiation skills or even just knowing how to record your own vocals. “I think being self independent is actually the most important thing, to be able to do as much as you can and not have to go elsewhere. There is nothing that can replace the hours you put in, those hours are essential and even when you don’t know, you are learning and even every time you fail, you’re learning what not to do.” For Jess, it’s all down to the way you handle yourself, “I think professionalism in music is gold. I say this because we are in a creative industry and I think sometimes people, artists, managers, producers - they lack in professionalism as if they were in a corporate business environment and that’s something that I’ve always tried to upkeep,” shares Jess. “I just think professionalism is key and it’s probably got us three in particular, actually further because we uphold professional standards. I just think if you move with professionalism people will respect you and if you give respect, you will get it back.”

As a newly formed group, Mad Teeth are wasting no time, as they’ve already released three solid singles since this April. The first being ‘Dirty Diamonds,’ a solid house track, with deep and tech influences, complemented with Jess and David’s repetitive vocal’s throughout. It’s an absolute banger, definitely one for the shape cutters in any warehouse rave. ‘Underground Boogie’ was the trio’s second single, giving us a much darker offering with the dirtiest of basslines, showcasing the trio’s ability to change things up, yet keep a consistent vibe within their music. Their most recent release ‘Saucin,’ is almost a fusion of the first two releases, carrying that recognisable house kick and snare but with added elements of dub, commercial dance breakdowns and a lot more vocal melody. They actually just shot the video for ‘Saucin’ the day before in Hackney, “it was so sick,” Jess tells me. “It was just like a big underground rave at one point.” It’s definitely a cool video, which depicts two young guys on a wild night out, after getting their hands on some ‘Mad Teeth,’ literally. “We’re not at the forefront (of the video), we played cameos but I got right into my cameo,” laughs Jess. “Saucin’ is our biggest example of what Mad Teeth stands for, which is I guess an ongoing party. Yea so, dance music is the basis of Saucin’ but I think what Saucin’ really represents is the culture as well,” shares Yash.

Three singles in the bag and within three months. Mad Teeth are already on their way to Tommorowland (again literally, it was the next day), for their very first festival appearance in fact, it’s their first gig as a trio, ever! They tell me that there’s so much more to come as well. The next single is already in the pipeline - they are just finalising the features for the track, I wonder who it will be? We can also look forward to ‘Mad’ everything, “#JustMad” as Jess put it, with ‘Mad’ events and Mad’ clothing all to come too. “We know what we want, we know the direction and we know what we are aiming for,” states Jess. “We know that things take a long time and frankly, as long as it is right, we have the belief in ourselves,” adds David. “We know it’s gonna happen, it’s just a matter of time. So it’s just being patient with it and I think we are all pretty good at patience. Each of us have already done 10 years.”

‘Saucin’ by Mad Teeth is out now and available to stream on Spotify.

CREDITS

Photographer - Oana Ancuta

Styling - Neesha Sharma

Make Up - Michelle Leandra

Hair - Regina Meessen

Special thanks to Smith Town Studios

We get to know Mad Teeth, the London trio bringing fresh new bangers to the club!