Minder interview – “I was obsessed with the idea of making music, but couldn’t figure out how to”
Minder takes jungle, rave, garage and grime and creates a very 21st century fusion

Minder is the consistently ace Hypercolour label’s new signing, with a new mixtape called Sanctuary doing the rounds and a style that combines rave, jungle, garage, grime and hip-hop and turns them into something big, bold and very British. We meet him and find out what’s on his ‘Mind’.
Tell us about yourself first of all – where were you born, where did you grow up…. Your earliest memories.
I was born in a village called Hyde Heath in Buckinghamshire, it was a powersappingly mundane place with a bus that came once a week, we used to do speed and steal peoples milk for kicks. Pathetic. There really was fuck all else to do. I went to school In a town near it called Amersham, which after living in Hackney for most my adult life I relocated back to.
What about your first contacts with music? Any parental/sibling influences? And what led you to your first attempts at making music?
First contact with music, I was bought a Bobby Brown album by my mum’s friend, I had that on repeat until the tape was worn out. Completely changed my life. My mum and dad were into music, but not musicians, my sister played the piano, as did I briefly. I also played the trombone for a bit lol. I was obsessed with the idea of making music, but couldn’t figure out how to, it wasn’t an obvious thing to fall into like it is nowadays. James from Simian Mobile Disco gave me my first crack copy of Logic.

Tell us about the name Minder – assuming it’s not inspired by watching re-runs of the 80s show on UK Gold, what does it signify?
It kind of is, I just like the name, it also means to look after someone/something.
Why go for a tape pack rather than an album?
This genre of music is that I really what I cut my teeth with growing up, I hold it very close to my heart as it completely shaped me as an artist. Be it ending up in Desire, Telepathy (the name of the first album), Roast, Slammin Vinyl, Helter Skelter from the age of 16 travelling up to London from Amersham or indeed the Sanctuary in Milton Keynes. I remember buying tape packs in Bovingdon market religiously, hence the format of these albums.
It feels like there’s real pirate radio flavour to the album, was that culture an influence? Any stations in particular?
That was a big influence, we had some coming out of Uxbridge, harrow, London, it was tricky to tune into – you had to travel often in a car to get a good enough signal. Kool Fm was the one 😉
Who and what are the other influences on your lyrics?
The lyrics aren’t me, it’s my partner in crime Korron. You wouldn’t wanna hear me spitting bars over anything (trust me). Korron lives round the corner from me. God knows how I found him, but I’m so glad I did.
Sneaker Social Club, who released your first mixtape, and Hypercolour, seem like labels that have stepped beyond the genre brackets that ruled dance music for so long. That must give you a lot of freedom…
Yeah, you can do whatever u like on those labels. Helps that I run Hypercolour with my long time pal Jamie. He also runs Sneaker Social Club which helps. We always trying to push it a little bit further sonically.
Tell us about the title ‘Sanctuary’ – anything to do with the rave mecca in Milton Keynes?
Exactly that!
Check the full Hypercolour and Sneaker SocialClub catalogues here