by Jakarta-based producer Decemberkid burst onto our radar earlier this year after landing not one but two edits in RL Grime’s iconic annual Halloween mix. The impressive cuts warranted a deep dive into his catalog which unearthed a treasure chest of impressive edits and flips that range from Daft Punk and Justin Timberlake to Gunna, J. Cole, Skrillex, and beyond. The broad range of source material, genre-spanning styles, and overall quality made me an instant fan. Add in a fresh original on NIGHTMODE alongside OOTORO last month, and it’s clear that Decemberkid is having a massive year. What better way to cap off December than with a guest mix and interview with Decemberkid?
The mix is an energetic offering moving between his signature edits and originals, unreleased gems from him and his homies, and some of his favorites. As for the interview, we discuss the electronic scene in Jakarta, his time in Canada, his approach to remixes, what genre has the best drums, and much more. Dive in below.
What should we expect from the mix? Where are we going when we press play?
Some Bailefunk, Breaks, UK Garage, 140, DNB some newer stuff, some throwbacks, some unreleased stuff from the homies.
A nice recap of my past influences and future direction of where I want to take my sound as far as bass music goes.
How is Jakarta treating you? What’s the music scene like there?
Jakarta’s always been good to me and the music scene here is extremely SoundCloud driven which I love. We’re definitely a hub for South East Asian producers and do our part to support our neighbours.
A lot of club residents in Jakarta now are also producers who were heavily influenced by the Soulection movement but grew up with Skrillex at the same time so it makes for a scene that is receptive to soulful but also dark and heavy sounds as well which keeps things interesting.
I think it’s an exciting time for the Indonesian scene, a lot of local producers are getting played out globally with the homies Bleu Clair, OOTORO, Naken, and Egnever taking charge.
I think we’re all firm believers that there are no bad genres, you just haven’t heard the song you liked yet. I suppose our driving force is trying to prove that statement true.
Tell us a little bit about bebop collective. How did it come together? What’s the driving force behind the collective?
I am the music director for a bar called Bebop in Jakarta, which takes its name and is inspired by Cowboy Bebop and our collective consists of our resident DJs/Producers.
Bebop collective is run by Monty and consists of myself, Greybox, Reemo, Naj, Erik Soto, Abelard, LL, Laskar, and Kenny Gabriel.
The music and the collective sort of mirrors Jakarta’s scene as we play and produce everything from Jazz, Bossa Nova, Disco, House, Broken Beat, Hip Hop, R&B, Bailefunk, Afrobeats, Amapiano, Drill, UK Garage, and DNB.
We all came up in the scene together and have been friends for years so it only made sense we came together and tried to supply what we felt Jakarta was missing.
I think we’re all firm believers that there are no bad genres, you just haven’t heard the song you liked yet. I suppose our driving force is trying to prove that statement true.
You spent a few years in Vancouver for University. Is there anything you miss about Canada? Or Vancouver specifically?
Legal marijuana and seasons immediately come to mind hahaha. But on a more serious note, I miss the open-mindedness of crowds over there.
I feel that when you go to a show you want to hear the unreleased stuff and you want to hear the music you’ve never heard before while I feel in Indonesia and other parts of Asia it’s very much the opposite at times.
I could play a song everyone knows and they’ll go nuts but if right after I play a song in the exact same genre and in the exact same key even, if they don’t know the words the energy just drops almost immediately.
So that open-mindedness and appreciation is sorely missed.
I feel that DJs back home have their unique idealistic voice and performing is this game of finding a way to present that weirdness in a way that is digestible for the masses which is a fun and challenging recipe for creating good DJs.
I was in Vancouver 2008-2011 which was an exciting time for electronic music. I think my first show was Skream and hearing o.g dubstep on systems ended up changing my whole perspective on electronic music.
I definitely owe a lot to Vancouver, taste-defining core memories for sure.
Thoughtful trolling with a wholesome purpose I suppose makes me want to rework a track lol the point of it all is to have fun right.
You’ve been making major waves with your edits and remixes as of late. What draws you towards reworking a track?
I appreciate that!
My first love is obviously bass music so I try to slip as much of it into my sets as possible. My favorite kinds of DJs are the ones who can “trick” or convince people into liking a genre they weren’t necessarily into before. I want to give people that A-HA moment like the DJs I looked up to did for me.
Sometimes people just need context, you know?
I think I’m drawn to reworking tracks and making edits to serve that purpose.
I’m trying to get away with playing bass music for a city that does not have a bass music scene right..
So what if a Hip Hop head just needs to hear a Playboi Carti acapella over a garage track to get it. What if K Pop lover just needs to hear a New Jeans acapella over Netsky to like DNB.
Thoughtful trolling with a wholesome purpose I suppose makes me want to rework a track lol the point of it all is to have fun right.
Other than that sometimes I just like producing genres I have no idea how to make without it sounding forced? I think that’s an easy way to open up your creativity and create a unique sound regardless of what genre you feel like making that day.
You can only make others happy if you make yourself happy right?
What’s your production process like for remixes? How do you go about putting your own spin on a track?
I’m sure a lot of producers would agree that instant creativity comes from colliding worlds – what if this was house, what if this was drill, what if this was garage etc.
I would look at the BPM and see how far I can stretch it to turn it into a different genre and see if the mood of the song fits. I definitely try to preserve the original spirit of the track when doing a remix.
I definitely make edits and remixes to play them in my sets myself so I would use that as a barometer of how energetic or dark or happy I want an edit to sound depending on how and when it would fit into my set.
You can only make others happy if you make yourself happy right?
As far as a signature spin I don’t think that’s a conscious effort hahaha I just do it till I think it sounds good. But whether I’m making a dubstep or bossa nova edit I’m sure you can tell that it’s still me.
2023-2024 was definitely me getting better at knowing when a track is finished.
You landed not one but two tracks in RL Grime’s latest Halloween mix. Were you surprised to see them included? Do you know how they landed there?
Bro that shit had me hype. The trap lord himself. No, I have no clue how they got in there but I’m very thankful he found his way to them.
I wish I had a more exciting answer.
Congrats on the release of your new single ‘Mugwanti’ alongside OOTORO, should we expect more originals on the way?
Thank you man! That was nearly a SoundCloud throwaway so thank you to Ken’s management for not letting us do that.
Having it featured on VISION radio was definitely another bucket list moment after the RL Grime mix feature so that was surreal.
But yes, mine and OOTORO’s collab project is called Unit Gawat Darurat (UGD) and we have an edit pack on the way as well as originals for 2025 so keep an eye out for that.
What genre has the best drums? Why?
Drum and Bass. It’s in the name lol. I think it’s probably the most technically tedious genre to produce. My favorite sound designers in bass music are DNB producers for sure though I love that dark and deep sound that Alix Perez and 1985 push out. How does it sound so demented but clean at the same time those mixdowns go crazy.
I’m also loving the drum sounds of Surinamese Kawina edits that are coming out. I think as far as SoundCloud edits go that is probably going to be the new wave alongside Amapiano and Bailefunk.
What do you enjoy most outside of music?
Such a generic producer answer but I love my RPGs and Anime lol.
Any new years resolutions or goals for 2025?
You can still smoke cigs inside 90% of clubs in Indonesia so I gotta stop smoking man. Even if I stop smoking I’m still gonna be secondhand smoking at work. I can’t be smoking outside of work too lol.
Apart from that more original music from myself and UGD alongside OOTORO.
Happy Holidays dudes, thanks for having me.
Decemberkid FUXWITHIT Guest Mix Tracklist
Dismantle – Feature Presentation
OOTORO – 40 Degrees
Ray Volpe – Song Request (Decemberkid Edit)
Oldboy – Bun Dem Down
San. – BABABA
Distinkt – More Gasolina (Decemberkid Blend)
Jarreau Vandal – Wicked Gyal
Valentino Khan – DDL (Decemberkid & Ken Raka Edit)
Valentino Khan – DDL (Decemberkid & I-SKY Edit)
ZeroFG – Godzilla Dub
San. – dangerous sound
Sammy Virji – Shella Verse (Dael & Davey Edit)
Tujamo – Who (OOTORO Edit)
Skrillex, Hamdi, – Push (Decemberkid & Ken Raka Edit)
Naken, Rafi, Dave Nunes – Se Dansa
OOTORO, Darby – PARTY
Sir Spyro – Topper Top (Disaffected Bootleg)
Villager – Sosia
Mr. Carmack – lonelyfuckingsamurai
Mystry – Pulse R
Lamsi, Cyra Gwynth – give it 2 me now
Monty, Visages – Démon
Nikki Nair – Once Upon
Hustle Athletics – Lekker (Posij Remix)
runo – Song 2 Dub
MC João – Baile de Favela (ALIAS EDIT)
OOTORO, Decemberkid – Mugwanti
Fixate – Rumours
Breakage – Run Em Out ft. Roots Manuva
Ivy Lab – Orange
Kursa – Desert Salt
High Contrast – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Netsky – Everybody Loves The Sunshine
Chrome Sparks – Marijuana
