Boca45 (the nom de plume of Scott Hendy) is a DJ and music producer from Bristol, UK. He is known for his ability to get people on the dance floor with an old-school blend of soul and hip-hop. He has not only worked with some of the biggest names on the scene (one of the most recent singles is a collaboration with Swaby of The Heavy), he has also been asked to perform at the opening of a show by Banksy. In the past few years, he has released a series of 45s throughout the year, which culminates in a full-length album at the end of the year. Last year was a series of singles celebrating Boca’s 45th birthday. This year he has released a series of singles every couple months under the title Donuts. The songs are sure to be dance club hits that are guaranteed to get people moving on a dance floor.
By phone, Hendy recently discussed the early days of his fascination with records, getting the band back together, and what’s next in the Donuts series (hint: it is a Glide Magazine exclusive).
When did your fascination with records begin?
That’s quite a mad one really. I got into buying records when I was young. It probably would have been pop singles. Buying seven-inches was really cheap. They were only like a pound or 50p at your local. We used to call them Woolworth shops. I started collecting records from the age of 6 or 7. When the first wave of hip-hop came through the UK, it was mostly through these compilations called Street Sounds. Electro records. They were compilations of three songs on each side, and they were mixed together. We just knew it as electro music. We got as much information about the tracks as we could, which was very little. It was our way of finding out about that music. That would have been ‘83 or ‘84. You discover more through that. I’ve been buying records since probably the age of 6. Then it was hip-hop and everything else. I’ve never stopped. It’s a good thing to be immersed by. I’m 45. I was 45 last year, which is why I did an album under that name. When we were kids, there were portable record players, which were encouraged as a tool so you could just stick on a seven-inch single. It was a toy. It would consume you for 10 minutes until you moved on to your toy car or whatever. I think it’s a good thing that kids get immersed in music.
What were some of the first records that grabbed your attention?
Initially it was nondescript pop singles that were on the charts. The main thing that really got me going was these Street Sounds compilations. It felt like you were part of a movement. We dressed that way with the wind runner jackets. We got into the breakdancing and the graffiti. We really immersed ourselves in the hip-hop culture at a young age. In Bristol there was a big hip-hop scene. That informed everything for me. That music led me to everything else. Weirdly, it was a series of compilations.
What was the inspiration behind the Donuts series?
Each year, I think about yearly projects. In 2017, I did a collaboration record with DJ Woody under the name Boca Woody. In 2018, I did a series called Boca’s Club Donuts. I did a similar thing throughout the year. They were more cut-and-paste aimed strictly toward DJs. Last year was my album cycle 45. I looked at this year as being 2020. There’s a couple zeroes in 2020, and I thought that would work visually as a kind of donut. I like the idea of releasing a series of singles throughout the year, which then build the picture to an album at the end of the year. You tell the story through the singles, which are limited edition each time. By the end of the year those 10 tracks, plus two others, inform the full album, so then everyone can hear it as a full piece. It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle to use an analogy.
Artists are trending toward music singles more frequently rather than releasing an album of 12 songs.
It’s a sensible thing. That way you can gradually go through it. Doing it the way I’ve done it, the tracks are immediate because they’ve all been on seven-inch singles of less than four minutes. Nothing is some meandering seven- or eight-minute piece. It’s going to be an album of short, sweet tunes that do their thing. A load of singles basically. It’s a challenge and a load of work. I have to be very organized. It seems to be working, and people seem to like the concept of it.
As the music business evolves, you have to evolve with it.
The album I did last year was on a label. You have to answer to a lot of other people. You have to do right by the label. Whereas with this, I’m everything. I’m the label, the postage department, the A&R guy, the producer, the writer. I’m kind of everything. It’s good to go back to that way. Labels are great. There’s a team around you that you can use as a sounding board. I also like my own space.
Why did you choose to cover “Hot Wheels”?
That’s a good question. I’ve known that track for a long time because it was a B-Boy tune. I DJ seven-inch records, and I’m a collector. That particular 45 is hard to come across, and you don’t find it very often. When you do, it’s very expensive. It was a bit of a selfish thing. I really like that seven, but you can never find it, so I did it myself. I’ll just get the boys back in the studio, and we’ll do it. That was it. It was as simple as that.
Was the hardest part of recording “Hot Wheels” trying to get everyone together for it?
Aw mate, honestly. In the press release it says, “It would have been easier to get The Beatles back together.” And that’s true. The individuals are very busy in their own lives and professions. It was hard to get everyone together. I’m thinking it may need to be a yearly event that we do it. Any more than that, it will probably cause me a mental breakdown. It was literally just before the lockdown in the UK. A couple guys were panicking about the whole thing. I wasn’t so much. I was quite chilled out about the whole thing. It just happened that everything ramped up very quickly. We started to realize that this is serious stuff. We managed to get it done a week before we locked down in the UK. I’m glad we got the session done.
https://soundcloud.com/boca45/2020-donut-3-2-min-teaser
What’s next in the Donuts series, and when do you expect to release it?
The latest one is “Hot Wheels/The Chase”, and that’s number three featuring Swaby. Number four will be out in August, but I’m thinking I might do four and five – Boca 45 – together in August. As a little bonus for the last two. The album will probably be in October with all of them comped together. It will go to a digital platform. I think I’ll do four and five together. You’ve got the exclusive on that by the way. I haven’t told anybody that. You have a worldwide exclusive.
What would you be doing if you weren’t making music?
Yeah. That’s a really good question. I’d like to think I could be a footballer, but I’m not good enough for that. So probably something creative. Graphic design or something visual. Either a footballer or a graphic designer. More likely to be a graphic designer.
Keep up with the Donuts series on Boca45’s Soundcloud. If you’re not currently collecting seven-inch singles, be sure to check out his Bandcamp page for updates about the full-length Donuts album.
