Snakehips rapidly made their name with Hype Machine chart-topping remixes for Banks, The Weeknd, Bondax and Wild Belle. Earlier this year, the duo also released their 4-track EP ‘Forever (Pt II)’, featuring a several talented vocalists - Londoner Kaleem Taylor, The Internet’s Syd, singer-songwriter Sasha Keable and Daniella T.A.O.L. The result is a perfect example of Snakehips’ signature sound; a sensual, contemporary take on old school R&B and hip hop.
“We love the vibe of 90s music – Hi-Tek, Pete Rock, that golden era of R&B with singers like Aaliyah and SWV,” says James. “We’re suckers for anything with cool soul samples and old drum beats. But we’re also influenced by living in London. We borrow from the past to make music for the future.”
Currently working on their debut album, Snakehips have also decided it’s time to reveal themselves as 25 year old Londoners Oliver Lee and James Carter. Despite a shared home city, the pair met on separate business trips to Hong Kong, where they bonded over shared musical interests. They shared a flight to Los Angeles, began talking music and booked a studio in which to work on a track. It went so well that within days of returning to London they nudged their laptops together and Snakehips was born.
Notably, all releases come through Snakehips’ own label Hoffman West too, named after a fictional character Ollie created to get into clubs for free. “Put the name Hoffman West, plus five, on a guest list and no one asks questions when you get to the door,” he explains. “There’s something about that name that sounds so important that you’re always ushered straight in.”
Looking ahead and despite their hectic schedule, which saw the duo support Major Lazer on their European Tour this summer, Snakehips have still found time to produce one of the most hotly-anticipated tracks of their career to date - a collaboration Tinashe and Chance the Rapper. ‘All My Friends’ evokes the spirit of future-facing Hip-Hop and R&B, with both the sultry vocals of Tinashe and witty, quick-fire wordplay of Chance The Rapper lacing Snakehips’ punchy, dreamscape-like beat with both power and purpose. The hook - both emotional and vividly infectious - grounds the record too, giving it a thoughtful, binding quality sure to lend itself well to international audiences.