Sheffield artist Silva Bumpa talks about his music journey and city weekend takeover
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The Sheffield-born artist and producer Silva Bumpa recently announced a weekend takeover in his hometown, ahead of the multi-venue spectacular he spent some time talking to The Star’s Chris Hallam who was as curious about Silva Bumpa’s moniker as he was to learn about the artist’s breakthrough
Just exactly who is Silva Bumpa to the uneducated and uninitiated?
Hailing from the Steel City, Silva Bumpa, real name Harry Eagle has been making waves since breaking into the public consciousness with his debut EP ‘What About The DJ?’.
The momentum has refused to pause. A sold-out headline slot at London’s Roundhouse and more than 87-million streams for the hit single ‘On 2nite’, UK Top 10 charting and that’s just the beginning.
Fresh from delivering his largest packed headline performance to date at London’s Roundhouse, Silva Bumpa has revealed his plans for the Sterling Weekender in Sheffield.
So back to the start. Why the name Silva Bumpa?
“It just sounds UK, I thought it sounds cool,” Harry says. “I just wrote down words that I thought were cool.”
He originally used his own name but decided on an artist name to separate the art from the individual.
Harry grew up in Nether Edge, attended Greystones, High Storrs and then he went to Notre Dame for sixth form but one thing remained constant throughout all of that and it was his love of music, both academically and vocationally.
“I played piano, guitar and sang too,” Harry says. There’s no aloofness to the 25-year-old producer, he just cuts through and says it how it sees it.
“My family are quite musical.
“I actually got into producing because I wanted to record my piano-playing. I just started recording jazz, pop music...
“When I was 16, my friend started playing me some bassline, B garage and jackin house because they were going to free parties in the Peak District.
“I always was a nerdy music kid. I thought, ‘oh, I can get a bit of cred if I just make a few tunes and stuff’. That’s where I think it all came from.”
Harry continued making music, sharing this with his growing friendship circle and seeing a boost in his popularity to those who attended the parties.
“Then I just took it further,” he said. “I went to uni, got into all the scenes, like garage, jungle, drum and bass, everything.
“When I was 20, that's when I really got into this facility of music production, specifically a type of speed garage. It was then that I launched Bumpa as a speed garage or old school organ house.”
With the Silva Bumpa name now out there, he began working on his first song, ‘Get To Know’.
A Soundcloud Only release, it was a remix of Janet Jackson’s 1986 ballad, ‘Let's Wait Awhile’.
“The whole thing was an ode to the Sheffield sound, like my take on it,” harry explains. “It was all built off Missy Elliot samples, R&B, bassline, garage, I just switched it all around.”
Each element he utilises from the likes of US R&B with bassline is not just his own take on creating new music but it’s also a salute to his predecessors in the city he grew up in.
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“I love all the classics, the legends, Big Ang, Jamie Duggan, DJ Booda, all that was sick. All the Niche producers,” he says. “I’ve tried to, along the way, meet everyone in Sheffield.”
The desire to build new and special things and maintain relationships is admirable – particularly when you consider the (many-a-time) negative perceptions of Sheffield’s bassline and Niche scenes over the years, for various reasons.
The assumption has long-denied the scene a positive spotlight in the media landscape it has longed for and undeniably deserved. Something that Harry is intent on bringing to the fore with a weekend-long celebration.
Curated via his Sterling imprint and event brand, this curated sequence of gatherings will run across his home city from November 7-8, honouring the Steel City's rich musical tradition while placing a spotlight on its emerging new talent.
“It’s basically three events in two days. It’s my sort of returning to the city and trying to do something cool.” Harry says.
“It’s taking place at three of my favourite spots in Sheffield at the moment, such as Peddler. I did a thing there last year, but no one ever does anything there because it’s so hard to do. But we’re doing like a whole Sunday session, Sunday rave alongside Mella Dee, Big Ang, it’s going to be sick.