FOCUS: Prod. By CJG

Utilising a variety of samples, and taking an inspiration from soul bands and singers, North East producer Callum Gilroy, aka Prod. By CJG, has produced a brand new beat tape which gives the listener an analogue experience, despite its heavy digital footprint. “The Soul Tapes Vol.2 tells a story with an intro that is sampled from famous news reports over the decades. Such as the LA riots, Bay of pigs, Paul Castellano and the Iraq war. Between each news report there is the sound of a radio changing frequencies as the sampled news report changes from one another and fades out.” He explains.

He launches The Soul Tapes Vol. 2 at Wafi Lounge, Newcastle on Friday 10th November with performances from Too Common, Ambar Dhesi, G The Wolf, Daps, Dom, Louis Chrisp and Sophie Mitchell.

Who are you and where are you from? 

My name is Callum J Gilroy (Prod. By CJG) I’m originally from a small town in Northumberland called Bedlington, and I’m currently based in Heaton, Newcastle.

What is it you do?

I produce mainly soul, hip-hop and funk instrumentals and records. As well as write, record and perform under another alias Xavier.

How long have you been doing it?

I started producing when I was 16 at Newcastle Colleges Performance Academy. I started writing when I was 12, just lyrics I never wrote to a specific instrumental or any instrumental at this point in my journey. 

What inspires you?

What mainly inspires me is the people I have around me and seeing their achievements not only in music but in life. I take a lot from seeing that and being able to experience some of these moments with them and even be a part of them. I also take inspiration from idols such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Kendrick Lamar. I find their music infinitely powerful with an array of important messages, feelings and stories which help me, inspire me and guide me emotionally through my journey. 

What have you got coming up in the future?

I have just recently finished The Soul Tapes Vol.2 beat tape which is being released on Saturday 4th November at Bar Warwick in Newcastle. In the summer I produced G The Wolf’s Howl At The Moon album which is out now on all streaming platforms.

Tell us about your music 

I started producing The Soul Tapes Vol.2 in January 2023. I started by listening to soul bands and singers to get an understanding of the soul sound that I intended to capture and then began to find samples for from a range of soul bands and singers. I sampled a mixture of sounds such as vocals, guitars, bass lines and sections of records and used samplers such as Output Arcade, AKAI MPK and Logic Pro X’s synthesiser Alchemy as it has granular synthesis capabilities. All the drums were sequenced and arranged by me and are heavily influenced by hip-hop, trap, lo-fi, drill and pop.

Where can people find out more about you?

Instagram: www.instagram.com/callumgilroy

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Prod.ByCJG22

YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UChfmw9k96A5aZFYBVqmc31w

Beatstars: www.beatstars.com/xavierxoxo

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5dbtTf8Zs0Y94F5AsyIEZo?si=5V2Di2CRQtS0ncKnSijS_Q

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@prod.bycjg