Meet Herbert Skillz: Music Producer/Artist/DJ

We had the good fortune of connecting with Herbert Skillz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Herbert, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Making Music, producing good songs and performing, people appreciating my work. Spending time with my wife and family, travelling. Spreading happiness and positive messages through music. Why because music and my wife are important to me, and I like trying to focus on positives. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a Music Producer / DJ/ Artist, from humble beginnings in Africa. I learnt Piano in Church, and from an early age loved making music and playing piano. I have faced many challenges and worked as a junior producer for no money, in several of the music studios close to where I lived which gave me a good background for production, and then got a full time job in a studio run by a Danish Couple that gave me my first proper job. By this time I also played Guitar and drums and Dj”d in some local bars. I met my wife Jade in 2008, when she came to record in my studio and we started our studio together in 2010 and have built things up together from there. My wife is an excellent business manager, but is also a creative too and a sound engineer too, so we often experiment on new ideas together. We both then did several sound engineering courses together in the Uk and worked with many UK artists and producers which has really helped me in my mixing and mastering and overall production and sound quality. Even with lots of talent, Music is hard some times to make a living from but you just have to keep going and trying I love experimenting and fusing different styles to come up with unique music, and I love musicality in songs, I think if the music is good with a great melody and beat, it is very appealing. My inspirations are Avicci, Major Laser, Pharell Williams, Ed Sheeran. In recent years I have been fortunate to work wth many big names internationally, including Jamaicans, Honorebel, Wayne Wonder, Sizzla Kalonji Sean Contractor, to name a few, Had a Uk Number 1 with British star Jethro Sheeran and his cousin Ed Sheeran, which amassed over 1 million streams in 3 days, I have also done a feature with legend Macy Grey, and have earned a Billboard award and plaque for my song with Alonestar and Wayne Wonder which featured on the Album Tropical House Cruises to Jamaica Reggae lovers edition this year. I have also worked and had hits with most of the big African Artists including Bebe Cool, Bobi Wine, A Pass, John Blaq, Akothee, Sat-B, Bruce Melody, as a composer, Artist and a producer. Another recent award here in East Africa, by Urban and Bukkedde TV and XFM Radio for the best Sound Engineer, presented to HerbertSkillz last week.

My tips for anyone who feels passionately that they want to do music as a career is to keep trying, don’t let the knock backs make you give up, be original and get good management, and also stay grounded, and remember where you came from.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As I come from Uganda Africa, I would definitely take them on a safari to one of the national parks and white water rafting on the river Nile, for eating out I love Serena Hotel and our local Micki’s Pub for Pizza. When Visiting my wife home town of London, I would definitely take them to see Buckingham Palace, on a river boat cruise up the River Thames and to the Theatre to see a show in Leicester Square and for eating out I would take them to China Town. I

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Wife and Manager Jade. She has been the driving force behind me and my music career since we met and is the reason I am as I am.

Website: www.soundmakersmusic.com
Instagram: @herbertskillz_
Linkedin: producerherbert
Twitter: @herbertskillz_
Facebook: HerbertSkillzOfficial
Youtube: HerbertSkillzSoundMakers
Other: Sound Cloud > Herbertskillzbeats Spotify HerbertSkillz Artist