LSA Tutor Interview: Ollie Rant

We'd like to introduce each member of our faculty. Next up we have Ollie Rant. Ollie Rant has been doing it from early and is unmatched with his expert selection monthly on Threads Radio and Balamii and club residency at Fire and Lightbox. Always supplying the rarest in unheard tracks and dubs. A mentor and source of inspiration for many DJs with an endless passion for the House and Garage sound. Making tentative steps into production at the start of 2019, his music has had early coverage from Jossy Mitsu, Emerald Rose Lewis and Murda Kode on Rinse FM. Ollie has releases secured into 2020 alongside established heavyweights such as Sully, Holloway and Interplanetary criminal.

Ollie's specialty in tutoring lies in house, hip-hop, grime and garage but he's experienced in teaching all genres, ages and ability levels.

To find out more about our other tutors here at LSA click here

Click here to check out Balamii Radio

Click here to check out Threads Radio

‍Tell us about yourself as an artist?

Hey I'm Ollie Rant, UK Garage DJ and producer. I've been DJ'ing for about 12 years and started to play grime when I was in high school but have settled into garage for the last 9/10 years. I have monthly shows on both balamii and threads radio and this year I have started to get into the production side of things. 

Can you give us a timeline of your biggest achievements to date 

Probably playing at both Reading and Glastonbury festival as well as touring all around Europe and also having my first vinyl release coming in 2020!

What do you love about teaching one-to-one lessons at LSA?

I love teaching one-to-one as it gives me the chance to get to know people properly and watch them grow as a DJ. Teaching has brought me into contact with people from all walks of life, maybe even people I might not have met otherwise. In fact some of my students have turned into life long friends :)

What is your teaching style? 

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‍The main thing for me is to make it as enjoyable as possible, always make sure we cover all the bases but lots of deck time and plenty of back to backs. I like to teach through doing, which is why I find back to backs such a great tool for teaching, I can give exact demonstrations of what I would do in a certain situation. I also like to take each student and their individual needs and shape the syllabus around them, I make sure all bases are covered.

How do you balance teaching and creating?

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‍I try to carry my laptop with me at all times, that way if I find myself with a few spare hours in the day I can get some ideas down. I also make sure I book longer sessions throughout the month when im just focused on that solely. I also like to book in studio sessions with other producers, it can be great to have another person to bounce off of, trade ideas and pick up new tips. This year I got into using Ableton's session view and its been a total game changer !

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What methods do you use to increase creative productivity?

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‍For me to be creative I have to be well rested and fed haha, some exercise before I hit the studio often helps as well, just trying to feel as relaxed as possible. I also like to try and copy my favourite songs for ideas, I once read that some authors re write their favourite books from memory, I applied this to song writing and found it to be a great kick starter for getting ideas of the ground.

What traits do successful students of yours we can share?

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‍Students who succeed are the ones who practice and have a lot of self belief that will get there, confidence is key! You have to put the time in as well. You can have all the skill in the world but if you don't put in the ground work to form a solid basis you'll become unraveled at some point. Persistence is a big one aswell, these skills dont come over night, you have to treat it like going to the gym or even your job, if you begin to take it with that sort of seriousness you'll start to see results.

What have you learned from teaching? 

I've learnt so much from all of my students, but the main thing is the importance of variety, everyday I get to meet people from different walks of life each with a different perspective and musical preference. I find it so helpful for me and my DJing to be surrounded by new and different influences that I can bring into my own little specilaist world. 

Is there any other wisdom you care to share with us?

Stay hydrated, eat your greens and get early nights :) x

Our DJ & production courses are all taught one-to-one with guaranteed gigs on completion! To sign up to the course click here

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact us at hello@londonsoundacademy.com or give us a call at 0203 590 4429