The Gardeners Rest, Neepsend, stormy weather. Rain, rain, rain. I’m taking shelter in the conservatory with Sissy Green. Half-DJ, half-punk, a new millennium realist and DIY specialist, he’s come to meet me after recording a fresh set of insidious baselines with his band Drastic//Automatic.
As the River Don rises, in sequence with the seemingly endless flow of freshly poured lager, we speak of what it means to be DIY in Sheffield, deconstructing genre conventions, accidentally stealing a bass and the artist’s upcoming album Hard, Barb Wire.
A soloist amongst a team of DIY revellers, Sissy is no stranger to the Sheffield music scene. Since moving to the Steel City eight years ago, he’s always found himself involved with one musical project or another.
“I’ve played in indie bands and jazz bands. I’ve DJ’d for years and did so all throughout uni, playing literally everything from electro to gabber, techno, footwork and house.”
Photo credit: Bobby Mercury
“During the pandemic, I was making tunes with Mickey Nomimono. I joined Drastic//Automatic on bass around the same time, which is a noisy post-punk band. Playing bass sort of started out as a side thing and then, y’know, we started really making a name for ourselves in Sheffield.”
“For a while, I was just playing gigs all over the country as a bassist, but then I started getting more into production and home recording. I’ve been learning how to digitally produce music since I was about fifteen.”
“Now here we are, it’s 2024, and I felt like it was finally time to start putting out my own music.”
Sissy’s solo material is a concoction of his formative musical experiences. Pulsating, electro instrumentals meet anarchic, gut-punching hooks, an impeccable infusion drawn from playing countless gigs as both a DJ and a punk bassist.
“I’ve spent a couple years writing, throwing songs in the bin and then writing them again. Now I’ve finally got some tunes that I’m really happy with.”
Sissy (Right) with Drastic//Automatic bandmate and collaborator, Sean Hession
Since launching his project in February, he’s dropped two electrifying singles, most recently ‘Barbed Wire’, an unapologetically tongue-in-cheek account of being a financially restrained artist.
“It’s a hip-hop, electro-influenced banger featuring Sean Hession from Drastic//Automatic. It’s a song about having absolutely no money, being completely skint. I was holed up in my gaff one night last summer and making this proper gritty, grimy sounding beat. I needed that kinda vocal style to go with the tune, so I called Sean round and it just worked.”
“Loads of the tracks have this kinda indie, punk type element to them. That’s influenced by my time spent making music with Mickey Nomimono. We were writing electronic music that had a big punk energy, especially on the tune ‘DHL’, which I featured on as a vocalist.”
“All rap music is huge to me. I’m massively into hip-hop, especially trap, grime, drill, all those sub-genres. So yeah, the sound just kinda explodes into one giant genre frenzy!”
Photo credit: Bobby Mercury
Music has always been an ever-present passion for Sissy. He hails from a family of music enthusiasts.
“In the early 90s, my dad played in a band called Leisure. They were a pop-punk band. He toured with a band called Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine and very nearly hit the big time. He’ll sorely tell you how he didn’t.”
“I got dragged to all sorts of gigs in the early noughties. I’d help with the setting up, the pack down, I’d be there at his band practices, learning how to use the mixing desk, y’know, all of that.”
“My older brother Al has been in bands his whole life and he’s genuinely one of the best sound engineers I’ve ever met. My youngest brother, Atts, is a rapper in the West Midlands. He’s just got an incredible style and he’s now following in mine and my mates’ footsteps. My other brother, Matty – shout out Hot Stuff, shout out Barge – is the second greatest pianist I’ve ever met, only after my own mother.”
“My great-grandma, y’know, she used to play piano in bomb shelters during the war. She used to play in pubs, the local choir, the organ at church every Sunday, that sorta stuff. Every single member of my family has some level of musical playing, so there’s a lot to live up to!”
“My partner, Soph, is a Sheffield DJ and can play, like, seven instruments. Music is just constantly bleeding out into my life, there’s always music in and around me.”
Photo credit: Bobby Mercury
After finishing secondary school, Sissy made the move from his hometown of Lichfield up to the Steel City. Naturally, it wasn’t long before he started making musical connections.
“It’s a tale as old as time. I came up here for uni and did a degree that I don’t use.”
“The free party scene, the rave scene, that’s had a huge impact on me living here. The general DIY spirit here is massive. There’s less resources for art in Sheffield than, say, London or Manchester and the council don’t support local arts as much as other cities.”
“There’s less investment and grassroots funding, so ultimately, if you want to be an artist in Sheffield, you kinda have to just get off of your arse and do it.”
Now a producer working with several local artists, Sissy remains true to his DIY roots.
“I spent the past couple years working as a producer with Mickey Nomimono. I collaborated with him as a producer on a lot of the tracks on his debut album and featured on DHL as a vocalist.”
Photo credit: Bobby Mercury
“I also work with my younger brother, Atts, who’s a sick rapper in the west-Midlands. His style is informed by these older, funky, soulful west-coast beats.”
“Of course, I’m still supplying sweet bass lines with Drastic//Automatic. We’ve got a new EP coming out soon and we’re currently in the process of writing our debut album.”
As our glasses get gathered and the rain pushes forth, we recoup with further pints and pointers. We round things off by discussing inspirations. Being both a producer and a performer, Sissy is continually immersed in art, whether at home or on the road.
“Virgil Abloh. He was a DJ, but also one of the best fashion designers ever. He designed crazy clothes in a minimalist style – it was crazy, without being crazy.”
“James Blake is a huge inspiration to me, especially with his vocal modulation techniques. That’s always resonated with me and I incorporate the same technique within my production.”
“And then there’s just other people, singers. Sade, Whitney Houston, SZA. Beautiful music from people who just don’t give a fuck. It’s like, when you hear Sade on a record, you just stop. Ahhh, it’s perfection!”
Photo credit: Bobby Mercury
“I constantly think about visuals. Making music videos is genuinely the most fun I get from releasing music. It’s kinda like, a continuation of the creative process with a song, transmitting the idea to people’s eyes”.
“I love Guy Ritchie movies, like Snatch, that kinda early noughties, British, gnarly visual style. That visual style had a huge impact on me”.
“How does it look, how does it feel? It’s the media age man. How does it look? How does it feel? Trying to promote your art is like wrestling for ad space on social media, you have to put out something unique, something sick, so I’m constantly thinking about how to innovate the visual style within my projects.”
Catch Sissy Green at Tramlines, where he will be DJing with Muccarelli on Fri 26 July at Sidney and Matilda and performing with Drastic//Automatic on Sat 27 July at Shakespeares.
Words: Sean Johnson
