Riton & Kah-Lo - Fake ID

Riton Time, 2017

Riton, AKA Henry Smithson, is what one might describe as a purveyor of ‘proper’ house music – his pedigree includes releases on renowned labels including Grand Central and Ed Banger – but despite keeping true to his classic roots he’s managed to score a number of crossover hits with tracks such as Rinse & Repeat and Money with Nigerian vocalist Kah-Lo. FM took a trip to Riton’s North London studio to find out how Henry created the pair’s latest collab Fake ID, and learn more about his unique approach to production.

What inspired Fake ID?

“Watching the movie Superbad! That gave us the idea for the lyrics, so we just decided to make a fun track about going out drinking and what have you, which is Kah-Lo’s favorite subject: talking about going out with her mates around Lagos and stuff. It’s just a bit of a party track. I actually wrote a different beat to start with, then I messed around with it and ended up doing it like a jam one day with a drum machine and the Pearl Syncussion and made that the hooks. Then I spent a bit of time editing and putting drums on and stuff.”

Where did you create the original beat?