Category Archives: Downloads

Dani Deahl Interview

Posted on August 3, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Renowned blogshere and house star Dani Deahl has touched down on Canadian soil for her appearance ~~tonight~~ at the Electric Owl Social Club.

OMG ITS PRIDE!! is scheduled to be an all night house and electro banger party where select a handfull of the city’s finest female DJ’s have come together to show their support and get the crowd to bruk out.

Dani Deahl, amidst her busy schedule, has come through with the following interview. Blog lovers and blogsphere historians bookmark this ishh and get on dem Twitter @danideahl Further your knowledge by listening to Dani’s latest single, ‘Pocket Porn,’ featuring remix’s by some of the recognizable names in electro right meow.

Full event details ~~HERE~~. Doors at 10!

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/54951428″ iframe=”true” /]

Describe yourself in five words or less.
Workaholic. Music junkie. Pink haired gremlin.

Describe your ideal first date for us.
Chicago Baconfest.

Hows life lately? You excited for your upcoming Vancouver appearance?
Life has been awesome lately – just wrapped shooting for my latest video for “Pocket Porn,” I’ve been on the road a lot, collaborating with great people…livin it! I’m very excited for tonight, especially with it being pride weekend. Fest weekends are always nuts – people are in a party mentality even before the sun goes down. We’ll see if I make my flight home tomorrow.

Will this be your first show in Vancouver?
It will! I’ve played several other cities in Canada but never Vancouver.

If you could have any super power what would it be?
Invisibility. I feel like flying would be overrated.

How long have you been DJing and blogging, and which came first? Also, how did you get into blogging?
I’ve been playing professionally since I was seventeen years old. The blog I started a few years ago, and I viewed it as an outlet once my editorial position with URB ended because the magazine went digital.

Let’s pretend for a second that your blog didn’t take off as well as it did. What you would have been doing had that been the case?
To be honest, I never thought about it. I had a day job for one year once I was out of college because I felt like I had to and was so miserable I quit so I could work on all aspects of music full time. I didn’t, and still don’t have a plan B though, but not intentionally…I guess I just figured if this was what I wanted to do, then why would there be a plan B?

Has blogging afforded you any opportunities that you might not have had otherwise? DJ or media related.
I’ve been surprised at the cult following that my blog has and the names that follow and download from it – Flosstradamus just told me they go to my site. It’s been an outlet for me to interview great artists, push music from up and coming people and yeah, I definitely get booked because of the popularity of the blog. #nerdtalk

How quickly do trends, or new genres move through today’s internet driven EDM world?
It depends. I think not as quickly as some people believe. A lot of songs that are released are still a year or even two years old. Trap is blowing up in the states but it’s been around for years. Moombah is still catching on in a lot of markets. Think about how long house and electro were around before pop artists decided to pay attention. There’s always the illusion of things happening overnight in music but the reality is that there is usually a history or legacy that can be traced for that ‘overnight’ moment to happen.

If you could go back in time and change any event in music history what would it be?
I’d make sure Paris Hilton never dated Afrojack.

What has been the most surprising thing to happen with the merging of EDM and pop music in your mind?
With the watering down that’s been happening it’s also exciting to know there are people representing pop music who truly have an interest and respect for where EDM came from. Yes, there are the Madonnas of the world hopping on the “have you seen Molly” bandwagon, but Calvin Harris and Rihanna together – brilliant. Will.I.am in interviews has a genuine thirst for wanting to learn more about EDM. David and Cathy Guetta have opened so many doors for EDM artists wanting to gain more exposure. I’m always a fan of cross pollinating in music and there’s a lot of focus on the negative right now without thinking about the people making a positive difference and creating headway for all of us.

Welp. Thanks for your time. Is there anything you’d like to sign this off with?
BACON.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzaOMqYQxcs&w=560&h=315]

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Punks Jump Up Interview

Posted on June 30, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on Schitz Popinov

Touring, as modern media has revealed, is a stressful endeavor to undertake. Punks Jump Up like to keep things light and steady movin whilst on the road to get the full experience of life, which is pretty dope to hear. Seeing as how so often a producer will talk about his machine like work ethic while on tour. It’s just nice to hear some of us are still human out there on this big blueberry.

We caught up with these trend setting cats for a few words on their summer tour with Gigamesh. Read along, read along.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/50286993″ iframe=”true” /]

How are you guys?
Very good very good.

How has the tour been so far?
It’s been great. We just started off our joint tour with Gigamesh at Club Congress in Tucson, Arizona. Really cool place with a great crowd.

Before that we played Scion party in NY & LA & also Club Bardot in Miami.
All super fun in their own way.

Are you getting along with Gigamesh alright?
We hated each other from word go….
No, just kidding. We’re having a great time already, even though we’ve just started the tour. This tour will be FUN!

Do you have a favourite Gigamesh track?
Love the Don’t Stop track on his latest EP on Kitsune. Classic Blondie/Boney M disco but totally updated. Can’t stop playing it!

How do you keep yourselve’s relaxed AND in work mode on tour?
The DJ gigs are the work part on tour. We’re not very good at working on music while on tour, we get too distracted. If we’re in NYC, LA or Tucson we’re not gonna spend all day in the hotel room. We use the time to wander around the cities to soak up the vibes & get inspired (and maybe get drunk).
That’s just as important for our music.

There have been a number of riders floating around on the internet lately. Do you guys have any weird / original requirements on yours? Like left-handed shovels?
We always demand a white grand piano, pg tips & salted unsalted peanuts with all the nuts taken out.

If you could go back and change anything in music history what would it be?
We wouldn’t change anything but we would love to go back and be a fly on the wall in Kraftwerk’s studio, Bowie/Eno in Berlin, Ron Hardy djing at Music Box in Chicago etc etc

Favourite love song of all time?
Oh that’s easy: Berlin – Take My Breath Away.

I read in an interview you did that your musical roots lay in Punk. What was your introduction into electronic dance music?
David’s was probably Chemical Brothers (then called Dust Brothers) & early Andy Weatherall remixes. Oh also jungle (pre drum ‘n’ bass).

Joe was into hip hop from a very early stage & quickly moved into house music (US garage etc) with a bit of classic UK Hardcore thrown in!

In your experience what is the biggest difference between a punk show and an EDM show?
The instruments!

Are there any similarities?
The energy can be totally the same. .

And if you could take any element from punks rock shows and it to edm shows, what would it be?
It’s kinda already happened, the crowd stagedive to both punk & dance music these days!

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/46481309″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/44307554″ iframe=”true” /]

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Chewy Chocolate Cookies Interview

Posted on June 5, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on Schitz Popinov

Chewey Chocolate Cookies are sooooo good. Like the starbucks one’s, and those Safeway one’s. They are always chewy, without fail..

Many of our readers have been with us since the “Electro Days.” The two thousands; 06-10, when electro was bread and butter, and when we (then teens) were all about the hard stuff. You know, the Palms Out Sounds, Disco Dust shit. CCC has been in the game and going hard since then, and before, and before his signage to DIM MAK. Getting signed was just the icing on the cake. Noobs best read up. Here on Schitz we’re super pumped to have lined up this interview with someone’s who’s history in the blogshpere go’s back as far as ours.

Shouts DIM MAK, thank you for setting this up. Big up’s CCC, thank’s for your time.

Get at CCC via Twitter & Facebook. Peep his labels latest release, Le Twan “Survivors ACK.” Then the interview below.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/47637130″ iframe=”true” /]

Dark or milk chocolate?

MILK

Describe your music in 5 words or less.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

What is the essence of DJing?

MAKE PEOPLE DANCE

Did you see Paris Hilton is doing an DJ tour??? Crazy isht right? Any thoughts on that? It’s just in the forefront of my mind right now.

I HOPE SHE’LL COME TO MY TOWN, I CAN’T WAIT TO ROCK MY NEW GLOW STICKS, DANCE SOME PROPER EDM AND DRINK ENERGY DRINKS ALL NIGHT SCREAMING “GO PARIS GO”

What adjective best describes your cookies?

CHEWY!!!

Have you seen those chocolate chip cookies that have a whole Oreo’s in them?

ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THESE??? IF YOU SEE ME LIVE IN A CLUB NEAR YOU, BRING ME SOME AND I’LL BE YOUR JUKE BOX ALL NIGHT LONG!!

Do you have a favourite bakery anywhere?

BEN’S COOKIES IN LONDON (UK), MILK CHOCOLATE & ORANGE IS TO DIE FOR!!!

I read once that your favourite kind of music is supermarket music. You down with Snoop’s gin and juice playing in grocery stores in these modern times? Or are you more for the traditional elevator style super market music?

FIRST OF ALL LET ME SHOW SOME LOVE FOR THE ONE AND ONLY SNOOP AKA NEMO HOES, CCC’S HUGE FAN OF GGN’S STORMY FRONTS… MUSIC-WISE, ELEVATOR STYLE FOR LIFE, HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO SOME KENNY G ?!?!

Dim Mak has lotsa good cookies on their shelf, who’s tracks are you playing from Dim Maks top shelf roster?

STEVE AOKI!!! CCC’S DJ SET IS 99% STEVE AOKI TRACKS, I PLAY EVERY STEVE AOKI RELEASE, EVERY REMIX, I JUMP LIKE HIM, I DRESS LIKE HIM… CCC LOVES STEVE AOKI!!! …. I HOPE THIS WILL BE ENOUGH TO MAKE STEVE SIGN CCC’S ALBUM

What has been the most rewarding part of working with, as apart of and with the
infamous Dim Mak label?

TO BE HONEST WITH YOU THEY’RE TRULY AMAZING, THEY TREAT ME AS ONE OF THEM, WE HAVE MILK SHAKES TOGETHER, WE GO ON ROLLER COASTER, WE GO SEE MOVIES, WE’RE LIKE ONE BIG FAMILY, CCC LOVES DIM MAK!!! … I HOPE THIS WILL BE ENOUGH TO MAKE STEVE SIGN CCC’S ALBUM

What have you got forthcoming for the remainder of the year?

I’LL PRODUCE THE NEW DAFT PUNK ALBUM, CCC & JUSTICE HEADLINING NEW YEAR 2013 PARTY ON THE MOON (THANKS TO VIRGIN GALACTIC),
A TRACK WITH ADELE ON VOCALS AND REMIXING U2 (IF I HAVE TIME)… PRETTY BUSY YEAR I’D SAY!!!

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/151876″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2683606″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/34397273″ iframe=”true” /]

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Blondtron Interview

Posted on February 14, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on the ~~School of Remix~~

Icing on the cake, valentines swag. Today we have Blondtron. A dynamite Vancouver funker doing it across the pond in Berlin. These few words only just begin to lend you an impression of her fun time demeanour. Read on yall, good time’s ahead.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/31896129″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Who are you, where ya from, where are you now?

I’m a foul mouthed lady of the night. I’m from Victoria and Cortes Island and at this moment I just got back to my riad in Marrakech after a long day on a camel.

How’s Berlin livin?

Cold, German and totally inspiring.

Can you give some words on your time in Vancouver as a DJ and how you got started.

I got started as a DJ in Vancouver playing rock tunes in the gorilla cage at El Furniture Warehouse. I was paid in tacos, tequila and unlimited peanuts. Then a friend, Chris Goodspin who ran a DJ collective let me play some tunes here and there at the Urban Well and Sky Bar. I used to come over from Victoria with my fake ID and a few records. I was a total booth rat. I went to sound and audio engineering school at AI and met a lot of great people through that. I took what I could get gig wise. Then I was accepted to the Red Bull Music Academy in 2006. After I came back from that I started to get a lot more opportunities…. even played with the ~~Schitz~~ crew… HOLLA!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/27738513″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

As a Vancouverite what kind of experience and style do you think you’ve taken over to Berlin with you?

Vancouver is a great hip-hop and indie rock city, Vancouver DJs know how to blend the two and keep everyone in the room happy. It doesn’t have much of a minimal and house scene. I get bored of deep house tracks and I love hip hop and indie. Not to say I don’t like deep house and minimal, I do, I like all genres. But I think I bring a hip-hop/tropical/raw element to everything I play. I can’t get enough of it. I have to put some sort of chopped vocals or rap on EVERYTHING. I don’t like that over produced sound, I love baile funk, new orleans bounce and juke. It’s kind of punk rock in that it’s raw. I like to blend the rawness with the deepness and smoothness of minimal. I think I bring the sensibility of a Vancouver DJ that has to keep a mixed room happy and mix it with the deep sounds of Berlin… at least that’s what I’m trying to do.

Berlin’s night scene is vastly different from Vancouver’s but what are some differences you’ve found and did not expect.

Last week I saw a dude drinking a beer with his pitbull in H&M waiting for his girlfriend to try on jeans. People can bring their dogs everywhere and drink where they like because they learn from an early age how to regulate themselves, and be smart and have fun. It makes for a totally different kind of crowd in a club. People respect music and DJs. They very much go to listen to what the DJ is playing. A Berliner could never fathom walking up and telling the DJ to play something because it’s their birthday. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to headliners playing at 10AM. It’s just bananas, my friends will go to sleep at 8PM, wake up at 5AM, start drinking and go see their favourite DJ. It absolutely kills me!

How long have you been DJing and what got you started?

I’ve been DJing for about 9 years now if you count the 2 years in my bedroom train wrecking chicago house with techno at 33rpm (I didn’t know there was a 33 and 45 for like….longer than I’d care to admit.)

I had played a show at Cortes Island Music fest with my so called band, after we played I ate some fungi of the magical variety and was mesmerized while the DJs played… when I was returning some gear to Long & McQuade from our show I was like “Give me everything I need to be a DJ!” They would give financing to a goat so I walked out of there with everything. I got home and opened the boxes and was like “Oh, I have to put it together? shit.” I finally figured it out (sort of) then spent every spare dollar on records.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/8311942″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Where you listening to anybody in particular that inspired you to get behind the decks?

Not really, Benny Benassi?! I was 17 and had a fake ID and thought I was the SHIT. I didn’t have the internet (HOW DID I LIVE?) so I’d hang at the A & B sound listening bar and just listen to random stuff. I liked house, techno, hip hop, whatever. First records I ever bought were Tiga’s remix of Heartbreaker, a Matthew Johnson EP and The Best of Tribe Called Quest double EP.

Did you have a musical background before you began DJing?

My dad is super musical and let me play all his instruments. We actually had a family blue grass band and would play at old folks homes. I rocked the fiddle and dabbled in a few other instruments, harmonica, ACCORDION (totally a hit with the boys) and settled on guitar because it was too hard to sing and play violin and accordions are just too sexy for a pretty young girl like myself.

What was your first DJ set up?

2 tech 12’s, shitty numark 3 channel mixer.

What are you working with now?

Serato, but I’m in the middle of switching to the APC 40 and Abelton. When I first got back from RMBA in Melbourne I was totally sold on DJing with Ableton, there’s just so much you can do with it, it fits my ADD style of mixing perfectly. But DJs were like “Oh she can’t mix, she’s using Ableton.” It’s hard enough being a girl starting out, there’s so much more to prove so I stuck with Serato. Now it’s like, who gives a flying fuck if you can mix two records together, big deal you neanderthal! Do something interesting!

What advice can you offer to aspiring female DJ’s?

First off, ask yourself if you’re djing for the right reasons… that goes for everyone. I don’t think it’s particularly impressive being a DJ unless you yourself feel like you are really doing something, if you feel like you’re really creating something for yourself and you’re truly enjoying your time in the music. Being a DJ is totally lame otherwise! I’m trying to change the way I do things so I feel fulfilled. I was getting a bit jaded in Vancouver and so I asked myself what my fucking problem was and the answer was I felt like a big phony. I was playing music and getting paid to drink and party but I felt like a big empty douche bag. I wasn’t creating anything I was really proud of. I had to remove myself completely from that situation and take a long look in the mirror (Insert pathetic, life-changing movie montage here). Now that I’m in Berlin I don’t know as many people so I have more time to myself and the people I am meeting are creators. I feel empowered to create… a lot! So I think that’s the most important thing.

As for the female aspect of getting in the industry, surround yourself by people that inspire you. Betti Forde has always been a huge inspiration and friend to me, she’s a fireball of feminist awesomeness. If I’ve learned anything from her it’s that it’s okay to have a giant mouth and lots of opinions. It’s okay to use your sexuality to get ahead. Wear a fucking push-up bra if you want to. Who cares? Go naked or wear a snuggie, do whatever makes you happy and do it for yourself. If you own what you do then people won’t try and oppress you or fuck you over, they’ll know that they just can’t. It’s okay if people hate you. As women we are more inclined to try and make everyone happy but you’re never ever going to make everyone happy. The longer you do this and the more success you have the more people are going to talk shit and be little pricks. Just always show up with your gear in order, be on time and do your thing.

Footnote:Sorry for swearing so much! Morrocan wine is delicious.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/7035162″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2993186″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Blondtron – Facebook | Soundcloud | Twitter

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skywlkr Interview

Posted on February 10, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on Realtime

Some words w. skywlkr. Google the man if you don’t know the name, he’s got some honourable mentions around. Check the man out on his soundcloud or tumblr and free DL the exclusive Bruce Lee 2. Read on.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/35013764″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Firstly, thanks for taking the time. Let’s start with a who are you where are you from?

My name is skylar, from Detroit Michigan, and I go under the name skywlkr.

Has the bustling metropolis of Detroit been a big influence on your style and sound?

Being from Detroit, has shaped my music a lot. I mean I grew up in this music scene, so I’m a hybrid of everything I’ve loved from elsewhere growing up, and Detroit as well.

But I used to be part of the metal scene out here and there’s a huge Rave scene in Detroit, and I really like the vibe of hype shit and shit you can listen to while on psychedelics.

I’m totally with you on that, psychedelics can definitely broaden a persons view and experiences with music (not that I’m recommending them to anyone by saying that). How involved in the rave seen are you? Do you even get behind the decks?

I mean, I party. I’m into all that. The rave scene in Detroit is really popping, and I love that atmosphere. For instance tonight, I’m going to this shit called funk night with all the bruisers. And it’s that whole rave scene but the music is will sessions, who did elmatic with Elzhi. It’s a cool atmosphere. But ya, I’m out here. And yeah, I just got a new pair, I play around, but I plan on getting out there, playing my material live this year.

Now that we’re talkin raves I have to ask you about your track ‘Dubstep Girls are the Worsest.’ Personal experience help you along with the title?

Haha, dubstep is the new cigarettes out here. Like its the biggest fad. And some of these girls out here, just really make me laugh, man. Kinda personal.

Why and when did you make moves towards rap/ hip hop from metal, not too much cross over between the two.

Well, I left my band in New York, and when I got home I had an itch to continue making music. I can play guitar, and bass. And I’m very familiar on a drum set. So I would be like my own band. I’d record every instrument and program the drums with reason. I listened to some rap at the time, so in my free time I started just making rap beats I thought sounded cool. They sounded like Jedi Mind beats. Stoupes production of violent by design made me want to make beats. After I made beats for awhile, a friend introduced me to beat battles, and I did pretty well at them, and that’s when rappers started fucking with me. My name got around.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/34054109″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Give us something to trip out to, are some notable tracks on psychedelics?

That too much to dream track, that was featured on squadda bambinos back sellin crack (called conversations pt.2) , was definitely created off some nice doses.

Now that your on page 46 of The Fader issue 77 as one of five “To Watch: Producers” have there been more people reaching out to you? People hollering out of car windows and such?

Since the fader, yeah, I have been reached out by a lot more artists, looking for music. My twitter followers went up, my bandcamp stats went up. The cool thing is/was a lot of people who read the fader aren’t just die hard hip hop fans, so people of all sorts showed loved. From all different backgrounds.

On that same page it list’s a bit of whats due from you in 2012 so I’ll skip that question. But I want to know who you’d like to have rhyme on your beats?

As far as who I’d WANT to rap on my beats, that’s a tough call. I feel like the ASAP could do something nice over a track, or like schoolboy q. But I’m really more interested in collaborating with other producers, and artists and musicians. Not to sound a certain way, but I’ve honestly got the chance to work with my favourite rappers right now.

I’ve always been curious to know how big a producers music library is, most people seem to be hesitant or unable to answer. How big is you music library? A track count would be dope.

My music library as in samples and shit, or like music I bump? As far as music I bump I only got like 3,500 songs on my iTunes. But as far as samples, I got gigs on gigs. I’m always downloading shit. Or ripping vinyl. Or listening to old CDs. Movie scores. Anything I can get my hands on. As far as a number though, idk to be exact, I keep my samples in folders, not in iTunes, so it doesn’t show a count or anything.

Production methods. I know in a lot of electronic music producers focus on one part of a new track and then build the rest around it. You have any formula like that?

Production method, I honestly don’t have one. My only thing that stays pretty consistent is blunts. A lot of times I start with just digging through samples and putting a bunch of the mp until I don’t feel like it anymore. Than I’ll just go with what sounds the coolest.

What gear are you working with?

I got a lot of gear. But my main set up is reason 6, and mpc1000, and m audio midi keyboard.

Any gear you’d like to get your hands on in the near and upcoming future?

As far as gear I want, maybe a lean prescription, haha. I love my set up right now.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/21350449″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

skywlkr – Facebook | Soundcloud

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Grown Folk Interview

Posted on February 8, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally Posted on Schitz Popinov

Attn class. Here we have one of my favourite interviews to date. Grown Folk.

These cats have been my main squeeze as far as new music goes for some time now. They’ve received hype from some of the best people on the web but remain relatively unknown. Too unknown for my liking. Somebody bring these guys to Vancouver!!!!!! Do it. Read on:

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/64421395″ iframe=”true” /]

Introductions first. Who is Grown Folk, where are you guys from and where do you live?

We are Drew and Brendan. We both currently living in Montreal and going to University here (Drew is actually currently in London, UK for the moment) Drew grew up in Hawaii and Brendan grew up in Vermont.

When and where did you guys come together to produce under one name?

We met at University in Montreal in 2009 and both became interested in electronic music as neither of us had much exposure to it in the US. We began as resident DJs for a promotion company putting on events with all the big electro artists of that time (I say “that time” even though it was only 3 years ago). By 2010 we were dabbling in production under solo projects. After a few months of sending music back and forth we realized we were into similar things and decided to collaborate on some tracks. It was just going to be a one off thing, but it went so well we decided to stick together.

What was the final ingredient on the decision to run with the name Grown Folk?

This name actually came from Markus from LOL Boys. I was sending him some tracks and he kept telling me that it was some “grown folks house music.” That kind of stuck with me and when we were thinking of a name that’s what stuck.

What were you doing before this project?

We were both working on solo projects and getting our feet wet in the whole production thing as neither of us really started until late 2009. Drew was putting out tunes under Kid Aloha and Brendan under Roladex.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

We havent really had jobs we didn’t like!

How long have you been into making music be it DJing, producing or formal education and what got you started?

We have really only been into DJing and making music for about 3 years at this point. Both of us are life long music fans of many different genres, but we didn’t start becoming very active until we arrived in Montreal and were exposed to clubs and DJing in general. Initially I (Brendan) didn’t really have much interest in producing because I had no past musical experience and was worried I couldn’t do it. In the Winter of 2010 I saw Renaissance Man play at a big festival in Montreal and something changed. I decided that I could make music too and dove right in. Drew started producing a little bit before that, but for both of us it was really a natural progression from DJing.

What are you working with? Both software and hardware?

Right now we are working with Ableton and a MIDI keyboard. That is about it. We have plans to get hardware eventually, I think the goal is to eventually produce completely on analog gear. But that will take time and money. This summer we will probably get a 707 and hopefully if all works out some sort of synth, maybe an SH-101 or something.

Droptop is what turned me onto your music initially. What can you tell us about this particular track, how much time was spent on it, what got the track started initially and what finally brought it together?

This is actually a pretty funny story. This track started out as a hip hop beat that was being made for a friend. Before the vocal got put in and some of the synth lines we noticed the bassline had a really nice groove. So we sped it up about 25 bpm and realized we could turn it into a summer house tune. We found the vocal and put that in and worked on the structure for 2 weeks or so before we were completely happy with it.

You guys have got the 90′s rave down, locked. I often am reminded of Technotronic when I listen to your music. Can you list some influences?

Thanks man! To be honest we are more into the 90s house stuff rather than the rave and hardcore producers although there was a minute when we were putting some more rave influences into our tunes. People like MK, Murk, Larry Heard, and Kerri Chandler have all had a big influence on our sound. We are still pretty new and discovering so much new music every day that we are constantly influenced by producers from the past 20 years.

How has Montreal responded to your sound?

Montreal has had a great response to everything we have done so far. Local producers like Jacques Greene, Prince Club, and LOL Boys have all been big supporters and have become good friends. We are being booked for nights in the city pretty regularly now so things are going great!

XLR8R, Silverback Recording, Sword Artists, Templar Sound and Hush House have all been sending hype your way. Who else is out there promoting you? From here you seem relatively low key.

Yea we are slowly getting our name out there. DJ Mag did a nice review on the City Wind EP and Fact Mag has shown us some love as well.

Do you have any of your own parties going?

As of now we aren’t doing any parties of our own but we have lots of friends putting on parties every week so we are playing those mostly.

Title’s, there ALL so, “G” ,for lack of a better word. Rap influence on your titles?

Haha, absolutely. We listen to a lot of rap and usually even sneak a little into our sets when we play out.

What kind of music do you relax to or listen to on your own time?

I (Brendan) basically listen to house or electronic music all the time. I also listen to some hip hop, but unlike a lot of people, I enjoy listening to mixes or Rinse FM when I’m just relaxing. Drew is much more into rap than I am so he is definitely listening to a lot of hip hop when relaxing.

How’d you hook up with LOL Boys to remix each other?

We met Markus because he lives in Montreal as well and became good friends. The remixes were just a natural extension of that.

Do you guys have any kind of process or particular section of a song that you begin with when starting something new?

I would say we basically always start with drums. We are both into trying to make interesting rhythms combing classic drum sounds with more experimental ones. So usually we will create a skeleton with that and a bassline and move forward from there.

As far as new go’s can you tell us about your new material? Release deets, title’s, ect.

We have an original track and a collab with Dro Carey coming our on February 20th on CD on the Templar Sound Compilation. This is CD only and Aidan from Templar did an incredible job on the packaging as well as getting great artwork for it so can’t wait for that. After that we have a 12” dropping on Templar. I have to keep the details a little secret on this, but its going to be a hip hop collaboration with two rappers who are really killing it right now. We also have 2 great remixes lined up for that. In the summer we will have another 12” coming out on a new label. It will be house, and I can’t say any more than that. We also have a collaboration with LOL Boys dropping sometime in the future on the Friends of Friends sub label called Young Adults.

When might Grown Folk make an appearance in Vancouver, I’ve had my eye out since Droptop came out. Please don’t tell me I missed you somehow :S

We haven’t been there yet but hope to get out there soon. Tell your friends to book us!

Thats all I’ve got for you guys. Anything you’d like to add?

Thanks to everyone who’s supported us and bought our music, 2012 is going to be a great year, so stay tuned!

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Bombaman Interview

Posted on February 7, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on Schitz Popinov

I talked to Mike D aka Bombaman a bit about himself in the new year and got some words on his Tommy Otis EP dropping today on Lucky Beard Records, which you should probably check.

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Bombaman. Who are ya where are you from?

I am Mike D, born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Hows about those people tampons hey?

Don’t even get me started…

Before you went under just Bombaman you used to be Mat Carl / Bombaman. I hear you hate trying to explain the Matt Carl name but I was hopin you could here today.

Haha, oh gosh. Ok, it goes back like, 6 or 7 years when me and some friends were playing some Star Wars fighting game or something for the original Playstation or Xbox, I forget. I was noticing how lame the names of the characters were, like, how unoriginal and lame they were and one pops up that says “Marl.” I figured they just picked the names of two guys in the room, Matt and Carl and mashed them up to make this lame character name. I put them together as a persons first and last name and had a laugh. Then sometimes down the road I needed a funny name for dj’ing or whatever, and always had that stupid name in the back of my mind. It’s a terribly lame story and the only reason it’s funny to me is cuz my real name is also two first names. So, yeah…kinda wack lol

What got you into producing?

I always had an interest. I have played drums for a long time so it kind of lended itself to wanting to make stuff, I guess. I don’t know what the true determining factor was, but buying CD players definitely got me motivated to start making and playing my own stuff. I couldn’t do that with vinyl, cutting dub plates was too expensive for me..

What’s your DJ set up like these days?

Two CD players and a mixer. Nothing special, lol. Typical Pioneer setup.

And what are you producing with?

Ableton Live 8.

Are you Evian Christ?

I am not.

I did an interview with Paul Shore / SnapBack a couple month’s back and he’s of the opinion that your producing the kind of music that producers should be producing. Are you just going for straight bass heavy as fuck / weird isht when you jump into a new track? Or is there a more structured approach that you take and people might not expect?

Ummm, I’d say I don’t have much of an approach other than just kind of goofing around, seeing what different effects chains can do to a sound. It’s literally just me mucking about. I’m sure you can tell, but yeah, the sub bass is the most important part to me, and that’s where I usually start.

How often do you go back to your pre Ableton days and background with traditional (old school) instruments for new track ideas? Ableton was a total game changer for you wasn’t it?

I’d say I never go back to pre Ableton days, haha. Ableton was definitely the EXACT program I was looking for. I was using a tracker called Making Waves that was, I dunno, sort of finicky. It wasn’t intuitive, but I learned the hell out of it and made it work. Then through some music magazines I eventually came across Ableton. Based on what I read, it sounded like it was right up my alley. I started using it and haven’t turned back. That must have been about 5 or 6 years ago, I guess.

Your Tommy Otis EP is due via LuckBeard Records pretty quick here. Give us some words on that.

Ah man, so glad to get some of those tunes out on a label like LB. I had a pretty good cache of unreleased music by the time we started talking about releasing something. So we went through some of the better ones and picked out some older and newer stuff. This is also like, a two part EP. I don’t know if the second one will share the Tommy Otis name, we’ll see, haha.

Part one mixes up some old and new. “A Number of Names” was one of the first tunes I made late last year that is along the vein of what i am currently making. Some weird, super subbed out, chopped up vocal retardation. Lots of weird automation with the delays and reverbs, weird panning and stuff. I think I had just hooked up a second sub to my setup, so it may have been more of a demo tune that I just ended up finishing, lol. “Are Pats” is an old one from 2010, I think. It got some unexpected support, but I still never thought much of it. That one is definitely more of a cheesy, party tune. Super up beat with some female vocal workout. The last one is “Everything Came From Strangers,” which is a huge personal favourite, also from 2010. I had just come back from doing a five week stint in the States, and all those kids want is hard hard hard, except in Portland, lol. Anyways, I came back and didn’t want to listen to any of that shit anymore, so I started making some of that really stripped back, pure sub bass, no drums kind of stuff that I am getting known for. That was probably one of the first I made in that style. That track sounds fucking BANANAS on a big sound system, shit will knock a wall down.

Dubstep. I think your the man to ask on the state of the genre, it seems to be a hot topic these days.

I don’t like what is being made and played these days. That’s that.

Is it just me or has “Bass Music” become the new in thing along side Future Garage?

Yeah, I think I’d agree with that.

Top 3 parties for you these days?

I don’t even know. I don’t go out or dj much these days, haha.

Do you spend much time following labels? You’ve got some shit hot releases with some of the good ones atm. I won’t go into listing them all.

No. I’ll be honest. I don’t follow much at all. I know what I like and I tend to stick within my comfort zone until someone shows me some truly next shit, then I go in the studio and try and make it myself, lol.

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LOL Boys Interview

Posted on January 26, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on Realtime

LOL Boys, what do say about LOL Boys? Unique, uninhibited, experimental, crazy, composed, freestyle, light hearted, playful electronic music from Canadian and LA based composers/ orchestrators/ musicians/ artists. I’m really no good at these intro’s but for reals LOL Boys are a big part of a more experimental brand of electronica making it’s way into this and the subsequent future.

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Introductions first, who are you guys and where are you from originally?

Markus lives in Montreal, Quebec Canada and is a virgo. Jerome lives
in Los Angeles, California and is a Cancer. But we are both citizens
of the internet.

Now, I know you two met on an internet message board and collaborated for a remix competition. Is it a place you’d recommend to aspiring producers or up and comers?

Weirdly enough we didn’t meet on an actual music forum. See, We were both avid fans of fitness and working out and met on a forum for that kinda stuff. There was a section on tunes you play when you work out and we noticed we both were into dj-ing and producing from that…

Not really an ideal place for producers or up and comers. More if you want to get into power lifting or need a good protein shake recipe.

Any up and comers that you can recommend?

Floyd Campbell, Dj Soulja Man, Rhythm Method, Dj Funeral, Goldffinch,
Octo Octa, Mokona, Mess Kid, Baauer, Morri$

Total musical freedom is obviously important to you. Who have been some names that have encouraged this and helped get you exposure all in the same?

We just wanted to make tunes and have a good time. We both are crazy about music and pull influences from so many sources so our sound is really hard to define but there is a definite vibe and energy we try to put in to everything we do!
Blogs.

How would you say that they’ve propelled electronic music to what it is today?

To a certain extent blogs/bloggers were very important and have changed the face of music journalism. Print mags like Fact, Urb and Xlr8r have become blogs now. They are definitely beneficial to the music scene as far as creating exposure and awareness. Things like tumblr and soundcloud have changed where people go to dig up music as well as sites that just pull info from every blog and re-blog. Now though as the internet continues it’s evolution we’ll just have to sit back and watch the progression.

Visually, your videos, your cover art, bills and overall web presence has a pretty distinct and unique style. Whats the influence?

Our visual aesthetic came from us just searching the far reaches of the internet. We really wanted to create a visual world for our music. Even if it’s not personally what the listener or fan visualizes when they listen. We wanted to give them something. It used to be if you liked a band you’d get a cd or lp filled with imagery. Or you’d get cool flyers or pins. We wanted to do the same, give the people something semi tangible.

The internet artwork is a reflection of our place in the music world. We are on the internet and we have an internet based moniker. We use the internet to make songs. We both also actually went to university for artistic related majors.

How big a part are visuals to your live sets?

We haven’t worked on incorporating it yet. We are definitely into the idea and often think about how to fit it in. We’ve also been asked to do art shows and have videos and print outs of our imagery. Something we’d love to do.

You guys are based hundreds of miles apart, there are no doubt some obvious advantages and disadvantages to this but how ofter will you meet for a live show?

Actually, it’s pretty easy for us to meet for shows. It’s just 2 plane tickets. We’ve done a bunch of shows together and bunch separately. We definitely prefer to play together. It’s just a lot of fun. Yeah, sometimes being far apart has it’s disadvantages but it’s best just to focus on the positive side of things and keep doing what we do.

Is production a higher priority for LOL Boys in the new year? Or live shows? More to the point, what’s in store for the new year?

We’ll have at least 2 new eps this year. Probably a lot more collaborations. One of our collaborations will be out next month on Unknown to the Unknown. It’s a collabo with Hot City and the ep is called “LOL CITY”. Our highly sought after bootleg of T2’s ”Heartbroken” aka “Moments in Heartbreak” is out the next day (feb.14th). We’ll have a new og track on the templar compilation sound cd. We definitely want to play a lot more. And write a ton more music. So, both are equal priorities.

PS. The intro track ‘List Them’ off Bubbles is something that I play all the time. It strikes me as subtle genius. Just curious as to what the thought was behind the making of the track.

When we first started the EP we had a track called “POP THEM”, then
we had ”ROLL THEM”, so every song we decided to name it “________ THEM”. So, “List Them” is just us singing the track titles to every song.

And at the moment I’m really digging Grown Folks stuff. How’d they come to remix your ‘Runaways?’ Did they contact you or vise versa?

Markus used to throw parties with Drew from Grown Folk. When Drew started Grown Folk with Brendan, We edited there first tune “Steady Moving” and they wanted to return the favor so, we sent over ”runaways”. They’re a really awesome producers/dj’s and good friends. We’ve collaborated on a few tunes and will probably continue.

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Starkey Interview

Posted on January 25, 2012 by G.Poplopavich | Comments Off

Originally posted on the ~~School of Remix~~

All the way from Philly we have Starkey. Big name in the grime game. Here he goes into his gear, a bit about his sound and whats on the come up for the new year. Get familiar.

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You are Starkey aka Stark Bot. Where are you right now and where you from?

I’m in Philly… I’m from Philly.

Years of age?

30

Where or how would you categorize your music?

street bass

Whats makes Street Bass street?

weapons and asphalt

How long have you been producing and what got you into it?

I’ve been producing seriously since I was about 19 years old. Before that I was playing in lots of bands… piano, singing, bass… from jazz to hardcore. I got into producing through going to college for production and needing to make my own music to practice working on the things I was learning in school… eq’ing, compression, etc. So since I wasn’t a guitarist / singer-songwriter, I started making music with my keyboard and some drum machines. I was into a lot of trip hop, downtempo and post-rock stuff… along with a lot of Warp, Ninja Tune and Planet Mu artists at the time… so the music I was making was kind of like a mixture of Aphex Twin and Mogwai. What I’m doing now isn’t too far away from that either. I guess this was before grime, so it had less of that influence in there.

Any specific influences that gravitated you towards your sound as it is today?

Grime 100%. That was the music that changed my way of thinking about producing and how to develop sounds.

Any software or hardware that help make your sound is what it is? Give us something to listen for in your music.

I’m known for lots of epic synths for the most part. I do a lot of pitch bent / portamento stuff with layered parts…. think Vangelis x 12. I use mostly soft synths nowadays, but I do have a Juno 60 and Korg N1 at home. I pretty much use the N1 as a midi controller though because it’s 88 keys and fully-weighted. It’s also all about having the right eq’s and compression to work with… that makes up a ton of the sound, particularly when you’re talking about big dancefloor tracks.

Is there a piece or two specific gear you’d like to add to your own repertoire?

I’d like to get some better speakers… like the Barefoots or something with a nice low end. Planning to do that this year. Then it’s all about having a good interface / A/D… so I’d like to get an Apogee Ensemble or a Prism Orpheus.

Where has your music been best received by an audience?

It’s hard to say…. around Belgium’s always been a lot of fun, as well as San Francisco and Denver. They’re usually the most consistent crowds. But recently some shows in Georgia and North Carolina were sick as well…. so you never really know who’s down or what to expect. Moscow was great this past year as well. They seemed really into my sound.

What was you take on Vancouver’s scene during your time here?

It seems cool. I’ve known a few producers out there for a minute, like Taal Mala, who’s cool…. so it’s always fun to come out there to play. I like the city and hope I get back there again soon.

Just this morning I learned about Serato Video and wondered if this is something you’d considered using. I’ve always found your music pretty vibey and though it would be complimented well by custom or specific visuals.

I’ve thought about it…. but it’s something that has to be planned out and executed the right way. I hate doing things half ass, so if you’re going to do video… it better be sick. I’ve been happy with all the music videos we’ve put out, because there’s a lot of care in making sure that it’s professional and fits the overall vibe of the track. The directors I’ve worked with were all amazing as well. It’s definitely something I’m looking into though. For now, I’m just concentrating on putting on the best show I can as a dj.

You’ve got some crazy video’s out already, are there are any directors out there that you haven’t worked with and would like to?

No one specifically comes to mind. I rate all the directors I’ve had the pleasure to work with so far… and just want to continue to keep the quality high. In today’s immediate society, it’s very easy to just do something because you can. Like I could make a video myself and upload it to youtube, but it would look dumb. You need to have quality control with everything you do as an artist.

With whom do you share ownership of Seclusiasis and Slit Jokey Records?

Seclusiasis is owned by me and Dev79… the El Carnicero is also a partner in Slit Jockey.

Sduk just dropped ‘Anything Could Happen’ via Slit Jockey (and is available for purchase on Amazon, Beatport, iTunes, Amazon and Bookmat), what kind of new new can we expect from Starkbot and your labels in the new year?

We have a lot dropping. For Seclusiasis we’ve got a new DNAEBEATS mini-album, an Aquadrop single, as well as another Knight Riderz release, plus I’m gonna drop something on Seclusiasis this year most likely. For Slit Jockey, we’ve got some stuff from DS1, a Sduk remix single, a Mella Dee ep, a MIK ep…… loads of stuff. There’s tons more. We’re really excited about the stuff we’re putting out right now… it’s been a great start to the new year.

I’m currently working a new album… and will be dropping that hopefully this Summer. There will be some tracks I’ve produced for other people dropping this year as well. Gonna be a busy one.

Top 3 producers your listening to right now.

That’s hard… I’ll say Swindle, DS1, Darq E Freaker. Everything I hear of theirs is exciting right now.

Have you voted for the Dubstep Forum 2012 awards?

no