Interviews


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Artist Profiles Interviews Podcast Uncategorized

Free Hugs

September 1, 2015
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On the scene for over 15 years now, Huglife (previously DJ Slink) does not disappoint in releasing the progressive big-bass sound us future bass and trap aficionados war to hear. Big, trippy and filled with tantalizing sales and provocative bass lines, Huglife’s specializes in some of our favorite remixes and mixtapes ever.

As those of you who are active on SoundCloud know, their copyright rules have gotten a bit out of hand (aside from the fact that it just sucks now because unwarranted ads randomly invade your stream). Because of this, Huglife’s account was deleted by a report from jealous hater that reported his account, forcing him to start afresh about a year ago. Funny because isn’t everything sampled, remixed and edited now? Reinventing and reconstructing is what producers do, often times making you enjoy a track more than you did in it’s original form or completely changing the vibe or the go to match your style. Perfect example is his remix of “So Good To Me,” originally a playful, soul-house track, transformed with a hug to a chilled-out bass beauty.

Grab the Huglife way below:
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Follow Huglife on SoundCloud & “Like” him on Facebook
Artist Profiles Interviews Uncategorized

Premier: Oriel Poole – Foothills

October 9, 2014
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We instantly fell in love with Oriel Poole after hearing her collaboration with Thriftworks, “Someone”. Soft, but carrying a weight that makes her voice extremely comforting, “Someone” struck out curiosity in her as a solo act. Delving into her SoundCloud, the first track off her EP Sunday, “Brighter”, not only resonated in our ears, but also in our souls.

Having the pleasure of interviewing her, and quite clearly being overly prepared with questions, I received answers that were as thought-out as her lyrics. Put simply, Oriel’s beautiful voice completely compliments her as a person. She is a creator and lover in all aspects of her life, taking her creativity beyond the realms of music, sharing her love with all of us.

Music is Love is thrilled to take part in the release of “Foothills”, Oriel Poole’s second track off her EP Sunday, paired with an interview fully introducing the songstress.

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–    B    E    G    I    N    –

You are currently in LA – where are you from?

Ha! Good question…I ask the same thing myself. Well origin-wise, my mother is from the Philippines, my father is from England.

I was born in London and quickly moved to Bristol, where I lived until the age of 8, then immigrated to the US. I spent my grade school and high school years growing up in CT. College years in Philly. Mid 20’s in NYC.

Today California is where I lay my head and my heart. I’ve spent the last two years in SF and recently moved to LA.

What is your musical background? Where & when did you begin performing?

I’ve been singing since as long as I can remember. Through grade school and high school I was in many choirs, select singing groups, and often performed solos.

I never pursued music beyond high school [ . . . ] But a series of events as lead me back to my roots, coming full-circle to my love for music, and realizing that this is something I had to do. I would rather try and fail, than to never try at all. It is the only way my heart will find content.

[T]wo years ago I made the full body commitment to embrace this path…and moved to California, a place offering great resonance to my heart. I landed in SF, started taking music production classes, and funded a Kickstarter. Once the Kickstarter was funded, the groundwork was laid, and I started moving on the production of the EP “Sunday”. It’s been a serious learning curve, but rewarding to say the least.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? What do you like to write about?

Inspiration comes in many ways, a lot is sourced from my ability to tap into self and into source, which is largely impacted by how I am treating myself and what’s around me. A lot of times I like to be alone when working on music, all my shields are down. There is certainly a beauty in collaboration too, as I tap into new ideas that only choose to reveal themselves in those particular scenarios.

I like to write about reflections of what I’m processing in the world around me. Other times I completely improvise the words just spill right out. No matter what the process, the drive, and ability to be consistently creative, comes from peace of mind.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Bjork, Depeche Mode, Kimbra, London Grammar, Mø, AlunaGeorge, Iamamiwhoami, Sia, Little Dragon, Eryka Badu . . .

You are quite the creator. Tell us a little about your other passion, design.

I like to say…design by day, music by night. I can honestly tell you that I am deeply in love with both my day hustle and my night hustle.

I studied interior architecture and design. I feel moved by the human impression, and inspired to create through many mediums, dealing with form, function, aesthetics, light, and sound. My goal is to create a full-sensory experience and that engages the raw emotion within us. Having the opportunity to do this, as a single unified expression, has always been a dream.

“Foothills” production was a collaboration between you and Max Savage. 

Yes Max is my co-producer for this entire EP, “Sunday”. “Brighter” was the first release, which came out alongside my Kickstarter. “Foothills”, which you hear today, is the second release.

Do you see yourself producing your own music in the future?

I do produce my own music. I make concept, the beats, the initial arrangement, write the lyrics, and record the track independently from home. Then Max dives in and makes it better. He’s incredible and I am grateful to be working with him.

I started producing a year and a half ago, so I know it will take more time to hone-in my production skills, where as Max has been doing this for years. It would be silly for me not to collaborate with such a talented producer as he. At the same time I am activity developing my production skills and may do a 100% self-produced album further along my career.

Can you tell us what you are currently working on?

The EP is done. Right now I’m focused on releasing singles and playing out more. I would also love to shoot a music video for this next single. I’m currently looking for the right director, with a vision to aim high.

–    E    N    D    –

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#orielpoole #foothills #sunday #electronic #soul #freedownload #freemusic #freelove #muscislovesb

Follow Oriel on SoundCloud & “Like” her on Facebook

Banner photo by Martin Backhauss

Artist Profiles Interviews Podcast Uncategorized

su na [Promo Mix 009]

October 7, 2014
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Music is Love would like to properly introduce you to su na.

Producer and personality based in Minneapolis, su na is in large part, Alec Ness, but seemingly his own entity. Within the past year, su na has quickly gained recognition due to his recent releases under budding new record labels, SYZYGY and Flow-Fi.

A smooth and steady mixture of “Soulection” style R&B, future bass and UK garage balance su na’s clean yet playfully naughty sound. Give a listen to su na’s mix for Music is Love and learn a little more about him in our mini interview below.

–    B    E    G    I    N    –

A / S / L?

24 / Male / Minneapolis, MN

What does su na mean?

su na is a producer and another personality of mine. It’s the name of that artist.

When did you get into the music game and how do you feel your sound progressed?

I began producing electronic music in 2005, my sound is still constantly progressing. I’ve moved through a lot of genres and feel I learn new things from producing types of music.

Where do you gather your inspiration from?

I’m very inspired by visual art and other mediums of work. I also take a lot of inspiration from my peers and the community of future producers on SoundCloud.

What can we expect from you in 2015?

I’ll be working on an album for a while now and will probably be releasing numerous remixes and singles throughout the year.

Any new artists you think we should check out?

Check out Moon Bounce if you haven’t heard of him.

–   E    N    D   –

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/171071492″ params=”color=242424&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]#suna #musicislovesb #future #bass #uk #garage #rnb #electronic #mixtape #freemusic #freelove #freedownload

Track List:

01. Vanilla – Free (Intro)
02. PYRMDPLAZA – Mantalu
03. Kyle Hall – Kaychunk
04. Sh?m – I Just
05. Singularis – Mountain
06. Young Black – Bg Boy Stuntin’ Ft. Gucci Mane (VESTIGE Remix)
07. Arca – Manners
08. Lindsay Lowend – Air and Space Museum
09. su na – Attached Ft. Maesu
10. Josh Pan x Kuma – Submission
11. Future – Honest (Dave Luxe Refix)
12. Bust  Rhymes – Dangerour (su na Edit)
13. Chris McClenney – Best You Got

Follow su na on SoundCloud & “Like” him on Facebook

Artist Profiles Interviews Uncategorized

Music is Love – Interview 006 – feat. Sepehr

August 19, 2014
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Based in San Francisco, you can generally catch Sepehr “twisting knobs & making sobs” with buddy and fellow DJ/producer, Ardalan. On a great night, you can catch all that, and a stellar dolphin impersonation that will make you ladies weak in the knees.

If you haven’t noticed, San Francisco and the surrounding East Bay’s talent has been on fire this past couple years and has been labeled as extremely progressive and consistently cool in the EDM world.

If that doesn’t draw you in, let us be blunt with all you quick ones: this is as an artist to add to your repetoire of bass heavy 4×4 producing junkies.

Get to know the hilarity that is Sepehr, below. <3

–   B   E   G   I   N   –

Where are you from and when did you migrate your buns up to San Francisco?

I am originally born and raised in San Jose, California… which is pretty much neighbors with SF…

What does “Sepehr” mean and where are it’s origins?Sepehr is a Persian name for the dudes.  It’s pronounced SE-PEAR (like a pear. Yummmm). It’s my god given name and I’ve learned to embrace peoples terrible butcherings of it over the years (i.e, seffer, sapur, and the cringeworthy, “sepeer”).

I think the actual meaning of it in Farsi is somewhere a long the lines of sky, heavens, or the universe. I know, its a big responsibility to live up to the meaning!

What where you listening to when you where 15? How/Where did your love for house music begin?When I was 15 I was into a lot of underground hip-hop a la madvillain, and weird post-hardcore and math bands.  I was originally playing guitar (incoming cliche house dj story) and had hopes of being a guitarist-vocalist kinda dude, but the love for the four on the floor consumed me.My cousins who I grew up with (both now techno producers that own a record store in SF) started going to, like, “kandi kid” raves around that time and I had no idea what was going on, but there were lots of bad decisions and debauchery.The first rave I went to and quintessential psychedelic rave experience in 2006 at the party called “POP”. Mark Farina was playing and I loved it so much but I had no idea why… I remember just watching people dance and trying to emulate them cause I had no clue.

After that, my friend and fellow producer Ardalan and I delved deeper into the genre and started twisting knobs and making wobs and now, I’m here.

When did you start producing and how has your music progressed over the years?

I started producing I think around age 16.  I would open FL studio and literally click random buttons until something similar to a beat would come to fruition.  The music I made back then was so terrible that it makes David Guetta’s music sound like Mozart.  I think being surrounded by a group of friends that were similarly trying to hone production skills at the same time made me progress a lot faster and gave me constant motivation, but somehow, along the lines of messing around with friends, and getting influenced by artists I respected at underground parties, my music began to sound like actual music.

This is your second annual “Dolphin Funk” – what’s with you and dolphins?
Me and some homies wanted to have a name or a brand that we identified with and were just having the biggest trouble trying to get something to represent us properly.  Then after a long night of taking notes and powerpoints and spreadsheets (just kidding we were partying), we came up with “tech dolphin”.  It can mean anything really.
Dolphins are our spirit animals. “Dolphin Funk” is something I created as a pseduo-genre that describes my sound. Plus, I can do a mean dolphin call.Did you know Dolphins are considered “non-human persons” in India?

Well you know what, the Indians are doing it proper then. Dolphins got rights too.Tell us about some collaborations you’ve worked on and/or are working on.

As far as collaborations, I’d always be open to work with people who I respect and admire, but I have been more so focusing on myself as an artist and trying to breakthrough. However, there probably will be some sort of musical projects coming from me and Ardalan in the near future.As far as solo stuff, I am kind of in a transitional period of getting more mature in my production and kind of moving on to other labels that I admire.  I am releasing a 12″ for Monty Luke’s label “Black Catalogue” early next year which I am really excited for.

Where can we catch you perform next?

You can catch me playing at the “Sundazed” after-hours this Saturday night – Sunday morning in SF, and also the infamous “SuperHero Street Faire” in SF next month!

–   E   N   D   –

Download Sepehr’s newest release, Dolphin Funk (Vol. II) and get funky on land:

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#sepehr #dolphin #funk #dolphinfunk #housemusic #groove #westcoast #freedownload #freemusic #musicislovesb

Follow Sepehr on SoundCloud & “Like” him on Facebook

Artist Profiles Interviews Uncategorized

Music is Love – Interview 005 – feat. Trevor Kelly

August 13, 2014
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If you were at the Audiowaska Stage around 5PM Sunday evening late last April at Lucidity Music Festival, you may have have had your heart opened a little bit by this dude.

When you think of “conscious music” you dont usually think of 808 bass, hip-hop lyrics, and jukey vibes. Trevor Kelly aims to change all that.

We were able to get Trevor Kelly to tell us a little about himself and his latest release “Sacred Fire” on Pirate Sound International.

Enjoy <3

–   B   E   G   I   N   –

1. Tell us a little about yourself. Where you located? How long have you been making music and how did you get started?

My name is Trevor Kelly I’m a California native, San Francisco transplant. I have been composing, creating, and performing music since I was 13 – years in various genres and all things musical, live band to electronic. I left standard high school around 15 to pursue my music endeavors full time, composing the instrumental and lyrical parts for the groups and recordings I was involved with. I consider myself a musician, and a bass music producer, not limited to any genre. I strive to express myself, and my love for music, and its ability to positively impact humanity fully through my productions and performances.

2. You just dropped the “Sacred Fire ep”, tell us the idea behind the album.

Sacred Fire represents the endless energy source within and without us. While it is invisible to the eye, it can fuel your purpose, intention and creativity. I wrote the title track off the EP “Sacred Fire” while on my first American tour, when I was in Pittsburgh, the day after my show with Love and Light. I was staying at the BC1-OfaKind house, playing on the new keyboard I bought for the road, snow falling outside. Inspired by the moment, I started writing the main Rhodes lead piano lines, and, from there, the track created itself.

3. “Sacred Fire” is the first EP release on Pirate Sound International. How does that feel? How has the response been?

Pirate Sound International represents the underground pushing through; promoting music that should be heard, available to everyone, and backed with the best intentions! I am honored to help their vision grow and prosper! Much respect!

4. You also have a side project called Pacific Standard, tell us a little about that.

Pacific Standard was created to make a major impact on both the hip-hop and electronic music worlds. A collaboration between myself, Trevor Kelly (producer/DJ) and Ro Knew (emcee), Pacific Standard evolved organically, becoming a natural vehicle for music as a tool to inspire originality, creativity, and the dismantling of any boundaries that divide us as humans! We’re also into drums that knock, earth-shaking bass lines, slick rhymes, and hypnotic melodies. Paying tribute to soundsystem culture and hip-hop culture, our debut EP “Local Honey” is out now for FREE download on our Soundcloud and Bandcamp pages; Our LP, “Timeless,” is a modern record reflecting the California mind state that inspired it. Release date SOON TBA!

5. You are kind of a one-man-show. As an artist that doesn’t have the support of manager / booking agent how do u manage yourself? 

Great question.

It is a challenge! Trying to maintain creative integrity in a very competitive business world is, if nothing else, educational. To move forward, we all need to surround ourselves with people we trust, those who share our vision and are willing to work alongside our efforts. No man is an island…it takes teamwork.

It’s a different day in music. I’m not solely the artist, dedicated exclusively to my craft, I’m the business man, managing and maintaining the status of my career. So many different avenues must be covered to cultivate myself as a well marketed and productive artist. There is so much music out there nowadays, its a challenge to make waves in the vast sea of producers. A balance must be maintained between myself as an artist, and how I’m being received.

I keep a current flow of fresh music out for release while actively seeking out new and bigger bookings/festivals. The challenge becomes: how can I keep up with my marketing, booking, and promotion commitments while maintaining a high level of production? Time for music is of the utmost importance. I keep on the grind, and stay as healthy, and grateful as possible.

6. Where do you find your biggest source of inspiration ?

I derive much of my inspiration from the hardworking producers, and artists around me. Musicians who go out of their way to make music their main priority, living day to day to get to the next booking, next EP. Music that has intention and depth. From the people who truly support and enjoy the music we make! They go out of their way to make things possible for us to thrive and perform!

7. Any artists you want to give a shout-out to and think we should check out?

Oh man . . . loaded question! So many good artists out there at the moment. Gotta shout out Yheti, Taso, DJ Rashad (RIP), B. Bravo, Ro Knew, G jones, Doshy, Grimblee/Hecka, Hypha, Duffrey, Shlump, Billy Kenny, Taiki Nulight, Jafu, to name a few on my radar and in my sets!

–   E   N   D   –

Check out “Sacred Fire” via Pirate Sound International:

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#trevorkelly #bass #piratesoundinternational #westcoast #sacredfire #ep #interview #freemusic #freedownload #musicislovesb

Follow Trevor Kelly on SoundCloud & “Like” him on Facebook

Artist Profiles Interviews Uncategorized

Music is Love – Interview 004 – feat. Ardalan

August 1, 2014
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Today we are going to get to know everyone’s favorite homie, Ardalan.

At the tender age of 104, Ardalan is ironically one of the youngest members of the Dirtybird family.

If you have the pleasure of meeting this booty-bass breeding man-boy, he is seriously one of the nicest people you will ever encounter, and judging from the interview, someone we would all like to hang out with.

Rounding up his world traveling for the moment, we are lucky enough to have the young bird back in the states to party with us!

If you are in the city, catch Adralan playing tonight at Monarch, SF and give him a high-five!

–  B  E  G  I  N  –

A/S/L?

I’m 104; M; UZBEKISTAN

When did you first meet the DirtyBird crew?

I met them in their early habitat aka Golden Gate Park SF

Was it love at first sight for them?

I hope so! It was love at first hearing for me 🙂

How long have you been in San Francisco? What is your favorite thing about the city?

I have been here for almost 2 years. My favorite thing about San Francisco is pretty much everything from people to the different neighborhoods, oh and the food 🙂

Who are your roommates?

My roommates are Justin & Patty.

How do you like living with them? What’s your favorite thing to do together?

I love living with them because they are the most awesome people in my life and we are great friends inside and outside the house.
We love playing basketball almost everyday. We play the game 21 in our backyard and Justin always wins [ . . . ] I will change that one day.

You have been touring the world lately- how has that been? What is your most memorable experience & favorite place to travel?

There is so many memorable moments as of late but my favorite was when I played a 6 hour set in Berlin. It was a dream come true since high school. “Anything is possible if you have the vision!” (Quotes of wisdom from The Wolf of Wall Street)

Do you like flying? 

-I don’t mind it if I get sleep the night before 🙂

What is different to you about playing huge parties at Ibiza then migrating back to the states for what has been coined as “transformative” festivals on the West Coast?

– I think the difference is when you play in a place like ibiza, you are in totally different environment and must really be on point. With that experience you come back better as a DJ and it’s easier to get crazy on the West Coast 🙂

Favorite track right now?

-So many to choose from, but I have to say “Juno Jam” by Genius of Time.

Where is the best place to get a slice… Let’s be real- a pie.

Best pie is Delfina, of course 🙂

–  E  N  D  –

Follow Ardalan on SoundCloud & “Like” him on Facebook

Peep and purchase “Juno Jam” by Genius of Time

Image courtesy of Harlot SF

Interviews Uncategorized

Music is Love – Interview 003 – feat. Sugarpill

June 5, 2014
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Placebo effect or not- this music f e e l s so good!

West Coast producer and DJ, Sugarpill has been delighting fans with what seems like a constant stream of shows for months now. Recently performing at The Do Lab’s Lightning in a Bottle music festival, Sugarpill has started the year extremely strong and continues to add festivals and shows to this year’s repertoire.

The Los Angeles based music mogul does not subscribe to any specific genre, but you can be certain that his original tracks & live sets will carry a quality and seamlessness that surpasses a great deal of talented artists.

-Begin-

Congratulations on your recent successes! Playing at Coachella is huge for any artist. How was that experience for you?
Thanks, I really love playing at Coachella. There’s something I really like about the fact that people go there for something very mainstream and can discover something completely new and different than they would have come across otherwise. I get really stoked on that when I’m working on music leading up to my performance.

The music you make is very unique. If you had to classify it as a “genre”, what would you call it?
Im not really a big fan of the way genres work in electronic music… i always end up feeling like when something becomes a genre in EDM, doors start shutting on new ideas and doors start opening for things that just repeat the basic things… I’ll leave it to someone else to make up a genre for my music… in the meantime i’ll just keep writing songs and having fun.

Where do you usually find inspiration for you music?
I’ve always really liked the way hip/hop albums can sample from a different vibe and feel on every track for a whole hour and still work. I use that idea as kind of the guide for what I do, so I’m always looking for new sounds that I can’t put down for some reason. I need to be trying to figure something out or learn something new for ideas to really develop in a way that’s fun for me.

You and Gladkill have been hitting it hard with your Foundations Recordings Tour. How has the response been?
I couldn’t be more stoked on how well the new label launch and tour has been received. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s so crazy and sweet to see an idea develop into something that can reach so many different people in different places and be a part of that.

Your label is called “Foundations Recordings”…Any particular meaning behind it?
We called the label foundations because we’re into music that uses all of the core elements of music and not just one or two of them. You can build a lot more from a complete foundation than you can from one or two pieces of the whole and we wanted our label to be a solid platform for new artists if they’re into that sort of thing.

Any upcoming collaborations you can tell us about?
Working on some new stuff with Gladkill… I like getting in the studio with him even if we’re just playing around because we help each other think about things in there differently. Our sounds are similar in a lot of ways but we’ve usually got a different approach to whatever we’re playing around with.

How has your music progressed over the years?
I think I’ve gotten better at giving ideas space sometimes so it’s easier to hear them and recognize what’s going on. I used to just weave too many counterpoints together at a time for anyone who hasn’t listened as many times as me to even have a shot at trying to tease out. A lot of

What are you working on right now?
Right now, I’m just finishing up my latest release that will be out on Foundations Recordings in Mid-July. I’m really stoked about how it’s come together. I’ve had a lot of time to play around with the songs on it and see how different crowds react to different parts of it and then go back in to make it something I’m even more pumped on. This one is a pretty big step in my production and execution of musical ideas, so definitely stay tuned for that one. You can hear some sneak peeks of it on my Coachella set that I just posted.

What will be a main focus for you in 2014?
Putting out more music instead of hoarding it all for my live set!

Interview questions by Justin Kolich

-End-

A man of his word, Sugarpill just released a rework of ScHoolboy Q’s “Man Of The Year” and we are extremely grateful he isn’t “hoarding” it 😉

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/149725357″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Also download Sugarpill’s Coachella set and catch those killer “sneak peaks” we are all dying to hear & re-hear

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/145074505″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

#sugarpill #westcoast #bass #808 #future #thedolab #coachella #schoolboyq #flip #rework #freemusic #freedownload #musicislovesb

Follow Sugarpill on SoundCloud & “Like” him on Facebook

Interviews Uncategorized

Music is Love – Interview 002 – feat. An-Ten-Nae

February 12, 2014
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Undoubtedtly one of our family’s favorite artists of last year, An-Ten-Nae continues to enchant us with pristine production and outstanding performances.

2014 looks static-free for An-Ten-Nae as he plans to release a new EP with current project LowRIDERz and continues to unveil his mysterious new project, Dimond Saints.

-Begin-

Let me start by saying, “Bravo!” Acid Crunk is not only your originally coined genre, but a huge movement hitting the West Coast. What did you originally envision bringing to the scene with Acid Crunk?

Great music that knows no bounds or is shackled to a stereotype.

How would you describe Acid Crunk? Where are its roots?

Its roots are in Southern 808 hip-hop and acid house techno and the merging of the two.

Did you imagine it would blow up like this?

I just enjoy making music so much. It makes me happy people enjoy what I do.

Tell me more about your sub-genre, Medicine Crunk. Your long awaited mixtape was filled with originals and remixes none of us had heard before…the Lorde remix, though!

I wanted an outlet to put something out that was a bit lighter and deeper…and the way I see it, music is my medicine.

What can we expect in the future with the Crunk series?

I am taking a break from the series this year to focus on Dimond Saints and new LowRIDERz music.

Can you tell me about Dimond Saints?

I wanted to create a project that had no preconceptions of what it is or could be. Something mysterious, soulful, and full of love…from that idea came the Dimond Saints.

Your first show with Releece was incredible…How did you two link up?

Thanks. Reece and I have been friends for a bit. He lives down the street from me in the Dimond District of Oakland.

What is the process like for you two working together?

We play tag. Seriously though, we just inspire each other and complement each other’s writing style. It seems like every song just keeps getting better and better. On some days, at like 4 in the morning, we have this look in our eyes of…Yes.

 You have multiple successful projects going on at once. What will be your main focus in 2014?

Right now I am focusing on Dimond Saints. Our album Shingetsu is coming out- well at least the first chapter. For LowRIDERz, we are working on a new EP with this killer vocalist Ava Raiin that we are super excited about.

 -End-

We’re super excited too.

For now, check out An-Ten-Nae’s newest project with Releece- Dimond Saints.

Currently they are mid-way through releecing Shingetsu, meaning disambiguation. The duo has been gifting a free track every day since February 10th and will continue to do so until the full moon on February 14th.

Wreaking of sex and mystery, download yesterday’s addition, “The Rising” on and continue to follow the signs <3

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#antennae #interview #acidcrunk #dimondsaints #followthesigns #therising #shingetsu #sexy #mysterious #lowriderz #avaraiin #musicislove

Interviews Uncategorized

Music is Love – Interview 001 – feat. Dirtwire

January 16, 2014
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Comprising that inner groove to release the ecstatic flow that lay dormant in that magnificent body of yours- Dirtwire is the collaboration of David Satori (Beats Antique) and Evan Fraser (Hamsa Lila, Stallamara).

Each with their other creative projects, they have gained worldwide recognition for the stellar musicianship that they reverberate. Impeccably incorporating the all-encompassing sounds of the world into their own  unique palette of textural frequencies; the duo meshes raw instruments with electronic deliciousness to conceive a style that is all-in-all, Dirtwire.

We were fortunate enough to get a few words with them amidst their hectic West Coast tour.

To all of you beautiful Santa Barbarians: bring your booties out to the Lucidity Festival Pre-Party at SOHo this Saturday.

You can still get pre-sale tickets here.

 

When Dirtwire first formed what was the initial vision for this collaboration?
Dirtwire formed around the same time as Beats Antique – David and I met at CalArts and had been playing together already in a couple different funk bands.  As those bands faded, we wanted to continue making music together utilizing all the new digital production tools that were showing up on the scene and the instruments we were getting into. Our vision was mostly just in making the music, being able to fuse all our skills and crazy instruments and creative juice into something unique, and to carry the traditional instruments we both love into the new millennium. It’s great. It feels like we’re doing all of that with Dirtwire.
How has Dirtwire allowed for a different form of creative space to unfold that differs from your other bands?
Being a duo is more flexible in every way – the way we work, the music is free to become whatever it wants to be. Because we’re still a fresh sound to the world, when we get together we’re able to go with whatever we’re into at the time. We can explore trans-global sounds and bring them back to our American roots and then flip over to a completely different creative flow.
It’s obvious the huge influence of stringed organic instruments drive your overall characteristic, in your perspective how do these wide range of unconventional instruments induce the listener unto a unique plane of sound?
Great question! We’ve gravitated towards these unique instruments because we love how they sound. In an age of polish and advanced technology, these organic raw instruments really appeal to us. Their simplicity, the materials they’re made of, and their ancient beauty tap us into the vibe of the tradition of music as a way of coming together and sharing our authenticity with each other.
If Dirtwire could collaborate with any musician in history, who would it be? Why?
That is a dangerous question. Amazingly enough, we’ve gotten to collaborate with the late legendary Tuvan throat singer Kongar-ol Ondar. An EP with those collaborations is happening soon… That said, there are so many amazing music-makers out there, we could create an infinite list – everything from Taj Mahal to the first human to make a drum!
What’s the technical make-up that goes into a Dirtwire live show?
Our mics and effected instruments go to the computer that goes to DIs that go to the mains.  We run our own monitors in our earbuds.  Lots of cords, cables, controllers, and instruments to juggle- that said, our setup is always evolving.  We’re experimenting more with live looping… come see a show again next month, we promise something will have changed!
You currently have a new EP in the works, what can we expect as far as the theme, story, or emotion that you are trying to convey through it?
Our new EP features Kongar-ol Ondar from Tuva, who passed last year. In his singing you can imagine the steppes that inspired “Taiga”, one of the songs on the release, and contemplate the vast forests of the world, the Aurora Borealis, and the love of all of it that was in his heart. He was an amazing man very much connected to nature.
We have blended his multi octave overtone throat singing with our electro-organic instrumentation and digital production… It’s almost done and its sounding like something really special.
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