For as long as I’ve been in the dance music world, Nina Las Vegas has been a voice, an artist, and a selector I’ve looked up to. For years I’ve been listening to her triple j House Party and MixUpExclusives broadcasts because they were the best place to keep in touch with what was going on, both within the Australian and worldwide club scenes. She’s played a pivotal role in launching the careers of acts like RL Grime, Cashmere Cat, Flume, Flight Facilities, Swick, and many others, and this year she’ll be moving forward more quickly than ever with her own productions and recently launched label, NLV records. Nina has always been a champion of the weirder side of club music; the stuff that’s both fun and progressive. 2016 is the year she sets sights on her own original work, as well as developing the foundation of her exciting new imprint. I think we’ll be seeing and and hearing a lot more of NLV in the near future. I can’t wait.

Check our interview with Nina and her NEST HQ MiniMix below:

To start off, let’s go through a history of 2015 for you. What would you say were some major moments? 

I toured America and Europe twice, which is kind of crazy. Starting a record label was massive — the NLV Presents with Djemba, Monki, and Mssingno was awesome. I think it’s hard to point out one moment, it’s all really been massive. Oh and I left the only ever job I’ve ever had… so, I guess that’s most of 2015.

Was leaving the show tough?

Honestly, things have always got to end. I don’t think anyone in Australia was surprised, really. I think I just had this moment where I was looking around and realized that all my friends I had started with had really grown up a lot; they were literally conquering the world. It’s crazy when you see friends, really good friends, sell out American and European tours, and you look at yourself and think, “Wow, I’m still doing the same job.” I just wanted to see what else was out there. You see people hitting a Jamie xx show in California and think, “Man, if I just lived a little bit closer, I wouldn’t just be sitting at home.”

So is a move to LA something that you’re considering?

No, it’s just the ability to be flexible that interests me. No one realizes that my job at triple j was produced and presented by me, and I had to be in a workplace four days a week — there’s also something to be said about having to curate that much music that you feel is worth putting out there every single week — and that makes flying across the world really hard. I have no problem being mobile and being all over the place, but I had to be somewhere at least once a week.

I felt like I did as much as I possibly could for underground club music through the show. I remember going to an RL Grime concert when I came back from Europe in July. I walked in and he had sold out two Metro Theatres in Sydney, which is about three and a half thousand tickets, and I was thinking, “He’s done it!” I felt really cool because I had been to his first show and I had put him on blast.

How do you see yourself prioritizing your time in 2016?

The label is a big priority. Recently I’ve been figuring out the timeline for the first six months, and talking to the guys at the label, and the people that we’re potentially signing as well. I want to try to do something similar to how I worked before, 9-5 pm, and then enjoy the scene outside of that. I want to go out at night, travel, tour, and all that kind of stuff. My year is pretty much filled with touring and releases, at least the first six months, so locking in the next NLV Presents, and trying to put together a tour around Australia; I’ve never done one as just myself.

What would you like your label to be, ideally?

I like to play what I like, so ultimately I’d like to create a community in which those sounds are recognized — interesting club stuff, bass stuff, faster stuff, tougher stuff, etc. An alternative to what already exists… Cross genre-ing is not as popular as other specific sounding club nights because they’re just not pulling the same kind of numbers. It’s really hard to host a pretty big, alternative club night in Australia. There’s no way you could play a nightcore set to a full room or something, y’know. A small room, yes… but maybe not 600 people.

With the label, I want to develop a community that is strong enough to pull someone completely unknown and have people believe in them. I’ve made the label non-exclusive, but I really want to do a good enough job that they’ll want to stay with me. It’s about making sure that I can provide them with what I’d like from a label, I want to make them know that I’m proud of them in the same way that Brodinski and Bromance are so tight knit; there is no urgency to sign everyone. I want to give these guys a solid support network.

It seems like there’s a drive for a feeling of family that is lacking in the overall scene right now.

Do you feel that? I do feel that. I’m not part of a particular scene, I’m friends with a lot of people but I want to make my own scene. There’s one thing to sign to a label and have the boss tweet about it, and it’s another to be on tour with that person, or to have a session with that person, or have that person as a friend. I want NLV Records to be close like that, for the signees (my friends!) to know that no matter what they need help with they can ask me. I really want them to know that I’m there.

The best example of that, to me, was Ed Banger at its peak. They all had different characters and they were all equally branded and you wanted to know everything about them. 

Yes! When I first started the triple j House Party tours it was me, What So Not, Flume, and Beni. We were all there from doors open to late; start to finish the whole night, and we all danced on stage, and at that point of time (2012 & 2013) it was almost like a new thing. We were friends. We were playing together! I think I look up to collectives and labels like Ed Banger because they exist with something real behind it. Friendships existed within records labels and parties, clothing and artwork, not necessarily just co-signs and likes.

Recently, you’ve put on Trekkie Trax and JACK, do you feel like these scenes have a similar family vibe to what you’re talking about?

I love those guys. For me, Trekkie Trax are so new and so exciting. I’ve been a big supporter but I’ve also been pretty honest with Seimei [TREKKIE’s label co-head] about a few things, like, “Okay, you don’t need to do that, just chill on these, etc.,” and really trying to guide him because he’s so new to the world. But, I think that independently they’ve created this scene that is ready to fit in with everything else.

With Simon [who runs JACK and the RADIO JACK show], I went to the NTS studio with him and that was one of the most animated hours on radio I’ve ever been part of — and I’ve done a lot of radio! Every element about it was legit and real and he was so fun and excited. He only wanted me to say hello. He made the NTS studio a space where you hang out when you’re in town and he’s doing a show, and it’s so cool. He loves what he does, he’s not pushing it, he’s not doing a show a week, he just makes those moments really special. It was so cool.

For the label are you going to continue the free release platform?

No that was just a sampler. Maybe there will be another sampler or compilation done online but at the moment the goal is to get the singles and EPs out. Swick’s EP is mad. Cool collabs, vocals you’ll love, mixed in with his bubbles and killer drums. Lewis [Cancut] has been doing a lot of work with JPOP acts so that could be in his EP, Strict Face’s will not disappoint and Air Max ‘97 has just dropped two Kelela remixes, so who knows if further collabs are in the works! Air Max ‘97 has also set up his own label but he’s leaving his banger, club-tools tracks for my releases, and that’s really cool too.

For your own production, how do you like to form a track?

I like making stuff that I can play. I have been influenced by elements of nightcore and hardstyle, and I like playing fast songs, so that’s what I’m trying to make. I also have one track that’s more like 100bpm stuff, because, if you’ve seen me play, I often do go down to moombahton or Hi Tom edits of dancehall because that’s the sound I started in. At the moment I’m just getting better at writing the chords. I usually do a lot of drum rhythms first and then kind of plug everything into that, but now I’m starting to do stuff totally without drums to just get better as a songwriter.

When you make club music you have to remember what it’s for. People complain that “Contagious” was too short but I even struggle to play it all out. No one is driving home listening to “Let It Happen” by Tame Impala and then wants to go to a Miami Bass track at 10 in the morning. I want to be able to play a set with music I love and music I made. My EP is pretty much done, I wrote two tracks with my voice on it. I wrote a topline for one of the songs and kept asking other people to sing it and then Julian of The Presets told me that, “Everyone has features, you should just keep you on it.” The CZ track is pretty wild, it’s pretty much a Hardstyle track.

I am really excited about the EP, I can’t wait to hear it.

I really want to send you the bounce of this, you’re going to love it. I think, if my EP doesn’t go nuts, that’s fine. If you think about Diplo, he’s 38 and last year was the biggest year of his life. He’s so accomplished in so many ways and it’s kind of great.

I think the test of a good song is if Ike freaks out about it.

It totally is! When I had just launched the label, someone came up to me and asked, “Can you play the Lewis’ track, the one off your label?” And it almost shook me that they knew my label. And they were like, “Yea… we know your label… that’s why we’re here. We like you.” When I was at NTS with Busy P, I played Air Max ‘97’s track and he was like, “This track is amazing, I played this last week,” and I thought, “I put this out! This is mine!”. I sent Ollie [Air Max ‘97] an email and told him that Busy P loved his track and played it out before he even knew what it was. He was so excited. Even when Swick and I did the NEST release, we had a serious conversation about it. I said, “I’ll feel good if it gets 20,000 plays,” and it did, then we stopped and said, “It would be cool if one of the Illuminati DJ’s played it,” and then A-Trak tweeted that he played it! It was a total success for us.

I can’t wait to hear all the new stuff, this has been a really inspiring chat! Yea! And also, big love to the NEST, because I really do feel like it would be so easy in my perception of what LA is, for you guys to just all post the same stuff and play the same stuff, and you guys don’t, and that’s cool. It’s noted. You guys should be pretty proud of your year. It’s nice to know that weird stuff is getting love.

Thanks Nina!

Check Nina Las Vegas’ NEST HQ MiniMix and tracklist below:

NEST HQ MiniMix: Nina Las Vegas Tracklist
Poor Sport – Till the World Ends
Joseph Marinetti – Jumpstyle is Low Art (Carpainter Remix)
Strict Face – Rouge Park VIP
DBM (Deadboy & Murlo) – Ride With U
DUCKY – Work
lilangelboi – Other Side Of Luv <3
AWE – 3MV
Davoodi & Bestien – Give Me Everything (CrunkD Remix)
Snappy Jit – Time 2 Go
Rebound X – Rhythm ‘N’ Gash
Masayoshi Iimori – Whirlwind
Smasher – Time Machine
Carpainter – From Your Eyes
Nina Las Vegas – Now Or Never (ft. CZ & Swick)

Follow Nina Las Vegas:
SoundCloud
Twitter
Facebook

Follow NLV Records:
SoundCloud
Twitter
Facebook

Nina is on Tour!
Thurs Feb 4 – Montreal, QC – Newspeak
Fri Feb 5 – New York, NY – Slake
Sat Feb 6 – Calgary, AB – Hifi Club
Tues Feb 9 – Miami, FL – Holy Ship Pre Party
Wed Feb 10 until Sat Feb 13 – Miami, FL – HolyShip
Fri April 15 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Fri April 22 – Indio, CA @ Coachella

Words: FAN FICTION

The post Interview + MiniMix: Nina Las Vegas appeared first on Nest HQ.

From his intriguing public opinions about astronomy to a brief stint as a collective of 20 producers, NYC-based artist josh pan has always resided in the realm of extraordinary. In many ways, josh pan’s art transcends his musical output, bleeding into areas of visual, academic, and even psychological bases like magic marker on trace paper. josh’s distinct mindset and art have always felt unapologetically personal first and professional second; a genuinely passionate approach which ultimately led to staunch support from Skrillex and an official record deal signed with OWSLA in late 2015.

Less than two months into 2016, josh pan has made his OWSLA debut with original recording “Platinum” — a left of center record comprised of trap horns and hyped samples while maneuvering at a house tempo — but today, the unconventional producer reveals a much larger project nearly a year in the making. The josh pan “It G Ma” Opus Remix has arrived.

Clocking in at over 14 minutes, josh pan’s protracted vision for “It G Ma” is truly an opus by definition. Verses from the all-star cast of lyricists including Ferg, Father, Dumbfoundead, Waka Flocka, and Anderson .Paak are essentially given their own song within the song, or “chamber” as josh explains, sewn together gracefully through minimal threads and textures that act as the record’s connective tissue. Additional production from fellow forward-leaners sakuraburst, MISOGI, X&G, MEDASIN, and oshi further define these in-track separations, yet josh’s awareness for arrangement allows for natural transitions throughout. If dance music and hip hop were two lanes on a highway, josh pan’s “It G Ma” Opus is the open, unbounded flightpath above them.

To fully grasp josh’s intent with this groundbreaking piece of music, we had to go directly to the source. Listen in to the Opus via the Soundcloud player and find some of the best excerpts from our fascinating conversation below.

From the beginning, how did the idea come together to create this kind of “opus” of a remix?

When my manager, Sean, was originally signing me, he brought up the idea of doing a long remix of it. Back then I was releasing a lot of random, crazy projects on SoundCloud and he just said, “Why don’t you just do a bunch of styles, and recreate ‘It G Ma’? We can create a video around it.” That was the original idea. As I started, I realized that I could just get the craziest producers and bring them together to create almost a kind of opus. It was strange because at one point we wanted to take off all of the vocals and do something original, but I think recreating something as iconic as “It G Ma” was pretty hard – there were so many remixes that had been done already that I just had to do something different.

The Opus feels like multiple individual songs strung together for each verse. Can you speak on that?

I had a really visual story in mind, it was supposed to be like each part was a different chamber, and each chamber was one of the artists from the song. I wanted it to be very visual and theatrical in the way an opus is. I think my entire aesthetic is based around being in that limbo – about not being sure what reality really is. I think we did a pretty good job of creating almost an Inception type of feeling to it; after every song we dropped into another reality. I feel like a lot of people are taking music too linearly right now, and I think that composition and arrangement is my strong point and this was a really cool way of bringing everything together. A lot of my music is more about how I do it, rather than what I’m doing, so I really enjoy bringing in those kinds of atmospheres for people to get into the story.

Were there any disadvantages to working remotely on this project with the additional producers?

Actually, there were some. I picked the people pretty strategically — I knew MEDASIN would do a really huge, melodic synth section and I knew MISOGI would bring in something dark, epic and trappy. We used the part of his song with Oshi, “Beowulf”, because it just fit perfectly. At the very end, it was just me and sakuraburst working on it because we’re used to working on really crazy, weird shit. He works almost entirely with WAV samples rather than midi, so he bounced everything to audio. Only problem was that it kept crashing his computer because the file was so big. Lastly, I chose everyone who works in Fruity Loops, so we could pass around the project and really dissect it together, and at the very end we added in X&G because these guys are the future and no one really knows yet. It was pretty much just me putting on a ton of people that I trusted musically.

You seem like you’re very emotionally connected and hands on with anything that has to do with your art – whether that be the music, the videos, or the art that goes with it. Is this how you’ll continue to approach your career?

I definitely need to be a really hands on artist, almost like Kanye. Music and art have always been the central parts of my life, that and I guess philosophy. I’ve always had a strong vision, and I really want my message to be pure. So I need to spend as much time as I can in any creative process. If I give up too much control I feel like I’ll just be upset at myself later because it’s not truly honest to who I am. Even working on the songs for [an upcoming release], I think that I’d like to fly out and work with people in person. There are a lot of ideas that have to be compromised if you’re working remotely, but now that I really understand the people I’m working with and I have a great team behind me, I think that I really gotta take things hands on.

Should we finish up by talking about the last interview that we did with you when you were 20 people?

Oh yea! That really changed my life. None of us realized that it was going to be that crazy. After we did that interview, everyone in my real life thought that I was 20 people, and that really blew my mind. People would ask me, “Hey Josh, are you really 20 people?” – people I grew up with! I thought it was so funny and meta. It was Sonny’s fault really, after we shared that on all of his social media, I was forced to shut up and really work on music. It was really good in that way. It was a good jump start; after that, people were really focusing on the music rather than the person. We need to do that more, we focus too much on the artist and their personal lives – which is cool, and sharing stuff from their personal lives is important – but if we could focus more on the message that people are trying to give, I think that music and art can be so much more powerful.

__

Pick up josh pan’s “It G Ma” Opus Remix this Friday, February 12th via OWSLA.

Find more from josh on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post OWSLA Signee josh pan Discusses his Opus Remix of “It G Ma” appeared first on Nest HQ.

When the sounds of Soda Island first graced our ears at NEST HQ, we knew the crew possessed something uniquely revolutionary. So much so, in fact, that the only fair comparison is Gorillaz. They have their own brand, style, story, and everything in between. One of the Island’s founders and key inhabitants, Ramzoid, has a thoroughly profound direction and sound design that has led to both his success as a solo artist and the promising direction of the Island he helped discover. The best way to show you what we mean? Procure a MiniMix from the man himself.

Ramzoid’s birth as an artist is simultaneously impressive and typical for this era of contemporary electronic musicians. “I used to be obsessed with neuro music (NOISIΛ, KOAN Sound, Inspected stuff, early Skrillex),” he recounts. “I feel like that really helped my sound design, workflow, and mixing skills.” From there, he and his producer friends found a sound that many were calling “future” at the time. Unlike most artists, however, he took the style in his own direction. “I started playing around with jazz chords & saw waves and never looked back. Now I just sort of make whatever I would enjoy listening to.”

Perhaps it is the influence he draws from images and visual art that have helped both himself and Soda Island. “My songs are usually based around a certain image (which usually ends up being the cover art). I like to write music as a story behind an image in my head or like a picture I find online or something.” He even used the color green to represent and name his 2015 EP. This synesthetic creativity is unique to only a handful of artists, and Ramzoid is fortunate enough to roll with that small yet powerfully talented tide.

A collage of the artist’s cover artwork

A founding member of the self-proclaimed “Internet Oasis”, he considers the Island a collective of sorts. “It’s like a big weird family who enjoys putting out music together.” Also like the collectives of modern day SoundCloud culture, he has yet to meet most of the other inhabitants. This speaks even more to the readily apparent congruence of the project.

How can a group of teenagers come together and create such a unique identity for not only themselves but as a cohesive unit? I believe the answer resides on an individual level above all else, and artists like Ramzoid are at the heart and soul of contemporary creativity. As you’ll hear in the selection for his MiniMix, you might be inclined to agree.

Soda Island with Ramzoid depicted as a pink octopus on the left 

For the rest of the year, Ramzoid has loads of new music and shows lined up. He’s even developing a live performance element with original material and drums. “We’re putting the finishing touches on our first [Soda Island] album right now and have plans to tour & perform together in the future!” We can hardly wait.

Listen to his MiniMix below and find more of Ramzoid on SoundCloud and Twitter, and keep up to date with Soda Island on SoundCloud.

NEST HQ MiniMix: Ramzoid Tracklist
Louis The Child – It’s Strange (Ramzoid Remix)
Sango – l1 (Kaytranada x Mr. Carmack)
Mr. Carmack – ROCK DEM
Ramzoid – Volcano Zone
Panama – Jungle (Chrome Sparks Remix)
Kendrick Lamar – Wesley’s Theory (DrewsThatDude x GRAVEZ x oriJanus x TEK.LUN x Zikomo Remix)
Ramzoid – ID
Ramzoid – Turtle Theme
Kaaris – Chargé (Ramzoid Edit)
SINIQ – Silicon Valley
Ramzoid – ID
Tsuruda – Zac’s Demise
Hermitude – Hyperparadise (Flume Remix)
Monuman – Nothing More
X&G – Whiplash ft. Josh Pan
Ramzoid – Hotline Bling (Drake Cover)
Dr Derg. – Depression (Ramzoid Edit)
LTGL – Orangutan
Arian Cook – ID
Braeden Bailey – Death, From Above
Ramzoid – ID
Ramzoid – ID

Follow Ramzoid:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube

Words: Nathan Beer

The post Interview + MiniMix: Ramzoid appeared first on Nest HQ.

Photo Credit: Daniel Leinweber / Razberry Photography

Miles Dean is a producer living in Brooklyn who, until very recently, was known to most within the music world as Principal Dean. Over the years, the synth-soaked soul and electronica released under the Principal Dean moniker has found support from contemporary imprints like France’s Cosmonostro and Montréal’s RAW Records, and we even had a few premieres over here at NEST HQ. But now in the New Year, the Principal Dean handle will fade out and Miles Dean will continue on his musical career in 2016 under his given name.

What does this mean for the project? How will Miles’ new music sound? What should we expect from him this year? These questions and more are answered in detail below in the Q&A with Miles Dean, where he gives us some background about the name change, information about a multi-sensory live experience project in the works, as well as a brand new original production complemented by vocals from a very familiar 90s R&B star.

Listen in and read on below.

__

Tell us a bit about the transition to your new name, Miles Dean. What inspired you to make the change?

My old name, Principal Dean came about in 2008, while I was working in education and at the same time, very active in audio production at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. Since then, I have transitioned from making and selling rap instrumentals to releasing synth based EPs and singles on a wide variety labels. By day I was Miles, and by night I was Principal Dean. In June of 2015 I moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn and now I do sound at clubs, Verboten and The House of Yes, and teach ableton lessons in my studio. I realized I did not want or need to separate my name from my releases anymore. I have begun a new chapter in my life and using my name for my music seemed like a good way to embrace that.

What will this transition translate to musically?

I am proud of my EPs and singles to date, but I am also constantly developing my sound. I think for a while, I loved making people dance so much that I pushed myself to write dance music as much as possible. I’m moving to a place where I want to create more minimal, emotive, synth based music that is outside of the practical structure of dance music. I want to be able to give my work the freedom to go where it wants to creatively. I am planning on incorporating more found sound and compelling textures into my music moving forward.

You’re working on another new project which sounds like a fully creative and immersive experience. What is White Noise Now all about, who is involved, and when should we expect that to be ready?

White Noise Now is a performance in the form of a live exploration through movement, sound and light. I am working with experience designer Craig Winslow and movement artist & choreographer Erika Senft Miller to develop an engaging performance looking at the notion of ‘white noise’ in our fast paced culture. This will be an immersive performance taking place in different locations throughout the US, specifically dilapidated spaces like abandoned department stores, silos and warehouses. I will be creating a live soundscape by using synthesizers, manipulating found sounds, hijacking peoples phones, and playing my first self designed electro-mechanical instrument. More information is coming soon! We are shooting for Summer 2016 for our first performance on the east coast followed by the west coast.

“Move On” is your first release under the Miles Dean moniker, which tastefully samples some early 90s Brandy. Would you say R&B from this era is a major influence on your music?

I’ve loved R&B since I was a kid, and it is definitely one of my influences. There is nothing more gratifying then working on synth sound design for hours and then dropping an acapella on it to find renewed inspiration.

Name 5 of your favorite 90s throwback jamz.

Silk – Meeting in My Bedroom
R Kelly – You Remind Me of Something
Mariah Carey – Fantasy
Janet Jackson – Go Deep
Mark Morrison – Return of the Mack

I can’t mention these without mentioning my two favorite early 2000s tracks… “Deep” by Backstreet (most sexual track of all time) and “What About Us” by Brandy because the production is INSANE.

Finally, what are your goals now for 2016? Do you feel like you’re starting fresh or just taking a next step in a previously held direction?

My goals are to be true to my artistic and creative passion and ultimately to write completely uninhibited music. What ever I release will be created in the studio with complete openness and no apprehension. I am just continuing the same evolution I have been since day one, just now with an added sense of clarity. Some artists may find success in music by honing a certain sound and sticking to it. I know I will find my success through constant evolution, and whatever sound may come to me. 2016 is a push forward with a disregard for any previous rules and boundaries I created for myself. Things might get weird.

__

Find more from Miles Dean on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Miles Dean (fka Principal Dean) Chats Fresh Direction for 2016, Premieres R&B Jam “Move On” appeared first on Nest HQ.

Salva is a jack of all trades, master of all trades. His SF based Frite Nite label (which he co-founded alongside Ana Sia, EPROM, Grenier, and others) helped carve his place in the underground club scene, his collab remix of “MERCY” with RL Grime is up there with “Original Don” and “Harlem Shake” in terms of pivotal tracks that introduced trap into the dance world, and he’s one of the only producers who can smoothly jump from a Boysnoize Records release to a ScHoolboy Q and Problem collab.

This year marks the launch of Salva’s PEACEMAKER platform — which will showcase original releases from rising talent, in-house visuals, instrumentals, and more — as well as his development as a producer within the pop world.

Check our interview with Salva below:

What have you been up to in the past couple months in terms of studio work, etc.?

I’ve actually been working on some movie soundtrack stuff, a lot of rap sessions, remix work, pop production, work with writers, songwriting’ I’m staying really busy and really working a lot. Grindin’.

Have you found that working with this extent of different kinds of music has changed how you like to approach your own stuff?

Yeah, I think that more so I’ve been affected by doing a couple years of really heavy pop work. I’ve been writing and assistant producing projects that are bigger than just underground club records or underground rap stuff. That pop world, top line writing, it’s dramatically changed the way that I work.

Do you get to incorporate some of your influence as an underground club and rap producer into your approach of pop music?

Yeah, definitely. I think that right now I’m feeling really good because all of these worlds kind of just collided and I get to do me and that fulfills everything. I don’t think that the stuff I’m writing for pop is really any different than the stuff I’d put out on my own; whether it be rap or pop or dance. I try to give any producer the same cool, next level ideas that I would want to do for myself. All in all, as an artist I want to create some big moments. I put out a lot of material but it’s all kind of here and there, I’ve realized that I want to tighten that up.

What are some of the pop songs that have come out over the last several years that you think have helped bridge the gap between club music and pop?

Everything really, man. Anything from the big progressive house dudes like Avicii, etc. I’m a big Calvin Harris fan, all his big pop songs are great. Even people like Lorde have had a lot of influence. I think it’s also that younger generations understand more about the dance world and know about dance music in different varieties.

Do you think that we’re going to be seeing more of the SoundCloud scene sort of mixing up with the pop world?

I think it has already to some degree. You have people like Chance the Rapper or some of these artists that do exceptionally well with a track release on SoundCloud; that really crosses over the line into the pop world. Another good example is Cashmere Cat working with Ariana Grande, all that kind of stuff.

Do you have plans to release another Secret Stash? My favorite off the last one was the jungle take on Snappy Jit.

Oh hell yeah! I’m glad you liked that!

It feels like all of those faster areas are going to be hitting a lot harder this year.

Yeah… I think so too. Yeah, that’s just me having fun man. I try to make a lot of exclusive content for my DJ sets, you know? I like to play them out and once they’re really rinsed out I like to give them away. [haha]

After you’re done with them?

Basically! [haha]

Do you have another one in the works then?

Yeah, at any given time I’ll have a ton of edits and bootlegs that I’ve worked on for a tour.

Can you tell us about any of the producers or pop artists you’re working with? Or about the film you’re working on?

It’s a lot of people, really. I’ve been working on some stuff with Jeremih, I had Trinidad James come over the other weekend, the Quentin Miller shit is really cool; he’s a dope writer. It’s a lot of people active in the writing scenes. Sam Larsen, he’s an artist that just signed to Roc Nation, he’s kind of a funk/Prince/M.J kinda dude. He’s really, really sick, and I’ll be doing a lot of work with him. I’ve been doing some work for Kitty…. and Niia Rocco who’s signed to Atlantic, she’s worked with some big artists.

Wow, that’s a lot.

Everybody man, I love the community. I’ve been working with DJ Mustard a lot. Going in and putting my time in. I’m blessed that these last two and a half years I’ve been able to grind. This [PEACEMAKER] is not me stuck in a contract waiting for a major label to finally put out a song I produced a year ago, y’know? This is just me doing me with my dudes that aren’t stuck in contracts either. Our art direction is in house, our publicity is in house, we just do everything ourselves and it’s super fun.

Was the idea of starting a label something that you’ve had in mind for a while?

I used to have a decent sized label in San Francisco called Frite Nite. I ran that for almost five years. We put out artists like Bravo, Eprom and Ana Sia; all of us that were in the Bay. Now, more-so than a label, I consider it to be a calling card for everything that we do outside of production. Everybody’s got their brand, their jogger pants and their hood rich… This is our crew brand now and we’ve worked hard on it. We’ve stayed consistent with our art and branding, I knew when we turned the engine on we weren’t going to do a big release party. We were just going to release good content. I just want to slowly burn for now. There are so many people already doing this shit.

Do you have a specific sound you want to rep?

Yeah, like for my Salva brand I’m going to be unleashing a dance alias this year because I want to know I have a place where I can show up and play some fucking techno and not have it matter. What I do now at festivals is like a Party Rock set, I play all the hypest shit that I fuck with. I’m really excited to just have a dance alias for that. PeaceMaker is going to be the kind of Rap and Beat world. I got shit with Mr. Carmack, we’ve collaborated a lot, me and Eprom have collaborated a lot, that will all be popping out through PeaceMaker. Beat and street.

Well dude, you’re on fire. You’re tearing it up. 

That’s basically it man! I’m excited about it all.

How do people get in touch with you?

I’m pretty active on SoundCloud, Twitter. People holler at me, they send stuff and we listen. [haha]

Follow SALVA:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

Follow PEACEMAKER
SoundCloud
Twitter

Words: FAN FICTION

The post Salva Talks Working In Pop Music and the Launch of His PEACEMAKER Platform appeared first on Nest HQ.

Andrew Oliver began his dream beach project about a year ago with the intent on further exploring his love of electronic music within songwriting. Similar to acts like Skrillex and Ty Acord, Oliver grew up in the Warped Tour world, and his transition into the dance scene has resulted in some beautiful song-based pieces which blend vulnerable lyrics with catchy melodies and genuine emotions.

Check our chat with Andrew (dream beach) below along with the premiere of his new “spill your guts” single.

NHQ: yeeewwww

dream beach: haiii joseph :)

NHQ: hey bud! what’s good
NHQ: how was ur day what did u eat!

dream beach: nm mannnnnn
dream beach: blue berry pancakes from this little spot down the block
dream beach: :)

NHQ: OMG

dream beach: soooo good
dream beach: this place is the tiniest cutest little place
dream beach: and it’s right by my new spot so i go there a lot
dream beach: and that rhymed woah

NHQ: hahah sweet! where did u move?

dream beach: well i was living in east Detroit for 2 years and finally got out of there and over to this nice little city called ferndale

NHQ: oooo! have u always lived in michigan?

dream beach: mhmmm

NHQ: what’s ur fav thing about living there

dream beach: i love how there’s a background in almost all types of music from motown to techno. i was exposed to electronic music because of Detroit.
dream beach: the city was waaaay ahead of the time
dream beach: in so many ways

NHQ: how did that influence begin to work its way into your own music?

dream beach: well i’ve been going to Movement (aka Detroit Electronic Music Festival) for so many years. it’s been going on since 2000. put me in front of the culture so early. it felt like every year i walked away with a different vibe
dream beach: i was lucky to have my big brother and his friends let me tag along haha
dream beach: i was the shrimp at the rave

NHQ: that’s awesome
NHQ: any particular sets that stood out?

dream beach: so many!!!
dream beach: all in different ways. gessafelstein x brodinski; at that point i didn’t even know who they were. squarepusher was insane. the m machine was a life changer i think.
dream beach: hudson mohawk made me cry last year

NHQ: : )

dream beach: hmm of course skrilly in 2011 i think it was

NHQ: dance music can be v emotional!!!

dream beach: it really is
dream beach: before going to that festival, electronic music was more of an experimental thing. i didn’t understand the dance part yet.

NHQ: i think one of the most interesting things abt this project is that you have a background in the band and warp tour world

dream beach: hehe yes!! Michigan also has a big history with hardcore/post hardcore music
dream beach: a whole different kind of scene but it’s where i grew up
dream beach: I’ve been in a band with my friends since like the 5th grade

NHQ: woah
NHQ: at what pt did u decide to start working on ur own stuff?

dream beach: well in the band i always was the one pushing electronics into the mix. it was very collaborative (and still is) but it really started with an alesis micron; putting arp synths over breakdowns and stuff like that in 2006.
dream beach: i started producing on fruity loops, then logic, then ableton. it was just a natural thing for me to start my own compositions rather than always trying to write songs in the room with instruments
dream beach: with my own stuff… i just wanted a place where i didn’t have to compromise
dream beach: and i could express other influences that don’t really fit into hardcore

NHQ: a lot of ur work includes your own vocals. what do u usually look to for inspiration when writing?

dream beach: all over the place. radiohead was always a mind bender for me lyrically
dream beach: Kid A definitely gave me a whole different perspective when i was young
dream beach: same with early M83…. where the vocal would be like the bedrock of a part, but the instrumental was really what you felt something from.

NHQ: can you tell us any specific stories behind your songs?’

dream beach: most my songs only exist because of a story
dream beach: it’s something i’ve been kind of trying to detach from as of lately, just because it becomes super personal and vulnerable when u are doing so

NHQ: right
NHQ: but that also makes them stand out

dream beach: thxx :)
dream beach: missing peace was a song that I started making as a birthday gift
dream beach: for my girlfriend Cory

NHQ: :3

dream beach: It was our first year dating and i wanted to do something special. so i wrote to the sound of her ringtone. at this point we were a very long distance thing. so when she called me in the morning it really made me feel great right away.
dream beach: and even if i didn’t get there
dream beach: she’d leave a voice mail always with a giant GOOD MORNING and
dream beach: i still have every one of them

NHQ: OMMMG <3

dream beach: so i sampled her
dream beach: it was our 1 year anniversary
dream beach: and i showed her while i was on tour and idk haha

NHQ: how’d it go over

dream beach: she cried :’)

NHQ: awwwwww

dream beach: yeah i’m a lucky dude

NHQ: how about this new one that centers around LA?

dream beach: well there are two songs that i plan to release soon
dream beach: one is called spill your guts
dream beach: rather than a direct story, i wanted to capture how it felt to truly admire someone
dream beach: and to think what they bring to the world is completely unique
dream beach: it’s about telling someone that and then kind of feeling stupid/vulnerable for it

NHQ: vulnerability is valuable i think
NHQ: i think it makes for lasting art
NHQ: because it’s a piece of you rather than a fragment of culture or something

dream beach: exactly
dream beach: that’s been my blessing and my curse
dream beach: because i am so happy when i make the songs and then i think about people hearing them
dream beach: idk it’s so many emotions (way too many)

NHQ: :)
NHQ: what were some of your favorite parts of visiting LA

dream beach: i enjoy the vibe and the going out and stuff but
dream beach: i also like that if i am not feeling the music i can go to a mountain top and stare out for a while
dream beach: so many people born and raised in cali take it for granted
dream beach: i’ve lived in flat michigan my whole life
dream beach: so when I’m in paradise i like to get in touch whenever i can

NHQ: ooooo
NHQ: any special spots i should check

dream beach: i like going to runyon canyon trail at night
dream beach: feels like your in space
dream beach: i feel like i am on a roller coaster and it’s terrifying but you can’t help but feel something special

NHQ: oooo
NHQ: what else do u see there

dream beach: i went to the the bronson caves last time and trying to grab sounds with my phone mic. they are right by the hollywood sign
dream beach: super creepy
dream beach: definitely went way to high up and i was worried for my friends safety

NHQ: omg

dream beach: i love adventures until i realize how dangerous it can be and then I’m like EVERYONE BE CAREFUL I LOVE YOU

NHQ: hahahaha
NHQ: have u ever had a near death experience?

dream beach: many

NHQ: woah

dream beach: comes with touring in a van sadly

NHQ: how so

dream beach: after a month long tour we were driving home from Denver. our guitar player brent was driving
dream beach: we were like HOME STRETCH
dream beach: 45 mins from home
dream beach: it was foggy and we were on a one way highway
dream beach: and out of the fog, head lights coming our way. this dude had to have been drunk or something because he was speeding on the wrong side of the highway. felt like he had a death wish tbh because when brent swung out of the way, the guy like swerved our way
dream beach: and we were going about 70 when brent was like “guys am i seeing things?”
dream beach: and i mean with a trailer and a van it’s just physics man
dream beach: we should’ve flipped

NHQ: woahhhh

dream beach: but brent maneuvered and saved the day. dude didn’t even stop driving just took off down the same road.

NHQ: WOAH

dream beach: we called the cops a reported that shit

NHQ: that’s rly wild

dream beach: not tight

NHQ: ya
NHQ: ugh

dream beach: touring is really actually a crazy lifestyle.
dream beach: i’ve gone eight months out of the year for many years
dream beach: i am so happy that we finally chilled out and maybe do two tours a year

NHQ: dang
NHQ: tour life sounds rly exhausting

dream beach: i feel u

NHQ: are u planning any solo shows in the near future?

dream beach: been getting out with my dude Skywlkr out here in the D. he’s become a great friend and has been getting me out there which has been a blast.

NHQ: do u think u would ever be interested in producing for other acts?

dream beach: absolutely. my love for hip-hop is infinite.

NHQ: ooo

dream beach: and scoring is something i’ve been trying as well

NHQ: ooooo
NHQ: yess
NHQ: what are plans for the upcoming release?
NHQ: split single?
dream beach: spill your guts soon and lavish street danger when the snow melts (if it snows ever)
NHQ: ooooo
NHQ: how should everyone listen to it
NHQ: what’s the ideal environment

dream beach: spill your guts to me sounds like when you’re looking out the window on a winter day. But the snows melting so you’re looking through droplets of water, and the wind feels like it’s whispering off the snow and creeping past you. It’s a bittersweet song

NHQ: :’)

dream beach: <3

NHQ: bless
NHQ: thx for the chat duder!
dream beach: any time, good sir
NHQ: yaay stoked on the release!

dream beach: meeee toooooo
dream beach: I’m down whenever bb

NHQ: ok dope
NHQ: u wanna doooo
NHQ: wed 12?
NHQ: PM PST

dream beach: sounds good to me :)

NHQ: dope

dream beach: <3
dream beach: appreciate the interview man.

Follow dream beach:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

Words: FAN FICTION

The post Dream Beach Talks Growing Up with Touring Rock Bands and Making Vulnerable Dance Music appeared first on Nest HQ.

Classically trained multi-instrumentalist and producer, The Red Baron, vibes on the softer, sexier, more melodic side of the trap/hip hop spectrum. And while the project is only a couple years old, the ascending San Diego-based artist reflects years of musical understanding through graduated technique and emotional melodies implanted into quality originals like “SWAY” or “Your Love” as well as top notch reworks for Major Lazer, Brandy, Lido, and more.

With a Diplo cosign this week for his ace remix of “Be Together” and promise of new original material on the way, we invited The Red Baron to take over this week’s NEST HQ MiniMix and go in depth into the past, present, and future of the project. Listen in and read on below.

__

Tell us a bit about how The Red Baron project started and how your musical upbringing influenced your current style and sound.

I started producing music under the Red Baron name around two years ago while I was completing my undergrad at San Diego State University. I’ve been in love with music since I began learning guitar at 10 years old. I played through high school, during which I was instructed in classical guitar. During my first year of college I was taught cello from one of the lead cellists of the San Diego Symphony, and I eventually began teaching my own class of junior high to high school students in the cello section of a local youth orchestra. It was around that time that I fell in love with electronic artists like Nero and Porter Robinson and began producing the music that would eventually blossom into the emotional trap music that I make now. I envision my approach to DJing largely through the experience of playing in an orchestra; for me, it’s about creating an hour-long experience that has the ability to hold and sustain energy physically and emotionally in the audience.

You recently remixed Major Lazer’s “Be Together” which has received direct support from Diplo himself. How do you interpret success, and how do you reset bars and goals once they’ve been met?

I think success is often understood as having an end date, and I don’t know if that’s true. For me, success is the steps you accomplish on the continuing search for more and more ways to express yourself, write lasting music, and create something that didn’t exist there before. That’s why I’m especially thankful for Diplo’s support; the first recognition I got as The Red Baron was a song I made called “Sway” that Diplo played on his radio show around two years ago, so I’m excited to see that he still digs what I’m putting down. And it definitely makes me want to step my game up even more, and push myself even harder.

Living in San Diego, do you feel somewhat removed from the hustle of Los Angeles just a couple hours north? What’s the vibe like in San Diego creatively?

I do, but right now I’m okay with that separation. I don’t think LA’s going anywhere, and being somewhat removed makes me want to try even harder to develop myself to what I need to be. Plus, San Diego’s music scene has gotten pretty great recently. The clubs have started to book more eclectic artists and I’ve gotten the chance to take advantage of the new focus in musicality at shows I’ve played recently with Madeaux and Robert DeLong. San Diego has some really creative energies, and I think a lot of that has to do with the beauty of the city itself. Some people get inspired by hiking mountains and jumping out of planes, but nothing makes me feel some type of way like the clouds in San Diego after it rains.

Where would you like to see The Red Baron project a year from now?

In a year, I hope to have put out a short body of original work and to be playing consistent shows. But that question is difficult because there’s always smaller goals laying around that may or may not happen as well. I want to work with someone who plays French horn. I want to design visuals for a live show. I want to record an orchestra. I want to meet Kendrick Lamar. You never know, you know?

Finally, tell us a bit about the minimix you’ve put together for us. What’s the vibe / any standout tracks we should be listening out for?

I’m really excited for this mix. The selection of songs is a combination of the energies I’ve felt at my most recent shows. I treat my mixes like narratives that tell an overarching story throughout the duration. In particular I’m excited to show you my unreleased collaboration with Tate Tucker entitled “Sleepless”. It’s my first collab and I tried really hard to create the feeling of a duet between Tate’s haunting vocals and the melodic elements of the beat itself. Finally, the last song of the mix is my remix of “Wild Ones” by Bahari, and I was fortunate enough to write and record cello for my interpretation of their song. For me personally, it’s a great example of the intersection between the classical melodies and the heavy trap music that the Baron vision is all about.

Tracklist:
Major Lazer – Be Together ft. Wild Belle (The Red Baron Remix)
Little Mix – Lightning (prod. Troyboi)
Nero – It Comes and It Goes
Unlike Pluto & KickRaux – Palace
Flosstradamus – Lana’s Theme
Madeaux – Empathy ft. Vada
Jeremih – All the Time (Hi Tom Remix)
Tasty Treat – For A Minute ft. MOONZz
Troyboi – Afterhours ft. Diplo & Nina Sky
The Red Baron x Tate Tucker – Sleepless
Brandy – I Wanna Be Down (The Red Baron Remix)
Porter Robinson – Divinity ft. Amy Millan (ODESZA Remix)
Bahari – Wild Ones (The Red Baron Remix)

__

More from The Red Baron on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Interview & MiniMix: The Red Baron appeared first on Nest HQ.

For those who don’t know, UNIIQU3 is the Jersey Klub Queen. After becoming immersed in the club scene, she quickly went from being someone in the crowd to someone in the DJ booth. She later channeled her love of the sound and culture into her own productions, and after touring the world and playing shows with the likes of Nina Las Vegas and Anna Lunoe, her sights became set on making jersey club more accessible to the casual listener via original singles featuring her own vocals.

Check our chat with the Jersey Klub Queen below:

How is your day going? How was your week so far?

I was sick. I just got my voice back, and now I’ve just been at home working on music. That was a plus in itself.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve been working on recently?

I wasn’t trying to put out an EP, but with this EP I’ve been super picky. I have so many tracks done that I could’ve had two albums by now! I’m going to brush up all of the old stuff, and now that I’ve been able to put in my own vocals on my tracks, I’ve been able to put that on everything including remixes. Every official remix I’ve been getting I’ve been adding a verse, similar to what I did with the Anna Lunoe track.

How did you get into production?

I just went for it. I used to DJ and do vocals all of the time. I used to be on the producers like, “Hey, are you almost done with these tracks?” Eventually I was sick of bugging them and wanted to learn to do it myself. The first couple of tracks I put out were so trash, there were no structures to them. I got better over time.

What are your thoughts on Jersey becoming a more recognized sound by the broader DJ community?

I’m excited about it. I think it’s cool. I wouldn’t be able to travel the world like I do; I wouldn’t be recognized like I am. I’m excited to see where it will all go next; I didn’t expect this. I never expected to be going around the world because of Jersey Club, I just thought it was our thing. I like that other people are getting influenced by us kids here.

Were you a part of the Brick Bandits Crew when it was first starting off? What was your intro into the sound?

No. I was just some party girl. I used to be in this team called Party Divas and it was under a collection called Teen’s Night Out, which was like the hollerboard except for Jersey. It had the link to the radio station that Lil Man had at the time that he used to play jersey club on. It was like a pirated radio station. They used to have an AIM chat in it and that’s how I met Sliink, and mad other people. I was just some party girl, my boyfriend was a DJ, and I learned to DJ. We broke up, and he doesn’t even DJ anymore. I used to have my CD Book, pre-Serato, and I would go to parties and ask the DJ to let me hop on before the party ended. That’s how I got my introduction to DJing, producing came later.

That’s sick. You kind of had to do it yourself, you jacked the CDJ’s and made your own opportunities!

Yeah, basically. Especially because I was a party girl, I was dancing and twerking and guys never took me seriously. My name wasn’t even UNIIQU3 then.

What was your name on AIM?

It was so horrible. It was a street team nickname that’s going to stay back there, it’s too embarrassing.

What were your favorite dances?

I would have to say “Crank That Frosty”. That’s a super throwback. That was our line dance. It was when line dance got super poppin’ in my generation. “Cartel Stroke” was one of my favorites too, also “Booty Bouncin’”. It was crazy, the beats used to go super fast and we would just vibrate; that’s where Sliink got the idea for “Just Vibrate Girl”.

What were the anthems that everyone knew and would go nuts for?

Oh my gosh, definitely “Ride That Wave”. That was a big one. That was by Frosty. It was on HOT 97 and that was the first time that HOT 97 had really payed attention to club music. Before that it was “Swing That Sh*t”, and after that, “Giddy Up”.

What was the vibe when the scene started to notice that it was being picked up by other DJs like Hoodboi, Trippy Turtle, and all those guys?

My first introduction to Jersey being played around the world was through Mad Decent Mondays. They used to have it in Philly and they showed us Club Cheval videos with Sam Tiba who was one of the first international cats to really play Jersey club. After him came Slow and Dubbel Dutch; Dubbel Dutch used to slow it down though. He had a slow Jersey club series that was super infamous at the time. I personally hit up Hoodboi and asked him, “How come you don’t show your face?” I forgot what the answer was. If you like the music that much then you should be proud to express that. After that he started showing his face. With Trippy Turtle, people were coming up to us and saying, “Oh, you guys are being appropriated, and this is what happens with every ghetto-house genre,” and I’m like, “Wait what is appropriation?”

We were like too caught in our world to worry about that shit. I feel like everyone else was super aware about it, and that made us aware. And then we were like, “Damn, this is kinda fucked uppp.” But, I still feel like that’s still dope that they play our stuff, and they put their own spin on it. I love Cashmere’s stuff, and I really appreciate how last year when Cashmere toured, he tried to take along the people that he considered pioneers. He got me, he got Nadus and Sliink to open up for him, to show people, “This is who inspired me to make the music you guys like.” I feel like that was really dope. More people should do that. Once they got called out by the public for appropriating they started to give more credit where it was due. They were just getting money for shows and it was like, “y’all playing our stuff, how come you just can’t book us.” I feel like some people took it too deep and were saying it was like a race thing because we’re black kids and they’re white. Y’know, and I was just like, “I don’t want to think that…” I just thought they were trying to take it to a different level of disrespect, and I’m like, “Dude, it’s just… music…” [laughs] You feel me? I mean, you don’t really have to deal with it as much, I still think it’s cool, like, I like Trippy’s stuff, he’s a great producer, and if he got a fanbase doin’ that, then heyy, shout out to him. I always told myself, and the younger kids that didn’t get it, “Don’t be bitter be better.” Because you being mad at him doing what he’s gonna do is not gonna benefit your career in the long run. We’re still here [laughs] and that happened a minute ago, so…

This is an exciting year for jersey. Sliink is on OWSLA now, and I think that people’s ears have adjusted enough to the sound that they wouldn’t be thrown off if somebody dropped it at a show. It feels like we’re seeing a new wave of it. 

I agree. My intentions as far as UNIIQU3 and Jersey Club are to push the genre forward and make it more accessible to the public. It’s very easy to blend in with other genres. Like, I made “Satisfaction” and it became a song that you could play in your car and not just at the club. Instead of remixing a Ciara track, or a rap track, I’ll do my own original and add some pieces of other genres. I think that that’s the next step. Jersey club gets played on the radio now! Remix culture is hurting a lot. It’s slowed down a lot since SoundCloud started doing its copyright thing. I’m excited to see where this all goes next. With me, Sliink, and Nadus, who a lot of people would consider top three people pushing the genre forward, we all have different styles. Nadus is very musical, Sliink is more hip-hop and EDM influenced, and I feel like I’m very much the voice. A lot of people recognize my voice now.

–

UNIIQU3 will be playing The Lash tomorrow night alongside GUN$ GARCIA, Katie Rex, Shuga Shay, and the Club Aerobics crew. If you’re reading from LA, come thruuuu.

Follow UNIIQU3:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

Words: FAN FICTION

The post UNIIQU3 Talks Pushing Jersey Club Forward Through Original Productions appeared first on Nest HQ.

London’s Danny L Harle grew up in a world of jazz and classical music. These influences later informed his approach to pop and dance sounds, initially through his euro-meets-rave-embracing Dux Content duo with A. G. Cook, and later with his own originals. His breakout “Broken Flowers” single recently saw a full EP release which showcased his ability to mix gorgeous harmonies and intricate structures into a realm that flirts with modern top 40. He’s not afraid of working within the mainstream, in fact, he’s out to change it for the better.

Check our 100% Average Interview — a reference to one of the winky vocal drops in his Jungle Survival DJ Challenge video — with Danny L Harle below:

What is your background in the kind of music featured in your Fader mix?

I just love it because I’m a big fan of grass roots music that’s come out of real communities, or anywhere that’s just really extreme. It’s this kind of amping up that comes from a real feeling that people have. It’s fascinating musically and I love the way that there’s a kind of vocal line that’s also instrumental in the back of some of the tracks as well.

Like with the MC?

Ya, when there’s like a trance vocal behind the MC, the voice as an instrument is something I’m interested in. That relates to lots of UK music like garage and stuff like that. Also, in classical music it exists but it’s a very 20th century idea. It’s a fascinating world. It’s like grime I find really fascinating because it’s such an extreme kind of music, and it’s a real expression of how people felt in a certain area and time. It’s produced this pure energy, it’s really, really amazing. But I was particularly happy to put some hardcore at the beginning of the Fader mix because it’s not a thing that people really hear very often. I’m putting it in my live sets as well and it’s going down well.

Are you excited to see faster music finally having its time? Especially in the States as well, it’s always been kind of UK-centric. Now with the emergence of nightcore, it seems like it’s growing.

To my knowledge, [nightcore] is one of the first musical cultures to start entirely online. It didn’t have a physical manifestation. Then these nights in NY and London started, and that kind of created a new culture around it. It’s interesting how that sort of happened in inverse. PC Music kind of colonized the internet before it colonized the real world. It’s interesting how you have to think about how something will be in the real world. All I’m glad about is that the music that I used to play that would clear dance floors now has people dancing around even more. The stuff I’ve been playing hasn’t really changed, I think people have just gotten to know it more. In the early days people didn’t know how to dance to it, or how to feel about it. Now it’s starting to really happen and it’s exciting to be a part of that.

So you grew up with a background of producing classical and orchestral music. Would you say it is more of a challenge to make that kind of music, or pop music?

It’s different, really. The thing I like about pop music is that you can get it really wrong. What people are usually searching for in classical music is limitation. People say that all the greatest composers worked within boundaries, but with pop music you don’t have to set yourself within boundaries.

Would you say that PC started with the intention of eventually evolving into something that would have you guys producing pop music?

For me, yes. That’s always been the intention since the origin of PC stuff. I’ve always been particularly interested in extremes, with anything that I listened to. Extreme high, extreme low, extreme loud, extreme simple, extreme clarity in music. We’re very eclectic in what we listen to, then we started listening to pop music and thought, “Yeah, this is the loudest, this is the clearest, this is the most extreme music that’s possible to make.” I’ve always wanted to see if I could push this extreme music to be even more extreme, that’s why the music in the FADER Mix is all part of my influence.

But still catchy, still enjoyable, just in a different parameter. For the past three years, PC has kind of been a talking point. What are some of your favorite discussions? People who have gotten it completely wrong, or maybe those who nailed it?

I’ve always loved the people that feel betrayed by it. It’s so weird that they’ve invented what “it” is and then they feel a betrayal. I think, to an extent, people really want to feel outrage and betrayal. It’s a phenomenon really, I think people like to feel outraged… seeing the articles that were “announcing” what PC Music was all about, from people who had never spoken to any of us. Really weird. Or people who came up to me and said they really knew A. G. Cook from PC Music, but it turned to out to be someone completely different.

Can I say what I think it [PC Music] is?

Sure!

To me it felt like a celebration of pop music through a completely different lens. A completely unique way of approaching pop, and sort of the weirdest way possible, while still making it accessible and fun. Also, paying a lot of attention to the curation of how it’s released, and the visual elements that go with it; and creating a consistent family kind of like Ed Banger. These are characters that are being created, they’re kind of made up personas and aliases.

The part that I really agree with you on, and very few people really said this initially, is that I was actually being serious, that my music was an act of love for its influences, and that it was actually music that I do listen to. I feel like if I put out that FADER mix to start off my career, people would have been like, “This is a joke, this is joke music.” I find that music deeply emotional and I listen to it all the time. Phillip Sherburne put out an article saying, “People say it’s a joke but I’m not sure that it is. I think they’re really like that, and I think they really like that music.” I think that absolutely it’s a celebration. It’s music that we love.

You don’t have to ironically like any kind of extreme music. The first time I heard Hannah Diamond it reminded me of something from Les Misérables, or some kind of theatrical piece.

The film of Les Misérables is mind blowing. The first time I saw that I thought, “That was the worst thing I’d ever seen in my life.” I watched it again and they gave each character one melody, and they just put all of their dialogue through that one melody for like three hours. The fact that all the crew were wearing horse hair ponchos during the rain scenes so that the rain wouldn’t make noise on their clothes is insane. I just loved the idea of the insanity of the situation. It’s so mainstream too. That cross over is what I’m interested in, those crazy things people just accept. Do you know The Starlight Express? It was a big hit, and the original idea was to have no story line. They just wanted to have a bunch of people on roller skates singing songs on the stage. There were so many injuries! I love the insanity. It’s accepted because it’s accepted. There’s a funny feedback that happens when something is accepted. I love those moments when you take a step back and say, “Wait a minute, just because it’s mainstream doesn’t mean it’s not crazy.” I realized that experimenting in the mainstream is one of the most interesting things you could do.

It’s a super interesting frontier because the idea of mainstream is that it’s old, out-dated, or restrictive. Do you guys have any specific drive to keep pushing this forward?

The idea is that we want to always keep pushing forward. I always get ideas that are quite far in the future, so I’m interested in those things as well. Always pushing higher and higher. I think that people are confounded by each step that PC Music has taken. I think it’s always been higher than people expected. The Chris Lee thing took people really by surprise. It wasn’t PC going mainstream, it was PC going mainstream to a mainstream that people hadn’t even heard of. Chris Lee is huge in China. That was interesting, it was a great curve ball.

How do you feel about something like Activia, which could be considered as the little brother of PC Music?

I hear loads of content of theirs that’s really fantastic.

The video with Life Sim is another thing that could be interpreted in a lot of different ways. To me it felt like a genuine celebration of emotion through film. Is that something that you guys worked with the director on? Or did he just kind of come up with it?

I’m not Life Sim… so I don’t actually know how that worked. But what I liked about that video is that it makes you feel weird about the emotions being pressed in it. What I like is feeling emotions that a computer screen or an mp3 has made me feel, and then realizing that it just came from a bunch of ones and zeros. That’s a strange feeling, I think that’s playing with the flatness of the screen and the build on it. I do like the music from Life Sim but it’s not me.

Is it somebody that we know though?

Yeah!

The other thing was the idea of making art from heavily copyrighted material. That goes along with other boundaries of art; using stuff you’re not supposed to play with.

Yeah, it’s really interesting to hear stuff that was made with the intention of being taken down, and the fact that you can’t really destroy anything once it’s online; except no one can seem to find Grimes’ Boiler Room set for some reason, which I would love to hear because I heard she played some Venga Boys in it. I’m not necessarily interested in playing with the legality of content but in terms of doing things fast and not going through legal teams, and having the threat of having it get taken down, I’m into that, but I have no real agenda there.

It seems like everything you guys do is very calculated. The reason I think PC Music has become so impactful is partially because of the value that is placed on the releases themselves.

It’s understanding value in a world without any value. It’s like putting a paper cup on a cliff — and I’m not saying our music is a paper cup — what I mean is, free downloads for example, it’s embracing these internet values. The value we place on experimental music is equal to the more commercially ended stuff that’s very important. That really exemplifies my attitude as well. The experimental feeds the commercial side, they’re both interesting, and they need each other.

What does the deal with Sony mean about the progress of PC? Are things going to change?

I don’t know what trajectory we’re on [laughs]. Again, I can’t really speak on behalf of all of PC. I help with the concepts and content but it’s an institution now and I’m much more interested in being an artist on it. I’m a micro thinker, Alex [A. G. Cook] is a macro thinker, really. I’m interested in things and music and video games. I’m not that into strategy and larger scale things. That’s why I’m much more comfortable being in the artist realm. It’s much more Alex who works on larger strategy area. As far as I go as an artist, I’m really trying to take people on a journey with my releases. One of the tracks opens the door, and the other ones showcase different parts of my art, and introduce people to a bunch of stuff, and then I slam the door behind them and they’re trapped.

–

Follow Danny L Harle:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

Words: FAN FICTION

The post A 100% Average Interview with Danny L Harle appeared first on Nest HQ.

BURNS has been a consistent force in dance music for years. The UK-born, LA-based producer and DJ’s stability within the scene can be attributed to a number of favorable qualities, but since first coming into contact with the BURNS project in the late 2000s,  I’ve always admired his ability to fluidly and dexterously evolve his sound — not to match the current trends or fads, but rather to push forward ahead of them. In 2016, BURNS is possibly carrying the most momentum he’s had yet, releasing large tunes for large rooms on large labels like Spinnin’, Doorn, and, just this week, Calvin Harris’ Fly Eye Records.

With the new single out on Monday along with a headlining Vegas residency announcement and a handful of A-list production projects in the works, we wanted to chat with BURNS and let him take over this week’s NEST HQ MiniMix. Listen in to the wide-ranging curation below, and read on for some words from BURNS about avoiding repetition, current productions for Elliphant and Britney Spears, playing to Vegas crowds, and more.

__

BURNS! Thanks for taking some time with us man. For anyone not familiar with your work, could you describe the kind of dance music that you make & play and dive into what you’ve found inspires you the most to create?

This question! It’s hard to describe what I make and play, I guess I’m kind of multi-genre in the sense that I don’t ever like to repeat myself musically. I struggle to find any satisfaction in repeating the same methods or using the same sounds all the time. I like to surprise people as well as myself and keep things interesting, I’m all about just having fun and making good music regardless!

I’m inspired by everything around me! I take time to listen to a LOT of music old and new as I think that’s key to staying inspired and relevant as a producer.

You just had a record out this week on Fly Eye, which your buddy Calvin Harris heads up. You’ve linked with Fly Eye a handful of times now, do you feel like your music is in line with Calvin’s vision for his label?

I think he just wants to release club music that’s of a high standard/ interesting, like not just any old EDM tune to fill a gap, it has to be something that he’d play too so if he wants to release something on his label I know that I’ve done something decent!

Have you been producing other projects outside of BURNS as of late? Anything you can talk about?

I have. I work on a lot of production for projects outside of my own. There’s a song on the new Elliphant record that I think comes out next month also I’ve been working with Kacy Hill who I’m really excited about, we’ve done a bunch of music for her and I’ve also produced a bunch of songs for a Swedish artist called Noonie Bao who’s great! I’ve recently been working on the new Britney Spears record. I think I enjoy production for other people just as much if not more than producing for myself!

I’ve also got a side project of my own that I’m playing around with, mainly as an outlet for the slightly weirder side of my production but that’s all I’m saying about that for now…

Your OMNIA residency should keep you busy in Vegas this year. How do you approach playing Vegas differently than other performances? Do you ever feel like you’re sacrificing anything to appease the crowd there, or have you noticed a deeper appreciation in recent years?

People always ask me this! Its funny because Vegas is definitely the peak of ‘commercial’ in terms of the crowd type but I’ve definitely been noticing a shift, in the sense that people are much more open to new sounds now, I think that’s due to the type of dance music that’s becoming more popular in the US mainstream, if you listen to daytime radio its actually pretty cool right now, compared to what dance music was like here a few years ago. I never playing anything that I don’t actually like as that would be completely counter productive but on the other hand I cant be overly experimental with what I play there, I just make sure to play the odd record that I know people will recognize!

Finally, tell us about the vibe of this minimix. Any standout tracks other than “Beauty Queen” we should keep an ear out for?

I think this mix is just a reflection of where I’m at musically at the moment! Its a bunch of club records that are exciting to me right now and obviously a few of my own! I think it feels pretty hip hop influenced as that’s always been a general theme in my music because I listen to hip hop so much! The track ‘Low To The Floor’ is BIG ;) I love them all though!

Tracklist:
1. Rustie- Coral Elixrr
2. Skitzofrenix- Bounce
3. Drezo- Guap
4. Sisqo – Thong Song (Baewatch bootleg)
5. Malaa – Notorious
6. BURNS – Make It Clap
7. Joyryde – FLO
8. Kill The Noize – FUK UR MGMT
9. ID – Low To The Floor
10. Novka – Dat Vibe
11. Tommie Sunshine & Chocolate Puma – Scrub The Ground Feat. Dj Funk
12. BURNS – Beauty Queen
13. Double 99 – Rip Groove
14. Jamie XX – All Under One Roof Raving
15. Majid Jordan – Every Step Every Way
16. Bryson Tiller – Exchange

__

More from BURNS on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Interview & MiniMix: BURNS appeared first on Nest HQ.

NEST HQ was created with the intention of being a platform that could promote and encourage the growth of artists of all genres and mediums. While we’ve mainly worked within music up to this point, we are expanding on an idea that will showcase multi-media artists of non-musical backgrounds such as painters, designers, architects, and others of the sort; this is installation.

For installation 008, we present painter: Gary Paintin.

Can you tell us a bit about how your story as an artist began? At what point did you realize that art was something you’d be doing long term?

My story as an artist began with Graffiti. I spent my teenage years locked into flickr, creeping around under bridges, and taking trips to SF and Oakland to see what was out there. Bay Area graffiti has a really special funk. I have learned more from looking at and doing graffiti than I have from anything else. Style is key to my art, I can not stress that hard enough. I plan on being remembered for my style and concepts more than my technical abilities. Funk over function you know?

I realized art was going to be my life around 2012. I messaged some pretty big artists I look up to, asking them how they got to where they are with their craft. They all said,” hard work, all day every day”. The realization I had was that every one I look up to works super hard all the time, so if I want to get to their level I have to do the same thing.

What is the reason for the medium you chose to become proficient in? What does this medium allow you to do that other mediums may not?

I chose to become proficient in acrylics after they were introduced to me by a really influential teacher I had in high school. They are bold and bright and come in every color imaginable, easy to work and dry fast so they let me work as fast as I think. I definitely don’t limit myself to acrylics. I am branching out in a lot of directions right now getting into making vectors, glass fusion, screen printing shirts, welding and plasma cutting, wax encaustic painting, wire art, pearler bead pendants… My latest thing is Crayola markers; coming back to them for the first time since elementary school I am finding I can really crush with them.

What were the inspirations behind these 3 pieces specifically? 

My inspirations for these three pieces come from artists ranging from Egon Schielle to Keith Haring. Over the last year or so I have spent a lot of time learning about old master painters, the birth of modern art, and symbology. I don’t want to paint like those artists but I hope to make an impact on the way people do things in the future.

What are some of the defining moments in your career so far? How have they affected the way you approach your art and your creations?

I don’t feel as though I have had many defining moments in my career yet. I can feel things are starting to gain momentum as I find a solid direction to take my art. Not having reached many defining moments in my career so far keeps me driven and hungry in my creative process.

How do you feel the industry is doing right now? Which trends are really pushing the industry forward, and which are holding it back?

The visual art industry is thriving stronger than ever before. As an artist I have so many options for getting seen….everything from online presence to gallery presence, or from clothing to music, there’s a lot in between. I do my best to pump funky art into all those veins all the time because I know something is going to catch on. The big trend I am seeing and loving is that there are a lot of labels and artists working exclusively with one visual artist for all of their branding. For example, HBK uses Aaron Kai, or Awful Records uses Zack Fox aka Bootymath. I am really down with that and it’s the same thing that I am doing with Bleep Bloop. Having this exciting, steady work is great for growth and opening up a lot of opportunities. I am not going to out any trends as holding back the industry, but I will say that following trends or doing things because they are “in” can be a real black hole. Do you embrace yourself? Be truthful, be open, be confident in your original ideas. That is what will attract people.

What are some other artists that you are currently into?

As far as music goes, I am blessed to be in the presence of two of my favorite producers on the planet, Bleep Bloop and Blap Deli. They have both been killing it for as long as I can remember. They are like family to me and drive me to be a better me every time they drop new projects.

As far as visual art I am really into Luke Pelletier, Kristen Liu-Wong, Jack Graydon, Budsnow, Saiff Azuz, Ryan Taylor, The whole Big Kid Fun/ US/ DRUGS graffiti crew, Optimist, PTV (punks thugs vandals) crew, Benny Gold, Cena Pink Dolphin, and Swamp Donkey… I am leaving out hundreds of artists I am really into, but lately I am all about imaginative grown ups with youthful energy. Nothing too trained, nothing too clean, just fun and funky.

What are some of your goals for 2016?

My goals for 2016 are to launch my all original shirt line that will be called Wrist Ocean. I am really trying to appeal to the Trap culture, Space Goth culture, and vapor wave culture . I am putting a lot of fun energy into the designs and can’t wait to see how people react.

Why did you choose these pieces to represent yourself on this spread?

I chose these pieces because they are my favorite characters .

Bobby Forehead is my erotic ambassador to the world. He has shiny shades and boobs on his forehead. You can’t not look. He is a hot boy.

The Pentocular face and the fifth eye is representative of the fifth dimension which in my life is the invisible energy that drives creative energy. He is really making waves in the bass music scene right now and embodies the essence of the man, myth, and legend known as Bleep Bloop.

The Goldtron swag lord robot is representative of my love for Trap, anime, gold chains, sneakers, and other things I can’t really afford but can express myself and live through. I have a strong connection to robots because I have a really high tech prosthetic leg which is a big part of my swag that is also kind of exclusive. Like, you can go cop some Yeezy’s but you are going to have a lot harder of a time trying to rock a micro processing knee joint in style.

Be sure to check out more of Gary Paintin on Instagram:

@garypaintin

And Twitter:

@GaryPaintin

The post installation 008 — Gary Paintin appeared first on Nest HQ.

If Jersey Club was a freshly poured slab of concrete on the sidewalk, Newark native and Brick Bandits crew rep, R3LL, would have his name etched for eternity alongside innovators like DJ Sliink, DJ Tim Dolla, and the rest of the genre’s pioneers and breakthrough talents. But after assisting in bringing a wholly regional sound to a global audience thanks to releases on LuckyMe, Pelican Fly, and, most recently, NEST, R3LL plans to explore and evolve in 2016, seeking new ways to implant elements of Jersey into various facets of dance music including house, bass, trap, and R&B.

This week’s NEST HQ MiniMix acts as a thermometer for this refocused direction from R3LL, stripping away any previous constructs of a strictly Jersey Club set and instead accurately representing the overall energy R3LL emits from his live performances. Listen in to this week’s NEST HQ MiniMix from R3LL below, and read on for a quick Q&A where R3LL discusses Newark’s music culture, the evolution of Jersey Club, and some hints about his upcoming EP.

__

Tell us a bit about your musical upbringing. What is it about Newark that propels such a unique culture and vibe?

I’ve always been around music, for as long as I can remember. When I was young, my mother use to call up Channel 96 and pay for “Kriss Kross – Jump” to come on. I was always around the kind of music that makes you want to dance and I used to run parties throughout high school and college. In my opinion, the propulsion of Newark’s culture and vibe has happened because the dance scene is so strong. When people are struggling, everyone just wants to have a good time.

Do you feel like Jersey Club has been evolving along with the attention it’s been getting? If so, what do you see changing for the better over the past few years or so?

Jersey Club is evolving everyday! It’s a bit different now because there are so many new producers from outside Jersey that people are now paying attention to. Change is always for the better with music, it needs to evolve. Personally, it allows me to have new ideas and be inspired to create more forward-thinking Jersey Club and expand it into new and exciting sounds.

You recently put out “Prompto” with us here on NEST with Big Dope P, which was such an awesome TransAtlantic connection. Can you tell us how that collaboration came about and elaborate a bit on how both of your sounds were represented there?

Prompto with my guy Big Dope P was a lot of fun, but also challenging at first because we both have two totally different sounds, so bringing them together took effort on both our ends. That’s part of the creative struggle of evolving the Jersey sound though and it was definitely worth it in the end; Nest was the perfect home for Prompto and it’s been so well received.

What’s the latest with the Brick Bandits crew? Do you guys see each other/work together often?

Brick Bandits is still going strong, but now that I’m based in LA, I don’t see my fellow crew members as much as I’d like to. We keep in touch and of course they’ll always be lots of new music cooking between the crew. The thing with Brick Bandits is you have to go to one of their parties to hear the exclusives, they don’t always put them online.

Finally, tell us a bit about the minimix you’ve put together here. Any favourites you’ve put in here we should listen out for?

This minimix is the vibe I’m currently incorporating in my live DJ sets and some of the tracks that I’m into. Not just Jersey, but R&B, Trap, Future Bass and House. The mix hints at some feels of my upcoming EP and I really had a great time putting it together. I want people to understand that when you come to one of my shows, you’re going to hear a lot more than just Jersey Club and you’re going to get down and sweat and dance your ass off.

Tracklist:
Alicia Keys – Feeling U (Falcons Remix)
Trey Songz – Change (Promnite Remix)
Medasin & X&G – The Zoo (feat. Josh Pan)
Ufo Project – In your eyes
AC Slater – Dig Deeper
Redlight – 9TS (Taiki Nulight x Grande Remix)
Low Steppa & Taiki Nulight – Nose Power
Sevyn Streeter & Chris Brown – Don’t kill the fun (Falcons & Tony Quattro Remix)
Kw Griff – Bring in the Katz (Sinjin Hawke Edit)
Mike Q & Sinjin Hawke – Thunderscan
Kanye West – All day (Tim Dolla & Sliink Remix)
Rihanna – BBHMM (Brenmar & Gutta Remix)
midnight – Overflow (R3LL & Sky Society Remix)
Justin Bieber – What do you mean (KiFF Remix)
Autolaser – Stay (R3LL & Alizzz Remix)
R3LL & Y2K – ID
Big Dope P – Prompto (feat. R3LL & DMP)
Desiigner – Panda (IKON & Headspace Remix)
DJ Funk – Three Fine Hoes (Sinjin Hawke Remix) [Vdidvs Edit]

__

More from R3LL on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Interview & MiniMix: R3LL appeared first on Nest HQ.

I’ve always loved the idea of US-made drum & bass, and the fact that people have fallen so deeply in love with a UK-centric genre that they’ve worked to make a space for it to live out here in the states. Evol Intent (a trio made up of Bro Safari, Treasure Fingers, and Gigantor) have collectively been a major piece of the US-based DNB movement for over a decade now, and we’re stoked to be seeing them featured in the latest American-focused compilation from legendary UK DNB imprint Hospital Records.

Check our premiere of Evol Intent’s “Getting High At Low Tide” below, along with an interview with trio member Mike Diasio (Gigantor) below:

How did y’all meet?

Nick and I met at University of Alabama years ago through DJing and started producing together back in the archaic days of hardware gear. Shortly after, we heard about this guy from Oklahoma tearing it up called ‘The Enemy’ via the fledgling internet at the time, and after a remix swap AJ came on board and the three of us decided to team up and make tunes. Shortly after everyone moved to Atlanta, and Evol Intent started it’s rise through the scene.

What has the US based DNB scene been like over the years from your perspective?

US drum and bass has definitely had it’s ups and downs. Drum and bass as a ‘scene’ is not what it was in the late nineties/early 2000s on this side of the pond, but there are still plenty of people that hold die-hard interest in the music. The fact that it’s never fully gone away is a testament to the hardcore fans and the passion for the music, and many top level EDM producers (like Skrillex) seem to dip into the genre every now and again.

Are you finding that more people in the states are starting to be down with DNB?

Absolutely! we’re starting to see new, younger fans and this is what the genre needs. I just hope that jaded, older fans don’t scare them away haha. Dnb can grow if we keep it welcoming.

What does an Evol Intent studio session look like?

Generally we work in the box with Ableton Live these days, (in previous years we swapped Reason files and mixed down in Logic Pro with a mixing console). Often we send the full session back and forth, but also we will send layers if it’s easier, minor changes. Generally whatever we can do to keep it moving.

What were some of the first records that got you into this style?

Initially I came from “IDM” sounding stuff like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, but also records like Roni Size’s “New Forms” and Goldie’s “Timeless” were influential before I started DJing. Other than this lots of ‘Renegade Hardware’/’Moving Shadow’ releases were massively influential.

What are everyone’s favorite gas station snacks?

Generally I stick to ‘whatever is least likely to kill me’ so it’s a tough sell. Beef jerky and sparkling water please?

What are your favorite Evol Intent songs to play out?

I love playing new stuff, like the one out today ‘Getting High at Low Tide.’ The title track from our upcoming EP (Revolt) is a fun one, also we have a collab in the works with 12th Planet, Lumberjvck, and Le Castle Vania that’s great to open with. Otherwise classics like Spor’s ‘Flipside’ remix and an edit of our tune ‘Street Knowledge’ are a staple favorite.

What was the last song that made you go, “Wow.”?

I swear I’m not pitching for the home team here, but Nick has a Bro Safari tune called ‘Snap’ that really floored me. Aside from that, the tune Noisia and Ivy Lab did called ‘Possession’ fascinated me when I first heard it.

Who are some other US based DNB acts everyone should know about?

Gein and Gridlok for starters! These folks have been at it for a minute and make killer music, I hope most folks who follow US DNB closely are already familiar with them.

What do you think have been some of the most important events for the growth of bass music / drum & bass in the states?

The initial rush in the late nineties when drum and bass was new was crucial to the genre’s growth, but electrohouse kicking in the door in 2007 and dubstep blowing up in 2010, has both helped and hindered the drum and bass ‘scene’ stateside. I don’t think we’re worse off for it, but there are fewer dnb nights now with the plus of more festivals.

As far as shows go, for US dnb the staple nights for dnb over the years have always helped push the underground: Respect here in LA, Direct Drive in NYC, and Elements in Boston have all been around for over 15 or so years. Most obviously major festival promoters like Insomniac putting drum and bass on helps massively!

How do you guys feel about this Hospital release, and the label in general?

Love it! Glad to see Hospital investing in the US Scene and artists. Support like this is crucial to making the scene grow more in general.

What are some of the most crucial DNB or Jungle albums?

Spor’s ‘Caligo’ was a great one from the last year. Classics like Ed Rush and Optical’s ‘Wormhole,’ Goldie’s ‘Timeless’ and even Dieselboy’s classic mixes like ‘6ixth Session’ are generally considered crucial. Also personally recommended: Noisia’s ‘Split the Atom’, Pendulum’s ‘Hold Your Colour’, and The Upbeat’s ‘Nobody’s Out There’.

Hospital Records’ Future Sound of America compilation is out now through the Hospital shop.

Follow Evol Intent:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

Follow Hospital Records:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Interview + Premiere: Evol Intent appeared first on Nest HQ.

Any bass-heads who’ve followed Getter over the last few years know there’s been a distinct evolution in his brand, music, and web presence over the last 12 months. His Instagram feed turned neon, he began to stray a bit from his typical bass-to-the-face sound, and I found myself enthralled watching Vine loops of him doing totally ordinary things – literally eating a hamburger or driving around. Then his “Headsplitter” video for OWSLA dropped and I began to wonder whether he’d discovered LSD, been abducted by aliens, or had some other reality-shattering experience.

“You know what it is?” 22 year old Tanner Getter asks reflectively, pausing the video game he’s playing to answer my questions. “When I first started with the intention of just doing music six years ago, I was myself and I dressed like myself and I didn’t give a fuck. Then I started making a certain kind of music that I perceived as having a certain kind of look and attitude, so I started wearing all black and being a dick to people. I slowly realized after years of failing that it wasn’t what anyone wanted. Then this year, the second I changed back to how I normally used to dress and acting how I used to act and put that into the brand, that’s what made it all work. I’ve had the ‘Headsplitter’ video idea in my head for years now.”

Tanner is soon laughing at himself imagining what an old Getter video might have been like for the same song. “Probably me in a graveyard dressed in all black digging up a dead body. I was making straight dubstep, all my releases sounded the same. And my fans were fucking with it, but I wasn’t getting any new ones.” But in 2015, he started releasing everything he made regardless of genre, on different labels, and the new working Getter-model proved up immediately. “I had like five different side projects I wanted to create, but then I had a meeting with my agency and new manager and they convinced me to put it all out under Getter. So that’s what I did.”

As a result of pigeon-holing himself into hardcore dubstep for so long, Tanner has an arsenal of tracks he’s been sitting on imagining they weren’t right for Getter. But the floodgates are open now and we should all be very excited – some the sounds on his new EP are almost Pink Floydian, woven into dreamscape pop, hyper-cinematic dubstep, and a whole spectrum of genre variations in between. “Shoutout Skrillex who’s been supporting me lately, he’s paved the way for me to do everything I’ve wanted to do. And shoutout Datsik and Shara who gave me my first record deal at Firepower and supported me when I wanted to go to OWSLA. And my mom, who bought me my first guitar, and my dad who bought me my first laptop. And my cat, Boogie, just for being here.”

Tanner cut his teeth playing music in metal bands growing up in San Jose but was constantly disappointed when, “No one ever showed up [to practice].” He explains further, “Then I discovered dubstep, realized I could make that shit by myself and keep all the money. I was a fan first, so I had a year where I just listened to everything I loved and tried to figure out how to make it. The craziest thing is now I’m meeting metal bands that were iconic to me growing up and they fuck with my shit.” After this next release, everyone is going to be “fucking with his shit” even more. This is such a refreshing collection of songs, it celebrates Getter’s evolution and the evolution of every kid who made the transition from loving metal to bass music. Many of those fans are realizing that other genres can be cool too and here’s Getter making it all rock hard AF while managing to constantly trip us out.

I get to looking at his tattoos, cause they’re pretty metal-tastic. He has a full sleeve on one arm that looks like part of a human-robot creature. He tells me the style is called biomech, which is basically what a cyborg might look like inside, and I ask if he believes humans will physically integrate with technology in our lifetime. “Hell yea! I hope so. Everyone’s telling each other to stay off their phones, we’re spending too much time looking at screens – live a little. I’m like, bitch, I’m living in my phone! And it’s tight. I feel like everything everyone’s ever wanted is here and now people are scared of it. I think it’s awesome that people live in their phone. I don’t have to make conversation on a plane cause I’m playing Hyper Swiper!”

His whole attitude and ideas about the nature of reality totally reflect that of an American kid who grew up on the Internet – he’s ready for the singularity, first contact with extra-terrestrials, all of it. “Our generation is on a wavelength where it’s not super religious, but we believe in the shit that could be true and probably is. Like aliens are more real to me than what most religions believe. And if I’m an alien and I’m exploring another planet, I’m going to be super nice to everyone. It takes so much more effort to be mean. Aliens are probably overly nice, scrotally totally.” He sounds exactly like Spicoli and goes straight from using the term ‘scrotally totally’ to humming “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from The Lion King soundtrack at full volume. I’m thrilled to find him just as weird and strangely compelling in real life as he is on the internet.

I end by asking him what he’s most looking forward to about the future, and his answer is every bit as outrageous as you’d expect. “I can’t wait til I can make music with my mind. Your laptop is the middleman – your brain barfs out the ideas onto this machine, then you make it and print it out basically. But someday, you’re going to be able to write an idea in your head and bluetooth it directly into your computer,” Tanner says in all seriousness. I suppose until we integrate with the machines he’ll have to keep working the old fashioned way.

__

Watch the Liam Underwood-directed video for Getter’s “Rip N Dip” below, a sequel of sorts to “Headsplitter” and part of the Radical Dude! EP coming on OWSLA on March 11th. In his words, expect “Better ingredients, better music, better Getter.”

More from Getter on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

Words by Molly Hankins

The post The Man Behind The SUH: Getter Talks Music, Tech, and Aliens, Dude! appeared first on Nest HQ.

There is a 16-year-old in New York City who is taking the club circuit by storm, and her name is Callie Reiff. The NYC native has had musical performance in her blood since the first grade, taking the stage with the esteemed New York City Ballet company for years before eventually heeding the call of electronic music production. Since then, Callie has seen big support from folks like Annie Nightingale and Marcus Nasty on Radio 1 and Rinse for her bass-heavy originals and remixes while sharpening her DJ edge in New York’s most forward-leaning nightclubs including Webster Hall, Output, Slake, and, as of this Friday, Terminal 5.

With a TON of unreleased music in the bank and a pair of monster shows this weekend in the city (Terminal 5 on Friday with Big Gigantic & Hermitude and Webster Hall on Saturday with Wolfgang Gartner), we asked Callie to take over this week’s NEST HQ MiniMix and answer a handful of questions about her entrance into the world of dance music, drawing inspiration from her “girl power squad”, and what the future holds for this promising young talent. Listen in and read on below.

__

Thanks for taking some time with us Callie! So you’ve made a pretty big splash in New York City since last year, already playing most of the city’s megaclubs at the age of 16. Did music stick with you at a very early age? When did dance music become your main focus?

Thank you so much for having me! Music has always been in my life since I was a ballerina with the New York City Ballet performing on the Lincoln Center stage when I was 7-years-old. When I was 10, I moved to the drums, and I taught myself how to play by watching YouTube videos. A couple of years later, I was talking to a music producer, and he recommended that I try out DJ-ing, so I looked up the “best DJ schools in NYC,” and found Dubspot. My first lesson there was with JP Solis, and I immediately told him I wanted to be professional. The first mix I did was on vinyl records, and from then on I fell in love with DJ-ing.

Your debut release on Audiophile showed off some major UK bass influence. Would you say “Like Dis” represents your personal style of production and the vibe you’ll be focusing on this year? Or do you envision a broader spectrum of sound?

I love experimenting with new sounds because this is just the beginning of my career. A lot of my tracks that are coming out soon range from bass house, to trap, and just about everything in between.

Who would you say has had the most profound effect on your style as a producer and DJ? Is there anyone who you often look to for inspiration musically?

In terms of being a DJ, Skrillex is definitely a big inspiration to me because he’s not afraid to take risks when he’s DJ-ing. He knows how to work a crowd like a true rock star. Musically, I draw a lot of inspiration from the girl power squad – Mija, J. Phlip, Flava D, REZZ, Louisahhh, Alison Wonderland, and Anna Lunoe. These artists are inspirations to me just by what they are doing for women in music. One last musical influence is Josh Pan because he’s so creative and knows how to make masterpieces.

As your career begins to blossom, what words of encouragement or advice would you give to musicians your age who are looking to follow in a similar path as you?

A lot of people think DJ-ing and the electronic music scene is male-dominated. A signature quote that I always use is, “anything boys can do, I can do better.” I’m so happy that females are finally getting the recognition they deserve in the EDM scene. My advice would be to push for what you believe in, hard work ALWAYS pays off, and write your own story.

Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

I couldn’t have imagined that I would be playing Terminal 5 this Friday at just 16-years-old, so where I see myself in 10 years is difficult to envision. I want to be headlining festivals and have my own fashion line, and maybe even my own label. Also, I would love to have a lot of original music done with my sister, Cassidy Reiff, who is a singer/songwriter (she’s sitting on a gold mine of material… They call her the queen of hooks!). I’m very excited for what’s to come.

Finally, please tell us a bit about this mix you’ve put together for us! Any standout tracks in here that we should know about?

I had so much fun making this mix. It’s a mini version of what you can expect if you come see me live. No genre is off limits! The standout tracks would be the 8 tracks of mine that are unreleased!! ;)

Tracklist:
01. Callie Reiff – Sonic Distortion Intro (Exclusive)
02. ID x ID – ID (Exclusive)
03. Ookay – Rhythm
04. Aylen x Audiobot – ID
05. Swage – Real Game
06. DJ Snake – Propaganda (Habstrakt Remix)
07. Tag Team – Whoomp (There it is) (Alwaze Bootleg)
08. Ghost Channels – Fire Drill
09. Fish – Hold On
10. Stoke Sound & Muramasa – RVRE
11. MUST DIE! – Neo Tokyo
12. Callie Reiff x Dapp – ID (Exclusive)
13. Callie Reiff x Kyle Hughes – ID (Exclusive)
14. 2 Chainz vs Rickyxsan x Dirty Audio – Where U Been Gettin’ That Scoop
15. Sirenz – Escapade
16. Nero – Crush On You (Callie Reiff Bootleg) (Exclusive)
17. Duck Sauce – NRG (Stanton Warriors Re-Sauce)
18. Callie Reiff x C&T – ID (Exclusive)
19. Callie Reiff – ID (Exclusive)
20. Skrillex & MUST DIE! – VIP’s
21. Holy Goof – Girls
22. Callie Reiff x Wurmhole – ID (Exclusive)
23. Callie Reiff – ID (Exclusive)
24. FF – Crave you (Le croquant & Antis Remix)

__

More from Callie Reiff on:
Soundcloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Interview & MiniMix: Callie Reiff appeared first on Nest HQ.

NEST HQ was created with the intention of being a platform that would promote and encourage the growth of artists of all genres and mediums. While we’ve mainly worked within music up to this point, we are expanding on an idea that will showcase multi-media artists of non-musical backgrounds such as painters, designers, architects, and others of the sort; this is installation.

For installation 009, we present photographer: Jesse Untracht-Oakner.

Can you tell us a bit about how your story as an artist began? At what point did you realize that art was something you’d be doing long term?

My grandfather gave me my first enlarger when I was 13. Playing around in my makeshift darkroom and seeing those amber lights and sliver halide crystals was just like playing with magic. Then, when I saw the latent image come to life off of a blank sheet of paper, I knew at that moment that this was what I wanted to do for my life. It wasn’t until college at Rochester Institute of Technlogy that I began to realize that I would have to figure out how to monetize my passion and make photography a career.

Why did you choose to become proficient in photography? What does this medium allow you to do that other mediums may not?

For me, photography was a way to take my vision of the world and translate it into two-dimensional space. I could draw things, and still do, but I was never really that good at realistically illustrating how I saw the world. It wasn’ t until I started messing around with a Rolleiflex that I was able to take what I see and share it the way I see it with an audience.

What were the inspirations specifically behind these three pieces?

This was a fashion shoot for Sicky Magazine. I collaborated with Bainca Carosio who helped art direct the shoot and Stylist Jess Medros. Along with Hair Stylist Mathew Tuzzoili and Make-Up Artist Sophie Haig, we shot in my studio. Our inspiration was from a project called “HoIler for the Dollar” Store. I took items found at the 99-Cent store and made still lifes out of them.

I recently published the project with IDIO Gallery to coincide with my upcoming show, Tree Times, March 17th to April 3rd (more info on this at the bottom of the article).

 

What are some of the defining moments in your career so far? How have they affected the way you approach your art and your creations?

One of the defining moments so far has been having work included into Sydney Australia’ s MOCA permanent collection. It was a ‘zine I made with the Blood of the Young collective out of Toronto, Canada. While it’s amazing to have work as a young artist in a permanent collection, I’m still hustling hard to have my own country recognize my work. I hope to get some work in institutions here in the U.S. But nothing’s really changed how I do things. I just try to distill all my influences down to something potent and uniquely me.

How do you feel the industry is doing right now? Which trends are really pushing the industry forward, and which are holding it back?

Photography is an interesting field. It’s been around for only a few hundred years and yet it’s gone through many technological revolutions. But now I see that the industry is currently unaware of just how much it has changed. People who look at photography and make photographs today don’t need to see and know light as intimately as photographers like me used to. However, the new technology allows you to use sensors that are much more powerful, and technologies that are more pliable to shape your vision. I think, though, that if we want to really be successful with photography and utilize it to its fullest potential, we need to start training ourselves to see better. The act of looking and seeing needs to be stressed a bit more, and we need to remember where we came from so we can get to a brighter future. (Pun intended!)

Who are some other artists that you are currently into?

Sergio Larrain, Jason Fulford, Hiro, Viviane Sassen, Jim Shaw, Witch

What are some of your goals for 2016?

So far, 2016 has started out amazingly. I would love to find a great agent to partner with. I’d also like to shoot for a few more creative and unique fashion designers. But to be honest, I feel blessed every time I get to take pictures for a living and have people see and respond to my work.

Why did you choose these pieces to represent yourself on this spread?

Photography has always been a collaborative experience: the photographer and subject, the photographer and viewer, the teams that help make a shoot happen and a printer who brings the photo into the real world. It’ s a team effort, and for this interview, I wanted to share some images that I felt not only showcased that team effort, but also showcased my vision. I love collaborating, and I feel like part of modern photography is to let go of those “rock star” photographers and auteur types. Collaborate with as many people as you can to widen your sphere of influence and soak up as much as you can.

Catch Jesse at his upcoming NY Gallery @ Tree Times, March 17th to April 3rd.

* IDIO Gallery, 976 Grand St Studio D, Brooklyn, NY 11211 // Idiogallery.com

Facebook.com/idiogallery @idiogallery

And make sure to keep in touch with him on Instagram.

The post installation 009 — Jesse Untracht-Oakner appeared first on Nest HQ.

Over the last five years Detroit’s Wheez-ie has been establishing himself as one of the most versatile producers and live acts in the underground dance community. Ahead of each show he cuts a handful of dubplates to spin out which could feature anything from a classic Mala dubstep anthem to a high school throwback from Will Smith. His live sets are all over the place in the best way possible, and his multi-genred productions share a similar approach. On March 21st we’ll be releasing Wheez-ie’s debut NEST EP, Questionable Taste, which covers everything from house to techno, to rave, and downtempo — all under the roof of modern, forward-driven warehouse.

Check our interview with Wheez-ie and his live NEST HQ MiniMix below:

Let’s start off by talking about how you got your name.

At the time, I think I was 18, and I was really into breakcore. I have asthma, and I was at some high school battle of the bands, (just there watching with some friends). I was trying to come up with some DJ name and I thought, “’Wheezie’; I have asthma, that makes sense!” A lot of the breakcore names are ironic or kinda dumb so I put the hyphen in there. At the end of that battle of the bands the auditorium actually caught on fire. I figured it was a sign from god, and I never really changed it after that.

How did you get into dance music, and specifically this warehouse or underground realm you’re involved in?

I saw the video for “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy as a 6th grader on MTV’s late-night “We’re going to show you all the bad shit” count down and I thought it was crazy. At the time I thought that was drum and bass. I ended up going to Barnes and Noble to pick up the CD and they only had their first album, The Experience. I didn’t realize that what I liked wasn’t drum n bass for a long time, so when it came to me DJing I was just listening and playing out drum and bass. I first heard Dubstep around ’06 or ’07 and didn’t really wrap my head around it until 2009 or so. In 2009 I was going to Dubwar in NYC and heard Dave Q play “Footcrab,” and that more or less got me into the whole Footwork thing. Honestly I’m really into history, and spending a lot of time listening to old records or reading about the 90s rave scene has had a huge influence on me.

How has where you have lived and the parties that you’ve been to affected the music that you like to make?

I’ve lived in 3 cities in the past 4-5 years, but wether it’s Houston, Boston, or Detroit, I would say it’s more about the parties you go to and the people you surround yourself with that influence you more than the landscape of the city you’re in. I feel like people have those kinds of answers where they’ll say how all of the abandoned buildings in Detroit really inspire them to make their shit hard or whatever. I don’t really feel that way. I think it’s more about what you go to, and the people who are at those things that influence you. If you’re doing a lot of warehouse parties you’re probably going to make more warehouse appropriate stuff. This is kind of a “chicken or the egg” conversation: are you writing music to fit the shows you want to play, or are the shows you play shaping the music you make? When I lived in Boston I was going to NYC every month to either go to Dubwar and see Joe Nice and Dave Q DJ or to see DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn. That had a huge influence on my music. It really helped shape who I am as a producer. I think I’m at my best when I’m drawing from my own experiences to make music for my sets.

You have a very unique way of playing out music, can you talk a little bit about your live style?

My DJ approach is more or less like “will it blend”? It doesn’t matter what genre it is or anything, it’s just a matter of trying to see whether or not the two tracks will work together. I’m back to Djing all vinyl now, and I’m cutting dubplates ahead of each show, so if I really have to think hard about what records to bring with me. I’ve found I’ve gotten really picky since the switch from using my computer. It’s really helped me gather my ideas and has made me feel a bit more cohesive. My kind of style is just trying to throw everything in as quickly as possible, and I use to get lost in that. Now I think everything fits a bit better.

One thing that’s really interesting to me is that you are in this scene that deals a lot with credibility and respect, but you don’t seem to be too good for anything and you really do play a lot of different stuff in your sets.

That’s such a great and hard question… I’ve kind of come out of the underground Dubstep scene in America. I played a lot of those parties and continue to play a lot of those parties. I’m happy that a scene that is so particular about authenticity and is so protective over their music accepts me even though I might play music that the crowds weren’t expecting to hear. I think that to some extent “the unexpected” is how I’ve managed to continue playing these shows. I’ve found that if you continue to push a style unapologetically with enough conviction, eventually you’re going to break through a wall.

I’ve found that you, unlike a lot of people in that scene, can have respect things like the sound design that goes on in “EDM”.

I think that it’s all produced really, really well. The sound design is really cool. Every once in a while I’ll get sent a trap track from someone like Mayhem that I think is really sick, but I have a hard time when it comes to ultra cheesy synths stabs and stuff like that. I check the Beatport top 100 because it’s important to know what’s going on, whether you want to participate in it or not. It’s important for me as a DJ to know why I like or don’t like something. A lot of DJs and a lot of listeners choose to hate something because it’s cool to hate something. I want to know why I don’t like the things I don’t like.

I think that it’s important to show that EDM and underground music are not so different. I didn’t have to compromise anything to be on Skrillex’s label. I feel like there’s this real sense of “these people are trying to screw us over” coming from the underground scene, and I don’t really think that’s true. It’s just a different sound, and it’s okay for people to like different things. I mean hell I like Sandstorm.

Your NEST EP has a lot of rave influence as well as techno, acid, etc. How did you find yourself blending all of these elements?

“Afterburner” was me trying to make a bassline track, but in a way that was just more minimal. “That UH Track” was me trying to make a jersey track. I feel like there was a lot of me experimenting on a genre and then it ending up not being that genre. Instead it becomes this other thing that is also cool! “Time Heals All Wounds” was just a song I wrote while feeling super down. These tracks were tracks that I felt would do really well at shows that I play. It’s always really important for me to have casual listeners who just happen to be at my show enjoy themselves. Those people are really important. I think that those tracks are super fun and I think that it doesn’t matter if you’re super into the scene or not, you can enjoy them.

How did studying sound design effect how your approach music?

I went to The University of Houston as a Music Education Major playing the oboe for a while. My father is high school band director, my mom is a high school orchestra director, and my brother is getting his doctorate in piano performance right now. Music was just kind of a thing we did at our house. I realized that I didn’t want to be a band director and transferred to Berklee College of Music to get my degree in Electronic Production and Design. We had to do everything: film scores, sound effects, etc. I mostly wrote tracks and then got into arguments with my professors about how I didn’t sound like deadmau5 [haha]

I would say that about a quarter of my education was from Berklee, and the other three-fourths was from being involved in the scene and going out five times a week. I think my formal education was very, very important but I think that being in Boston at the time and, being around the people I was around was life changing.

–

Wheez-ie’s NEST EP, Questionable Taste, is out March 21st. Check his live NEST HQ MiniMix below:

NEST HQ MiniMix: Wheez-ie Tracklist
Jeremiah Meece – Mystic Nudes [Dub]

Seal – Get It Together (Superchumbo Guiding Light Mix) [Warner Brothers]
Mala – Lean Forward [DMZ]
Lemonick – Paramite Temple [Dub]
Kya – My God Is Real (Soundscraper’s Dub) [Subliminal]
Cool Spastik Edit lol [Black Label]
The Sex Fiend – Hard Whore [Waxworks Records]
Randomer – Conceirge [Dub]
Cool Justin Timberlake Edit
Jeff Mills – [Axis Records]
Luny P – Bootys Will Roll [Internet]
Limewax – Untitled 666 [Freak Recordings]
DJ Vague – Freakout [Forthcoming Anarchostar]
Silent Killer & Tek Infektion – Insurgents [Hate]

Follow Wheez-ie
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

The post Interview + MiniMix: Wheez-ie appeared first on Nest HQ.

NEST HQ was created with the intention of being a platform that would promote and encourage the growth of artists of all genres and mediums. While we’ve mainly worked within music up to this point, we are expanding on an idea that will showcase multi-media artists of non-musical backgrounds such as painters, designers, architects, and others of the sort; this is installation.

For installation 010, we present painter and graphic designer: Kristen Liu.

Can you tell us a bit about how your story as an artist began? At what point did you realize that art was something you’d be doing long-term?

I’ve always appreciated art from a very young age because my mom is an elementary art school teacher. And I guess I just always drew things and I think because I drew so much when I was younger I got better and better at it. I didn’t decide that it was going to be a career path for me though until late in high school when I realized I didn’t want to be a doctor and art was what I was really best at and loved.

What is the reason for the medium you chose to become proficient in? What does this medium allow you to do that other mediums may not? 

I primarily paint in acrylic and acrylic gouache on cradled wood panels. Because I usually flat paint with minimal shading, acrylic was the best choice. I also like how quickly both paints dry since I tend to do a lot of detailed patterning and I rest my hand on the panel as I work. Acrylic gouache is great, not only because of the wide range of colors but also because it is slightly more fluid than acrylic so I can easily get super detailed line work that is smooth.

What were the inspirations behind these three pieces specifically?

Nobody’s Fool: In a lot of ways, this painting was a technical experiment and challenge for me, which was primarily why I made it. This was the first painting I ever did that featured such a large and detailed figure that wasn’t in a mural. I had also never done a transparency over that large an area (the curtain) and it was so scary to go right over what I had spent hours painting and have to get it smooth and perfect in one try. I hadn’t done a larger detailed still life for a while so I tried to get pretty elaborate with all the objects.

Wrestling: I painted this piece over Thanksgiving, and actually got in trouble for sneaking off to work on it haha. I wanted to do a reinterpretation of Hercules and the Hydra so I decided to feature a two­ headed snake instead and Hercules would be replaced by one of my warrior­like women. I decided to include the second female figure who is taking a more caressing approach to the snake because I wanted to imply conflicted feelings about it.

Bisected Still Life: This piece was one of the first still life paintings that I ever made (maybe the first?) and that’s why it’s so important to me! I usually do more narrative and figurative work but I also think it’s important to be able to do a piece that challenges your technical and compositional skills. Still Life paintings are fun too because I love choosing objects to paint that can imply a story while maintaining their ambiguity. Also I know I tend to paint a lot of violent or sexually charged pieces so it is nice to be able to do something that might have subject matter that’s a little more accessible to certain audiences.

What are some of the defining moments in your career so far? How have they affected the way you approach your art and your creations?

I guess one of the moments that sticks out for me the most was when I had my three person show at New Image Art with Luke Pelletier and John F. Malta. It was the first time I had ever shown with New Image and I was just COMPLETELY blown away by the fact that I got this chance­ so many of my art heroes, people I had looked up to in high school and college, had shown in this gallery and the fact that I was even allowed to put my stuff up on their walls helped me think that maybe I could have a future in making art. This show gave me so much confidence in what I was making and confidence is incredibly important to being able to create something and then put it out there for everyone to see and judge.

How do you feel the industry is doing right now? Which trends are really pushing the industry forward, and which are holding it back?

It’s hard for me to answer this question because one of the things I dislike most about working in art is the realization that it’s also a gigantic business and I’m terrible at all things that have to do with business. I would much rather just hole myself away and paint and not have to think about sales and contracts and bills, I prefer to think of art as some beautiful ideal but I’ve also had to face the fact that it is a money­making industry which isn’t bad but is just a fact. I do really like that the line between fine art and illustration is beginning to dissolve. When I first started showing I remember a gallery asked me to not mention that I studied Illustration because some buyers wouldn’t appreciate that fact, so that stigma is still kind of around but I really hope that stupid shit like that won’t really matter soon.

What are some other artists that you are currently into?

I just found this artist on IG, Mark Alsweiler. His paintings, his sculptures, everything is so awesome, I really wish I could make work like his. And when I was out in NYC for a week I saw the Coney Island/Steve Powers exhibit and then went to visit his sign painting shop in Brooklyn. I’ve been a fan of his work for a while but seeing his stuff in person was amazing. I tend to do ultra­detailed work so I really admire painters who can do giant, eye­catching works that are simple and can be read from far away.

What are some of your goals for 2016?

To get through it! This is the first year that I’m trying to completely rely on my own art as a source of income so I really want to be able to make it both financially and artistically. I also really hope that my art grows because I can now focus solely on it, so we’ll see. It’s been really tough so far and it can completely batter away at your self­esteem but I really don’t want to have to admit defeat to myself.

Why did you choose these pieces to represent yourself on this spread? 

I think they’re my best (so far!). I try to improve or do something different with every piece even if it’s just a little thing, and I count these pieces as successful outcomes of that effort.

Keep with Kristen on Instagram

@kliuwong

And find more of her works on:

http://www.kristenliuart.com/

The post installation 010 — Kristen Liu appeared first on Nest HQ.

Donnie Sloan and Ricky Ducati seem an unlikely pair; Sloan: an award-winning co-producer behind Empire Of The Sun’s iconic Walking On A Dream album, and Ducati: a Canadian vocalist just coming into his talent. Nevertheless, one fateful Myspace message from Ducati to Sloan upon hearing his Empire Of The Sun work would set things in motion for the pair, ultimately leading to the formation of Midnight To Monaco.

“I was living in London at the time and decided to take a chance and fly Ricky over to work for a week,” Sloan reminisces about their first meeting. “We knew there was something there but it took a while for us to really hone in on the sound and take the project seriously. That happened about two years ago.”

As one of Future Classic‘s newer signees, being introduced to the FC team through friend and fellow producer Touch Sensitive, Midnight To Monaco are already making waves with a retro-tinged sound they sometimes refer to as “nu wop.” Glistening synths take precedent alongside Ducati’s honey-spun croon in tracks “Suicide” and “One In A Million”. It’s the perfect amount of boyband catchiness brought back down to earth with an indie dance sensibility.

Sloan cites his musical beginnings with Paris’ Rex Club in the ‘90s and listening to early Daft Punk records as well as tunes off the dance robots’ own labels Roule and Crydamoure as musical inspiration. You can hear that same dance-pop quality in his productions. He’s got a knack for composing catchy chords—a talent that he’s carried over from his days with Empire Of The Sun to now.

That’s not to sell Ducati short, though, but rather enumerate the reasons why the two seem to create pop magic together with ease. It’s the quality of Ducati’s vocals that lends to the nostalgic air of their tunes. Sloan agrees, “It’s unique and has a classic element to it. It feels like it’s from another time and it sounds amazing stacked up!”

Perhaps it is also their shared love for all things retro that makes Midnight To Monaco even more enticing. Artist Robert McGinnis, the illustrator behind the famous Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Barbarella, and old James Bond movie posters created the stunning artwork for their first single.

“The specific scene involves a few of our favorite things,” they reverently say of the artwork. “Mid-century architecture, ’50 and ‘60s fashion, and parts of the French Riviera. We have more paintings to come. We’re excited to share them.”

Their own name, Midnight To Monaco, was inspired by the Monaco Grand Prix posters of the ‘30s through the ‘70s. It’s a simple name to keep with the ambiguity of the entire project. For them, the name could easily be the name of “a film, it could be [a] novel, it could be a play.”

Though still fresh as a duo, with their first single only being released this past August, the two already work together flawlessly as if they have been crafting tunes together for years. Despite Sloan’s veteran status, the two share an equal artistic vision when crafting each hit.

“Sometimes I start with chords on a synth and a basic beat,” Sloan reveals of their creative process. “We then sit and jam out melodic ideas and form the basis of the song. When it’s working, that happens very quickly. Other times we’ll work remotely. Ricky will send some melodic ideas and I’ll write chords around them. We only begin production when we feel the song is tight. From there it’s usually an exercise in trying to not ruin the song.”

It’s that strict dedication that adds to a feeling that Midnight To Monaco are on the precipice of something great like we’ve just met them at the tipping point. They have visionary plans for themselves and have already landed a big label deal with Island/Universal Records as they dig into a forthcoming full-length album slated for release later this year.

Their infectious drive taken in tandem with bold, thematic elements is what makes Midnight To Monaco more than your average music makers. They strive for something beyond music, for a visceral quality that they hope will shake fans to the core. “Sure it’s about making the best songs we can,” the two muse of the future, “but creating a visual world and experience around those songs is of equal importance to us.”

For more from Midnight To Monaco head to their SoundCloud and Twitter.

The post Interview: Future Classic’s Midnight to Monaco & Their Dedicated Neo-Retro Mission appeared first on Nest HQ.

Texas based artist Zander Caruso, professionally known as QUEST, has an awesomely genuine approach to bass music. He specializes in dubstep — the newer school side of the genre which emphasizes heavy drops and meticulous synthesis — while drawing influence from the fantasy realms of games like Dark Souls and Elder Scrolls. He’s about a year into the project and he already has official remixes for Barely Alive, Tisoki, and Virtual Riot. We think everyone’s going to be hearing a lot more about QUEST in the near future. Check our interview blow, along with his next level mix which opens with a skit “featuring” his TX-based dubstep homies WAVEDASH.

NHQ: yewww
NHQ: how are u doing duder

QUEST: Im doing just dandy!!! how about yourself?

NHQ: doing great!
NHQ: cooling down after sxsw
NHQ: was great hangin :)
NHQ: what was ur fav part?

QUEST: dude it was so nice to finally see u and hang out w/ u we still gotta get on some halo 3 :^)
my favorite part was probably the day of both the Disciple & Nest HQ showcases. Seeing the whole Disciple gang throw down was so tight. I also met a ton of older producers. Then running from that showcase to the Nest HQ one down 6th in the wrong direction for 10 minutes right before WAVEDASH played gave me the workout of the century. Overall it was was of the best nights I had in a while.

NHQ: :)

QUEST: also opening pokemon cards w/ u was p dope :)

NHQ: what is a day in the life of a san antonio kid like
NHQ: YESSS

QUEST: Well, theres two kinds of days. Theres the days I stay inside and produce for 15 hours straight. and theres the days when i go outside and actually move around.
The days i move around I hang out w/ some other musical friends at this little bookshop called Imagine. They have bands or individual acts play on one side of the room while the other side has smash bros competitions its such a strange environment and I love it. Other than that u can visit the Alamo and learn about our fallen heroes or go 2 the river walk and breathe the hot air that creeps up from its depths :^)
QUEST: :^)
QUEST: thats what that face was supposed to be
QUEST: or make it this 1 :‘^)

NHQ: omfg
NHQ: how often do you remember the alamo

QUEST: by law 182 times, as that is the number of how many Texans we lost in that battle

NHQ: hahaha
NHQ: whats ur fav pokemon card you own
NHQ: and why do you have such bad luck pulling good cards?

QUEST: ok so i spent months trying to pull my fave card which is the silver dialga secret rare full art ex. I finally pulled it about a month ago and ever since i pulled it my pull ratio has plummeted ;(

NHQ: did u scream

QUEST: I think maybe its a curse, but the card is my life force, my soul.
QUEST: and yeah
QUEST: ill man up
QUEST: ill say it

NHQ: hahaha yess

QUEST: i maybe shed one maybe two or even 3 tear

NHQ: YESS
NHQ: the three tear pull

QUEST: LOL

NHQ: when did you start getting into bass music? or more specifically dubstep?

QUEST: oh man oh man.in 7th grade there was a party and some kid who i think went on to be a San Antonio exclusive DJ was playing Doctor P’s Big Boss and then Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites and since then I’ve been OBSESSED with making dubstep. Starting in late 2012 w/ tutorials all over youtube (which there really weren’t any at the time), and then moving into learning ableton by teaching myself and through collaboration. Now I’m here, creating high pitched annoyances in Serum for 8 hours a day.

NHQ: who do u think is making some of the most sonically interesting stuff rn?

QUEST: that is a really really good question
QUEST: I’ve been super obsessed w/ Isqa and his sound design for a while and i still go back and listen to try and figure out what the heck he is doing. Every one of AWE’s weekly tunes have been unique and different that alone amazes me. DZZ has been creating some really solid interesting stuff recently I’ve been super keen on his production i love that guy! Also the Barely Alive fellas have been cooking up some of my favorite stuff yet, as well as Virtual Riot. Stone showed me the new Baauer and I was absolutely blown away. Im really trying to keep up w/ all of them atm haha (:

NHQ: ur productions are very cinematic. what kind of visuals are going through your head when you’re working on a new track?

QUEST: oh thank u, no one has ever said that about my tunes <3

NHQ: for sure!
NHQ: mega gun rmx sounds like it’s straight out of a rpg ost

QUEST: I got a lot of Elder Scrolls type battles and Dark Souls looking characters doin magic type stuff. I plan on incorporating characters and ideas into my music more so, i need an artists help to design the character and be the face of this sound I’m making.
And yeah! a lot of my new stuff i tried to make sound like its from the games i played growing up. I played a LOT of RPG’s

NHQ: what were some of your favorites? aside from what you mentioned

QUEST: I’m gonna mention it again cause its my all time fave but all the souls games are HUGE inspirations to me. Aside from that Final Fantasy VII through X plus FF Tactics were all experienced w/ my two older brothers. I always kinda forget pokemon is an RPG but definitely pokemon Emerald. The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask is one of my all time faves. I also sunk way too many hours into Runescape lmao. Theres a ton more but my mind is blank atm

NHQ: yesss

QUEST: wbu?

NHQ: umm

QUEST: can i ask u questions
QUEST: how this work

NHQ: sure!
NHQ: pokemon red was huge

QUEST: ok sick cause i actually really wanna know

NHQ: i love the idea of rpgs but it was always hard for me to play thru all the way
NHQ: im an fps thot tbh

QUEST: RED WAS THE FIRST VIDEO GAME I EVER PLAYED
QUEST: rpgs are hard work sometimes tbh

NHQ: BUT i somehow got really sucked into starcraft and got into diamaond league there

QUEST: OMG

NHQ: which is a really intense one

QUEST: U FIEND

NHQ: hehe
NHQ: TOSS BOYZ

QUEST: I used to play starcraft w/ my cousin. I would go on battle net lose a ton of regular games as Protoss and then play the custom maps people made

NHQ: what else, i really liked jet set radio future, and OH red dead redeption
NHQ: might be my alltime fav

QUEST: OK i have beef w/ jet set radio

NHQ: hahaha

QUEST: cause i have always called it “jet grind radio”
QUEST: red dead had some of the most fun online of all time fr
QUEST: also that campaign was fantastic

NHQ: ooo tru i didnt rly play online
NHQ: it’s just one of the best campaigns ive ever gone through. amazing soundtrack, vibe, and scenery

QUEST: yes yes yes yes everything about that game had me immersed. I remember when it got announced and in the video they said something like “u see that mountain in the background over there? you can GO to that mountain if u want to” and everyone went NUTS

NHQ: YESSS
NHQ: what was the last song that made u go “woah”

QUEST: thats a tough one, cause there are songs i REALLY like rn, but i dont remember if they blew me away from the get go, i kinda had to ease into them. Also hearing a song on a big system live vs. just on your own monitors or headphones really makes a difference. Theres a new WAVEDASH song that really impressed me and made me pee a lil. AWE’s bootleg of Program made me groove real hard the first time i heard it.
QUEST: my computer died I’m back

NHQ: haha yaay
NHQ: what are you plans for releases and production for the rest of the year?

QUEST: I have an EP that I’m working on, i want to make sure its the best stuff you’ve ever heard from me so i might take another month or two to finish that up. I plan on doing more remixes for people hopefully soon and maybe collaborate w/ some friends of mine ;) . I want to try to shoot for making at least 1 more EP by the end of the year, i figure ill have enough ideas and concepts to run with by the end of the year. I also plan on working with an artist to help redesign and make the visual aspect of QUEST come alive (i just need to find one). Hopefully really start to get the ideas i have surrounding QUEST moving into a more serious and realized state.

NHQ: looking forward to it bud :)
NHQ: what can we expect in this mix?

QUEST: u can expect a lot of 150 tunes, and a lot of new tunes from me and some friends! I’m excited to finally show this stuff off :D

NHQ: YAAAAY
NHQ: thx for chatting zander <333

QUEST: Anytime! thank you for wanting to chat w/ me

NHQ: yaaay
NHQ: thx bud

–

Check QUEST’s NEST HQ MiniMix below:

NEST HQ MiniMix: QUEST Tracklist
QUEST – ID
LAXX – BRAINBUG (MUST DIE! REMIX)
BARELY ALIVE – OVER IT (QUEST REMIX)
QUEST – ID
ZOMBOY – GET WITH THE PROGRAM
QUEST – ID
ISQA – COUNTER CLOCKWORK
SEX WHALES – FREE BUTTERFLY (QUEST X VYILL REMIX)
FEDDE LE GRAND & DI-RECT – WHERE WE BELONG (ZOMBOY REMIX)
VIRTUAL RIOT – WARM UPS
VMP & JIQUI – INTERRUPTION (QUEST REMIX)
MUST DIE! – ANIMAL PARADE
ID
ID
GETTER & MUST DIE! – MEGA GUN (QUEST REMIX)
THE M MACHINE – GHOST IN THE MACHINE (KILL THE NOISE REMIX)
ZOMBOY FEAT. MUST DIE! – SURVIVORS
RAY VOLPE – LIKE THIS (QUEST REMIX)
DODGE & FUSKI VS. VIRTUAL RIOT – ALIEN (QUEST REMIX)
WAVEDASH – BANG
WAVEDASH & QUEST – ???

Follow QUEST:
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

Words: FAN FICTION

The post Interview + MiniMix: QUEST appeared first on Nest HQ.