What were some of the specific resources you were looking at when you were doing research?
My whole goal is to try to combine genres that were really inspired by electronic music, UK Garage, and old drum pockets of that kind of sound, but make it more musical, and alternative. So I was listening to a lot of Stereolab, Broadcast. I've always loved Pharrell and the Neptunes, chords, and jazz. But then trying to match it with these electronic textures, the whole idea with this project, Pirate Radio, was classic future vintage, if that makes sense?
What is the pinnacle of utopia in a sound for you? If there's a song or a specific chord you like, what is that? How are you trying to chase that perfection?
Man. This is going to sound crazy, but the chord progression of "Senorita" by Justin Timberlake. That's so fucking crazy. Every time I go back, and listen to it— and I learned it on the piano, I think like, "How did Pharrell come up with these chords?" And then just the pocket of it, and the way the melody comes in on it, is just so perfect, that is one. Stereolab has this song called, The Flower Called Nowhere, the chord progression on that, and it's in a super weird time signature. It's just things that are like, "How the fuck did they think about that?" There's a few of them, I'm sure, I can't think about it off the top of my head, but those are a couple for sure.
Did you see the documentary with Pharrel, and Justin, where they were making Senorita?
Oh yeah. Justified? The amount of times I watched that as a high schooler, my play count on that is probably a 100 each, separate, I think there's three 30-minute videos on YouTube, that I watched over, and over, and over again. Yeah. They don't have him making that Senorita, though.
Yeah, what song was it?
They did, "I Love You." I think "Rock Your Body." And "Let's Take a Ride" aged the best out of that.
So with your new project, can you paint the sonic landscape of what you're putting out?
Yeah. Well, I started to touch on it, matching electronic textures with vintage textures, so we used a lot of analog equipment, and I wanted this project to be very musical in the sense. A lot of times electronic-leaning music isn't very musical. Yeah. So trying to take influences from that, but still have it rooted in alternative music, musicality, using live instruments, pianos, guitars, and then we used tape machines on a lot of stuff. They give it a super analog, retro texture. There's this interlude on the project, called "The Credit," And that whole thing was printed to a tape machine. And then there's a pitch wheel on the tape machine, and I played around, moved it, and then you can hear it, manipulating it. And it just sounds more human, than it would if you were in the software program, drawing it in. Well, the whole theme of the project is, it's called "Pirate Radio." Do you know what pirate radio is?
It's like UK garage?
Yeah. Well, it's it started in the UK, but it started with the classic rock era, where the radio wasn't playing what people— or what the youth wanted to hear, pretty much. So they would steal the broadcast, hijack the radio station, and play their own radio, the music they wanted to hear, onto it. And then it just turned into UK electronic music, and that whole world, but it's pretty much people in their bedrooms running their own radio station with all this equipment.
And so, me and TJ, TJ is like my executive producer I do everything with, we were referencing that whole feeling and the spirit of that. And how when we make music, it's like we're in my bedroom, or in our studio where we're tinkering with things, and where it's just the two of us, we're running a radio station. And then leaning into that with the way the music is made, using knobs, and equipment, all that shit.
Have you ever hijacked any parties trying to DJ?
No, but that is what we're trying to do with that. So I really want my first shows for this project to be — We're talking about finding abandoned office spaces, and warehouses, and pretty much building out what pirate radio looks like with all this equipment, making it an art piece, and then doing a show there, that would turn into a rave after it. With Charles, my other roommate, he is a crazy DJ, and has been launching this thing called, "Thank You For Sweating Out Here." Which is going to be underground Raves, pretty much, and he would help put that on.
What got you into UK garage? Was it from your dad?
Not really, I mean, neither of my parents were really into electronic music, that was after their time. Yeah, I don't know, I've always loved electronic music, but good electronic music. I fucking hate EDM music, but it's called fucking fist punk, bro. It started with Daft Punk, and then it just escalated into getting into Aphex Twin. And this whole world, that all of the electronic music I was really liking, was coming out of the UK. They're just so much better at it doing it in a tasteful way. It's a certain way that British people are able to incorporate electronic music, and not make it fucking corny.
But you know why that is right?
Why?
There's a big theory about people in the UK being really good at art because their environment is highly depressive. So the theory is that people here making art in America is not as great, as deep, and more surface level is because we have a lot to look at, a lot that's stimulating.
There's definitely something to that. I think my favorite time we make music is when it's cloudy, and raining out. Yeah. I'm trying to live in London for a while, at least do a year there, or something. But January is my favorite month in LA because people think it's sunny all the time, but in January, LA is cloudy and rainy. Probably half the days of the month, and that's when I make the best music.
You have this evangelical and spiritual hue to your music. You released "Angels" on the date 02/22/22, and your newest song is called "Angels." Can you talk about the spiritual elements you experience, and put into your music?
Yeah. Well for the first single "Angels," obviously it's directly tied to, that's what the whole song is about. But I don't know, I don't want to get too deep into my religious relationship with God. I'm trying to figure out how to do it without it, but I'm not afraid to talk about it. It's really just a matter of, I don't know exactly what I'm comfortable with saying. But I do believe in a higher power, and my dad, when I was a kid, would always tell me, and my sister, that we had specific guardian angels designated to us, and mine was named Chester. I still talk to my guy Chester up there, but I don't know, I don't believe in it in such a literal sense, but I believe in the higher power. I just believe that there's energy watching over us, and that comes through in that song. And once you start looking for patterns and numbers in the world, then you start to see them more. Which is obviously something that's very talked about nowadays, but it's true. It goes to a deeper thing where it's like when you're open to seeing things in the world, then they come to you.
Do you take that same approach to making music? Are you open to whatever sounds or ideas come, to you, even if that's not the plan you had for that day?
Well, that is one thing about music, that's why the research phase comes in handy. You try not to be too methodical about it. That's one thing, with me and TJ, is when we work, it's all just how we feel. But it's, "Let's get this idea out. Let's do this." And then once we're not feeling it, let's go to the next one, and come back to it. And going with the energy of the room, and how it makes you feel.
The methodical part is you do it beforehand, where you try to figure out what you're trying to do, in general. And then you go in with that, in your subconscious, and then you make it with that in mind. But you have to let the energy flow when you're doing it in person, otherwise, you just disrupt the whole— you end up being like, "Oh no, no, no. We need to get this perfect." There's energy in the imperfections, it makes it more human.