About a week ago, Massive-label “Mad Decent” launched a sub-label called “Good Enuff” where they post free and downloadable music every weekday and this remix of NGHTMRE’s “Street” by not sorry and Wild Boyz! was one of the first to be premiered there. The track itself brings a heavier twist for all those familiar with the original track. It’s definitely a track that all bass heads will come and love! I was also able to talk to them and ask them a few questions, including some tips for all you aspiring producers, and also get an exclusive playlist of the tracks they feel that has impacted them in any way.
What got you guys to produce?
WILD BOYZ!: I’ve been playing music since I was 10, starting out playing drums in punk bands and stuff. Fast forward 8 years, I met the resident DJ at a bar I was working at in college and he taught me how to DJ and hired me to play gigs around campus and in Cincinnati. When I started learning more about DJ culture and production, I figured out that you could be a one-man band with a laptop and some speakers, and that’s when I started trying to learn everything I could about producing. Five years later, after lots of YouTube tutorials and nerding out with fellow producers, here we are.
not sorry: After growing up playing in punk rock bands when I was about 17 I started listening to a variety of electronic music. Things like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Venetian Snares, Kid 606, Prefuse 73, rjd2, Mindless Self Indulgence….My buddy gave me some Dieselboy and some of the Total Science records which are what originally got me into DJing. Although I started scratching and getting into the battle side of it more. The Aphex Twin and Squarepusher records specifically were so incredible to me. At the time technology was pretty limited and YouTube didn’t have tutorials like it does today. I just had to figure out how to make songs like they did. It made me so curious how they would even come up with some of that stuff. They were all so out of the box and unique it really was inspiring. I started using reason and some external keyboard bits to create sounds and sequencing it in Pro Tools. I still have my first productions and they are pretty terrible. Fast forward through several years working on a variety of music in commercial studios around NYC, I moved to LA in 2010 and eventually left that world to focus on this full time.
Who is your biggest influence?
WILD BOYZ!: I have quite a long list of influences, all coming from different parts of my life. I grew up playing/listening to punk music, so there are bands and artists from that era who have influenced me forever—Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker being the two main ones. As far as dance music is concerned, I think it’s obvious that artists like Skrillex and Nero have had a huge influence on my sound, but I always try to take inspiration from my producer friends whenever I can. Ant has been a huge influence on my music ever since we met because we share a lot of the same passions and spend a lot of time in the studio together, so it’s kind of unavoidable that his ideas about music rub off on me, and vice versa.
not sorry: 3 for different reasons—Rob Swire, Noisia, Trent Reznor.
How does it feel to have one of your tracks be one of the first to be released on Good Enuff, Mad Decent’s sub-label?
WILD BOYZ!: It’s pretty good (enuff). We’re so genuinely stoked on the response it’s gotten so far. We’ve both been producing music for what seems like forever, so it’s a great feeling to have such huge support, not only from Mad Decent, but from other artists like NGHTMRE, Adventure Club, Kayzo, Party Favor, etc. The funny thing is, we made this remix on a kitchen table in SF, so to see it being played by AC at TomorrowWorld and being signed to Mad Decent is kind of crazy.
not sorry: It’s super sick! We are for sure excited to keep working with them and have an outlet for the music we make with such a big presence pushing it. We are both amped that people are into it and asking us for more! Just keep watch! We have plenty!
What are your plans for the future?
WILD BOYZ!: We have another collaboration called “Contact” coming out on Play Me Records on April 25th, and then a handful of other not sorry // Wild Boyz! tunes that will be released later in the year. Aside from that, we have about 10 unfinished projects that we’re trying to wrap up and figure out where/how to release them. I also have a couple solo tracks that will be coming out soon, which I’m excited about. As far as the long term, I would really like to expand WB into a full on branded thing like OWSLA and Twonk have done and venture into different creative avenues like graphics, videos, clothing, etc.
not sorry: To keep making the music I love. There’s so much hype around doing something that’s the flavor of the week and I’m glad to be able to just not pay attention and make what I enjoy. I think Kean feels the same way. We are both heavy into the things we do and try not to ever let that “new, hot for right now” stuff blur our personal visions. Apart from just getting in and being creative when writing, we try and make sure stuff comes out how we see the vision as a whole. That way people can experience more than just a song. For releases, Kean and I have a pile of tunes we’ve been writing together that will be coming out over the span of the year. I’ve got a few tunes with other artists and some solo records, too. Excited for these things we slave over to see the light of day.
Any tips you’d like to give out to aspiring producers out there?
WILD BOYZ!: Keep it simple. Too many young producers (myself included) get caught up in the minutia of the process and it hurts the music. Ant and I have a saying that “every song is just a ring tone,” meaning that the average listener isn’t listening and analyzing your tracks the way you are as the producer. It’s more important to have a cohesive idea for a track and execute it than to try and make something that’s so complex that it’s lost on people. 9.9 times out of 10, people are listening to music on iPhone earbuds or laptop speakers, so fussing with the “perfect” mix down or master isn’t worth the headache. Make the music that you like, do it to the best of your ability, learn from the process, and apply that knowledge to the next track so you can make it better than the last.
not sorry: Make music that inspires you. Make the music you wish existed. If you do that, you’ll always be proud of the things you did years from now because it’s honest and represents you. Also, you don’t need every plugin or piece of hardware to make amazing music. Become a master of one synth before deciding you need 10 more to finish a song.
Keep checking back here on RaverRafting for more upcoming tracks.
Connect with Wild Boyz!
http://www.facebook.com/wldboyz
http://www.twitter.com/wldboyz
http://www.soundcloud.com/wldboyz
http://www.youtube.com/wldboyz
Connect with not sorry:
http://www.facebook.com/itsnotsorry
http://www.twitter.com/itsnotsorry
http://www.soundcloud.com/itsnotsorry
http://www.youtube.com/itsnotsorry
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