It has been one year since SAYMYNAME played his first large-scale festival, Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, all due to winning Insomniac’s Discovery Project. Started in 2012, the Discovery Project has helped jumpstart many careers for up & coming DJs/producers. It is Insomniac’s brain child that allows them to find the latest sounds straight from the people who make these festivals great: the headliners. It also gives DJ/producers the voice to be heard, and the 15 winners are chosen for an opportunity of a lifetime.
SAYMYNAME stood out among the other submissions because of his immaculate blend of trap and hardstyle (in the summer of 2013 trap was making huge waves in the music scene), and his creativity in his track selection. After winning the Discovery Project, the LA native has gone on to play other Insomniac shows such as BASSCON and the Silent Disco stage at Escape from Wonderland campground.
Check out his new Game of Thrones remix:
We caught up with SAYMYNAME before he performed for the second time at EDC LV, and we asked him how he felt about winning the Discovery Project, what kind of doors it opened up for him, and the advice he would give himself if he could do it all over again.
It has been an entire year since you won the Discovery Project, what was your reaction when you found out?
“Mostly I was in disbelief, it was kind of unreal. I didn’t doubt that I won it was just was like “Whoa I actually won”. I was excited once it all sunk in, a little nervous, but mostly excited.”
Had you been to EDC before you got to perform there?
“I did, I went once in 2010 when it was in LA. That was my first one and I hadn’t been since.”
How did winning the Discovery Project jump start your career?
“Initially it gave me a lot of blog exposure. Event wise, some of the big events it opened up doors for were mostly Insomniac events, like Basscon. I believe that came from being in contact with Insomniac events and just being on their radar from winning the Discovery Project. I also got to play Escape from Wonderland, at their campground they did a Silent Disco and that was pretty cool. I found out later that I got that gig from just being apart of the Discovery Project. Theres been a lot of different events like club events that I wouldn’t have even been able to do if it weren’t for that.”
Well it’s great to be with such a huge company like Insomniac, to be apart of the artists that they book.
“Yeah even like EDC coming up, I can credit a lot of that to being involved in the Discovery Project.”
If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself a year ago right after you found out you won?
“I would probably tell myself to do more hardstyle, because that’s the direction my sound is going in now. I kind of wish I had gotten a jumpstart on it, or even had more hardstyle music. Because now Ive seen how much that sound is growing with trap and hardstyle together. I had only produced one hardstyle track right after EDC last year, and then I kind of stopped. I just really wish I could have stayed more consistent and made an EP with trap and hardstyle to get the ball rolling. I’m doing it now, but I definitely would’ve had a jumpstart.”
Last year, trap was getting really big and was the “new thing” for the year. Do you think that had a factor in the judges picking you?
“I believe that did have a factor with the trap and hardstyle. Probably more of the trap because it was a popular sound and the talking topic at the time. I think it made a difference, and I think including the hardstyle made it stand out more. Even now when I listen to my entry set, I see the parts that stand out. Then I didn’t think of it that way I just played a bunch of stuff that I was listening to and I liked, but now that I’m re-listening I can see a lot of parts that probably really stood out for the judges.”
So what kind of sounds do you think they were looking for this year in picking the winners?
“Tough to say because it’s always something different. I think they’re just looking for originality. I always tell people, it isn’t a popularity contest. They are truly looking for artists that stand out. When I entered the contest I certainly wasn’t one of the most popular DJs that entered, so I thought that was going to have something to do with how they pick the winners, but it really doesn’t.
I really think they’re looking for people with a different kind of sound and the diversity in those tracks that just makes them say ‘wow, who is this person?'”
You’ve done some really cool remixes of 90’s theme songs, are you planning on doing another?
“I’m thinking about doing something more current like the Breaking Bad theme song, something that’s popular today. But I’m pretty sure the next thing I come out with will be a theme song remix.”
So you said that you plan on playing more hardstyle in the future? What else is on your agenda?
“I’ve been making that transisition in my sets definitely throwing in more hardstyle. To push in that direction, I have an EP in the works proabaly 3-4 songs, with much more hard style. There’s definitely gonna be some trap in there but its just some stuff I’ve been working on and I’m ready to release.”
What hard style festival do you want to play?
“Number one on my list would be Defcon 1. I always equate it to like EDC out here, I always compare Defcon1 to that like it’s the hard style festival to get to.”
If you could say something to the Discovery winners this year what would you say?
“I would just tell them to keep focus and just know that this win is another step in the career but there is so much more ahead. Because I know with me I was like “yeah I just played EDC”. I thought massive stuff was going to start popping up, I didn’t really realize that I had to keep putting out tracks and producing as much as I was before I won the Discovery Project.
With every festival comes with opportunity, but it’s up to you to keep doing your end and keep working on your craft. That’s what I would tell them, to stay focused.”
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