The WUMP Collective is an extraordinary band of producers, visual artists, and photographers who have channeled their like-minded friendship into creating an outlet for fostering each other’s truly impressive creativity. Their musical styles showcase a wide range of underground electronic music from future bass, to melodic dubstep, and even jazz – all considerably different, still flowing cohesively together.
The creativity and inspired drive of this group brings a refreshing breath of fresh air into electronic music, and it was a pleasure to climb inside the minds of these gifted artists in an exclusive interview with the collective’s Talent Manager, Ronny Bilodeau.
Although we’re still very much in our infancy as far as the collective goes, it seems we came together much like any group of friends eventually do. Our personalities mesh in a particular way, and we each bring something individual and wonderful to the table. We push each other, help each other, and inspire each other. It’s much like a family in that sense. Every artist with us is a beast in their own right, but together we become something much more ferocious. Although geographically we’re not necessarily close, we’re constantly communicating with each other.
When discussing possible names within our group, we looked at past inspirations as a way to forge our path for the future. It turns out that many of us share a favorite childhood book, The Wump World by Bill Peet.
“The Wump World by Bill Peet was one of my favorite childhood books growing up. I very much loved the illustrations and appreciated the inner theme which touches on the importance of being mindful of and respecting your planet. A favorite school teacher of mine had gifted me a copy (which I still have) of the book with a message on the inside of the cover to ‘be happy and keep being creative.’ I think more generally it marked a point in my life that was really my first realization that I loved to make art, and wanted to keep doing so forever.” – Mitch Bilodeau aka Scatz, Co-founder
So, that’s where the word “wump” came from. Without literally representing the book, we just wanted to take the theme of purposefulness and mindfulness and apply it to what has become our collective passion. We love the idea that WUMP, looked at more as an unspecified acronym, can mean anything that we want it to mean. We’ve joked back and forth with our own (often ridiculous) versions: Wobble Unified Musical Physics, Where Underground Meets Prestige, We Understand Molecular Physics, We Ugly Muthafuckin Producers. We embrace the ambiguity of it.
By Chris Nunez
As a collective, we are all dedicated to supporting each other’s work in any way we can. Whether it’s by attending each other’s shows, playing each other’s music in live sets or on the radio, or sharing each other’s music on the internet, we really do operate as a family. We will offer each other feedback on works in progress, since a fresh set of ears can usually help when hitting a wall.
We also have lots of collaborations in the works right now, so you can expect to hear those in 2016. We are even working on our first “WUMP Anthem”, which will be a piece that has been touched by each of our musicians. It begins with a segment of Bill Peet’s The Wump World, read aloud by a student of Thomson Elementary School in Arvada, Colorado, where Stan (Sam Goodman) is the music teacher, and progresses to incorporate each artist’s unique flavor in one anthem-type piece.
In an industry of such saturation, we refuse to compromise our artistic integrity by conforming to the current fads, as we have very little interest in topping the “EDM” charts. Art is about much more than that. The WUMPions have each endured trials and tribulations in life, as we all have. Instead of ignoring and suppressing the pain, as much of westernized society does, we embrace the opportunities for growth, and have learned to channel the life experience into creation.
Art has provided us with an outlet for expression, which is not a new concept by any means, but it seems to have been lost in certain parts of the music industry. Through cultivating their music production skills over the past few years, the WUMP musicians have developed the ability to allow the listener an intimate, directly personal connection with the artist through their music.
Since our collective covers such a variety of different styles and flavors, you can imagine that this question yielded quite an interesting list of artists.
“GRiZ is my biggest inspiration right now. When I saw him live a month or two ago, I was astonished at the way he curated the vibe of the show. It had nothing to do with melting minds or crazy beats or synths. It wasn’t even that loud. It was possible to have a conversation with a stranger you just met and actually understand what they were saying. He was playing like it was a party, not a show. Something about the way he did that inspired me, and I’ve been thinking about it every time I’ve sat in front of my computer since then.” – Metasine
“Just a few of the artists that have been inspiring me lately are Moody Good, Primus, Hanz Zimmer, and Apart” – Boltcutter
“Coyote Kisses, Haywyre, Elènne, Flume, Hermitude, Illenium” – Stan
“My entrance into the electronic world was through Bassnectar, and he is still one of my biggest inspirations to date. His music perfectly captures a paradox between balls-to-the-walls heaviness and emotional euphoria. While most EDM artists can only capture one of those realms at a time, Bassnectar is able to aggregate a diverse range of sounds into a singular, flowing piece. Before electronic, I was primarily into metal and hardcore (some just as cheesy as most EDM today), but just before I was engulfed by the electronic world, I was getting into progressive, groove-based metal. Some of these bands were capturing the same sound and experience Bassnectar is after – stirring together heaviness and aggression with uplifting bliss and psychedelic-spaciness.” – Eyes Ahead
“I appreciate the artists who are taking chances and cultivating their own unique voice instead of a sound that feels manufactured or expected. Unconventional structure, meticulous subtleties, and thoughtful dynamics draw me to artists like Thriftworks, Druid Cloak, Culprate, Perkulat0r, Lindsay Lowend, Stephen Walking, and Moody Good. I’ve continuously loved Lotus, STS9, Gramatik, Minnesota, and Nero over the years and the greats like Jon Gooch, Joel Zimmerman, and Lorin Ashton have always been prominent influences for me as well. But a part of me will always be the guy that’ll rock the hell out to Incubus, Audioslave or The Strokes.” – Scatz
“I think Figure is the only one who I can truly say really got my gears a turning, but right now, I feel like any super heavy artist really gives me goose bumps. It’s tough to pinpoint a few or just one, but I’d say ill.Gates is another huge inspiration because he prevents things from going stale.” – Phil Bear
This year will be full of new projects and some pretty ambitious endeavors. We recently launched our website www.wumpcollective.com, which marks our expansion into the realms of visual art & photography. We have added some incredibly gifted artists and photographers to our family, all of whom have been dear friends of ours for years, which makes it even more special to us. Each of them has their own unique lens through which they perceive the world, and their art offers the viewer a chance to see through another’s eyes- to explore these new perspectives and reflect internally. This coincides with our philosophy perfectly, which has always revolved around purposefulness and creating meaningful art, regardless of which medium.
As for music, to say we have a loaded release schedule for early 2016 would be an understatement. All of the WUMP musicians have been in the studio producing, so we have some pretty exciting EP releases coming up, as well as singles sprinkled in between. Booking inquiries are coming in on a steady basis, and new collaborations are in the works, so 2016 is shaping up to be a spicy meatball of a year. We hosted our very first WUMP Collective showcase last October in New Haven, Connecticut, so we plan on continuing that in 2016 by hosting more showcases, offering our musicians and fans the chance to all hang out and share a fun night together.
We have been graced with a loyal and passionate following so far, and it is because of our beloved fans that we can continue to create and do what we love.
We’ve recapped a few of our favorites singles so far in order to help guide you on the path of your journey in to the truly spectacular world of WUMP, but we recommend diving in headfirst to their extensive Soundcloud library, to best decide where you vibe.
“Pull Me Away” is a transcendent chill wave track that doesn’t just unwind the soul, it lifts it closer and closer to space with every layer and progression. As you lose yourself in the haunting piano melodies try staring into the mesmerizing visual art created by Scatz himself for a truly evoking sensory experience.
Think summer vibes and electro-funk magic – “Like Thomas Funky Edison” samples Michael Franti’s “Ganja Babe” for an easygoing and soulful experience with wonderfully unexpected beat drops mixed in. The bass really electrifies the track, sparking an innovative and addictive sound.
Future bass vibes meets classical roots in Stan’s breezy single “This Too Shall Pass.” A master of about every instrument out there, Stan leads the string section in Michal Menert’s Big Band and worked closely with him on track’s from his recent album, “Space Jazz”
“Long Way Home” is an electrifying masterpiece of melodic dubstep that seamlessly flows and drops creating a five minutes trip that you’ll lose your breath on. The vocals by Tigerlight into the sequence of downright filthy drops will have you blasting “Long Way Home” on repeat.
Connect with The WUMP Collective:
http://www.wumpcollective.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wumpcollective/?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/WUMPCollective
https://soundcloud.com/wumpcollective
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