I sat down with the guys of The Glitch Mob earlier this month in Montreal, where we chatted about their new album, the world of EDM and the ever-growing Glitch Mob community. Made up of Josh "Ooah," Justin "Boreta" and Ed "edIT," this LA-based trio has been working hard on making their music known worldwide.
Check out some of the interview below:
Earlier this
year, you released your second album, Love Death Immortality – what went into
the making of it?
Justin: It was about
a two-year process where we had been touring our previous album and decided to
stop and take everything we learned on the road and put it back into our new record.
The focus for us is always on the emotion and the story and feeling of a song.
This time, we put it into a package that was ready to be performed live and
toured. It sounded like music that was engineered for the live stage and had
the energy of the drama of a big live show we wanted to put on.
My final Osheaga interview this year was with EDM artist Robert DeLong. This talented young musician was included in Billboard's list of artists to watch in 2013 and has definitely been proving that he has what it takes to make it big time. His unique live performance and cool beats are what sets him apart.
Take a look at his awesome music video for his hit track "Global Concepts":
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Christina: This
summer has been pretty jam-packed with festivals…do you prefer sets like those
or the smaller shows?
Robert DeLong: It’s
totally different. I love festivals because you give people 30-40 minutes of
what feels like a commercial for Robert DeLong. It’s cool and fun because
there’s just so much energy and you get to play for people who have never seen
you before. So I love that. But playing small shows is great too because I have
total control and I get to play an hour set or whatever. It’s cool.
C: For
someone who hasn’t heard your music yet, how would you describe it to them?
RD: This
is always a tough question for me to answer. I usually say indie songwriter
meets electronic dance music with a crazy live show involving a Wii remote,
joysticks, drum kit, etc.
C: Where
did this signature X come from?
RD: My
girlfriend just painted it on my headphones one time and my good friend who’s a
graphic designer turned it into what it is. Then it was sort of my branding
from there on out.
C: What
was it like getting into the EDM scene and since then, have you noticed any
major changes?
RD: I
live in LA and it’s definitely grown a lot and changed a lot, even in the last
two or four years. It’s cool because there’s a lot more exposure but also it
does create the weird thing how it becomes more commercial. I’m glad that
people are embracing dance music and getting into new sounds though. Especially
the LA people; they were introduced to dub step and now there’s the whole world
of electronic music they can get into.
C: What
went into the making of Just Movement?
RD: That
was an album I wrote over almost four years. I’ve just been writing songs and
putting them together and then at some point I realized I had a pretty massive
collection of songs. So I chose songs that I thought fit together and then last
summer we got into the studio just to do the final mix on it. It was really
just a labor of love. A lot of those songs went through multiple iterations.
Some of them were on acoustic guitar initially, then I started performing and I’d
mess around with doing it electronically and then I’d go back in the studio and
take those ideas and recreate the songs.
C: What
advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
RD: Work
hard. I think that’s actually the most important thing. Work hard and you have to love it. Those
things go hand in hand. If you can work hard and obsessively work on it that
means you love it. And be nice to people.
Lately, I've been really getting into the whole EDM scene, from listening and interviewing different DJs, getting my friends to teach me how to DJ, and even finding myself being able to get tons of work done when I have trap music blasting in my headphones. So when I heard that there was going to be a session at social media week focusing on EDM, music journalism and the role of social media, I knew I had to be there.
It took place on Friday, February 22nd at the Soho House (I've been to the one in Toronto and was excited to see what the NY location would look like inside!). The event was hosted by elektro Magazine & Soundctrl and was moderated my elektro's Executive Publisher, Zev Norotsky (@zevnorotsky).
Panelists:
Nikhil Shah - Co-founder, Mixcloud; @nikhilshah
Kerri Mason - CODE editor, Billboard.com; @HotWaterInc
Tommie Sunshine - DJ & Producer; @TommieSunshine
Matt Engleman - A&R, Big Beat Records; @WeAreBigBeat
One social media phenomenon they talked about was the Harlem Shake. The song itself, created by Baauer was made into an overnight success thanks to the hilarious videos that people began making, featuring ridiculous costumes and crazy "dance moves" - the fact that none of the videos actually include any Harlem shaking is another issue.
For example, here is my school's attempt at the Harlem Shake:
Baauer, a young talent to come up on the scene, is apparently the most humble guy about this whole situation. He was just featured on the cover of Billboard Magazine, as Kerri Mason brought in a few copies hot off the press to show us all - it's so cool!
I'd just like to add that I really liked Baauer before the whole Harlem Shake craziness...just putting that out there.
During the session, it was really cool hearing from Tommie Sunshine, who has been around in the industry for quite a while. He shared his views on the influence of social media and having a career in electronic music.
We also got to go home with a copy of elektro - Deadmau5 reppin Canada on the cover!
And just for the heck of it, here is what Harlem Shaking actually is:
This was my last Social Media Week NYC event for the week and I'm so glad it ended on such a high note. I had a great time running around the city hearing awesome speakers and meeting cool people!
Making it big in the world of electronic dance music and
making a name for yourself as a DJ or a kick-ass producer can be difficult, but
it’s all about working hard and putting yourself out there. For 22-year-old
Mackenzie Johnson, known as MAKJ, his hard work is paying off, as he gets to
travel the world on tour and do what he loves.
Starting out with simple mash-ups, he eventually gained
support from some of the biggest EDM names out there (Tiesto, Hardwell, Steve Aoki, just
to name a few). MAKJ has come a long way and has began producing his own
material. Take a listen:
As for how he got into music in the first place, his story
is an interesting one.
He has a background in racecar driving, even spending some
time competing professionally in China as a teenager. It was in Macao that he first
caught a glimpse of the world he wanted to be a part of. He stumbled upon a
club and saw DJ QBert, a world-champion scratcher, and since
then, he was hooked.
When he got back to the States, he bought his first DJ
equipment and started playing at college parties and weddings, anything to get
as much experience as possible. And after graduating with a degree in
architecture, he decided to move down to LA to attend Icon Collective, a school
that specializes in music production, to learn the ropes.
Source: Facebook
He was in Toronto for the first time for a show on January 26th at TheHoxton (one of my fave venues) and it was great chatting with him before his set. Check out some of his
answers from the interview:
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve come across?
MAKJ: There hasn’t been any big horror stories that I’ve heard
about, I won’t really mention them. I’ve heard some from clubs. But going to
these everyone treats you really well and are really nice. I was just telling
my mom this, it’s like a different life every time I go and play. I meet new
people, I eat different food, I sleep in a different bed, it’s different every
single night. So I really just think of it that way. I love what I do. Traveling, if that’s the worst thing I can
come across right now, I’m stupid.
Do you have any pre-show rituals? How do you prepare before
a gig?
MAKJ: I eat a cheeseburger, no I’d be 500 pounds. But no, not
really. I go to my hotel room and try to find the dumbest thing on TV and try
watching it while I do my music.But not
really. A lot of people don’t know this about me, but I’ve been DJ-ing for
around six years. A lot of people that start following me and come to my gigs,
they don’t know how well I can DJ. So for me, showcasing my DJ abilities is
super crucial for me.That said, I do
everything live. I’m not going to know if the crowd is going to be a bunch of
50-year-olds or a bunch of 18-year-olds, so I’m really playing for the crowd. And
that’s a huge highlight for me because I know that every DJ out there has a set
already planned. But that’s the rush of it.
It’s the thrill of it, knowing how they’re going to react to
the songs. For me, that’s what I really like to do. Like tonight, you guys are
going to be like, woah I didn’t know you were going to do that. I’ll be going
from house to old school hip hop, back to house and then trap, and people will
be like, what how did you do that, I’ve got a full array. It’s a very A-Trak
thing. So it’s cool that I can show people what DJ-ing actually is.
Who would you love to collaborate with someday?
MAKJ: Everyone has a dream collaboration, but for me, yeah EDM
guys are awesome, so definitely with Hardwell or the bigger guys, that would be
awesome. But I really want to do something with an old classic rock band, like
how Skrillex did that thing with The Doors. I think the generation thing would
be so sick.
What advice do you have for other aspiring DJs and
producers?
MAKJ: Do stuff for free. Definitely that’s the way my fan base
came across. People love free shit. If you don’t have any free stuff to come
by, do what people like. It sounds cliché, but do your own thing. I’m trying to
do an album right now of all the stuff I think I would like. If you go to Beatport and reference the number one track on Beatport, I don’t really see you
going that far because you’re not being yourself. So be yourself and break the
rules. For me, give away free shit.
DJ MAKJ brought my friend and I along to the venue for his
show and he did not disappoint. His set was fast-paced, energetic and the place
was bumpin. I had such a great time (ps:
it was also my birthday weekend, so this was a bonus!). Check out some of my coverage from The Hoxton:
He's got tons of upcoming shows, from Boston and New York to Puerto Vallarta and Miami, plus a residency spot at Tryst in Vegas. He's also on the line-up for Ultra (March 23rd) for the first time this year!
And during our interview, he mentioned a sick collaboration he worked on that he'll be releasing later this year, but couldn't reveal the name...so until then, keep an eye out!
For more from MAKJ, find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@DJMAKJ).
