Opus
We first heard of you back with the group Rubber room.
Peace Brothers I’d like to say that you are early innovators in Underground Hip-hop, Tell us about where you from and how the environment influenced your sound? Why?
Why thanks. Man its crazy because Aaron and I (Echoes) grew up on the Western suburbs of Chicago. Many folks back then weren’t even listening to hip hop only because hip hop was practically non-existent!
What was your first exposure to music and how do you see your earliest musical memories resonate in your sound today?
My first exposure to music was a talent show my grandma had at a talent show in the projects. I remember lip syncing to Rubberband man in my pajamas with a comb for a mic. From that point on, I was fascinated by entertaining people. Problem was that I couldn’t really sing so a couple of friends of mine started a band and did a cover of Planet Rock. I actually played the melody on a Trombone. I always liked music and sounds but at that time I couldn’t afford to buy like “real” equipment. Later on a met a dude when I first moved to Maywood by the name of Keith Fiala. He too was into music and his parents had dough so they flipped him some 1200’s!!!! We decided to start a DJ crew called Central Sound System. Rocked a few parties but everything musically was all dance in Chicago. Only thing out rap on the airwaves was the Message by Grandmaster Flash and the furious 5. After a while DJing got a little monotous plus me and my guy wasn’t really spinning together no more. He went away to school and had the 1200’s!! My other guy was in the job corps and was bringing back all these rap tapes from NY. I’m like what the hell is this? Public Enemy? He was like just check it out man, it’s the new shit. I listened to it and never turned back. I was completely blown away by the sound and the originality of it. To me, the Bomb Squad still are the best producers ever. Go back and listen to “By the time I get to Arizona” and you’ll see what I mean.
Will we hear another Rubber room album?
We’ll see. Just gave them a beat CD.
How did your surroundings influence your perception of music?
What’s dope about our scene is that you can draw from all types of music especially house music. I can experiment with different “unconventional” sounds and placements.
When did you make your first piece and what genre of music was it in?
My first track ever made was a dance track about 125 BPM. Some would call it a acid track.
Do you work collectively on all your tracks? Explain how you work?
We make tracks separately. I would come to the table with a skeleton of the track then Aaron would come up with ideas as far as adding something to it. Could be scratches, sounds, etc. It’s actually rare for us to sit down and work together on a song. Our collaboration comes into play during the recording segment of the song.
Since you all were out back before Underground Hip-Hop was labeled in New York and else where with a “Futuristic Ambient” sound before allot of “NY Underground” artist do you think your sound was stolen? Tell us how you feel about that? And what you think of your early innovation?
I wouldn’t necessary say it was stolen. Honestly, I don’t really pay attention to what other cats are doing. The only cat I see doing what we did is El-P. For some reason we think alike musically.
Are you more known in your home city of Chicago or overseas in like Japan?
Wow, great question. I really don’t know. A lot of people know us there and a lot of people know us here!
Who are some of your favorite Chicago artist?
Cap D (All Natural), Lupe, Kanye, Common, Rusty Chains, Matlock, Outerlimitz.
Would you consider your music Black Music?
Nope. I consider it as world music to be loved and admired by all people of different races.
Who are some of the best musicians of all time to you?
Miles Davis, Kraftwerk, Prince, Jimi Hendrix.
Is Chicago colorblind when it comes to people or is it a racist city?
Chicago is a really segregated city which unfortunately limits us to how we experience each other’s culture. Unfortunately this barrier leads to a lot of racist overtones. I see it as just a lack of understanding one’s culture. Some people just don’t know so in my opinion you have to excuse them for their ignorance..
What brought you to decide that musical production and composition, particularly in Hip-Hop, was something that you would like to pursue?
When people told me they could listen to my music without words.
What moment in time made you realize that you were on the right path? Was there a specific song you had produced that brought you to love the feel of making music even more than you did before?
That whole Rubberoom LP made me realize we were on to something special. It didn’t sound like anything out! I knew we could have the potential to become great producers with a new sound.
Is a lot of what you do Sample free, meaning another persons sounds or do you ever use all created sound?
It’s all samples but we sample stuff from a lot of different sources besides records..
Listening to all music is some of the best advice a producer can give to another, as it obviously expands their musical and creative horizons. What would you add to this as advice for producers just beginning to develop their craft?
Use equipment that works for you! Also, take a lot of time developing your drum sounds and library. If you sample, look other places besides records for samples. Records are not the end all be all for making a beat!
How has producing music influenced your daily life?
It’s keep me a little broke for a very long time..lol..On the real it make me realize that I’m doing exactly what I want to do in life right now. I’m very thankful for that.
What are your plans for the future and what efforts can one expect to see your music being a part of?
Got a couple of projects on the horizon. Moving to collab with live musicians and vocalist. Never really worked with a singer before so it should be interesting.
Where do you aspire to be as a producer one day, and what motivates you to continue making music? How do you see your music as being unique from the rest of the production in Hip-Hop / R&B / Soul today?
Well obviously it doesn’t sound like the industry sound but I believe it’s a matter of time that our sound is appreciated by the industry. It all starts with that one tastemaker to say “Hey, this is the new shit!” I truly believe that our music can cross all genres of music. From Rock, to Soul, to hip-hop, to electronica. We have only chosen to deal with Hip-hop and electronica for now. Like I said on our next projects will show a different side to what we do.
Do you think your music should shape and develop your people?
Umm..Yes and no..I believe parents should be a very intergral part of shaping and developing our youth..However, I do believe in music with a message.. We’re the highest among new HIV cases and all we talk about is sex..We have the highest homicide rate and all we talk about is killing each other. It doesn’t have to necessarily beat you upside the head but we should at least take the time to say something positive on an hour long soundtrack we call a CD.
What are you concerned with when making music?
Whether the music is nice and compliments the lyricist well, or do you look ahead in hopes of directing the message of the music to have significant impact in the hearts and minds of those that admire Hip-Hop globally?We have the uncanny ability to make average people should good 😉 I just try to do whatever sounds sonically pleasing to the listener. Because we work with all different type of rappers, the style is different from one person to the next. What might be admired by fans of Aesop Rock may not bode well with Murs fans..That’s why I concentrate on the sound quality so much.
Will we see you on tour soon? When and where?
Working on it….
Do you consider your music just Hip-Hop or also electronic Why or Why not?
I consider it both..It’s dope to rock a hip-hop set Atmosphere and Brother Ali and rock with electronic artist like Meat Beat Manifesto and DJ Krush ..It speaks volumes about our sound..
Tell us anything we didn’t ask and what you want to express, shout out etc … ?
Thanks for the interview and shining light on what we do…
peace and stay New Amun Re
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