Production duo, The Soundmen have been remixing together since 2004. Having already produced for aritsts like Glasvegas, Local Natives, and The Drums among others. Heading into their eighth year together, they are poised to step up their game and take on even bigger and better projects. The first of those projects is an exclusive mix for Surviving the Golden Age. For information on the rest of what they have planned, I talked to Scott Durday after the cut.
Tracklist:
01) Dada Life “Kick Out The Epic Motherf**ker (A.G. Trio Rework)”
02) Drake featuring Lil Wayne & Tyga “The Motto”
03) Electrixx “Crispy Cake (Original Mix)”
04) TeenWolf & Shelco Garcia “Tommy Matola”
05) Chris Brown featuring Busta Rhymes & Lil Wayne “Look At Me Now (Codes Remix)”
06) M83 “Midnight City (Christian Strobe Remix)”
07) Afrojack “Selektah”
08) Lil Wayne “6 Foot 7 Foot (J-Trick Moombahton Edit)”
09) Tyga featuring Lil Wayne “Faded”
11) Azealia Banks “212”
12) Scissor Sisters “Shady Love”
13) Beyonce “Party (Megaman & Panic City Remix)”
14) Adventure Galley “Marooned”
15) Arcade Fire “No Cars Go (Christian Strobe Remix)”
16) Just Kiddin “All The Way To Love”
17) Whitney Houston “How Will I Know (Van Hooft & Forever Kid Remix)”
18) Dirty Tees “With or Without You”
MP3: The Soundmen “No Cars Go (Exclusive StGA mix)”
How did you get started in producing?
I started producing in my dorm room at University of Washington. After meeting Justin, my production partners, through mutual friends we quickly began producing for local Seattle artists. By our senior year we had expanded to producing for NYC artists (Roxy Cottontail, Jae Millz, Tom Gist, Rover) and quickly made the jump to the city.
What kind of equipment and programs do you use for your production?
Our setup is pretty compact. Sony Acid Pro 7.0, M-Audio Midi controller, VSTs and a Yamaha Motif. We both produce on PCs and our proud to be in the minority of artists repping for PCs!
Your first major release was the Glasvegas remix album, Home Demolition. How did that project come about?
I love that you listened to that project as it was one of our first that was outside of hip hop and one we are very proud of. That was actually a very organic process. Justin was actually the assistant engineer on their first album (you can find his name in the liner notes) and we befriended the band who gave us their blessing to totally destroy and rebuild their demo tapes. This also lead to two official remixes for the album through their label.
Home Demolition seems far from your beginnings as hip hop producers. How did the transition from hip hop to more dance-oriented music happen?
Well it really began with being asked to remix a track for Augustana‘s single “Boston”. When we did that we realized that our hip hop roots transferred very well to different genres. We also started listening to a lot of different types of music and new styles and genres gradually snuck into our production style.
We then saw significant success with our project “VeckaFlyest” which we remixed Lil Wayne with Grizzly Bear samples and original beats. The project was featured on RollingStone.com, Gorilla Vs Bear, Paste Magazine and received thousands of downloads. We knew we were on to something.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be and why?
Friendly Fires. Hands down. There hasn’t been another band in the last decade that has been so ahead of the curve with vocals, production and song structure. Ed MacFarlane also has one of the best voices in pop/rock today and sounds amazing over any type of production.
You created an exclusive mix for StGA, can you describe a little bit about the concept behind it and some of the song selections?
The set is a massive blend of the records that are making our hips shake the hardest right now. We have been DJing clubs and shows for a few years now and this set is a condensed example of what you can expect to hear when you come to one of our parties. J and I dig BIG sounds, big bass and a good blend of hip hop and electro when we go out and that’s what we like to drop when we play a set. We are DJing at SouthPaw in Brooklyn this Friday!
Finally, what is next for the Soundmen?
We have a lot planned for 2012. We are currently hard at work on our solo project with the first single aiming to be released in March. The project will be our first official release, taking the sound we have built over the past few years and creating all original music with some really amazing vocalists.
We are also working with multiple artists on remixes, production and future projects including Jasmine Solano, Saadi, 33hz, Jogyo, PSO, Erick Arc Elliott, OnCue and a few more that I can’t name just yet. Its going to be another big year of even bigger sounds!
