Trissy Baby had a funny interview with our boys over in LA — Tribe of Zebras. This is why we ♥ them so. Skip to the bottom to hear their latest single “The Way You Make Me Feel (Feat. Jennifer Knight)”
What is Tribe Of Zebras?
– We are DJs/Producers Duo from Los Angeles
Comprised of Amika Akaya & Austin Wedvick.
How did it come about?
– Well Austin is White and I’m Black and we both are down with Zebra
patterns and Tribal shit. So we wanted to people to come together
as a tribe and listen to our sounds.
You guys are from LA. In Canada we don’t have any celebrities, we only have beavers. Have you ever seen a celebrity and if so who? and were they way shorter looking in real life?
– Haha are you referring to short celebrities as Beavers ha. I never
thought of that, But i guess Robert Downey Jr. was a short celebrity
we saw that we were surprised about. Danny Devito is pretty short but
we already knew that.
Have you ever seen Lindsay Lohan? She is my favourite celebrity.
– Yeah, she’s chill.
Do you have a favourite celebrity??
– Owen Wilson, Morgan Freedman & Shakira “Hips don’t Lie”
Favourite thing about the city you live in?
– It’s summer almost everyday.
Least favourite?
– Traffic
Favourite guilty pop pleasure artist?
– Austin, Taylor Swift “I’d Tap” , Amika, Rihanna she’s
a babe and has amazing vocals.
Favourite sound in the whole wide world?
– Air-horn Dun, da, da, dun
In Canada we call soda, pop. What is your favourite kind of pop to drink when you want something refreshing?
– Orange Pellegrino
I’m really into cool YouTube clips and am wondering if you have seen anything super awesome lately?
– Tim and Eric Awesome Show Dr. Steve Brule, For Your Wine… Crackhead In The Projects Backflips Off A 2 Story Building.
The million dollar question. I have been reading a lot that the earth is totally doomed, how do you think we fix it??
– Zeitgeist, & electing meta-world peace on the Lakers as president.
Did you know that in Canada “Z’ is pronounced Zed rather than Zeee, which way is better?
Jon Pegnato, known to the dance music community as Hot Mouth, is a class act. After a recent separation with LA Riots toward the end of 2011, Jon breathed life back into his solo project and pumped air into his blow-up doll — ready to take on 2012. After just signing a residency at Moon at the Palms in Vegas, joining up with George Karalexis and Faux Entertainment, and becoming a member of the Liaison Artists family only in the past month, I felt the urge to catch up with Jon and hear all about the plans for Hot Mouth.
Read on after the jump to hear about the Hot Mouth ethos, Jon’s perfect Coachella lineup, upcoming collaborations, and the first edition of Hot Mouth mixtapes exclusive to GDD™.
Tracklist:
Firebeatz – Funky Shit
Xeffer – Jack it up
Firebeatz – Punk!
Micky Slim – I’m a Freak
John Dahlback – Overdose
Chris Lake & Nightriders – Love that Sound
DJ Delicious, Till West – NYPD
DJ Dan – Nasty Night Out
Mord Fustang – We are now Connected
Nom De Strip & Hot Mouth – Wear The Trousers (Nom De Strip Edit)
Tristan Garner, Gregori Klosman – Bounce
Sunnery James, Ryan Marciano – Pondo (Chuckie & Silvio Ecomo Mix)
Felguk – Jack it
Dirty South, Thomas Gold, Kate Elsworth – Alive feat. Kate Elsworth – Tommy Trash Remix
Chris Lake, Nom De Strip, Hot Mouth – Bleached (Preview Edit)
Gotta Dance Dirty™: It’s always the first question in a GDD interview. What do you wet your whistle with?
Hot Mouth: Whiskey and Beer!
GDD™: Hot Mouth is a project that started before your involvement with LA Riots in 2009. Did you keep the same sound going as before or are you looking to take Hot Mouth in a different direction now?
HM: My sound has definitely evolved over the past 3 years, but the one that hasn’t changed for Hot Mouth is keeping the music fun.
GDD™: What kind of chewing gum can extinguish Hot Mouth? Is there any cure?
HM: Whiskey.
GDD™: I’d say that the blow up doll, Ursula, from Super Troopers is probably the most famous blow up doll, at least in my mind. Do you have a name for yours? Do you see her career blossoming along with the onslaught of Hot Mouth?
HM: I decided not to give her a name just because I dont want to get attached if something happens to her. Plus im not very creative when it comes to names. But if anyone has any idea what I could name my plastic friends…im up for it.
GDD™: Paint me a picture of the perfect main stage Coachella lineup. Any genre. Any Artist, DJ, Motivational Speaker, etc. Let’s go with 7-10 acts.
HM:
GDD™: Collaborations are really increasing among dance music artists these days, and you seem to be working with quite a few other artists — Chris Lake, Nom De Strip, Felix Cartal and more. Is it a friendship then collaborator relationship or the other way around? Seems like a chicken and the egg situation.
HM: I really don’t like any of the people I collaborate with. They are all really mean and very untalented….they just have a name, so I just use them.
Actually I love them. I only like to work with people I admire and people I call my friends. It’s hard to work with people that don’t know what they are doing.
GDD™: What does Hot Mouth do when he’s not in the studio with his blow up doll?
HM: We go on bike rides, talk politics, fold paper into animals…the usual.
GDD™: Would you rather be E. Honda from Street Fighter or Raiden from Mortal Kombat? Basically, do you want to 100-hand slap bitches or be a thunder god?
HM: I am thunder god.
GDD™: How did you go about making this mix for us at GDD™? Any specific way our dear readers should enjoy this best?
HM: Honestly just went thru some of my favorite tunes at the moment. Its my first mix for Hot Mouth in 3 years, so I wanted to make sure it was fun and a little bit different from what most would expect. Everyone right now seems to be playing dubstep, EPIC house music, or deep house….so I thought these would be fun. Its great to listen to when you have to do the dishes or clean your bath room. I hate doing those things, and anything to make that experience more enjoyable I’m in…even if it means I have to listen to my own mix.
GDD™: What’s next for Hot Mouth? Give us the dirt on any new releases, shows, etc that you and your blow up doll have coming up.
HM: Have some big collaborations coming out with Chris Lake & Nom de Strip. I put a couple in the mix….As well as an original with Felix Cartal & Peace Treaty. Basically just trying to make as much music as I can right now. I’ve been really inspired with music at the moment. So many good songs out there…and SOOO many HORRIBLE songs…its just makes me want to lock my self in a room and make tunes.
GDD™: That sounds good to us. Thanks for the time, sir, and we look forward to hearing more from you this year!
Jon Pegnato, known to the dance music community as Hot Mouth, is a class act. After a recent separation with LA Riots toward the end of 2011, Jon breathed life back into his solo project and pumped air into his blow-up doll — ready to take on 2012. After just signing a residency at Moon at the Palms in Vegas, joining up with George Karalexis and Faux Entertainment, and becoming a member of the Liaison Artists family only in the past month, I felt the urge to catch up with Jon and hear all about the plans for Hot Mouth.
Read on after the jump to hear about the Hot Mouth ethos, Jon’s perfect Coachella lineup, upcoming collaborations, and the first edition of Hot Mouth mixtapes exclusive to GDD™.
Tracklist:
Firebeatz – Funky Shit
Xeffer – Jack it up
Firebeatz – Punk!
Micky Slim – I’m a Freak
John Dahlback – Overdose
Chris Lake & Nightriders – Love that Sound
DJ Delicious, Till West – NYPD
DJ Dan – Nasty Night Out
Mord Fustang – We are now Connected
Nom De Strip & Hot Mouth – Wear The Trousers (Nom De Strip Edit)
Tristan Garner, Gregori Klosman – Bounce
Sunnery James, Ryan Marciano – Pondo (Chuckie & Silvio Ecomo Mix)
Felguk – Jack it
Dirty South, Thomas Gold, Kate Elsworth – Alive feat. Kate Elsworth – Tommy Trash Remix
Chris Lake, Nom De Strip, Hot Mouth – Bleached (Preview Edit)
Gotta Dance Dirty™: It’s always the first question in a GDD interview. What do you wet your whistle with?
Hot Mouth: Whiskey and Beer!
GDD™: Hot Mouth is a project that started before your involvement with LA Riots in 2009. Did you keep the same sound going as before or are you looking to take Hot Mouth in a different direction now?
HM: My sound has definitely evolved over the past 3 years, but the one that hasn’t changed for Hot Mouth is keeping the music fun.
GDD™: What kind of chewing gum can extinguish Hot Mouth? Is there any cure?
HM: Whiskey.
GDD™: I’d say that the blow up doll, Ursula, from Super Troopers is probably the most famous blow up doll, at least in my mind. Do you have a name for yours? Do you see her career blossoming along with the onslaught of Hot Mouth?
HM: I decided not to give her a name just because I dont want to get attached if something happens to her. Plus im not very creative when it comes to names. But if anyone has any idea what I could name my plastic friends…im up for it.
GDD™: Paint me a picture of the perfect main stage Coachella lineup. Any genre. Any Artist, DJ, Motivational Speaker, etc. Let’s go with 7-10 acts.
HM:
GDD™: Collaborations are really increasing among dance music artists these days, and you seem to be working with quite a few other artists — Chris Lake, Nom De Strip, Felix Cartal and more. Is it a friendship then collaborator relationship or the other way around? Seems like a chicken and the egg situation.
HM: I really don’t like any of the people I collaborate with. They are all really mean and very untalented….they just have a name, so I just use them.
Actually I love them. I only like to work with people I admire and people I call my friends. It’s hard to work with people that don’t know what they are doing.
GDD™: What does Hot Mouth do when he’s not in the studio with his blow up doll?
HM: We go on bike rides, talk politics, fold paper into animals…the usual.
GDD™: Would you rather be E. Honda from Street Fighter or Raiden from Mortal Kombat? Basically, do you want to 100-hand slap bitches or be a thunder god?
HM: I am thunder god.
GDD™: How did you go about making this mix for us at GDD™? Any specific way our dear readers should enjoy this best?
HM: Honestly just went thru some of my favorite tunes at the moment. Its my first mix for Hot Mouth in 3 years, so I wanted to make sure it was fun and a little bit different from what most would expect. Everyone right now seems to be playing dubstep, EPIC house music, or deep house….so I thought these would be fun. Its great to listen to when you have to do the dishes or clean your bath room. I hate doing those things, and anything to make that experience more enjoyable I’m in…even if it means I have to listen to my own mix.
GDD™: What’s next for Hot Mouth? Give us the dirt on any new releases, shows, etc that you and your blow up doll have coming up.
HM: Have some big collaborations coming out with Chris Lake & Nom de Strip. I put a couple in the mix….As well as an original with Felix Cartal & Peace Treaty. Basically just trying to make as much music as I can right now. I’ve been really inspired with music at the moment. So many good songs out there…and SOOO many HORRIBLE songs…its just makes me want to lock my self in a room and make tunes.
GDD™: That sounds good to us. Thanks for the time, sir, and we look forward to hearing more from you this year!
Another great name making their prominence known early this year have been Jokers Of The Scene. The Canadian duo just last week released a techno shaped 5-track EP on Fool’s Gold Records called J0T5, with a seasoned RMXD EP on deck. Over the weekend we were able to sit down (on the internetz) with the Jokers to hear a little more about the EP and what else is new. So give it a read! You might just learn a thing er 2… Oh did I mention the exclusive remix they wanted to give the GDD readers just because they love you that much? SCORE.
READ THE INTERVIEW + DOWNLOAD 2 FREE TRACKSafter the jump!
GDD: First off, lets get to know these Joks… what’s your favorite drink? First one is on the blog. JOTS: Chocolate milk (Chris) and a toss up between black coffee and carbonated water (Linus).
GDD: You guys have just released a colossal EP, J0T5. Having come a long way since the blogger Electro House styles we all used to love, what were your motives and methods in these new originals? Did you try to incorporate sounds of your back catalogue? JOTS: We generally don’t have any pre-conceived ideas or methods when we enter the studio, it usually just all comes to be through exploration. However, I think if there’s anything that’s always motivated us, it’s to discover new territory by taking things in new directions. As we broaden our scope, our ‘sound’ has become more expansive. We’ve always strived to not repeat ourselves while retaining a cohesive identity.
GDD: Killing Jokes I and II work as the introduction and conclusion to this EP in a cinematic-esque composure. What was the inspiration behind them? JOTS: It was somewhat unintentional, at least initially. Killing Jokes I was basically the earliest stages of what eventually turned into Killing Jokes II. We liked how it sounded early on, so we decided to mix it down as it stood on it’s own as a short ambient piece. On the other hand, we knew we could take it so much further so the decision was made to continue working the song and make it into two parts.
GDD: And towards the other originals on the EP, were you trying to create a sense of unison in the EP’s entirety? Or show something specially different about each track? JOTS: Not consciously. Before we started the sessions we knew we wanted to come up with another single, perhaps one or two tracks. But once we started working, so many different ideas were recorded that we started working on multiple tracks concurrently. That created a natural unison and it was quickly evident that the songs were strongest when listened to together. We starting paying more attention to the body of work itself rather than the individual songs so we could give the record an appropriate flow. We wanted it to sound as though it was growing or expanding as you listen through – starting tiny and ending colossal.
GDD: Just to get technical, what programs and hardware are you guys using to produce? Any favorite plug-in or machine that really identifies the JOTS sound? JOTS: We don’t talk too much about the stuff we use to protect our secrets and methods, but it’s mainly made with hardware. Synths, drum machines, miking various instruments, etc. We don’t use any soft synths or midi. We work similar to a band, overdubbing various performances and takes. We often mess around with different recording techniques to obscure sounds, bring them in and out of focus, and manipulate them in endless ways. Another secret to our sound is an old Echo Gina soundcard from the 90s that gives the recordings a distinct warmth.
GDD: The EP has just come out this week on Fool’s Gold Records, whom you’ve been a part of for quite some time now… was it easy to choose them as the best fit for the release? You guys are like family, right? JOTS: Indeed we are. We’ve been with them since the beginning!
GDD: The follow-up to this release is the J0T5 RMXD EP, featuring an impressive variety of remixes. How did you go about choosing these particular remixers and what are you happy about most in the results? JOTS: We wanted to ask a diverse array of artists to reinterpret the music, and we’re big fans of all of them. They all did such an amazing job and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. Hearing the diversity and unique creativity from each act has been very pleasing. Plus it helps get our music heard by a wider variety of people who may not be familiar with our sound.
GDD: You guys have been nice enough to let us share the Cosmic Kids Remix with our readers… with all the free music out there now, do you guys think its important to give away tracks or mixes to your fans? JOTS: We definitely think so. The music industry has changed (for better or for worse), and we need to adapt with it. Obviously we’d like our work to sell so we can sustain what we do, but we never expected to receive as much attention as we have in the first place. We’re happy to give away a track or mix.
GDD: With a big EP out already early in the year, what else is in store for JOTS? Any upcoming releases, remixes or collaborations you guys can hint us about? JOTS: We plan to continue working extensively in the studio. We are about to unveil our new side project, Blank Capsule. It’s a band project with vocalist Bryce Kushnier (aka vitaminsforyou) and our first single is out next month on Hi-Scores. Also, we’re currently working on a collection of songs and a remix in collaboration with Renaissance Man that we’re planning to release later this year. Currently we are being far more selective with remix work, but there a few on the horizon. Stay tuned!
GDD: And after this release on the label, can we expect to see you guys back on for the Fool’s Gold showcases @ SXSW and Miami for WMC? What about any tour plans or big gig dates this year? JOTS: We will definitely be touring extensively in support of the new record and look forward to getting back to Europe in the near future. As for SXSW and Miami, those details are still being worked out, so hopefully we will be able to announce full details soon!
GDD: Sounds great guys. We’re glad to see you making big waves in the scene once again, and we look forward to your success over the new year. Thanks for taking the time with us and we hope to see you soon!
EXCLUSIVE FREE REMIX + BONUS:
And as promised, we have the Cosmic Kids remix of ’Organized Zounds’ – giving you a deeper funky house vibe on the techno original. As a double bonus, the Jokers have already given away the grittiest tune on the J0T5 EP, entitled ‘Black Mountie.’ DOUBLE SCORE.
When fame hits you as suddenly as it did when Yolanda Be Cool and Dcup released ‘We No Speak Americano’, you can often wonder what was going through the artists mind at the time. To find this out and more, we caught up via email!
When you heard the mastered version of ‘we no speak americano’ for the first time with DCUP, did you feel like you had made something that would blow up as much as it did?
No not really. Actually not at all. We were actually even a little unsure if what we sampled could be considered sacrilege in Italy. So we emailed our Italian dj buddies, Mowgli, Solo & Riva to see what they thought. They all replied with the same answer which was basically. “haha this is funny” which we didn’t know whether was a good a thing or not.
Have you ever used your music to seduce someone?
Umm yep. It was my first and most consistently reliable trick for years:)
Who is your favourite dance music artist at this minute?
Morgan Geist aka Storm Queen – Everything this guy has done and is now doing is amazing.
Are there any other Aussie producers catching your attention at the moment?
Wax Motif & Parachute Youth are on fire at the moment.
What is the song you guys hold closest to your heart?
Juicy - The Notorious B.I.G.
90% of people reading this are probably bedroom producers – what’s your best pro-tip for kids starting out making beats?
Before writing a track make sure you have a strong idea and direction you want to take your track. Then go mad experimenting with all sorts of weird and crazy stuff in your pursuit of creating something unique.
Nadastrom were established 2007 and are the collective brainchild of Washington, D.C. natives Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom. The duo are hitting off 2012 with a bang by going on a mini world tour. We checked in with them before they hit Australian shores!
What have you guys been listening to lately?
Lots of Juicy J, haha. Production on that Blue Dream & Lean Mixtape murders and Juicy is obviously never afraid to speak his mind, which is always fun.
How did the Nadastrom duo you guys formed originally come about?
Our mutual buddy DJ Tittsworth introduced us. He felt we had a lot in common music wise and thought we should link up. Shortly after we met, I asked Matt if he wanted to do a weekly party in DC and we would get paid in drinks. That lasted for about a month and then the party got shut haha. We had a tough time finding a new home for our party, so instead we just ended up working on tunes at matt’s place and that’s when we started making records.
Who’s your favourite up and coming Moomahton producers at the moment?
JWLS from Miami, Steve Starks from DC, Billy The Gent & Longjawns from DC and Richmond, Brosafari from TX, and of course our Moombahton Massive partner in crime DJ Sabo from NYC via LA.
Tell us about what goes on in the studio, do you guys work mostly on the road or do you like to dedicate time to sit down and come up with your tunes?
We definitely prefer to sit down and work on tunes in the studio. Sometimes we find ourselves having to work on the road, and that’s ok.
What’s been your all time favourite gig and why?
This is tough, seeing as we just finished our Mothership tour with Skrillex and played over 49 cities. But I think my favorite gig so far was Moombahton Massive IX in Washington DC where I proposed to my fiance on top of the DJ booth in front of hundreds of people on Thanksgiving night. She said yes!
Where can you see the Nadastrom sound going in 2012?
Who knows, haha. We always like to keep an open mind and explore new music and sounds. It’s what inspires us.
90% of people reading this are probably bedroom producers – what’s your best pro-tip for kids starting out making beats?
My advice would be to keep an open mind when it comes to music and production. Also, you are always going to sound like yourself, so don’t worry too much about how you “sound.” Spent more time mastering whatever hardware/software program you like to use so you can have a killer workflow and get your ideas out quicker.
What can the punters expect from a Nadastrom show this time around?
We’re coming armed with this new moombahton sound and vibe, hope subwoofers are ready!
