Interview | Chrome Music

#ChromeSelects: Nicolas Haelg

By Marki June 25, 2015

Nicolas Haelg comes to us as the Deep House maestro. Haelg has arranged some artful electronic compositions over the years (which you can find in our playlist below) and with so much House getting lost in the ether, he has the effect of standing apart. His meticulous sampling and surprising go-to songs made for a unique look at this deep, down, low composer.

1) What artist/musicians have influenced you thus far?

Since my musical influence comes strongly from the hip hop and rap scene, so does my sampling. I was influenced many, many times by hip Hop and R&B and not necessarily by other electronic artists. The first 2 CD’s I bought were “The Marshall Mathers LP” by Eminem and “The Chronic” by Dr.Dre back in 2001. “The Masters of Sampling”, the one and only Wu-Tang also influenced me big time. I could now mention 100 other hip hop artists, but I guess I would loose myself in that topic. Anyway, when we talk about my “melodic” house influences, it would be a lie not to mention Bakermat. I do not necessarily listen to his tunes, but I guess everyone who ever used sax in their own tunes was somehow influenced by him, and so was I. But in the end I think I get inspired by everything that I perceive as being a cool sound. It doesn’t matter whether it comes from hip hop, house, drum n’ bass and so on.

2) What was the collaboration like working with MOUNT? What was the creative process behind the track?

Mount and I are pretty good friends. We met at a festival and we already discussed a possible collaboration the very first hour we met. So working with him was like two kids playing around. Mount pretty much showed up with the main idea of the tune and sent me the stems so I could work on it. It was very convenient to work with him, because we both knew what had to be done, so there wasn’t a lot of discussion involved.

3) Who would you like to collaborate with? Vocalist wise?

Well if I could choose from all vocalists, then for sure Alicia Keys! I like her achievements and her voice. She sings with a lot of passion and one can hear where her roots are and where she is from. Otherwise I like to collab with people that I know that the chemistry is going to be right. Cause if it is not, working together can be very tiring. Doing collaborations is like relationship building in my eyes. This means that it’s not necessarily about the skills someone brings in, but the personality.

4) What is the most absurd thing you ever spent money on?

Probably my skateboard, it’s given me so much pain in my life so far.

5) What is one app you can’t live without?

“SBB Mobile”, the app from the Swiss Railway Company. It shows me all train and bus connection, pretty decent app! And of course my alarm clock.

6) What is your dream festival to play?

Hmm I haven’t really thought about that yet. How about Urban Arts Form? I had a lot of fun there last year. Also Fusion Festival would be sick. Who knows? Maybe next summer?

7) What other genres are you/do you want to explore?

My musical history is broad and long. Producing-wise I started 10 years ago with hip hop instrumental tunes. I stuck to that for about 7 years. So 3 years ago I experimented with some liquid drum n’ bass, trip hop and dubstep, ending up with deep/melodic house. Producing is a learning process. Every genre I was into, I produced some tunes, learning so many technical skills I still use in my tracks. All the sampling comes from my experience with producing hip hop tracks. The synthesizer part I got from my experience with drum n’ bass and dubstep. I’m still exploring and changing my style all the time. As my Professor once said, “As a producer you most go through 3 phases: Imitate, Assimilate, Innovate.” I think it’s pretty hard to get to the last step of innovation. But of course my aim is to get to the last step eventually. But I guess not many producers even reach that level.

8) Favorite thing to eat before a set?

I don’t really have one. But I pretty much love all kinds of pasta.

9) Your samples and vocalists are all unique. How do you chose them?

When it comes to samples, it’s pretty much luck. I’ve been working with samples and studying them for years. Meanwhile I think I can pretty much see which samples can add something special to the tune. So as I mentioned before, my productions started with Hip Hop music, a genre that is all about sampling. Sometimes I listen through samples the whole day and end up not using them. When it comes down to vocalists, it’s sometimes pretty hard to get in touch with the right one. Luckily I’ve got a network now. Nevertheless, it’s always a challenge to get the right voice implemented into the track. It often takes months.

SoundCloud ::: Facebook

https://soundcloud.com/chrome-music-vibes/sets/chromeselects-nicolas-haelg

#ChromeSelects: Molly Moore

By Marki June 22, 2015

Molly Moore, an emerging singer-songwriter, first caught our attention with “Natural Disaster” a tune that has racked up the love on SoundCloud, garnering over 35,000 plays so far.

Moore’s newish tune “Don’t Believe It” delivers an emotional performance that plucks at the heart strings. We truly get to see her range as a postmodern folk-pop queen. Look out, she’s just begun her voyage.

1) What talent past and present has influenced you?

I grew up in the 90’s so that era of pop music definitely had an influence on my taste at an early age. I loved Alanis Morissette; “Jagged Little Pill” was one of the first full albums that I listened to. Along with “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. Third Eye Blind also holds a special place in my heart. John Mayer, Coldplay, Lily Allen, The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Banks, Imogen Heap, the list goes on.

2) Who would you like to collaborate with?

I kept trying to find a different answer but the honest one is Max Martin. :)

3) Please talk a bit more about “Don’t Believe It.” It’s received a ton of love but more importantly, there is an important message behind it.

This song means a lot to me because of what it stands for. It ain’t real if you don’t believe it. Instead of accepting all the worry, darkness and hurt the world throws on us, what if we instead chose to see only light? It is easier said than done but I believe if you make it through the breaking point, your strength increases tenfold and your perspective widens. “Don’t Believe It” is really a song about changing perspective and seeing the bigger picture.

4) How did you link up with Win & Woo?

I reached out to them because I heard a remix of theirs on The Hype Machine and loved it. Afterwards I realized I’d missed a DM on twitter from them 2 months earlier and was so glad they got back to me when I finally messaged them! They’re really talented guys from Chicago, great vibes :-)

5) How did you get started as a singer-songwriter?

I was 7 when I was inspired to write my first attempt at a song called “Anarchy Girl” about my sister. My dad helped me put melodies to my lyrics. I think it’s safe to say I started there. I did a lot of musical theater growing up which exposed me to some amazing songwriters like Jason Robert Brown and Sondheim. My dad taught me the basics of piano & guitar. I always loved singing. I always wanted to perform for as long as I can remember. I graduated high school 6 months early to work and record my first “official” demos, kept recording & started getting gratis licenses on my own for the songs I was writing.

6) You’ve reposted some more “Pop” EDM (DubVision’s “Hollow” and Felix Cartel – “Ready For Love” ) in the past and there’s some EDM infused beats in your music. What’s your take on EDM? Is it a fad? How is it to sing over? How do you pick a beat?

I wrote those songs I reposted! I definitely have mixed feelings on this one. I think that there’s definitely been an over-saturation of music in this genre that doesn’t set itself apart. My goal with anything I do is to set myself apart. I might not always succeed but that’s always what I’m aiming for. I don’t particularly love tracking vocals over EDM tracks only because it takes some of the innocence away from the emotive experience I’m having, if that makes sense. I like to write to tracks that have breathing room for me to think, sing, have silence, have moments. You know? It’s hard to get inspired when there’s a new noise every millisecond in a track.

7) Who should we be listening to?

Brandyn Burnette, Banks, FKA Twigs.

SoundCloud ::: Facebook

https://soundcloud.com/chrome-music-vibes/sets/chromeselects-molly-moore

#ChromeSelects: filous

By Marki June 14, 2015

This week we sat down with young stud filous. He’s been releasing melodic jams as of late and his EP, “Dawn” is set to be released July 17. We checked in to see what he had to say about his age, who he would grab a burger with, and a DJ that is 11 years old.

1) What are 2 movies and 2 songs that describe your life so far?

Happy Feet and Crossroads. “Hakuna Matata” featured in the Lion King and “Vienna” by Billy Joel.

2) Age is just a number. What’s your take when someone calls you young?

Many people seem to be surprised about the fact that I’m still so young, but my age doesn’t really matter to me. Being the youngest in a group is something I’m very used to. I was always surrounded by older people and pretty much only ever had friends that were older than me. So now to stand out because of my age is nothing special for me.

3) “Dawn” looks like its soon to be released. What came first in terms of importance, final exams or the EP?

It was sometimes really stressful to be working on the EP while having to study for all my countless exams, but I just tried to not lose my focus on my “music life” or “school life”. The thing that definitely came last in terms of importance during that time period was sleep. I fell asleep so often during class that my teachers started to think that I was partying every night.

4) Who should we be listening to?

There are so many amazingly talented artists that’s it’s hard to suggest only a few to listen to. Some of the artists that I’m listening to at the moment are: ROBB, Golden Features, Mura Masa, Palastic, Tennyson, MOUNT and Mark Johns.

5) Alive or deceased, who would you like to have dinner with and what would you order?

Socrates. A coke and a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries.

6) When was your “Wow, I can make a living off this” moment?

Probably when different labels started to reach out to me for the first time, wanting to make my bootleg remixes official and release them.

7) What’s your dream festival to play? In the US?

Playing at Coachella would be awesome, but considering the fact how many festivals there are in the world makes it pretty hard to pick only one.

8) Who was your favorite artist to remix?

Remixing all of those different artists over the course of the last year was fun every single time. There were definitely some tracks which I had an easier time remixing though. For example, I finished my remix of “High Hopes” in only 2 or 3 days, where I spent about 3 weeks on making my remix of RAC’s track “Tear You Down,” making a total of 5 different versions of the remix.

9) Rhys Toms aka Black Summer. 11 years young. Thoughts?

As long as he has fun doing it and does it without being forced to do so by anyone, I think that he should continue and keep practicing producing music. Finding something you love doing while still being that young is a huge fortune.

Facebook ::: SoundCloud

#ChromeSelects: Lakechild

By Marki May 31, 2015

We have a whole lotta love for Lakechild. This german duo has given us some serious tunes as of late and blessed us with a quick Q & A about how they got their name and who we should be scouting on IG and FB.

1) What is your most important personal routine?

This has to be listening to music. As we come from different backgrounds than electronic music, our listening range is quite big – from Mozart over good old Buddy Miles to Sven Väth. There’s no real consistency in our preferences, but as long as we like it, we listen to it!

2) Who would you like to collaborate with, male or female?

We really like James Hersey! His voice and guitars are spot on. Would be cool to mix some Lakechild vibes into that.

3) Angus & Julia Stone have a uncanny style resemblance to Bob Dylan. How did you pick “Grizzly Bear?”

We were in the studio last year and Nico started humming the chorus, because he had heard the song on the radio some days before – what better proof of catchiness is there – and thats how we got the idea. We really liked the laid-back feel of the song and tried to keep this vibe in our remix.

4) Who should we be listening to?

Lion’s Head, Feast, Wasted Ruffians, LEEX, Dinnerdate, Fabich, Wolfskind. Oh and you have to check out the band Kytes!

5) Is it Lake Constance where you two met?

We actually met in high school in 2010 and had some smaller projects back then, but it was when Nicolas moved to Lake Constance and I moved to the lake of Zurich (hence the name Lakechild) when all this started.

6) Who influences you?

I guess personally wise, theres no bigger influence than our families, life situations and the people around us. Musically, we try to pick up as many flavors as possible, but to name one: Claptone.

7) What are some personalities we should follow on Facebook and/or Instagram?

Definitely check out the Facebook and Instagram of 90’s Boiler Room! They post great videos.

SoundCloud ::: Facebook

#ChromeSelects: Feast.

By Marki May 15, 2015

Feast your eyes on feast. Sorry, I just had to. This three DJ team is new to the scene and about to get WAVVVY this Saturday night. Clear off your schedule and come through to the MIAO Bar, we are set to get deep.

1) What sounds has influenced Feast. thus far?

Nu-Disco, Deep-House, Tech-House, UK Garage, Indie, also some Singer/Songwriter stuff.

2) Who would you like to collaborate with?

Right now we are working with different vocalists and other musicians on new features. We started working on remixes, but we are focussing more on our own releases now.

3) How do you pick a song to remix? For instance, how did you pick “The Light?”

If it’s catchy and has a good vibe it’s always a good base to start working on it. The main reason to pick a track for us is that it inspires us, and gives us a need to have our own interpretation of it. I guess we picked Sbtrkt’s “The Light” because the original version acts like an interlude as it has no drums, but we thought that edited it has the potential to be a club track.

4) Who should we be listening to?

There are countless artists who are worth listening to, so we can’t even figure out where to start. Maybe start with some of our label and booking mates like Milky Chance, James Hersey, Lakechild, LEEX, Kafka Tamura or the wonderful new indie band Kytes. We thought about naming some records you must have, but everyone involved in Feast. has a different musical background so the decision process would end in an huge argument.

5) What are some personalities we should follow on Facebook and/or Instagram?

That’s a hard one for us. We can’t really tell you one, because we don’t really follow many people, except our friends and some artists we really like.

6) Favorite sub-genre of House?

When it comes to producing, definitely Deep-House, when we are playing a set in a club we enjoy playing more Tech-House.

7) What should we expect to hear this Saturday?

As we have the pleasure to play the whole evening, we will be able to put a lot of material in the set. You can expect some Deep-House, Tech-House, Nu-Disco and even some Soul-Edits. We are probably gonna play some unreleased stuff as well.

Soundcloud ::: Facebook