Travelling to a music festival in the middle of the British Columbia forest is an extraordinary experience. Reading that your homegrown hero Zeke Beats is to open the Amphitheater Stage at the festival is insane! I took sometime with fellow Perth producer DNGRFLD to deliver this Shambhala Series feat. Zeke Beats!
DNGRFLD: I’m stoked to be able to ask you some questions ahead of your gig at what will be your very first Shambhala experience! How are you feeling about the festival?
Zeke Beats: I'm very excited to be playing one of the festivals I've always dreamed of playing!
DNGRFLD: You're playing The Amphitheater stage, alongside some producer buddies of yours? You made a track with BLEEP BLOOP – MARS ATTACKS that was released via Skrillex’s NEST HQ as a premiere in 2015, which is a bomb by the way! How did that collab come about ? and how did you find the process of writing a tune with someone on the other side of the world?
Zeke Beats: We got along on Facebook chat etc etc and dug each others music.… So I was in the states early 2015 and met up with Bleep Bloop in person, we had about 4 - 5 hours time together, and in that time we managed to bang out the main skeleton of mars attacks. It was really good being in the studio together and vibing off each other, also learning each others tips and tricks.
[DANGER - Zeke Beats]
DNGRFLD: Speaking of fellow stage buddies, I can’t neglect to mention a ‘little' shoutout given to you back in March this year, when GASLAMP KILLER not only tipped you as ‘one to watch’ but had your original track DANGER in his TOP TEN INSTRUMENTAL BEATS According to GLK, congratulations firstly, I think it’s every producers’ dream to have their peers pick up and play their tunes let alone give them an accolade such as this! How was that feeling for you and have you seen your music pop up anywhere else you may not have expected?
Zeke Beats: Willie is such a great dude, and also has a really awesome and unique taste in music, I feel really humbled and grateful to have been regarded so highly by him :-) Other places my music has popped up where I didn’t expect would be things such as hack on triple j using it as background segment music haa, and also recently getting Triple J support on “Virtual Purple” has been great, shouts to Lewis “Dirt Dog” McKirdy! Getting playback from BBC1 Radio Xtra by Toddla T has also been a nice surprise, so I am very thankful.
DNGRFLD: It would seem the LA Beat scene with guys like GLK, Flying Lotus, Toki, Teebs etc certainly seems to have drawn you in when it comes to making the music you do, can you name 1 or 2 seminal tracks for you from that Scene that made you stop and think… what the f** ..
Zeke Beats: Definitely! EPROM - Regis Chillbin will always be one that constantly baffles me as to how someone could possibly make such a unique masterpiece…
DNGRFLD: In order to harness the incredible frequencies you do with your music you must have some ‘go to’ plugins or gear.. Can you name something In your studio arsenal that you couldn’t live without?
Zeke Beats: One thing I could not live without in my studio in terms of actual equipment would have to be my Korg Mono/Poly… it is such a unique Synthesizer and just when I think I have made every possible patch that I could have made with it… another one come along and blows me away.
DNGRFLD:Ok, enough about music for now! I’m not sure if you have been to Canada before, I know you’ve hit the states before but as close as they are geographically they are quite different in nature.. I’m going to name a few things and you have to (without google!) say what you think they might be/mean: (make the answers up if you don’t know)
Zeke Beats...
- Poutine: damn I already know that this is Fries with gravy and Cheese curds
- Perogie: If this is what I think it is, I would say a polish style dumpling, I have been to Poland before :p
- Molson: no freakin idea, perhaps some type of savoury maple and bacon type food?
- Clamato: Clam and tomato broth lol
- Saskatoon: A cartoon figure of a sasquatch?
DNGRFLD: Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions Zeke! So stoked to have a Perth hometown hero and friend of mine playing what I consider the best festival in the world, Outside of Perth, Breakfest of course ;)
You can catch Zeke Beats at the Amphitheatre Stage at 12pm on Thursday 4 August!
xXx
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