92elm is back once-more to follow up with his hit track ‘Glimmer‘ as part of issue seven | SUNSET. What has he been up-to, you might ask? Well we’re here to give you the answers! Go ahead and scroll below to read – but don’t forget to press ‘play’ to hear his track ‘Rut‘ as part of issue nine | ANXIETY.
Interview curated by Michael of the Phuture Collective team.
Phuture Collective: Hey 92elm!! It’s been a few months since we last exchanged words, but it’s no secret that you’ve still been at it – continually changing the game. Since releasing with us we’ve seen you join other players in the game, like Night Owl Collective & Gold Prospector. No stopping is in sight for you and we can’t wait to catch up! What have you been upto as of lately & how is your Spring going?!
92elm: Yo guys! Super excited to be a part of another issue. I’ve just been grinding away at work and music lately, trying to enjoy life. Spring is going well so far! I hope yours is too.
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Phuture Collective: ‘Rut’ is unlike what you’ve been releasing lately. It reminds us of your Jadu Dala single ‘Hoodlum’. Isn’t it nice having the best of both worlds? For some artists that also get to experience diverse elements,they may be going through a certain transition in their lives, or may be fed-up with the sound that others feel defines them. What’s going on in your life when you decide to change-up from your futurey-jazzy-electronic vibe to the experimental bass oriented style?
92elm: For sure, I love all types of music and what I write depends on my mood. I love jazz and hip-hop, those are where my roots are, but I also really dig the experimental bass scene and listen to some darker/more aggressive music. I guess when I’m feeling frustrated or anxious, I tend to write music that reflects that, like this track.
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Phuture Collective: How do you feel people in the 1950’s would respond to this track? How do you think it would or wouldn’t influence or change the history of music and sound art?
92elm: Haha that’s a great question, I honestly don’t know…I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t know what they were hearing and would have some crazy reactions. I think if bass music existed in the 1950’s, the genre would accelerate a lot quicker, like things would progressively get heavier and by this time we might just be listening to distorted square waves…
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Phuture Collective: How does where you grew up affect your work? Does it affect the concepts? The Process? The Story? What does it affect?
92elm: Yeah, that’s actually where my name comes from. The house I grew up in as a child was at 92 Elm Street. It was this really old pre-revolutionary war home in Massachusetts, and had a lot of interesting quirks to it. A lot of my fondest memories are from there. When I started releasing under 92elm, I wanted to put myself back into the creative mind-state that I had as a kid, where I would just build Legos and draw all day, and not care about what other people thought.
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Phuture Collective: What is the first album you have ever owned?
92elm: I bought Backstreet Boys and NSYNC albums in like first grade. I kind of wish I still had them.
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Phuture Collective: What kind of advice would you give to someone to develop their signature sound or to even start a track?
92elm: I would say just play around with sounds and ideas until you get inspired. I think developing your own sound is a pretty organic thing, only you are you, so just incorporate your influences and tastes into your decision making while you write music.
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Phuture Collective: What was the first album you ever purchased? What was the last one you purchased?
92elm: I would say just play around with sounds and ideas until you get inspired. I think developing your own sound is a pretty organic thing, only you are you, so just incorporate your influences and tastes into your decision making while you write music.
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Phuture Collective: Do you use soundcloud or Spotify more for listening? Regardless, what has been going through your ears recently?
92elm: I definitely use SoundCloud more, though I’m starting to get into Spotify lately. I’ve been bumping the new Goldwater EP, and been discovering a lot of lo-fi hip hop artists as well. Also two of my new favorites right now are Quickly, Quickly and koji.
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Phuture Collective: Any other releases lined up for more labels? If you can share please do! If you don’t have anything lined up then give us 3 labels you’d love to be on in the next year.
92elm: Nothing lined up at the moment! I would love to release with Playitlouder, Rauthentic, or Darker Than Wax at some point.
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Phuture Collective: When you are going through a writer’s block, what gets you out of it?
92elm: That’s a hard one, since I was in a long writer’s block before “Rut” (hence the name). I think taking a step back from music is necessary, and forcing yourself to not look at your DAW for a bit. Go outside, read a book, hang out with friends, and come back to things with a fresh perspective.
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