Exclusive Interview: Arty + New Album Out Tomorrow
Could you imagine headlining festivals, accumulating hundreds of thousands of fans, and debuting your first album all by the age of 25? Well Russian, DJ and Producer, Arty, has done just that. With the mantra, 'No Arty, No Party', Arty has made pit stops at some of the biggest festivals in the world including EDC Las Vegas, Tomorrowland, and California's very own Beyond Wonderland Bay Area.
At Beyond Wonderland Bay Area, fans had a unique listening and interactive experience at the festival entrance. Guests of BW were able to listen to Glorious, which debuts tomorrow on Insomniac Records as well as create their own version of the Glorious artwork. The title track "Glorious", has already been released and features the beautiful vocals of Blondfire, tied together with guitar and Arty's impeccable production skills. We were lucky enough to catch up with Arty and Beyond Wonderland Bay Area to discuss Glorious, favorite events, sweat, and more. Check out the interview below!
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Beyond Wonderland is a pretty big festival and is only getting bigger, how do you prepare for such a massive event?
It really depends. Today I am pretty crushed and broken because last month was so hectic, it was probably the hardest and challenging time in my life and I was trying to finish the album situation. I had an exact amount of tracks I wanted to be in the album, but in the last two weeks I changed my mind. Instead of ten tracks, I wanted to have fourteen. I basically would go from shows so tired, and jump straight into the studio without any rest. So, every show is really different, it's a matter of how much time before you have to prepare your set, to do the edits and everything else. But for me, I was getting ready on the fly, make the edits, see what's working in the previous shows and see what isn't and add new tracks, especially ones people would send it me. It's pretty hectic, especially with Beyond Wonderland. I had a show in Toronto yesterday, and a show in San Francisco the night before that.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: So definitely a lot of back and forth and back and forth?
Yeah and before that I had a show in Mashantucket in this really dope club called Shrine. And before that I went back to LA, then I had a show in Miami, all in basically in the last two weeks. We went to so many places, and a lot of the flights weren't direct. You know what, considering the whole situation around the shows, I'm pretty ready.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Going off of your album, Is it hard for you to narrow it down to just ten or fourteen tracks. You must have so many ideas in your head how does that play out for you?
Well the reason why its fourteen tracks is to make it complete. I want it to sound like how it should be. I've been really inspired in the past couple of months with different genres. I try to put it together in an album, I started the album in 2013, that allowed me to draw lines between tracks so that everything makes sense in the album. So from track to track, it makes sense in the right sequence, an album is not something you can just put out with twelve tracks, that's a huge story for me. This has definitely been a huge part of my life where you can see the change in the music for me over the past two years and you can definitely see this line of me being in 2013, and me being in late 2015.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: So you can really see the transition?
Yeah definitely, and that's pretty dope. So I made additional tracks, which is pretty cool because the tracks that I put in there are really different. There will be just some instrumental piano, then there is some stuff that has to do with early me as a musician, and I definitely grew up as a musician.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: You spend a lot of time traveling on tour, what do you do in your down time besides making music?
A bunch of things, I am trying to figure out my schedule right now. And it's going to be a little bit not as crazy as it was before and I'm living in LA right now. So, I'm definitely going to go and try and see sports because I am a big soccer fan. I want to go see the Galaxy's, they actually tweeted me. I said LA Galaxy's are fun to watch, and they said Yeah! Yeah! You should come. That was pretty cool, what else. There are so many things to do in LA. I'm also a huge fan of video games, I play Fifa a lot. I play a lot of League of Legends, we definitely have taken over and going next level. They even ask me to play more. I had to tell them 'guys let me finish the album'.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Going off of your album and creating new sounds, If you could describe your sound in three words what would it be?
That is such a good question, I have to be prepared to answer it in a right way. I would say three words is not enough to describe it.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Can you just tell me how you would describe at a whole then?
Yeah I mean, the first thing its really personal. Second thing, it's really different, but not different to everything else to coming out right now. It's different from track to track, but still it makes sense to listen together which is a pretty dope thing. There is a huge sequence between the track that totally makes sense, different timings, different lyrics, different vibes in each track, and you have to have some sort of connection track, and it just makes sense. That's why I was really picky about the track list and the order. It's definitely showing myself as an artist from different perspectives.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: You travel a lot and do a lot of shows, What has been your favorite festival or show, big or small, you have played at and why?
It's hard to pick like that because every DJ has done so many great shows. It was around May, I played a show in Austin and there was a club for about 200 people there or less. But the set up was amazing, and they have one of the best sounds I have ever played for. And people would have the time of their lives and dance for hours. When I got back to my hotel, I took my sweatshirt off and dropped it on the wall, and it was just on the wall going down so slowly from the sweat, and when I woke up it was still stuck there. After that you would play EDC for like 40,000 people and it's a huge switch but the same sweat.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Same sweat different day?
Yeah, that's what's kind of weird to be honest. The thing is when you play a club show, it's you, and you're responsible for a good night and you take these people from first minute to the last minute and they came there to watch you. But at a festival, you can have so many artists playing at the same stage and different people come for different artists. So all the artists are kind of stuck together like the same style or not really and people can discover new music. So what I'm trying to say is you have more control in a club show and that makes a big difference in a good and bad way. You can learn a lot at festivals.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Music related or not, who has been your biggest inspiration?
Well my family is a huge inspiration because I have a brilliant close relationship with my Mom and Dad and Granny. Friends are really important, and just a lot of producers. Axwell has been my favorite for a long time and I've been dreaming to work with him for a long time and I actually have but we didn't finish the track but it happened though. There are so many people in the industry and people around you can inspire you for good music. Inspiration has such a deep meaning, you can get inspiration from not only people, but you can be driving a car and see some beautiful places, which can be super usual places but in the situation to you in that moment can make it so different, and then I might want to write a track called Drive or Train, not like that exactly but you get the point. Obviously, there is as much music that can inspire you, and you can do so much could for the music industry, that's the reason why I'm thinking in like 2013, music kind of a little bit stuck, not with big room, but the whole future house, future bass, bass house, which sounds the same big but the same weird and the same cool. The coolest thing about 2015, there are no limits or rules that can actually make people do exact type of music.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What advice do you have for young DJs and producers who are just starting out?
I would say be as productive as you can and be honest to yourself. The first thing you need to figure out is why are you doing that, if you're doing it just for fame that's not the true way of artists. However, if you're doing it because you like music and you work a lot as well, and you put all of your passion and all of your energy into the creative process you are going to be successful at any level. It doesn't matter about the money, or the fame, or speaking about the personal satisfaction it's just really important for you to be really honest to yourself and make music you really like.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Favorite food of all time?
Moms food, easy question. It would sound really simple like meat with potatoes, but the way that she makes it and how she get's it on the plate it's so good it's crazy.
EPIC PRODUCTIONS: I don't know how they do it, but Mom's always make the best food:
My granny usually cooks at a decent level, but nothing like my moms it's amazing.
After the interview, I was fortunate enough to see Arty headline and close down Beyond Wonderland Bay Area Day One, with one of the best and most diverse sets I have ever seen. Everyone around me could not stop dancing, and singing lyrics. Don't worry, even if you missed Arty at Beyond Wonderland, or just want to see him again (much like I do) he is still on the Glorious tour. Don't forget to preorder Glorious in the link below!
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AUTHOR CREDIT: CHEYENNE HAVENS