Exclusive Interview: Caked Up

The Internet has become such a staple in our lives that it’s impossible to imagine life without it. If for a day you gave people a break with no Google, no Facebook or no Instagram it’s safe to say that riots will probably happen in the streets. It’s become apart of our everyday lives and has also been the reason behind an endless amount of success stories. Now if you are creative enough to find the winning formula of mastering social media, promoting your talent and finding a way to rise above the rest, you will be blessed with fame and loyal followers. Enter Caked Up.

No secret to controversy, Caked Up experienced a massive blowup in fame last year and I am predicting that their fame will rise more this year. With a recent future summer hit released on Dim Mak Records, "Rave Police", I wanted to learn more about this duo consisting of Oscar Wlyde and Vegas Banger. Luckily enough, the duo had a few minutes of down town on their current tour with Steve Aoki to sit down and chat. What I found was that Caked Up was more than what you read online, they were two very chill guys that love what they do and are very committed to serving their fans up with fresh original content.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: How did you come in contact with Steve (Aoki) and get signed to Dim Mak Records?

I actually met Steve a long time ago when I was DJing by myself. I ran into him back in the day and I was always a fan of his. I could definitely feel his passion and how he wanted to be different. We played a show about a year ago and I just hit him up on Twitter and he told me to come backstage afterward a show and we’ve been working together since. He's always been a huge support and a really cool, chill guy.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: Since releasing a track with Dim Mak, has your approach to music making changed at all?

It doesn't really affect our writing process, we're progressing as artists and our sound is changing. We have a record coming out with Borgore that has been huge. We have been playing it as the last song to close out our sets for about five months and we've been getting great reactions from the crowds.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: So Besides Borgore, who else are you guys working with this year?

We are working with a bunch of people this year. Like the track with Borgore, those are more of our fun collaborations, not for like massive crowds, but for like 1,000 capped clubs. Like damn, those ones are fun to play!

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: So do you guys prefer the festival or the club scene?

We love both! It doesn't matter, they're both fun and part of the job. But like what we play at Aoki's shows is very different from what we play at festivals. It can get kinda wild in the clubs and we enjoy that scene because it gives a chance to play more hip hop & tracks like that.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What program do you guys use?

Ableton, we've been using it for about five years now.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: So when you're writing a new song, where do you begin?

The drop. Always the drop first. In my opinion the intensity of the song is determined mainly by the drop and once you get that sounding how you like, then you can build your melody from there and lay out the rest of the song. Every other guy that I've written music with does it the same way. I don't think anybody ever says "Hey, let me start writing this song with the intro."

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What is a tool or plugin that you have now that you wish you have in the beginning?

Nexus, it's a synth tool. Um, that's about it I would say. Everything else I've used since day one. But I'd say Nexus is the best tool, that's what everybody uses. It makes our songs like super full, and even if it's just the melody, there's so many background layers you can do with it that make it sound so much thicker and real; not just generic like everything else.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What was one of your favorite shows from last year?

TomorrowWorld. And we loved playing Red Rocks too. But TomorrowWorld is just an amazing scene and such a fun interactive crowd. Actually I think Red Rocks was our favorite from last year. We played with Big G who we happen to be great friends with.

EPIC PRODUCTIONS: What's the craziest thing you've seen backstage?

I can't even repeat that shit. Literally, like I've signed disclosures. Just use your imagination. If you can think it, it's probably happened backstage.

Needless to say, after my interview I found myself excited to catch them in the show that night. Who I thought they were versus who I had the pleasure of meeting turned my excitement up for the show. Of course, it helps when you are touring with Dirtyphonics and Steve Aoki since you become surrounded by talent that pushes you to perform at your best.

So what happened the minute Caked Up got on stage? The volume level increased significantly and my safe area where I was enjoying a Blue Moon and dancing in my own world suddenly got crowded with individuals unable to control their dancing in one spot. Their fans love them and respond to them well and Oscar and Vegas know how to put on a great show. Energy is important when you are a DJ as you need to learn to read the crowd and react quickly to their reactions so that you satisfy their needs to keep them coming back. As I watched from above, to see Oscar and Vegas interact with the crowd is similar to watching a conductor orchestrate an orchestra. Dancing, singing to the crowd, handing out water to individuals who ask for it: they are skilled at letting fans know that they are there for THEM and to make sure they have a great time.

I was unable to keep still during the entire set and made quite a few friends around me who were experiencing the same sensation. And when Dom from Big Gigantic made a guest appearance the girl that was next to me squealed and ran off on a journey to get to the front as the crowd got even more hyped. As promised, when Oscar delivered their closing song of the night with Borgore there wasn’t a single person standing still inside of the entire venue and I forgot for a few moments that they were not the closing act of the night.

So my personal suggestion would be to not believe everything that you read online. Sometimes silence doesn’t mean guilt but means a higher level of self, someone that is disciplined to know when to respond and when not to. Someone that understands that at times, you need to let the talent speak for itself. Caked Up is more than just hype and a good party at a show. They are talented individuals that are only at the start of a very successful career.

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AUTHOR CREDIT: SHANNON BALMES