Replicating the sounds of old dubstep can be a challenge, let alone bringing both the nostalgia and the full body chills that comes with some of the age old classics we all know and love. Matt Pham, better known to most as Feelmonger, has taken this challenge and run with it, as he takes these inspirations and sounds to make his newest track “Give It To You”. This heater does not fail to bring both this early dubstep soundscape, but also delivers the high energy nostalgia that is hard to find anywhere else.  From start to finish, the trappy elements of 2010s electronic shines through with its classic bass synths and heavy basslines, making this tune an absolute banger. This track is definitely going to be on repeat for us for the foreseeable future. Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling this stomper of a track, “Give It To You”, a certified bop.

Diving Deep w/ Feelmonger

1. What has been the biggest difference you’ve noticed when first starting off as an artist vs now after experience playing events, doing releases etc?

The biggest difference has to be in expectations and a loss of creative freedom, in a sense. When I was just starting off and nobody was really listening, I didn’t feel any pressure to write specific music or styles. I just wrote music to write music and get better. Nowadays, there is a lot more thought and intention when I write music; I do start to think about things like “will my OG fans like this? Is this too similar to my last releases? How will this sound in a live setting?” Don’t get me wrong, I love my progress but I’d say this is one of the biggest differences IMO

2. What’s one cool fact about yourself/or your project that not many fans know about?

A cool fact about myself? When I’m not in dubstep mode, I’m actually a healthcare professional with a doctorate! Two complete different universes basically and it’s sometimes wild for me to play a show miles away from home and then a day later be back at work treating patients. A cool fact about the project? Hm, I did want to clarify something about the name Feelmonger! I came up with it before I was ever introduced to Black Panther and the “Killmonger” character so the name is not a play on that! It’s a play on fearmongering.

Being able to skyrocket to the forefronts of the electronic scene is a daunting task that each and every artist faces when putting out new and fresh music. This however has proven to be no difficult task for dubstep producer, Kill Feed, who has broken boundaries with the release of his newest track “TOASTY!”. This track delivers nothing short of heavy hitting, high energy bass from start to finish, packing an absolute punch with its nasty drops. Unlike some of Kill Feed’s other tracks, “TOASTY!” has a slower BPM than we have come to expect, but hits just as hard as any other track, creating a new and exciting soundscape from this artist. We definitely can’t wait to hear this one getting rinsed out on festival stages across the globe in the near future, so make sure you don’t sleep on this! Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling today’s absolute stomper of a track, “TOASTY!”, a certified bop.

“I usually make music at 140bpm but I have always been super interested in making slower hard hitting music so this song was one of the first slower bpm songs I have made. The main sound in this song also has some crazy and creative processing done to it. I’m pretty proud of that.”

1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years and what’s your game plan to get there currently?

All I know is that it will probably be somewhere in America. And to get there I guess all I can really do is just keep doing what I’m doing but I definitely have some crazy ideas for the future. 

2. What’s one cool fact about yourself/or your project that not many fans know about?

  I have a very unorthodox and simple way of  producing my music.

In the world of electronic music, there are so many artists each debuting their own unique music and sound around the clock. Each release has the opportunity to catapult these artist into the spotlight of the scene, just as Deafadil’s latest track “Cracked” has done. Off his upcoming 6 track EP, our premiere today, “Cracked”, provides the perfect dark, genre-bending soundscape that can be seen across the entire compilation. The combination of heavy downtempo basslines coupled with dark wubby melodies creates an absolute banger of a track you do not want to miss. We will definitely be playing this one on repeat for the foreseeable future. Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling “Cracked” and the rest of Deafadil’s upcoming EP “Chaos_Magick”, a certified bop.

1. What is your biggest inspiration to this day that has helped shape your style of music and why?

I think I have a two-pronged answer for this. Both my middle school metal phase and my highschool soundcloud rap phase definitely inform the tone of my music now. I just love heavy and (at times) unhinged music, whether it’s played by a band or mumbled over a slurky trap beat. Heavy music just has a power over me that lets me completely let go and feel like my truest self, and whether it’s through trap, dubstep, dnb, or whatever else, I love to replicate and channel the emotions I’ve felt while listening in the past.

2. If you could go back in time and start over given what you have learned in your career so far, what changes and approach would you have done differently?

I probably could have been more motivated at the start, it took me at least 4 years of messing around with production and DJing until I was ready to start the Deafadil project, yet at the same time I really don’t regret this. I feel like it got me ready to do what I’m doing now and do it right.

Seeing some of the top tier bass artists in the electronic scene team up to release a mind blowing track is something we look forward to all the time here at Headbang Society. Three of our favorite Cajun bass producers, TVBOO, Bawdly and Boogie T, have joined forces to bring forth an absolute heater of a collaboration that we have the pleasure of premiering for you all today. Their newest track, “MaryWana”, is the second single off of TVBOO’s forthcoming album, Blue Collar Bass: By the People, For the People, continuing the immense amount of hype for both the album release and his Blue Collar Bass tour. Combining the unique, southern inspired sounds of all of these artists, this track provides a fun, wobbly soundscape jammed packed with New Orleans influence. With Bawldy and Boogie T on vocals and guitar, and TVBOO ‘s classic wavy basslines, this collaboration is one you do not want to sleep on! Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling “MaryWana”, a certified bop.

1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years and what’s your game plan to get there currently?

In five years, I’m gonna headline and sell out red rocks. Write it down, tell ya momma, get it tattooed on you, it’s happening. Just gotta keep driving fast and eating ass and I’ll be djing for a big rock. Goals baby.

2. What’s one cool fact about yourself/or your project that not many fans know about?

TVBOO actually started as a duo in the very beginning. The other guy and I are still best friends but I got real serious about producing music and he was doing it for fun so it was better for me to do it on my own. Not many people know that.

If you are looking to experience 4 days full of electronic music, camping with friends and an overall indescribable experience at the beautiful Kingston Downs venue in Georgia, Imagine Music Festival is definitely the move for you this September. Taking place Sept. 15-18th, Imagine has not only curated an astounding lineup jam packed full of artists across different EDM genres, but also has put together a unique experience unlike any other. Rage out at the different stages all over the festival grounds including a special pool party stage, ride amusement rides and attend transformational workshops and seminars, all of which will be taking place throughout the course of the weekend. This years’ lineup is absolutely stacked, featuring headliners such as Excision, Kaskade and Liquid Stranger among many many others as well as special label takeovers! Because this lineup is packed to the brim with talented artists, we have put together our own must-see list to help ease some of the set conflicts that might take place throughout the course of the festival:

6. Zubah

 https://soundcloud.com/zubahatl

7. Kirby Bright

8. Bloodcrest

9. Evalution

10. Abelation

All of the artists on this list pack a punch, each having some of the most incredible energy and music selection on stage. We highly encourage catching a few or all of these sets because they definitely will not disappoint. No matter who’s on stage this year at Imagine Music Festival, it will truly be a magical weekend for all in attendance! If there is one thing we’ve learned after attending every year, it’s that this event is always done to the highest of standards when it comes to bringing a truly astounding festival to life. We can’t wait to see what all is in store for us at Imagine this year.

Friday Sept 16th

Ravenscoon- 6:25-7:25pm (Amazonia Stage)

Devious- 2:00am-3:00am (Silent Disco/Campground Stage)

Bloodcrest- 4am-5am (Silent Disco/Campground Stage)

Saturday Sept 17th

Evalution- 3:00pm-4:20pm (Oceania Stage)

PLSMA – 4:30PM-5:30Pm (Aeria Stage)

Abelation- 5:00pm-6:15pm (Amazonia Stage)

Zubah- 5:30pm-6:30pm (Aeria Stage)

Yheti- 7:30pm-8:45pm (Amazonia Stage)

Sunday Sept 18th

VLCN- 3:00am-4:00am (Silent Disco/Campground Stage)

Kirby Bright- 5:00am-6:00am (SIlent Disco/Campground Stage)

It can be hard for an artist to stick to the roots of their projects sound and style when releasing new music in the ever changing electronic scene nowadays. Styles change and evolve over time, but it is always refreshing to see artists hone in on what their soundscape really is without feeling like they need to keep up with the current trends. Canadian based bass “sensai” ill.Gates demonstrates this time and time again while putting out absolute bangers through the years. Today we are honored to be able to premiere his latest track with artist Def3 “Smoke”, that takes us back to the roots of his project’s origin. Staying true to his original sound, this track is nothing short of a stomper of a high-energy “Fatboy Slim meets Rage Against the Machine” tune that instantly transports listeners to the Golden Era of rap music. Not only does this have the classic catchy hip hop vocals, but it’s funky basslines and uptempo beat makes this a track you do not want to miss. Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling “Smoke”, a certified bop.

1. What has been a personal career struggle that you have battled with the most and how has it helped mold your character for the better good presently?

As tempting as it is to point at some external obstacle and blame it for whatever difficulties I’ve encountered in my path I have come to realize that attitude is not productive. It’s like when you meet someone and all they ever talk about is being a victim, or how everyone else is so stupid and they’re the only sane, intelligent person on earth. That shit gets old real fast and frankly: constantly self identifying as a victim (even when you ARE victimized) usually does more harm than good. Save that victim’s act for the courtroom.

 So the honest answer to your question is this: like all full time creative professionals my biggest obstacle is – and has always been – (drumroll….) MYSELF! 

Usually it’s overthinking, irrational aversions, or assuming I ‘know all about’ something when actually I was just scratching the surface. Time and again I’ll have some HUGE breakthrough and then find myself in this bittersweet moment of realization that there was absolutely nothing stopping me from having the breakthrough years ago except for the fact that I couldn’t quite grasp the concept yet. These moments of realization are why I started teaching my weekly class at TheWeeklyDownload.com. It’s download 300 this week too! So much to celebrate…

Right!

So for those of you readers out there I will say this:

Don’t believe everything you think. You are not your brain. You are not your thoughts. 

Don’t feel like your value as a human being depends on being ‘the best’ at anything or being ‘right’ all the time. It doesn’t. Anyone who judges your worth based on how good you are at music, or how hot you are or how much money you have is not making valid judgements and is probably a garbage person themselves with a big ol’ bag of dog shit where their heart is supposed to be. IF (and this is a BIG ‘if’) you’re going to judge anyone it should be on how they treat those from which they have nothing to gain. If you’re a kind person and you’re not just trying to use other people to get ‘on top’ all day then guess what: you have intrinsic value that nobody can ever take away from you. When you realize the truth of that statement you’ll be able to offer yourself that same compassion and your ego can allow yourself to be wrong sometimes. When you’re not resisting being wrong all the time (and lying to yourself about it) you can realize when you’re wrong about something, change your mind, and then grow as person. It’s ok to be wrong sometimes! 

It’s ok to be bad at stuff while you’re learning. I’d rather hang out with a kind, loving idiot than a genius asshole any day of the week.

2. What is your biggest inspiration to this day that has helped shape your style of music and why?

This one’s a bit easier for me to answer, but my answer will probably not what you’re expecting and it might take a bit to unpack.

 My biggest inspiration is (and will likely always be) my own inevitable death.

While that might sound dark or messed up at first it’s only because our current society is really weird when it comes to death and has all kinds of hangups about it. Other societies recognize that death is just the flip side of life and they don’t shut it out like we do. Asian style honoring of family ancestors or the Mexican Day Of The Dead are much healthier ways to approach it in my opinion. The Judeo- Christian/Euro-American approach to death is to either plug the ears and go ‘la la la la la! I can’t heeeeear you!’ or else shiver in existential terror of the fire and brimstone that most likely awaits you in the afterlife because of that one time you ate shrimp curry at a Thai restaurant (it’s in the Bible. You get in big trouble for eating shellfish. I’m not joking). It’s like: CHILL! Death is gonna happen no matter what! Don’t let it freak you out so bad!

I figure we might as well develop a healthy, productive relationship with death while we’re alive, right? OK, so here we go: 

Have you ever heard of a concept called ‘The Protestant Work Ethic’? The Protestant Church (popularized by King Henry VIII so he could get divorced) has this idea that you should suffer your whole life because there’s a big payday coming when you die and go to Heaven(tm). It’s in a lot of Christian sects but especially the Protestants. So the Puritans were a sect within the Protestant Church that got WAY too into this idea for the other Europeans – who presumably just wanted to fuck all day and eat fancy cheese – so they decided to leave Europe and come murder all the Native people in America and take their shit instead. Apparently that’s how you prove your moral superiority and get into Heaven(tm)? 

Anyway, this ‘Protestant Work Ethic’ idea turned out to be real effective for getting the Commoners to suck it up and work extra hard so that rich people could (you guessed it…) fuck all day and eat fancy cheese! This meant that the Protestant Work Ethic stuck around in North American culture until this day and (if you come from a Christian family like I do) you probably heard alllll about it from your older relatives. Usually it goes something like this:

“You might be having fun now, but life isn’t about having fun all the time. When are you going to grow up? God put you here to be fruitful and multiply, not dye your hair ungodly colors and listen to stupid beep boop noises all night! Get serious! Cut your hair! Join the Military! Get a good paying job! Start a family! We won’t be proud of you until you cross all of these things off of this list!” 

Does any of that sound familiar? So when I was growing up I kind of instinctively knew that whether God was real or not the idea of intentionally living a miserable life was toxic but I hadn’t really broken free from it quite yet. I’d been passionately pursuing my music but had always dismissed it as a side hustle because it wasn’t a ‘real job’, ie. a job that would be considered acceptable to ‘society’. I knew I had to do something creative so I was studying graphic design at the time and got this horrible internship at a wedding magazine because my design school teachers wanted to crush my non-conformity so I could be a happy little cog in the machine of industrial capitalism. I was miserable.

At the same time my ‘hobby’ had led to me getting signed to a record label and releasing a few singles on actual vinyl! I was so stoked to hold them in my hands…it was a trip! I’d just gotten back from my first tour to support these releases and I had just played my first ever set at Shambhala, which was a life changing experience. Back in Toronto it was hot as hell in my low rent high rise apartment and I’d been at my computer all day so I just needed to go outside and think for a bit. The park near my house was always full of junkies fencing stolen bikes or doing that weird chicken walk people do when they have JUST smoked meth (you know the one), so I was like: ‘where can I go that’s quiet, grassy, and chill?’

I decided to walk a couple blocks to the Toronto Necropolis (which is a huge ancient cemetery where all these famous old people are buried) and as soon as I made that decision it triggered a strange new feeling, but didn’t know what it was yet… I just felt somehow different. When I got there I realized that the cemetery was the perfect place for what I needed. It was huge, spooky, beautiful, and – most importantly – I was utterly alone. I walked and walked until I got to a real old part of the cemetery which felt like time had forgotten it. All the tombstones were half broken and the letters had worn off from the rain and snow, so I thought ‘this is perfect’ and I sat down to meditate. 

I meditated using reflected sunlight twinkling off this little puddle of water in a crack on the side of a fallen tombstone and I contemplated my life.

“Some day that will be me.” I thought, “Even the best efforts to preserve my grave will eventually come to ruin. The letters will wear off my tombstone. It too will break and fall over as it slowly turns back into sand… What would they even write on it that was so important? “Dylan was a good boy, he followed all the rules and did what he was told.”? Like… what does any of that shit really matter? Is anyone really keeping score? What if I live my whole life trying to appease this idea of ‘society’ that turns out to be wrong? What even is ‘society’? Aren’t I a part of ‘society’? Don’t my values matter to my own life?”

That was the moment it all changed. That was the moment I realized that the only ‘society’ whose values mattered to me in my real life was the society I chose for myself.

…aaaaaaand that’s the story of how I joined the Headbang Society!

Ba-dum tssssss!