For those who have heard of the smol project know the infectious energy, intricate sound design and overall stellar music that consistency is produced by this artist. He is back at it again, this time coming out swinging with the release of his latest EP, Yu & Me. From start to finish this entire EP provides the classic smol sound with new twists, featuring complex bass lines and high energy synths unlike any we have heard from this project before. Our premiere today is the title track off this EP, and man is this one an absolute banger of a tune. Its booming basslines and wubby synths will have anyone up and on the dancefloor from the first measure. This is definitely not an EP to sleep on, and we will have this one blasting for the foreseeable future. Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling Yu & Me, a certified bop
“For this body of work I aimed to create a delicate balance of energy between dark gritty sounds and lush, swoon-ish vibes. I wanted to join with friends and family on this journey down the fused path of today’s hybrid/experimental music. The music I created with three of my friends was made in separate studios, sharing projects files back and forth. While some of the vocals for this EP were recorded from my Wife, daughter and myself in my home studio.”
Diving Deep w/ smol
1. You have created your own bass label, DoYu Digital, to create a space for artists to share their music on a large scale. What made you decide to create this space? How do you hope to grow DoYu Digital as it continues to gain traction?
t began back in 2017 as a support group for me and my friends to share our tracks on. I had just started writing music and what we were making collectively wasn’t worth a ‘real label’ release. As a kid growing up I was given a lot of grief for my talents and eccentricity, often being encouraged to give up by my peers.
The name “DoYu” is a reflection of this struggle and the battle to be my true self. Over two decades of being immersed in this beautiful, dynamic electronic music culture I came to realize that whatever was making me weird was actually my greatest asset. The label’s name, DO YOU is there to encourage people to embrace their talents and weirdness and experience the journey as their true selves.
We have already started expanding DoYu’s presence this summer with the addition of DoYu Deep where we are focused on mainly 140 deep dubstep type jams. My friends Dylan Heinrichs of Nocturnal sounds and BoyNotHome have been curating, operating, creating art and working with me to streamline and expand on that front. We also started a new singles series on DoYu Digital called “DoYu Dance” which showcases all forms of that 4/4 vibe.
This summer we are also now offering a variety of merch which include hand made pieces by my wife, Jenny. They include bucket hats, fannys, split t-shirts and a lot more! I can’t express how happy I feel when I see my friends in other countries wearing and pushing the message of DoYu! Yu can find our stuff on the label’s bandcamp and IG.
2. This 4- track EP features collaborations with artists such as Omnist, ZURGLIN, and Visive. How did you work with each of these artists to create these different tracks? How did you work together to incorporate both of your sounds in the collaborations to create each individual track?
The first track created for the album was with Visive who sent me the project to a half time, swingin beat with some ultra high pitched synths that sounded like angel vocals or something. We worked on this project for some months before I got stuck on the half time idea and the project came to a pause. I ended up opening it up about a year later and instantly knew I could bridge the second drop into dnb and use arps and flowing reese basses to amp the energy up and write an end to the story.
Yu & Me was originally intended to be a collaborative remix of Bodega but after going back and forth for months Omnist had a breakthrough which saw us drop the remix vocals and add more lovey type bits in the mix. Omnist wrote the first half of the story out and then I tied it together on my end with some verbal guidance from him. We actually do still have that bootleg remix of bodega before it turned into a love story, so I guess we got two from one with this project!
The last collaboration, and arguably the spiciest track on the album, is with my man ZURGLIN who I reallllly enjoy writing music with. Our last collab ‘Kung Foo’ was just rinsed by A Hundred Drums at EDC just a few weeks ago. My mance sent me an idea that contained ample fuzzy wubs, a slappin drum beat and the I LIKEY vocals which instantly had me sold. Like the others, I ended up writing out the second drop and progressing the story that ZURGLIN had started. There is a theme going on in this song between robots and animals and lush pads and guitars but I will explain that in more detail on the Gravitas youtube in the coming weeks.
3. What is your favorite track on this EP and why?
I actually don’t have a favourite track but more enjoy each track as it is for a certain moment. All songs are different genres and tempos so the variation is too thicc to have a personal fav. I will however say that Do It Different is quite special to me as it features vocals from both my wife and daughter.
My favourite track to write was “I LIKE YU” as it was to-date the most cohesive hybrid track that I feel I’ve ever put together/been part of. I love how progressive it is, it includes my boi Ram Jam Rodigan and I feel the balance between distorted synths and basses to lush, melodic and organic vibes is on point.
4. What is next for the smol project? Do you have anything planned for the project that fans have to look forward to?
After hitting festivals and shows for 18 years straight I decided to take this summer off and do a few things for myself and my family. I have been practicing piano obsessively as I wish to include the instrument and keyboard skill in both my nwmi & smol projects in a live setting for 2024. Now that Covid is done it was also time to get married and send it on a honeymoon.
I’ve been working on a extra left field concept as well where I play intricate, emotional classical pieces on piano then layer bass, orchestral instruments, psychoacoustics and atmosphere behind the piece to fuse inspired writing from the 1800’s with music from now. This is more of a listening project than a dancing project but it’s something I’ve been passionately pursuing as a form of meditation and self healing. If anyone wants to explore the classical vein I’ve been on I suggest starting with Franz Liszt.
In regards to my bassmusic I have another 3-track EP dropping with a bucket list label and a single on a vinyl compilation coming later this summer. The fam can expect monthly releases for the rest of the year on my own account as well which include house, bootlegs and maybe dubstep or two and alllll the collabs.
To all my American friends – I will see you soon
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