There are very few artists that have the distinct ability to combine bass music alongside jazzy brass instruments quite the way bass duo, Willdabeast does. Adding trumpet and trombone to each of their tunes provides a unique sound unlike any other, elevating them into the spotlight. Their latest release with San Fransico-based music label, Muti Music, perfectly encapsulates the marriage between wubby bass and instrumental music. “On One” perfectly marries these two artists and their talents into one heater of a track, with its vibrant animated melodies and driving bass line. There is no doubt that this track will have any listener up an bouncing around with its infectious energy. Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling “On One”, a certified bop. 

“We use this song as a singular voice. A way to come together. Because we’ve all been there at some point or another and simply put if we can work together we can get more done. We’re on one. You’re on one. We’re on one. We use this song to become something greater than ourselves.”

Diving Deep w/ Wildabeast

1. How did you decide to get into music? Was there a certain event in your childhood/life that made you stop and realize that you wanted to pursue a career in music?

I’m not sure if there was just one singular event that got us into music. Personally, I (Glazier) think music has always held a special place in the most subconscious part of my soul.  As with most things, I suppose my passion for it just needed some time so it could be nurtured and uncovered. My parents were always into pretty fascinating music that piqued my interest growing up like avante-garde jazz or dissonant rock which included Sun Ra, Zappa and Captain Beefheart for example. They were both writers/authors/poets and into many forms of fine arts in one way or another so I was pretty immersed in it all growing up.  I remember, probably like many of us were, being introduced to the older kids in elementary school in a procession like style, the brightest looking and sounding one was the trumpet and for some reason or another it caught my eye and ear.  I did select that as my instrument of choice and for whatever reason it stuck with me. I was never the most talented and still aren’t, but I continue to put forward the work and always adopted that attitude that if I worked harder than the next person I could at least try to be as good or stand beside them and know that I belonged.  I remember a few years later I was a few minutes late to my 6am jazz band practice in 6th grade. I got kicked out of my school band.  Heart broken, I left school that day ready to give up permanently on music.  A few weeks later I met Michael Angelakos (later known as Passion Pit) on the Napster chatroom and after exchanging ideas and more, we eventually joined a rock/ska band together called Cherry Bing.  This started my fervid music lifestyle which has continued to today.  We recorded and played shows for many years throughout high school until two quite famous bands were born out of that project.  We reached some great localed success in Buffalo, NY including recording at legendary Goo Goo Dolls studio, playing Warped Tour, and selling out several local and regional shows.  These moments and tastes of the industry would really set up the next couple of decades in the industry for all of us.

2. If you had the chance to collaborate with any artist of your choosing, who would it be and why would you choose them?

Tough question. Well, first of all I would like to say that we have had the opportunity to collaborate with so many incredible artists already thus far. It has been such an honor and deep privilege. Even from small recording credits on GRiZ’s “A Fine Way To Die” to recording complete albums with Michal Menert and the Pretty Fantastics of Pretty Lights Music familiarity and beyond. There have been so many incredible shows, tracks and tours we have been blessed to play on over the years and a proper thank you would be insurmountable. But deep gratitude to everyone that has taken time out of their day to invest their energy in our music one way or another.  We would be in a far different spot without our friends and just want to utilize some of this space to give some special thanks to some of those folks we have been worked with (not limited to): Defunk, Kaptain, Phunk Bias. That being said, if we had to only choose one artist to collab with, if it was today, I would say maybe Apashe. Really tough one to choose though there are so many great options out there.  Apashe utilizes a lot of wonderful orchestral samples and instruments that we try to, we really love his production value and style, we’ve got to play with him too and John’s a great guy. If I could give a runner up it would be CloZee or maybe even Alexander Lewis. I think that would be fun. Their immense capacity for sound and interpretation of beats would be a limitless canvas for our potential project.

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

One thing some people may not know about us is that for many years during the launch and inception of this Willdabeast project, before we had our first song out or even picked out our name, we toured as Michal Menerts’ horn section in his band(s). First, we played as the Michal Menert Big Band. Our first three shows together were the Fillmore, Sonic Bloom Music Festival and then Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was an 18-piece electronic ‘big band’ that I helped organize alongside Menert. I helped arrange some of the backing parts and horn sections (the rhythm section was mostly made up of a band I was in from WA at the time called Snug Harbor).  After that, we paired it down and the band and continued our journey. We recorded an entire album called ‘1’ as the 6 piece Michal Menert’s ‘The Pretty Fantastics’ and toured on that record for a couple of years more. It was some of the best times of my life. We played about 5-6 shows a week. Got to play Red Rocks a couple more times and the Fillmore as well as a bunch of more epic festivals and venues. I will forever be indebted to Menert and his crew for everything they did for me, my journey and what they did to teach and inspire me along the way. Those guys are truly legendary in the scene and their music is up there to me at the very top of the list with anyone. It meant a lot to be on stage with them for so long, alongside my idols, and so much so that when I had my son in the middle of all of that, we named my son’s middle name Michal. Those records, those people, those memories, will last me a lifetime and for that I’ll always have love and appreciation for that crew. I think a lot of that inspiration shines through in what we make whether it’s intentional or not. Of course our music is very different, but I think some of our approaches, and fundamentally, we come from very similar places a lot of the time. Our time together really highlighted the way for us, even if we didn’t realize it at the time. I thought I had toured before but playing a few shows a month was different than playing 25 a month. I learned a lot of what to do. I also learned a lot of what not to do (my bad guys haha) and more than anything else how to take care of each other and how to make sure we try our best to be our best in and outside of our music. 

4. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned since you started making music? Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring producers hoping to follow in your footsteps?

I think one of the biggest lessons I have learned from being in music all these years is to be humble. What a hard lesson that was. I have definitely been humbled many many times and I’m sure I’ll continue to be. I have been told no more than yes.  I will continue to be.  I have been rejected more than accepted. We have been denied more than approved. It’s a tough gig, music. You know I kind of see music almost like the economy, right? I mean sort of anyway. I guess I’m exaggerating, but if you think about it, sort of the top 1% or 2% of people/musicians/DJs (or wealth in parallel) really control most of what’s’ going on and the rest of us are kind of just fighting for scraps. Am I that far off?  So instead of taking ourselves too seriously, beating yourself up, being too hard on yourself or others…. my opinion is just have fun. Make great music.  And guess what if/when you don’t?  That’s okay. That’s cool too. Every track doesn’t need to be a chart topper. You’re allowed to make mistakes. You’re allowed to move on.  You’re not wasting time. Things that may not be ‘keepers’ may be useful practice or tools for success on your next track. It’s all just repetition and soon enough things will become like second nature. Don’t give up, don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t forget to enjoy it. If you’re not having fun… it’s going to be hard for others to enjoy it.  It’s hard though and it’s a fine line, because we put all of this pressure on ourselves to make great music and to succeed, but we also want to make ourselves happy and do what we feel has creative integrity or artistically satisfying.  But there’s no point in fighting and there’s no point in adding extra stress or pressure when there’s already so much working against us in the first place.  Create, enjoy, give it everything you got and that’s a fact.  You can do that. Control what you control and be the best version of that person you can.  Let the universe decide the rest.