http://pnutbutterjams.com/2012/07/02/bit-funk-pbj-exclusive-interview/
1. Our fans would love to know, how did Bit Funk come into form and what has been your musical journey thus far?
I had been producing different styles of music under a few different names. Then, I wrote a track I called “Bit Funk” and quickly realized I wanted to make more with the same style. In a way, that track became the blueprint. I’ve mostly focused on remixes since then, which I think is what most people know me for at this point. That might change soon…
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2. How long have you been in Brooklyn? Are your neighbors cool with you blasting productions through their walls and floorboards?
I moved to Brooklyn from Chicago about a year and a half ago. There are very few cities I’ve been to that I love as much as New York. As for neighbors, I don’t currently have a separate studio space outside of my apartment, I like to have everything right there so I can work immediately instead of having to drag myself to some warehouse in the middle of nowhere when I get inspired. Let’s just say, I use headphones often.
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3. When was the moment you first realized “hey, I want to make music”?
In all honesty, I’m not really sure. I started taking music lessons when I was around 8. First piano, then drums. I got into recording and production pretty early also. I’m a pretty methodological person, but having a creative output has always been important to me.
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4. When beginning production, was it your main goal to end up on tour or to play a certain venue?
Neither. I just wanted to make music. At some point along the way I started getting requests to DJ. I kind of had a moment of realization where I thought, “damn, I guess I need to learn how to DJ”. I didn’t realize how well the two go hand-in-hand, but now I love DJing.
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5. Who do you enjoy following and checking in on from time to time? Any artists you would want to collaborate with at the moment?
I’m very picky about who I want to work with, and I can be controlling in the studio. That being said, I have some collaborations in the works right now – unfortunately nothing I can announce quite yet. Soon though!
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6. Describe, if you will, the ideal live venue for you.
A really good sound system is by far the most important thing to me about a venue. And while I do love playing to a big crowd, my favorite shows are usually at medium sized clubs where there is a real interaction with the crowd. Two of my favorite clubs are U Street Music Hall in DC and Le Bain in Manhattan. Put both of those in a blender and my guess is the ideal club would be the result.
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7. What’s the weirdest or coolest thing you’ve experienced playing a venue?
No technical difficulties. It’s rare, but it does happen!
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8. How did Treasure Fingers break it to you when he asked if you wanted to co-star in his “Rooftop Revival” video? Pretty informal? or was it a hand-written love letter?
Hah, well that was kind of random. I originally came to the shoot expecting to DJ. AJ had asked me and our mutual friend Free Magic to come to the shoot to DJ for “the dancers”. Basically, they had to shoot people dancing for a few hours and so we were going to be DJing off camera for them. At the last minute the crew started asking around saying they needed someone to play “Young Harold”. All I knew about it when I agreed was that I would get to wear a really cool looking hat.
9. Do you usually sit around and have this “ah-ha!” moment when producing an original or remix or is it a more methodical process for you?
I constantly oscillate between loving and hating a track as I work on it. There’s usually some moment where it will tip to one side for good. You just hope it’s the ‘loving it’ side, because it always sucks to trash something and start again from scratch. Remixes are easier though, I can usually get a good idea of where they will end up before I start.
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10. What’s on the horizon for you?
I’m releasing a new free download track this week (It Ain’t Easy). And there are a bunch more on the way.
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11. How wouldja feel about a PB&J shirt?
I’d love one. Medium please.
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BLISSPOP
Just in time for his show at U Street Music Hall tonight, get to know a little more about Brooklyn-based producer and DJ Bit Funk. Bit Funk will be supporting Classixx tonight at U Hall, accommodating the crowd with a unique set of nu-disco and indie dance vibes – see event details.
Blisspop: We’re excited to have you in DC! Is this your first visit?
Bit Funk: Most people don’t know it but I was actually born in DC. It’s all slightly complicated because I’ve moved so many times. I’m really looking forward to coming back to DC though. It’s been a while since I was there.
You’ve often been mentioned under the name “Randolph Anatole Vespasien III.” Major props if this is your actual birth name! If not, how did this name/alias come about?
Nah, that was just a joke. My real name is Federico Vasco Raymundo Jr. [...that was most likely was another joke]
Can you tell us about your background growing up Toronto, living in windy-city Chicago, and what led your decision to move to Brooklyn?
I actually did most of my growing up way over on the east coast of Canada in Halifax, then I moved to Toronto after that. Toronto is a great city. I love it there. It has a really active indie music scene and the people still have that Canadian friendliness, even though it’s a decent sized city. Chicago is awesome too – it has an amazingly rich history in dance music, which unfortunately I think is forgotten by a lot of people there today. The few people still working to keep that legacy alive are amazing. Moving to Brooklyn, was kind of inevitable for me. I’ve known I would eventually get here since I was about 10 years old. My family are all originally from New York.
I actually did most of my growing up way over on the east coast of Canada in Halifax, then I moved to Toronto after that. Toronto is a great city. I love it there. It has a really active indie music scene and the people still have that Canadian friendliness, even though it’s a decent sized city. Chicago is awesome too – it has an amazingly rich history in dance music, which unfortunately I think is forgotten by a lot of people there today. The few people still working to keep that legacy alive are amazing. Moving to Brooklyn, was kind of inevitable for me. I’ve known I would eventually get here since I was about 10 years old. My family are all originally from New York.
Where exactly did your interest with music production first spark? What or who is the honorable cause(s) of your disco fusion?
I started playing music when I was 8. First piano then soon after I switched to the drums. I was very serious about learning drums, and it’s actually how I first got into production. I played in bands and studied with an amazing coach for many years. He would always come up with these totally insane exercises for me to do. Things where each of my hands and feet would be playing in totally different time signatures and completely ridiculous stuff like that. I was never the greatest sight reader, but I found that if I could hear it, I was pretty good at figuring it out and being able to play it. So I found a free program called MOD Tracker for my computer and programmed in these beats so that I could listen to them any time. Trackers basically look like Excel spreadsheets that play music. It’s really old school. Anyway, that kind of sparked an interest and I just slowly got more and more serious with writing my own music and learning production.
Your recent track, “Rap Music,” got huge response when it was released last year and has been a lively banger on the dance floor ever since. What are some specific influences that helped guide your idea for this track?
To be honest “Rap Music” is kind of a joke track. The vocal sample is from the classic hip hop record “Urban Sound Surgeon” by 4-Ever Fresh. I had that sample sitting in my “use this in something” folder for a while. I just loved that vocal line “create rap music ’cause I never dug disco” and thought it would be silly to make a ridiculously banging disco house song with it. The rest of the track is from “Straight From The Heart” by Loose Change which is really a golden track to begin with. I could probably make an entire disco house album just sampling different parts from that one track. But, I ended up only using a few notes of horn and wrote new bass, guitar and synths for it. I guess “Rap Music” was fairly successful. Probably mostly just because I gave it away free. Hah. Everyone goes nuts for a free download these days.
Living in New York must offer great opportunities to share your music and it seems you’ve been doing just that with all the local performances. In what ways do you feel NY’s audience has transformed your music?
The audiences in New York have been great. In terms of making music here, there is definitely a push toward the extremes. Most producers either go full on mainstream or totally deep and only accessible to the die hard fans. I’ve always tried to ride the middle line, so it’s been interesting.
Where can people usually hear you perform in New York? Do you have a regular venue or do you normally just jump around different places in the city?
It’s kind of all over the place at the moment. New York has a lot of great venues and parties.
By the looks of your Instagram photos on Tumblr, it looks like you’re quite a fan of food and traveling. What are your top 3 restaurants? Where are they and why are they such nom-toppers?
Hah! Well, I’ve been on a little bit of a “take a picture of my food before eating it” kick lately. Instagram is great for that. But, to be honest I’m really not a gourmet restaurant kind of guy. I’ll take a run down family owned place that looks like it hasn’t changed since the 50s over some new flashy bullshit any day of the week. So, instead of my top three restaurants I’m gonna give you my top 3 late night greasy eats. The number one has to be Mars Diner in Toronto. I used to live a block away and absolutely love that place. Get the Space Burger. Second place is Super Sub in Chicago. Try the Gyro platter, or if you don’t mind shortening your life expectancy from the grease, their Philly Steak is great. Third place, winning by default because it’s the only thing that stays open late in Greenpoint where I live now is Palace Fried Chicken, it’s pretty horrible but anytime you’re there you won’t care.
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