Photo credit: www.facebook.com/diegoinfocusphotography
First things first, I want to clarify that the Hi-Yahs is one person. He’s not a band, dj crew, or pop group. He’s a hugely talented DJ/Producer hailing from Dallas, TX. His list of accolades include playing Mad Decent Block Party, a feature in Rolling Stone (Brazil) and a plethora of amazing remixes and originals supported by Tiesto, Diplo, Foreign Beggars, Bro Safari, 12th Planet, DJ Craze, Gladiator and more. On top of all this, he’s a down to earth dude who is constantly interacting with his fans in person and online. We had the pleasure of speaking with the man known as The Hi-Yahs. Check out the full write-up below.
FUXWITHIT: You started out producing hip-hop beats. How has that influenced your overall sound? How did your music evolve to where it is today? Was it a conscious change or more of an organic shift?
The Hi-Yahs: Hip-Hop had a lot of influence on my sound when I first started, a lot of my tracks had traces of hip-hop elements like 808’s and snare based intros on some of my electro tracks and some of my early dubstep had rap style drums and fast hi-hats minus the 808 sub. As for my sound right now it was more of a conscious shift or evolution, I knew that the only way I could gain longevity in the scene was to produce everything and be more of an all-around producer than a genre specific one.
FUXWITHIT: In a previous interview, you talked about Bro Safari’s contribution to your success through his inclusion of your collaboration with Alex Young ‘So Much’ in his Diplo and Friends Mix. Have you had a chance to connect with Bro Safari since? Is there any chance of a future collaboration?
The Hi-Yahs: Yea, I have been able to connect with Bro Safari on 2 separate occasions but never really got around to talking about collaborating. I still send him tracks on a regular basis though and I would love to work with him one day.
FUXWITHIT: What is it like working with some of the biggest labels in the industry? How has it impacted your career?
The Hi-Yahs: It’s very cool and I get access to a lot of music way before anyone else does. The coolest thing about working with large labels is being able to work the big artists in the scene that you once looked up to.
FUXWITHIT: All of your releases are accompanied by a Free Download. Why do you feel it is important to provide your fans with free music?
The Hi-Yahs: Always loved buying music from my fav artists but with edm the music comes out so often that it ends up putting a toll on your bank account. So with free music I can get my name out there and it keeps my fans from breaking the bank on my tunes so they can come support me at shows.
FUXWITHIT: Do you prefer to DJ or produce? Why?
The Hi-Yahs: They are both so different but equally entertaining that choosing one over the other is impossible. I can tell you that I do look forward to DJing on the weekends more then I look forward to producing when I get home, but producing is on mind like 90% of the time though.
FUXWITHIT: You’ve produced music in a variety of musical genres including Trap, Moombahton, Nu-Disco, House and more. Is there any genre that you’ve yet to explore that interests you?
The Hi-Yahs: There are a lot of styles of dance music that I have made but have yet to release them due to me wanting to keep them as secret weapons in my sets. But I have been playing a lot of jersey club over the past year and haven’t really made any of it yet so that’s one of the genres I plan on diving into. Also electro swing caught my eye a few years ago and I have been dying to make it but never got around to it.
FUXWITHIT: You recently produced a track for Waka Flocka. How did that come about? Did you get a chance to collaborate in studio together?
The Hi-Yahs: My friend FR4NCIS that I did the track with does a lot of hip-hop production and he came to me with the idea for the track. He already had the vocals from Waka and Kalyko so I didn’t get a chance to work with them in the studio. Most of the time when you do collabs with artists everything is passed back in forth via email.
FUXWITHIT: A lot of people are saying that Trap is dead, oversaturated or played out. What are your thoughts on the current state of Trap music?
The Hi-Yahs: I feel like trap is far from dead and it’s getting bigger in the states with the emergence of chill trap/future bass and twerk/mid-tempo music becoming a dominate sub-genre. Also the market overseas in Europe and Australia is insane. I do agree that it is slightly oversaturated with mediocre music but that happens to any genre when it reaches high levels of popularity.
FUXWITHIT: Your fan interaction is second to none. From personally replying to nearly everyone on your Facebook to inviting fans to come and talk to you at shows. Why is this personal interaction so important you?
The Hi-Yahs: I know from past experience that one of the greatest feelings is getting a personal response back from one of your favorite artists and it can make your shitty day or week a lot better. So with that being said if I can provide any type of happiness to a person’s life I will go out of my to do it. (That sounds so corny, lol).
FUXWITHIT: Tell me about your craziest fan experience.
The Hi-Yahs: I think have one crazy fan experience. It occurred last summer and not sure of the city because promoters have a tendency to book early am flights after having me play 1-3 am sets which in turn everything blends together. Sorry end rant and back to the story. I remember being about a hour into my set and was going from moombah to twerk music and a bunch of girls hopped on stage and started twerking as usual lol. One of them tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a shot, so of course I took the shot then I turned to thank her but instead of her saying you are welcome she open mouth kissed me then she hopped of stage to dance with a dude that could have been her boyfriend. After my set she just left so either I am a terrible kisser or her boyfriend was mad.
FUXWITHIT: What makes The Hi-Yahs DJ sets special or unique?
The Hi-Yahs: I think it’s maybe the amount of genres I play in my sets that makes them unique because you never know what style I am going into next. But what makes them special is that over half of the songs you hear that night you may have never heard before or have even heard of the artist that made it. I am always supporting new artists so I play out a lot of stuff I get from up and coming artists.
FUXWITHIT: Can you give us a few up-and-coming artists that we should be on the lookout for? You mentioned Trippy Turtle, Juyen Sebulba, Victor Niglio and Cry Wolf in a previous interview. All of which are doing pretty big things right now.
The Hi-Yahs: I love getting asked this question because there is so much talent. I can name like 2 dozen artists but I will give you this small list of dope artists: (ABC Order) Alean and Skyy, Foxsky, Goon Bags, Happy Colors, Maison Cartel, Our Time, Rickyxsan and TAGRM aka The Al Gore Rhythm Method.
FUXWITHIT: What can we expect next from you in terms of upcoming releases?
The Hi-Yahs: Brand new 100bpm mid-tempo remix I made for a Brazilian rap group just got released a few days ago and was featured in Rolling Stone Brazil. (You can check the article here).
I got some Melbourne and some big room coming out as well. Plus I got a really ignorant trap remix coming out soon that I did with my good friend ‘Pass The 40’ (Main Course Artist).
FUXWITHIT: Any final words for your fans?
The Hi-Yahs: I am always giving out tickets to my shows so if you happen to be in a city I am playing in then hit me up on Facebook or Twitter and I will hook you up.
Be sure to follow The Hi-Yahs on Facebook, Twitter, & SoundCloud.
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