In the past year hrmxny has been setting Toronto on fire. With opening slots for Mr. Carmack, Kaytranada, Flosstradamus and Cashmere Cat, the young producer/DJ is gaining fans with every set and proving that he’s one of the city’s most promising talents. Fresh off his festival debut at Bestival Toronto, hrmxny looks forward to a huge tail end of the Summer with a spot playing Mad Decent Block Party and a new EP on the way. We had a chance to connect with hrmxny for an exclusive interview where he discusses his new project, getting life lessons from Flosstradamus, the Toronto music scene and more. Check out the interview below, listen to his fire guest mix and cop the free download.
FUXWITHIT: The lines between hip-hop and electronic music continue to be blurred. How would you describe your sound?
hrmxny: I honestly don’t think I’ve found my exact sound yet, my brain is so scattered always, so it’s impossible to stick to one thing. For now let’s call it indie trap house.
“It’s like Nosaj Thing meets Jersey Club.”
FUXWITHIT: Tell us about your upcoming EP? Is there a release date/title yet? What’s the direction?
hrmxny: It’s coming. August 21st, hopefully. It’s weird working on a project that’s gonna be under a label, everything is pretty serious now. It’s like talking to a girl, then having to be tied down for the rest of your life. That’s how I feel the music industry is. You start off with small coffee dates then she starts moving her stuff in. Everything automatically becomes real. OH! It’s called ‘Strange As It Seems’ also one of the songs has the same title, it’s really dope. It’s like Nosaj Thing meets Jersey Club. That’s also the direction of the whole EP.
FUXWITHIT: You’ve opened for some of the biggest acts in the game from Cashmere Cat to Mr. Carmack, Flosstradamus, Kaytranada and more. How have these slots helped you as an artist?
hrmxny: It made me realize that I can’t really rush anything. Josh from Flosstradamus told me to just be patient, if it’s meant to be it will happen. I’ve lived with those words imprinted in my brain. Everyone is just a person, we all started in the same boat at one time. Watching these guys perform just pushes me to become so much more than what I am now. Need to change the ‘opening’ title to ‘headlining’.
FUXWITHIT: You’re pretty deep in the Toronto music scene. Can you give us a few new Toronto artists to be on the look out for?
hrmxny: Ahhhh, there’s so many. Everyone is hustling for the top spot out here, nothing is handed to you. Buuuuuuut, if I was to name like 5 close homies killing it right now it would be: Tylor Santos, Jazz Cartier, HARRISON, Daniel Caesar & OBESON. Those guys make me want to become a better artist. We support each other 100% and that’s what this city lacks and needs.
FUXWITHIT: You recently had the chance to perform at Bestival Toronto. How was it?
hrmxny: Yea! That was wild, it was wet and muddy, but I was in a room with artificial grass so I can’t complain. I had no idea what I was going to play, so I just played whatever felt right at the time & it worked out pretty well. PS. s/o to the dudes jumping so hard infront of me & almost knocking my computer over.
FUXWITHIT: You’re going to be playing Mad Decent Block Party this year. How does it feel to be part of such a massive event? How did that come together?
hrmxny: It’s super weird, I always ask “why” whenever I get a big opportunity. Everything still trips me out. It feels awesome though, it hasn’t really hit me fully yet. It will feel real the day of when I’m about to play, I’ll probably throw up. Maaaaan, EMBRACE is the squad. Everyone there has my back 100%, especially Adam & Biz. I played the MDBP After Party last year, and Diplo & Walshy Fire fucked with me, so they asked me to play the actual thing this year. I low-key sent them a song, that should be released soon, still just waiting on that.
FUXWITHIT: In addition to playing events, you’ve been running many of your own. What made you decide to start throwing events?
hrmxny: I needed to get my name out there somehow, this was all before I had the major EMBRACE backing I have now. If you’re a DJ in Toronto and aren’t involved in the “scene” we have now, it will be super hard to build your name in your own city. It’s also really fun organizing an event, I stopped because it became more about the money rather than the passion for the music.
FUXWITHIT:You have been wearing a mask at many of your recent performances, what’s the significance behind it?hrmxny: The mask usually comes out when I’m feeling extremely ignorant or drunk. There’s no real significance behind it at all. I’m a very strange person and I just do whatever I feel like doing at the time. Maybe everything stems from listening to a lot of MF DOOM & Captain Murphy.
FUXWITHIT: Any final words?
hrmxny: STOP BEING SO SERIOUS WITH EVERYTHING YOU DO. HAVE FUN. ENJOY SHIT. MAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY YOUR BITCH. That is all.
Tracklist
Floor Excitement – The Busy Twist
Senta – French Fries
Big Boob Bitch – Dai Burger
You Heard – Hrmxny (unreleased)
Color Plus – USB People
Promnite – Kush Jones Remix
Fubu & Versace – Old Young
Gun Ho – Pedro 123
Gucci Said – Que
Trap House Stalkin – 2 Chainz
Yo Vogue – French Fries
Brighter Days – MikeGip
BBHMM – Brenmar
Scared Of The Dark – Gucci Mane
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facebook.com/hrmxnymusic
twitter.com/hrmxny
soundcloud.com/hrmxny
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