New Orleans based duo sfam had an incredible 2017. From their stellar debut EP on Quality Goods Records, to landing official remixes for Jameston Thieves and UZ, to getting co-signs from some of the biggest names in the business (see Craze). In a short time, they’ve positioned themselves as one of the most exciting and inventive new acts in bass music. Their signature style pairs insane sound design with a minimalist approach for a sound that’s unlike any other. With a massive 2018 on the horizon, we had the honour of connecting with them for an exclusive interview. We spoke about their friendship, their insane work ethic, linking up with Quality Goods Records and more. Read the full interview below.
First things first, I have ask about your name? What is sfam and where did it come from?
sfam started as our group of friends that would go to shows and what not. Someone said “sin for a minute” one day and sfam just kind of stuck.
How did you guys meet? When did you decide that you wanted to make music together?
We’ve known each other since we were about 10 or 11 from being on the same travel soccer team. We played together basically our entire life. We were on the same team in college and Jacob went to a lot of shows. He brought me with him to a few then he started learning how to mix and taught me some things for fun. We then decided to take it serious, bought Ableton, and went from there.
Has your friendship changed since you became a production duo?
I’d say music has brought us closer in a way. Of course we have disagreements sometimes but that’s just how friends are.
Mississippi definitely isn’t a place for electronic music. New Orleans has a good scene with a good amount of shows that come through.
You’re originally from Mississippi but are currently residing in New Orleans. Neither of those places are well known for their electronic music exports. Can you tell us a little bit about the music scene locally?
Mississippi definitely isn’t a place for electronic music. New Orleans has a good scene with a good amount of shows that come through. We’ll always be grateful for our fan base and everyone that has given us opportunities here.
How did you link up with UZ & Quality Goods Records?
We sent UZ music for about a year until he decided he wanted us to do an EP for QGR.
Your music often packs a minimalist sound where it feels like less is more. Could you speak to this approach a little bit?
We love minimal beats. To us, having dope sounds in the right places is much more important than having a lot jam packed into a tune. If one adds too many sounds, it can sometimes take away from the tune as a whole.
The best advice we can give to other producers is to want to be successful as badly as you want to breathe. When you’re chillin’ with your homies, you could be working on music. When you’re partying, you could be working on music.
Craze recently tweeted that you guys are “the hardest working mofos out there”. What drives you to work as hard as you do? Do you have any advice for how others can step up their work ethic and output?
It’s insane to have cosigns from OGs like Craze and UZ. We honestly just want to be successful so badly that we work on music as much as we possibly can. The best advice we can give to other producers is to want to be successful as badly as you want to breathe. When you’re chillin’ with your homies, you could be working on music. When you’re partying, you could be working on music. Don’t make excuses and be honest with yourself. If you put in the time, the rest will come.
What do you guys like to do outside of music?
We both have girlfriends so of course we love spending time with them and our homies. We also both love sports so we enjoy watching soccer, football, basketball, etc.
It sounds like you’ve been working on a lot of collabs recently. Who’s been your favorite artist to work with so far?
This is a really tough question because we make music with so many homies. I’d say we click with our homies untitld and KTRL the easiest when working on tunes.
If you could accomplish one thing in 2018 what would it be?
We have a few main goals for 2018 but our biggest is to go on our first tour.
sfam have new music dropping tomorrow (1/9) so be sure to follow them so you don’t miss it.
