For some artists success seems to happen overnight. You hear stories of rappers who got their start under a year ago and are already topping Billboards charts. Or of producers who went from bedroom newcomers to festival headliners in a matter of months. But this isn’t the track for everyone. For some, their path in music is a little longer. Rather than a straight trajectory at rocket blast speeds, it’s a slower, winding road. But that’s not a bad thing. All those years of grinding and perfecting their craft only serve to make an artist that much stronger and more well-equipped. As is the case for Toronto based producer Lingopolus. With ten years producing under a variety of aliases and a lifetime spent in music, he’s been slowly sharpening his sword, waiting for the right moment to strike. After building up his arsenal he’s decided the time is now with the release of his incredible new EP WHISK.
Before we get to the project, I want to make it clear that Lingopolus isn’t an unknown. He hasn’t been completely lurking in the shadows. His 2015 release ‘Ovation’ has received support from heavyweights like Flosstradamus, Diplo, A-Trak, and recently received a second life as staple in Boombox Cartel’s sets. Additionally earlier this year he kicked things off with the release of ‘Ice’ on Flosstradamus’ Hi Def Youth Record label. With cosigns rolling in, Lingo’s been patient, focusing on creating new music to really wow the world.
Today we get the first taste of what he’s been cooking with WHISK. The 3 track effort is sure to satiate long-time fans and amass an army of new ones. The project perfectly showcase why Lingopolus is one of the most promising producers in the trap and bass world. He possees a keen ability to blend unorthodox sounds with an unencumbered creativity, while still delivering bangers. His sound is the apex of originality without pretentiousness. There’s intricate details and subtle samples sprinkled throughout but it also just simply slaps.
‘EGG BEATER’ opens things up with deep breathing and snappy drums to set the stage. The drop mixes motor sounds, with a tweaked squeak, banging 808s and trap grunts. It’s almost cartoon like in its energy, but somehow remains super gritty. Following it up comes ‘ZOOPID,’ a battle-ready banger that’s based around a bent yet militant brass sound. It’s the war cry, clash, regroup, and final fight. It’s an auditory look into the rise and fall of an ancient civilization…or just a straight up club killer, whichever you prefer. Closing things out is ‘ORANGUTAN,’ a record that draws elements from house and hardstyle and traps them out. The vocal lead into the hardstyle drop will have you buggin’ and Lingopolous only proves to blow your mind even further as he freaks it several times over. In an era of copy and past producers, Lingo’s approach to push every song to continually evolve is just one of the many facets that makes him one of the top artists to watch right now.
You can stream WHISK below and grab it on Bandcamp. To get to know Lingopolus even better, be sure to check out our interview below. We talk about the project, his sample game, his friendship with thook, and the possibility of a Flosstradamus collab in the near future.
How long have you been making music? What got you into production?
Well if it’s making music in general, then my whole life aha. Kinder music as a child, played piano till grade 9, then trumpet for high school, plus a little bit of guitar. As for producing, it was the summer of 2008 when I downloaded FL Studio. I went as tre-volume then to Jackpot Tracks from 09-11 where I was slangin’ beats on Twitter. It started with my brother (PatEarnz) he would mess around on FL making techno beats for newgrounds with his friends…I wanna say 06-09. It had its own music scene where kids were just tossing out techno and hardstyle etc. it was dope and it still has a community. My brother though, he sparked my interests with how fun it looked. The other main factor was I just bumped rap so much over those years from 08 that I became obsessed with hip-hop and 808s. From Tribe, RUN DMC to Bangladesh joints and stuff like the party pleaser ‘Money In The Bank’ by Lil Scrappy and Young Buck.
I love history and ancient Greek times along with the mythology. From being at the forefront of developing philosophies, scientific discoveries and also with art and sculptures, it’s all just mad dope to me.
Where does the name Lingopolus come from?
Honestly it just came to me one night randomly. It’s an alias evolution from Lingo, which I was for a couple years from 2012 where I rapped over my beats. An evolution from who I was to advancing as a producer. Even though Lingo is pronounced Ling-oh, Lingopolus is pronounced Ling-awpolus, just to clear up any confusion xD. I love history and ancient Greek times along with the mythology. From being at the forefront of developing philosophies, scientific discoveries and also with art and sculptures, it’s all just mad dope to me. It was inspired by a new path of evolving my sound and becoming more creative and along with it came the desire for something new and more original that I liked the sound and look of.
You’re originally from Brampton and are now living in Toronto. Did either city have any impact on your sound or development as an artist?
Honestly, yes and no. I mean I grew up in Brampton and witnessed it grow and change. But that didn’t do anything to my sound. It was everything I was listening to and the sounds/plugins I was downloading and the friends I had. All which might not have occurred say if I didn’t live in Brampton, I don’t know. But for currently living in Toronto? Yes moving into the city definitely impacted my vision and definitely me and my motivations. I craved that new energy. I realized more of what I wanted to become. Why I started this shit in the first place was to have fun, be around inspiring people and create. Moving gave me fresh air. You see new places, meet new people, and get new perspectives. Toronto is dope and it’s been a very inspiring living here.
How did you land on WHISK for the EP title?
I feel I get lost in making music and having fun, like everyone who makes music. But that’s something that fades with the pressures of being an artist. Following up ‘Ovation’ for example and just dealing with curve balls life throws at you. There’s a perfect balance of precisely selecting sounds and not knowing the direction of where you’re going, creating as you go and just that curiosity that consumes you. It’s one of the most valuable facets of producing for me. You’ll be inspired and creating something and then you keep stumbling on ideas and things that make it better and it’s this idea and process whisking that is so crucial for staying inspired for me. Putting in the work even when I sometimes don’t feel inspired or want to, but because being uncomfortable makes me try new things, and add different ingredients.
I’m playing around like a kid in a toy store. I feel comfortable not knowing direction a lot of the times other than tempo, it’s where I thrive.
One thing that stands out about your work is the evolution within your tracks. What’s your process like when making music? How do you decide what to switch up and where to go within a song?
Honestly it’s different every time. I’m playing around like a kid in a toy store. I feel comfortable not knowing direction a lot of the times other than tempo, it’s where I thrive. And then when an idea is fully forming in the track it becomes even more fun to get wild and let loose with rhythms, fill ideas and just exploring how I can evolve the track. I have other rituals that take place before making music which usually help me have more fun ;)
Your sample game is undeniably strong. Can you tell us about a few of the most unorthodox or interesting sounds that you used on the project?
Thank you! I love samples and I love playing around with them. There’s a motor starting up in ‘EGG BEATER’ as the first sound in the drop, along with a squeak I turned into a flute’ish sound that follows. There’s also several weird foreign rock drum samples throughout the EP used in fills. I like taking weird percs and kitchen sounds and putting flangers on them.
Having goals is so important, but we have to be careful of what we wish for. It’s important we enjoy the process so we don’t get hung up on the outcome. I personally have experienced this and life becomes a lot less confusing when you’re not constantly chasing some illusion of the future but just enjoying where you are now and working hard towards your passions.
What are some of your goals as artist?
I have so many goals as an artist and as a person I don’t really know where to begin. I want to have tons of music out, I want to spread positivity and love as much as possible, and I want to help people. But there’s one thing I want to say about goals/aspirations while we’re on the topic. Having goals is so important, but we have to be careful of what we wish for. It’s important we enjoy the process so we don’t get hung up on the outcome. I personally have experienced this and life becomes a lot less confusing when you’re not constantly chasing some illusion of the future but just enjoying where you are now and working hard towards your passions. With that being said though I really want to play Shambhala and crowd surf to one of my songs in a giraffe costume. Another goal is to serve up brunch wraps at festivals and have a restaurant/food spot.
You and Thook have been friends for a minute. How much influence do you have on each other’s music? Have things changed now that you’re living together?
We met in high school in 2008 and have been friends ever since. Our crew started to become notorious for beatboxing at parties from 09 forward and he had the meanest bass growl haha. He wasn’t even producing then but we would be showing him beats and stuff all the time and it inspired him because if we could do it, so could he. One day he showed me a track and the rest was history. I’m not sure how much influence we’ve had on each other but it surely existed and still exists to some degree as far as inspiring each other. But now that we’re living together it’s for sure been way easier to get collabs wrapped up and it’s awesome being able to show each other things, get feedback with mix/mastering and just overall the energy of multiple producers in a household is lit aha.
You’ve been getting support from Flosstradamus for a minute now. From plays on your earlier tunes to your most recent release on Hi Def Youth. How has that relationship evolved over time? Can we expect some Lingopolus x Flosstradamus heaters soon?
Yeah that changed my life. The ‘Ovation’ support was and still is insane, and the footage will never get old to me. Also quick shoutout to Boombox Cartel for the mad support lately and to everyone else for the love as well! As for the Hi Def release, that was just a dream come true. I’m an OG floss fan, so I literally need to pinch myself sometimes. Curt’s awesome, he’s the homie. He’s inspiring, super genuine and I really can’t say enough of how much I appreciate him and what he’s done for me. I can honestly say he’s a role model for me. For being one of the main trap EDM trail blazers, it’s awesome being able to chop it up about music with him, to just talking about life. And as far as collabs gooo, you can most certainly expect something in the near future so definitely to stay tuned :)
What should we expect from you next? Is there more music on the way?
YES! Expect some dankness. Collabs, including some phat thook ones. I’m also really into tech/deep house and riddim right now. Also some melodic stuff but expect some weird stuff, fast stuff but dank and buck stuff. Very soon as well. I plan on dropping a lot of music before 2019!
