New Orleans based bass duo sfam are the future. After exploding onto our radar with their expand EP in 2017, they haven’t let up. Whether it’s official remixes for the likes of UZ, ATLiens x TYNAN and Boogie T, or crazy collabs and originals, everything they’ve released has been straight flames. Their minimal yet innovative sound has made sfam one of the most promising and exciting production duos in bass music. With an absolutely massive 2019 on the horizon we had the honour of connecting with them for a guest mix and interview. We talk about their plans for the year, get an inside look into their upcoming collabs and even discuss Mac Miller and his impact on their music. The guest mix is guaranteed to take you to another dimension. Jam-packed with IDs, it’s 30 minutes of almost exclusively unreleased tunes. If you’re wondering what to expect from sfam in 2019, this mix is the answer. Stream below.
Tell us about the mix. What was your goal when putting it together?
We really wanted to showcase some of the songs we’ll be releasing throughout the year along with songs from homies we’ve been playing in a lot of our shows recently.
What are favorite memories of 2018?
2018 was a huge year for growth. We’ve grown our fan base immensely and worked with so many dope artists we looked up to for a long time. Other than that, playing in all these new cities were definitely the best memories. Michigan sold out with our boys Peekaboo, Mersiv, and Patcehs O’Malley. That was definitely one of the wildest shows we’ve played.
I was honest with myself the other day and realized I haven’t been working on music as much as I used to since we got a new laptop. As the new year comes around, I’m gonna get back to opening Ableton at least once a day.
Do you guys have any new year’s resolutions?
Michael: I was honest with myself the other day and realized I haven’t been working on music as much as I used to since we got a new laptop. As the new year comes around, I’m gonna get back to opening Ableton at least once a day.
Jacob: I’ve had a set back due to breaking my hand, and it took me out of my game for awhile. Now I’m going to get back into a groove and learn more.
What do you have planned for 2019?
We have lots of music to be released along with collabs with some really dope artists. We also have a couple festivals booked along with some tour dates with bigger artists. Really excited to keep playing in new places.
I know there was a little while where you guys didn’t have a computer to produce on. What was that like? What did you do with your time? Were you still working on ideas some other way?
It was awful not being able to produce when we wanted but luckily we were able to go to our homie TVBOO’s house and work on music with him. Other than that we honestly just took it easy and played video games because we knew we were sitting on plenty of music.
We have collabs with Tynan, Sumthin Sumthin, Thook, Peekaboo, and a bunch more but these are some we definitely plan to release this upcoming year.
You’re no stranger to collabs. Are there any collabs dropping in the near future you can tell us about?
We have collabs with Tynan, Sumthin Sumthin, Thook, Peekaboo, and a bunch more but these are some we definitely plan to release this upcoming year.
If you had the chance to work with any artist outside of the electronic/bass space who would it be and why?
Michael: Mine would’ve been Mac Miller. There were a lot of times in my life that his music helped me through. His most recent album, Swimming is one of my favorite albums of all time. He was at his peak and I really hope the music he was sitting on slowly gets released with time.
Jacob: I would say Eminem. Growing up my dad and I listened to him and always loved his unique style. He raps about real life and I respect the way he came up.
That’s one of the reasons I decided to keep on pursuing this career. We could all die at any second so why not do whatever you want. People don’t realize they can literally do whatever they want in life.
Did Mac Miller’s passing have you reflecting on your own mortality at all?
Michael: The news definitely had an impact in many ways. Honestly, I’ve realized how fragile life is for a long time but it really hit me after losing my dad. That’s one of the reasons I decided to keep on pursuing this career. We could all die at any second so why not do whatever you want. People don’t realize they can literally do whatever they want in life.
Jacob: This made realize that life is short and we need to be careful or it can be taken from us fast. Try to enjoy every minute you have with your family or friends and just be cautious in your everyday life. My nona taught me this and I thank her everyday for that.
How do you come up with the sounds in your music? Do you have the idea in your heads already? Or is it more experimentation and finding sounds?
We really just experiment to make different sounds. Sometimes we’ll have ideas in our heads already but it’s fun to just make it as you go.
If you had to spend a year apart, what would you miss most about one and other?
Michael: We’ve been best friends for a while now and we’ve lived together for about 3 years. I’d probably miss just having a my homie around to kick it with basically all the time and of course making music together.
Jacob: I would say having someone that has my back and keeps me in check while I’m partying. It can be lonely so having a homie with me is always nice. If one person forgets like a charger or toothpastes odds are the other has it.
Tracklist
sfam – ID
sfam – ID
sfam – ID
sfam x TVBOO – dahshigo
bassnectar & g jones – underground (sfam flip)
sfam – ID
sfam x bawldy – wait for em
sfam x boogie t – out my face
sfam x peekaboo – ID
ID – ID
sfam – ID
peekaboo x g-rex – babtunde (um.. remix)
TVBOO – ID
sfam x thook – ID
sfam x milano – ID
sfam x cambot – ID
eazybaked – ID
suma – woof (vip)
sfam – ID
vide x milano – ID
sfam – ID
sfam x DMVU – push gas
