Gurf has had one hot 2019 in the books. With fire remixes of yojas. and L*O*J, as well as releases on SUS COLLECTIVE and Presently Lifted, he’s been consistently delivering some quality tunes that all contain his special, super groovy flavor. As a Co-Founder of the ever rising Partica Artist Group, you know that Gurf is on the next wave of artists that are pushing some heavy-hitting and wonky trap, and that’s exactly what we got in his guest mix. Full of IDs from the Partica family and more, expect to loose control when you bump this mix.
We got a chance to catch up with Gurf after meeting him in North Carolina to discuss his guest mix, his production, and his travels. Be sure to get to know Gurf below with our interview.
What was your goal for this mix? Tell us how it came together.
I was trying to be as myself as possible with this mix, and to play as many of my own / Partica’s tracks as possible. So many of my music friends have had the opportunity to create FUXWITHIT mixes and have showcased their own personalities and tastes and I really wanted to do the same.
creative morale is at a high. And 2020 is looking really bright for the genre.
A lot of people have been saying “Trap is Dead.” As one of the artists who is really pushing the trap genre, what are your thoughts on this?
I love the whole conversation lmao. Some will say “Trap is dead,” some will say “trap never died,” but I say “Trap is changing.” It’s going thru a metamorphosis, it’s “cocooning” ahaha. Which means it might not be in the forefront, but it’s maturing and changing so rapidly as a sound, due to so many under/above-ground producers pushing boundaries. So for me and my friends, creative morale is at a high. And 2020 is looking really bright for the genre.
Where do you find inspiration for some of your tracks?
I don’t pull too much inspiration from anything specific, it’s more of an emotional release for me. When that goes down in the DAW, I just wanna make people move; I think its the drum patterns and visceral rhythms that really inspire me. I don’t go super hard on sound design like some bass producers because that’s just not where the juice is for me. I’m more likely to have fun making something with simple sound design and complicated rhythms, rather than the opposite.
You have a lot of heavy hitting, wonky tracks, what’s your process like to get these sounds?
For wonky sounds – I resample like crazy. I will put 3-4 effects on a silly teeny sound and then consolidate it and do it again, a million times until I just have something bonkers. Then I chop it up and mold it to the rhythm. Lots of producers do this and it’s easy to get similar sounds as everybody else, so I think implementing them the right way is really how you get originality.
For heaviness – I mix into a softclipper on my master track, turn my loudest elements up A LOT and give them priority. Then I make sure the less important things aren’t as loud in the mix. Because when the softclipper compresses the shit out of the mix, the soft things become louder again.
We’ve grown a strong bond and have been able to propel everybody’s growth way faster then if we were going at it alone
As a co-founder of Partica Artist Group, you guys have been delivering some heat with all your releases. How has it felt to watch the growth of that?
Thank you g lol. Incredible. I’m so proud of everybody for delivering such inspiring music but even prouder of us as a whole for driving each other to improve. We’re always there for each other and for the community on feedback, advice, moral support, memes, and honestly just as homies too. We’ve grown a strong bond and have been able to propel everybody’s growth way faster then if we were going at it alone. I’m confident and excited to say that a vast majority of the Partica artists have seen promising growth since we started releasing back in February. So that has to mean something!
I saw that you were recently in Italy for a bit, what was that like? Did you come back with a lot of inspiration?
It was beautiful – I was in Sicily, and my family is Sicilian so it was good to be exposed to the authentic culture and way of life. For inspiration, yes and no – maybe not so much inspiration MUSICALLY. But emotionally yes. Witnessing the marriage of my step brother and experiencing the wonderful time we had was just a hefty reminder for me that family is precious and they aren’t to be taken for granted. As somebody who is particularly introverted I oftentimes get sick of being around people really quick, and experiences with family like that remind me to bring myself out of my head and to enjoy the company of others more.
So you’ve actually been doing a lot of traveling, most recently to North Carolina for a couple of shows. How was it to finally get out of a scene that you know and what was the crowd like at the shows?
I loveeee going to different towns and experiencing their music scene and this was no exception – even though its only 8 hours away from us in Baltimore, Charlotte felt super different and refreshing. The DC / Baltimore scene is super fun and has a lot of character but I always love seeing subtle differences in city culture from cuisine, the architecture, the recreational spots to see. The crowds in particular were amazing, I attribute that partially to Charlotte but also to SERJ and the fun, intimate environment it provided. The ceilings/dj booth is really low so you’re RIGHT in front of the crowd and can interact really easily. As an artist that sticks with us, and as show-goers it does too.
they see SoundCloud as their main ‘channel’ for discovering fans – when in reality each social media we spend time on is another ‘channel’ you can utilize contextually to reach different people.
You also make a lot of little videos to promote your tracks and more, like where you and Runnit made a beat from sounds of a train station. What fuels you to deliver this content?
Haha, well firstly it’s just fun to do so it makes it easy to put together for us, but for me personally, it’s because I’m trying to deliver something fun and original to my non-SoundCloud followers as well. Most producers put out practically no content – just tracks and the occasional pic on their socials, because in their mind they see SoundCloud as their main ‘channel’ for discovering fans – when in reality each social media we spend time on is another ‘channel’ you can utilize contextually to reach different people. Not only does it amplify your outreach but also lets you CONNECT differently with different people. Some may love listening to your tracks on SoundCloud, while others might like reading your opinion on Twitter, but some might enjoy your vids on TikTok/IG/YouTube…you get what I’m saying? We got the tools to really put ourselves out there. We don’t have to be one-dimensional anymore in our brands.
What do you enjoy outside of music?
My life basically revolves around music haha but here are some random things I like: traveling, nature, film, shmoking shweed, going to the aquarium, comfort footwear, fall weather, Rubik’s cubes, candles, stickers, elephants, buying my friends art, seeing live music (I guess that’s still music, but) xbox, laughing, passing vibe checks, food.
What are your top 3 favorite movies/tv shows?
omfg this is hard…
Shows
1. The Sopranos
2. Breaking Bad
3. Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia
4. Drake and Josh. Can’t make a list and have this not be there
Movies (no order)
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Napoleon Dynamite
3. Fight Club
4. The Nickelodeon original where drake and josh get kidnapped and they eat really big shrimp.
Currently locking in releases with labels and chasing after other ones, but my biggest thing is going to be playing more shows with myself and the Partica family.
With 2020 coming up soon, what is the new year gonna bring in for Gurf?
Currently locking in releases with labels and chasing after other ones, but my biggest thing is going to be playing more shows with myself and the Partica family. We want to do more combined sets like we did in NC, as well as takeovers, both for shows and festivals, and maybe eventually even bring some of our Twitch shenanigans to an IRL setting…. also going to focus on growing as a producer and creating more original music. So really it’s just going to me more of the same stuff, but elevated.
Tracklist
QUIX – MY HOUSE IS IKEA (GURF FLIP) [UNRELEASED]
GURF – ID [UNRELEASED]
W/ HOLLIMON – STFU VOCAL
DJ RIDE – NEW WEAPONS [SLOW ROAST RECORDS]
JONECKS – ID [PARTICA ARTIST GROUP]
MIDNIGHT – IMPALA [PARTICA ARTIST GROUP]
GURF – ID [MUSIC HIGH COURT]
L*O*J – MOONTOYS (GURF REMIX) [ABOVE & BELOW THE SURFACE]
GURF – OOH WAH [BELOW THE SURFACE]
KIZER – ID
JORDNMOODY X SOMETHING – FIU [PARTICA X MYOPIC]
ROBU – ID [PARTICA ARTIST GROUP]
YOJAS – YBN. (GURF REMIX)
ZCR – ID
GURF X SOMETHING – ID
NATO FEELZ X GURF – ID
GURF X ZCR – FIGHT [PARTICA X MYOPIC]
RUNNIT – MUG CLUB (FEAT. GURF, XTALS, BD HBT, RAFTYR, ETC)
SNUFFY X YOJAS – SLIDE
GURF X ME SWANK – ID [TRIBAL TRAP]
(GURF X SNAK PAK – BUSTEM VOCAL)
EATER – 8008
GURF X THRPY – ID
TVBOO X RUNNIT – ID
ANTI x REMK – ID
GURF X RAFTYR X DANFORTH – ID
SOMETHING – ID
MIDNGHT X ZCR – ID
BRAINDRACK X VEEPOT – ID
GURF X XTALS – THROWIN SHADE
XAVIER – ID
XTALS – ID [PARTICA ARTIST GROUP] ((build up))
GURF x CCIV – ON THAT [GANG GANG RECORDS]
XTALS – ID [PARTICA ARTIST GROUP] ((drop))
INVERNESS x SOUPYANDREAS – HOURS (RUNNIT x GURF REMIX)
SUMTHIN SUMTHIN – TAKE A SIP (W/ POST MALONE VOCAL)
MOORE KISMET – ID
SCULLION – QUENT YOUR THIRST
CHUCK SUTTON – CHA MIGHT BE
ID x ID – ID
GURF x FOOLIE SURFIN – ID
