Out of the throng of fiery west coast bass acts rises a dynamic duo fiercely pushing the envelope of sound design as we know it. Harrison Hays and Anthony Battaglia, better known by their collaborative project name Smoakland, have been bending sonic frequencies like diabolical mad scientists as of late. Curating a rich, diverse discography freshly into their musical journey has afforded them to hit a broad range of genres and moods all within a quite short span of time, making every performance of theirs a true roller-coaster experience. Mixing an old-school classic sound with a supremely progressive approach, they’ve successfully carved out their own niche for fans’ ears.
Now, primed and ready to dominate festival season in true fashion, we’ve gotten a sneak peek at their upcoming Modern Throwback LP and plenty of saucy live edits in the 96th edition of our guest mix series. We’ve also had the privilege of speaking to them about their journey so far, their inspirations, and what’s coming next. Check out the full interview and guest mix for yourself below!
What is Smoakland?
Smoakland (Harry & Anthony) is two best friends who randomly decided to start making music together.
Tell us a little about your collective musical backgrounds.
Anthony started making mashups back in high school for fun, and slowly after college started to produce originals. Harry started DJing in 2011, and continued to do so until 2018 when Anthony started teaching him to produce.
How did you guys originally meet?
We met in College at Boise State back in 2011.
What’s the collaborative process like for you two?
Anthony is the backbone behind the production. Usually Anthony will send over his ideas, Harry will add to them if he sees fit, given the song. There’s a lot of back and forth discussion on arrangement of song, etc. it usually doesn’t take more than 2-3 communication periods for a song to be made. We work very fast.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
We both have a heavy hip hop influence. A lot of rap, rap vocals. We draw inspiration from people like Zeds Dead if we are talking electronic.
We like to keep our sound current, yet have that throwback feel to it. We don’t want to be confined to just one genre. We love to put our classic style over anything that catches our ears.
You guys have already produced quite a few different genres, how would you describe your overall sound?
We like to keep our sound current, yet have that throwback feel to it. We don’t want to be confined to just one genre. We love to put our classic style over anything that catches our ears.
You did a guest mix for us today! Can you tell us the direction you took with it and how you crafted the overall flow?
We wanted to display a couple of songs coming out on our Modern Throwback LP that drops 4/6. We also spun a lot of tunes we’ve been playing the past 2 months that have really stood out to us. A bunch of favorites!!
We want to keep that old school dubstep feel, while also bring a whole new style of sound design to the game.
You guys are traveling around on your own Modern Throwback tour this summer! Can you tell us the significance of the name, and what people should expect when they check it out?
We use that name because we love keeping the nostalgia flowing! We want to keep that old school dubstep feel, while also bring a whole new style of sound design to the game. If you come to a stop on our tour, expect a lot of older dubstep songs, mixed in with a plethora of new and unreleased from friends. We want to take you on a dubstep journey!!
Tell us about your upcoming album!
There’s 10 songs. 3 collabs, and 7 done just by us. We’ve been working on it for the past 7 months collectively. This is our greatest body of work from start to finish, and it really displays our range. From dnb, to halftime, to old school dub. We even have a rapper coming through to spit vocals! We are covering all aspects.
Talk to us about the new collective Left Coast Xtracts. Who’s a part of it? What’s the direction that’s being taken with it?
LCX started off as a side project with our buddy Jeff Matthews (LABS). We wanted to make more subtle dubstep with a softer approach. After our first release, I had an idea. What if we did this for other artists? Give them a platform to display their music. I’m also tired of some labels releasing great songs, and then not so great songs. We want every song we release to be a hit, to where you can’t stop coming back to listen to it. Quality music all around.
You guys have your own guest mix series in the form of Dope Tracks for Bass Cats! Can you tell us what the inspiration was behind that, and the direction you’re planning to take with it in the future?
That also started as an idea for us to release a mix every few weeks to keep our sounds updated. Then it turned into guest appearances from our favorite underground artists. We hope to continue the mix series, and keep on putting our quality tunes from all of our favorite producers we feel deserve the recognition.
Whenever someone tells us our music has made a difference in their life, or just seeing how hype people get at our shows. It’s infectious. We never want to stop what we’re doing.
What keeps you guys motivated to put in work day-in and day-out?
The sense of accomplishment. Whenever someone tells us our music has made a difference in their life, or just seeing how hype people get at our shows. It’s infectious. We never want to stop what we’re doing.
What do you believe has been the biggest factor in your success up to this point in your careers?
Being unapologetically us. Every move we’ve ever made, has been for the best of Smoakland. We leave our egos out of it, and always do what’s best for the music.
Who do you believe are some of the most forward-thinking underground acts in the scene right now?
Vibe Emissions has been killing it lately. Dudes been on another level of production. Also SuperAve. Is just starting out and he’s already in a league of his own. Also, watch out for LABS because the dude is gonna have a massive year in 2020.
Where are you guys most excited to play this summer?
Lightning in a Bottle for sure. That’s been a festival I’ve only ever dreamed of playing. Also TheUntz is going to be very special for us.
TRACKLIST
Smoakland – ID
Cnopes & Mlotik -ID
Deadcrow – M.I.N.D.
Dope – ID
Ting – Forenoon Lore
WACKJACK – ID
Smoakland & Vibe Emissions – Have Mercy
Vibe Emissions – Creep at Night
Smoakland & Molokai – ID
Portal – Sauce
Cybertr0n & Aza -Traphouse
Hairitage – Soundboy
Smoakland & Molokai – Knockin
Mind Island & jordnmoody – Moodyminds
G Jones & Bleep Bloop – Phalanges
Smoakland & SuperAve. – Telegraph
Dope – ID
Detrè- Let Go
MYTHM & Skew – SELECTA
Dope – ID
Koto – ID
Doctor Jeep – Laff Track (Fixate Remix)
JiV- Chugga
Brandy – I Wanna Be Down (Smoakland remix)
Zeds Dead – Hadouken (Smoakland remix)
