Toronto has no shortage of musical talents. The latest to captivate our attention is Memblem. The producer’s sound mixes upbeat energy and beautiful bounce while spanning everything from future beats to house and RnB. While the producer first landed on our radar when FUXWITHIT favourite Rome In Silver remixed ‘LMPG,’ it’s his impressive catalog that’s made him stand out. From the Kenny Beats battle-winning ‘woah kenny’ to the sultry house bop ‘The Way,’ and his diverse EP ‘im always tired’, the producer never ceases to impress.
With a sound that’s primed for warm weather, we thought it was only right that we had Memblem drop by for a guest mix and interview before the summer is behind us. The mix is a testament to his talents featuring a ton of his own originals and a few IDs, plus some heaters from his friends. Our interview spans beat battles, whether his sound reflects his personality, why he’s always tired, what’s next, and much more. Check both below.
Tell us about the mix. What was your goal when putting it together? What should listeners expect?
The first time I ever did a mix for someone back in 2020, I only played one or two songs of my own, stemming from my insecurity in my own music. After a long time working on my mental health, this mix is me getting out of my own way. I’ve crammed in my current releases, my upcoming work, and mostly work from personal friends that inspire me!
How’s Toronto been treating you? What’s one thing you wish people knew about the city?
Toronto is great, honestly couldn’t have landed in a better place. After growing up in Vietnam and Nepal it was nice to come back to my home country, and pretty much the second I landed I started listening to RnB which has greatly influenced my sound. I also have had a blast collaborating with friends here like Robotaki, who have helped me grow as a musician like crazy. I wish that people knew how much potential there is in Toronto, with like 3/6 top artists in the world from the Greater Toronto Area/Southwestern Ontario.
F*ck the cold weather though, seriously.
Having to live up to a beat you made two years ago in your boxers used to be a daily frustration of mine, but now I look back at the track fondly.
Congrats on over a million plays on ‘Woah.’ How did it go from Beat Battle submission to your biggest release to date?
I think after that sweaty 1.5 hour beat battle where I made that track, I knew that it would be something special. I didn’t realize it would go to these heights though. Something about it being the first beat battle I had ever done, and the first track I ever made under this new ‘memblem’ project, it all sort of fell into place.
It doesn’t have any lyrics, did not get into any editorial playlists and it just spread through word of mouth. Having to live up to a beat you made two years ago in your boxers used to be a daily frustration of mine, but now I look back at the track fondly.
From Kenny Beats’ to your own Beat Battles, can you tell us what makes these competitions special?
First off, a huge shoutout to KennyBeats. As a producer you are often put in the second tier in the music process, and Kenny is one of the pioneers of showing the value of producers. He also pioneered the popularity of online beat battles and the discord communities for producers, which has connected me to more like-minded people than I would have ever thought.
The beat battles themselves are crazy. 2 (sometimes 1) hour of just pure adrenaline. You don’t have time to think, you just do what you have to in the moment. It may seem like a limitation, not being able to scroll through 45 snares, but the result is often the purest form of the moment.
Sometimes that moment is legit the most shit beat you’ve made, but most of the time you surprise yourself. After overthinking making music for years, beat battles are a breath of fresh air. Once a week I go on stream and do a 30-minute battle alongside my viewers, and it always ends up as a great time.
A huge shoutout to my Discord community which I have been battling, and making beats with for these two years. They are my biggest source of motivation and are insanely talented.
At the end of the day, I just like to make weird shit and I am happy that it makes people happy, and if it makes people feel angry and sad, great. I’m just happy if people feel something to my music, me included.
Your music tends to embody an upbeat and fun vibe. Is this reflective of your personality and overall outlook?
My good days are only great relative to my bad days. And everyone has bad ones. I spent a solid 6 years studying and measuring my self-worth through academics, just to realize after my masters degree that I want to make beats, and I was pretty pessimistic about my lost time.
At the end of the day, I just like to make weird shit and I am happy that it makes people happy, and if it makes people feel angry and sad, great. I’m just happy if people feel something to my music, me included.
You just dropped an exclusive publishing EP on Ninjatune. Can you give us a bit more insight into the project? How does it differ from your other work?
The team over there are great, and we’ve been in talks for over a year getting this together. The music on there is focused around sync work, so it is my more pop-oriented tracks. We also got a remix from the legends Zero7 and that was a wild process. Special shoutout to Louisa Laos, Keagan, Neighbor, and Byulah for their work on this project.
I’ve been reaching into the publishing and sync world a lot more lately, spending a solid 40% of my time composing for advertising. Recently landed on the new Bel Air show, and an ad for GMC! It’s a whole different world but it’s a great way to keep making music, without having an existential crisis about inventing a new genre.
I found you through Rome In Silver’s remix of ‘LMPG.’ How did that flip happen? Any chance we might see a Memblem x Rome In Silver collab on the horizon?
I initially met Rome In Silver by connecting over the Kenny beats battles! He saw my stuff and we started chatting and is such a genuine and supportive dude, really someone I look up to. The remix came together as I wanted to collaborate, and he really digged my LMPG track from the Kenny beats finals at TwitchCon, and he absolutely killed it! As for a collaboration, I always love to send ideas his way and vice versa, with a combination of our sounds we want to make sure the track can live up to its full potential. That means it might take some time but I am always trying to collaborate with legends like him.
Maybe being lethargic makes my music sound more raw.
Why are you always tired?
What’s funny is that I am actually tired all the time, and I honestly have no f*cking clue why hahah, I’ve gotten a medical sleep test and I don’t have obstructive sleep apnea so who knows. I did find out I need glasses at the ripe age of 24 though so that’s nice. Maybe being lethargic makes my music sound more raw.
When you’re not making music how do you enjoy spending your time?
I love picking up random hobbies and getting really invested in them, mechanical keyboards, wordle, bicycles, and random stuff that I find fun. Just recently I picked up Screenprinting, so I made my own t-shirts and sold them as merch! 3D printing seems like my next step.
I also am deep into Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, help me
What should we expect from you for the remainder of the year?
I’m working with a great team over at 4XLA to get a 4 track EP out by the end of the year, with two of the songs being previewed on the mix. I’ve also been working on a secret side project with a friend which I am honestly more excited about than half the things I normally work on. I also am a chemistry tutor, so if you hate organic chemistry, I’m your guy.
Tracklist
[0:00 – 0:45] Memblem – ID (Unreleased)
[0:45 – 1:38] Stefano Ritteri – partylife / Lido – Money (Para One Remix) (Cherokee Mashup)
[1:38 – 2:38] Memblem – LMPG
[2:38 – 3:52] Memblem & Louisa Laos – ID (Unreleased)
[3:52 – 5:05] Dijon – Many Times
[5:05 – 6:10] Memblem – Forever
[6:10 – 7:23] Memblem – Get Down
[7:23 – 8:39] Kllo – Dissolve
[8:39 – 9:44] Memblem – Woah
[9:44 – 11:45] salute – Honey
[11:45 – 12:32] DJ Korss – Disco Dreams
[12:32 – 13:39] Memblem & MADI – ID (Unreleased)
[13:39 – 14:35] Mk.Gee – Dimeback
[14:35 – 16:20] Memblem – Final/Purity
[16:26 – 17:17] Inquinch – h2o
[17:17 – 17:42] Memblem – ID (Unreleased)
[17:42 – 19:05] Couros – Cracks
[19:05 – 20:12] Stereomania – ID (BB FINALS WINNER)
[20:12 – 21:07] Memblem, Neighbor, Inquinch, Louisa Laos – Reckless
[21:07 – 21:30] Memblem & ID – ID :) (Unreleased)
[21:30 – 22:11] Kaytranada – Caution
[22:11 – 22:45] Memblem – ID (Unreleased)
[22:45 – 24:13] Thomas Bangalter – Club Soda
[24:13 – 25:12] Sammy Virji – Daga Da
[25:12 – 26:45] Kwame – Purple ft. Keagan
[26:45 – 27:57] Mis-Teeq – All I Want (Sunship Edit)
[27:57 – 29:55] RomeinSilver – Never Be The One ft. Lhasa Petik
[29:55 – 30:48] Memblem & ID – ID (Unreleased)
[30:48 – 32:43] Robotaki – Identity ft. Spirit Animal
[32:43 – 33:40] Finesto – Woozy
[33:40 – 34:25] Memblem – Changes
[34:25 – 34:44] Memblem, Sumant – ID
