In advance of New York State of Bass taking place tomorrow night at the Armory, I had a quick chat with Proper Villians.
1. Introduce yourself! Who you are, what you do, where you’re from.
I’m Jon, I’m from NYC and I make/play eclectic bass music. Mainly dubstep, but also electro, moombahton, hip-hop, drum & bass or just about anything with a lot of bass or lazer noises in it.
2. How did you first get involved with DJing and remixing? Do you identify with being a DJ or a producer more? Do you separate them in your mind or for you, is it all apart of the same game?
I got my first pair of turntables back in 1998 shortly after attending my first rave. I started making beats on a PC maybe a year later, but didn’t get serious about my production until September 12th, 2001. DJing and producing are really intertwined for me. I don’t really consider a song “finished” until I play it out at a party & the remixing thing came about so I could work a wider range of songs into my DJ sets.
3. What have you been up to lately? What are some recent projects or things we can expect from you in the near future?
I just did a remix of Roger Seventytwo’s “Take Me Higher” which was released on Fools Gold/Ministry of Sound (you can also grab it for free on my SoundCloud). I also released a free bootleg of Rihanna’s “Birthday Cake” on my Soundcloud this week. I’ve got a bunch of new bootlegs and a couple of originals in the works.
4. Favorite track or producer that is particularly killing it right now?
There’s too much good music coming out right now to play favorites. I’m really feeling all this new moombahton stuff. Producers like Billy the Gent, Jay Fay, as well as the heavier “moombahcore” stuff like Nick Thayer & Milo & Otis.
5. What can we look forward to on Saturday?
Awesome M@#$@# music
You catch Proper Villians Saturday at the Armory alongside a generously large helping of local DJs spread out across three different rooms, as well as with a silent disco component. Set times and other event information available here. Bonus interview question beneath the jump!