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P1011669 640x480 Interview: The Glitch Mob

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, an exclusive interview with none other than the interminable, Glitch Mob. Although often imitated, there is nothing better than the sheer electricity of their sound, with glitterstorm peaks and mesmerizing valleys, they are the golden standard in all things bass music that can best be enjoyed live. Their larger-than-life stage show is utterly mind-blowing, with a massive LED wall and their own light cells. With The Glitch Mob it’s not all hoops and giggles, they play an entirely live show and even throw in the occasional fully improvisational drum solo. That being said, Boreta, eDIT, and Ooah are some of the most down to earth individuals I’ve encountered in a long time. They are completely music-minded and devoted to developing their art and getting it out to as many people as is humanly possible. The guys even took a break during their New Years Eve set at Snow Globe just so the fans could each celebrate in their own personal way and then brought the crowd back together to end on a truly memorable note. Without further ado, here is The Glitch Mob:

Danceism: How do you guys get prepared for a show? Do you have any preshow rituals?

eDIT: Jump roping actually!

Boreta: We were just jump roping but that’s not really a preshow ritual, we were jump roping because right now we’re in a gymnasium, but before a show we have this ritual meditation that we do, where we all, the three of us and Selkie who performs with us, join arms and we meditate for ten seconds silently. It gives us a little break from the craziness and the chaos and just have a little time to meditate and we have a little saying. It really calms us down and connects us to why we’re doing this in the first place which is to play music and perform.

D: Do you guys have any crazy or interesting contents on your rider?

Boreta: Nothing super crazy, really, we’re definitely big hippies, so we say only organic stuff: carrots, bell peppers, pickles, and Kombucha, like organic stuff.

eDIT: Like organic water [Laughs]

Boreta: Yeah, Yeah, only organic Red Bull, they don’t make organic whiskey yet, so everythings organic except for the whiskey and the Advil.

D: That’s great, this one’s specifically for Josh, we just checked your Twitter and saw that you’re still talking a lot to MartyParty, is there some new PantyRaid coming up?

Ooah: Yes, he’s one of my best friends, we’re going to start working on a new album, some new music pretty soon, and then we’ll start working on The Glitch Mob record so it’s going to be a busy 2012.

D: You guys went to Joshua Tree to write your new record, why did you choose Joshua Tree?

Boreta: We chose Joshua Tree because we wanted to find a place that was outside of our comfort zone and our homes in the city of Los Angeles, this big crazy city. We wanted to go somewhere in nature where we could just go there and be creative and Joshua Tree’s a magical, weird little desert town two hours outside of Los Angeles. We actually played some shows in the middle of it so we could leave from Joshua Tree, go and play a show, and come back. It’s a beautiful, crazy place and there’s something magic, kind of electric there. There’s just something in the air there that’s really very inspring, there were points in time when we would feel like we hit a creative block on the computer inside of our studio and we’d walk outside and there’s desert and lightning storms and we’d feel re-inspired to go back inside and keep writing.

D: Were there any struggles living out in nature?

Ooah: Mice!

eDIT: and ants.

Ooah: Yeah, fire ants.

Boreta: We weren’t really out in nature, we were just in a house.

Ooah: It was pretty out there in the desert though. We weren’t like living under a bush, but we were out there.

D: Would you recommend it to other artists?

Boreta: Absolutely, if you’re a visual artist or if you make music, getting out into nature to remove yourself from your patterns and everyday life in the city, turn off your damn iPhone, go work on music for a little while or whatever your art or artform is definitely valuable.

D: Do you prefer a more intimate setting for a show or a large festival?

eDIT: Well you know, they both have there pros and cons, playing a festival like this is obviously incredible because you’re playing for tons and tons of people, our stage set up is always larger than life in these types of situations, and we get to reach a lot of people that we’ve never reached before. When we play a more intimate show, like we just toured Europe, a lot of the venues were just under a thousand people, the vibe and the energy can be more electric at times, the people that show up are really there for us, where as this is a big festival and the people are here for everyone. They’ve got their pros and cons but we love them both.

D: What’s the inspiration behind your live set? Are you trying to tell a story?

eDIT: We’re just trying to create the most amazing experience we can for the fans, this is for them. We try to pull them out their daily lives for just like an hour or an hour and a half, so they can forget about there troubles or whatever’s going on, they can let loose, connect, and forget about it all for a second and have a good time.

Boreta: We do try to tell a story with the music, it’s a journey that we’ve spent a lot of time crafting how the music flows together and the peaks and the valleys energetically, sonically, everything is very intentional. Everything you hear in our set is completely programmed. In an ideal world we would like people to come into the set and be able to go on a ride with us. That’s why these big festivals are cool because a lot time they have a massive sound system, a big LED wall, that’s the linchpin of a good show, people need to be able to hear the music.

D: Switching gears, do you guys have any guilty pleasure post-show snacks?

Ooah: Yeah, our vices. [Laughs]

eDIT: I like to eat Twix.

Boreta: Whiskey!

Ooah: Scotch, single malt scotch.

Boreta: Ed is totally straightedge, he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t smoke, he rides his bike every single day, but he’ll eat the shit out of Twix bar. [Laughs] Josh and I we’ll drink some whiskey, none of us smoke pot, never any weed or any cigarettes, so just whiskey.

D: What’s your brand of whiskey?

Boreta: This is not a fine whiskey, this is Jameson, because in most places we tour you can’t get a Laphroaig or some nice single malt. If you’re playing in Joliet, Illinois, they don’t have Laphroaig there but they will have Jameson or Johnny Walker Black. We do a lot of touring around the states.

Ooah: You make due with what you’ve got.

eDIT: I also like Chex Mix

Ooah: I like a really good French Toast. I will eat the shit out of some French toast. [Laughs]

eDIT: I also like white chocolate too.

D: Finally, what are each of you guys’s new years resolution?

Boreta: Have a good time, all the time.

eDIT: Yeah, there you go. Have a good time, all the time.

Boreta: Seriously, just enjoy it, enjoy the ride.

Ooah: I want to reach out and hang out with more people that I always end up saying no to, like “lets go out and do this!” and I’m always like “no, I’m just chillin’ right now.” I want to say yes more.

eDIT: Say yes more, become a yes man not a no man.

Boreta: Seize the day!

eDIT: Carpe Diem!

Heads Up (The Glitch Mob Remix) – Bassnectar