Immediately upon sitting down with Kyle Bate and Sam Eckstein, AKA tiedye ky and Esseks, you can tell they are cut from the same cloth. The brotherly duo are as quick to correct each other as they are to praise one another, and do not shy away from expressing their opinions openly and honestly.
In a recent interview with Bate and Eckstein, the minds behind bass-forward, hyper-pop supergroup SURFTEAM, we discover that this level of transparency they’ve developed as friends has poured over into the studio as collaborators. The result is a fusion of sounds drawn from several different waters, most notably Esseks’ shadowed sonic profile, transfused with the hopeful glimmer of tiedye ky’s trademark vocals.
Calling out of Brooklyn, New York, a week ahead of Submersion Festival, tiedye ky and Esseks tell us everything that has led up to the festival debut of their collaboration, SURFTEAM, and what it took to get here.
Maximilian Vanegas: So, you guys are back in Brooklyn for another round of studio sessions. When and where was the first official session for you guys?
Sam Eckstein: Probably in 2018 or 2019, and the session didn’t go anywhere, but then over COVID, Kyle came to visit me, and we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, and then came home and made that song, “Dead Meat.” And one other one…on your album.
Kyle Bate: “Another Chance.”
SE: Yeah, “Another Chance.” We made those in one sitting each.
MV: You guys mentioned that it was important to have a personal connection before having a creative and collaborative connection. Can you talk about how your friendship started and how it eventually blossomed into the collaboration you have today?
SE: We were just fans of each other. I got Kyle’s demo for Never Cage a Butterfly, and I became a huge fan of his, and then we kind of just connected through playing shows and the internet.
KB: Definitely. Playing shows with similar artists. Being in the same scene. When I started touring, one of the first places I traveled to play music was Brooklyn, which is where Sam lives, so we connected a lot during that time.
MV: What are some of your fondest memories together?
SE: We did a tour which brought us together for a couple months. Driving around and stuff we also had a similar taste in non-dance music. Regular music.
KB: Tyler (Of the Trees) was there back then, Charles (CharlestheFirst) was there back then, we would do a lot of stuff with them. A notable time was Friendship. We all went on a cruise together which became a huge solidifying moment for our friendship, for sure.
KB: Spending those times together where you’re doing the job, being a touring musician, but you also get to experience this grand thing with people that are your real friends are huge bonding moments.
MV: What was the cruise you mentioned?
SE: Friendship. It used to be Holy Ship, and they renamed it Friendship.
KB: When we got home, one week later, they announced the COVID lockdown. So it was just before that. We were all on international waters hanging out at this crazy DJ cruise festival, and then they were just like “Actually, the world’s on pause for two years.”
MV: So, you guys obviously have had a lot of high moments together, but it seems like the collaboration took off at a low moment for the world – when lockdown started. Whether it was during this time or otherwise, have you guys had any low moments together that you helped lift each other out of?
SE: Yeah, there’s plenty, there’s tons. This music game is all ups and downs. I have my highest peaks and my lowest lows a couple of times a year. It’s kind of a consistent thing, but it’s really just about the people you call when you’re either at the highest highs or lowest lows, those are your people, really.
MV: Absolutely.
KB: We definitely do that. I call Sam all the time when I’m having trouble. And definitely, during COVID, as we were saying, we hung out a couple times. Sam’s parents live in Philadelphia so he often had a place to stay, and that’s when we would hang out.
MV: So the collaboration has been going on for more or less five years?
SE: I’d say, four. The first two years we hung out we didn’t really make anything of consequence. I think the more we got to know each other, the more we were able to just trust each other in the studio and be like: “Alright, I’m gonna let you rock for a little while,” and get to the point you’re happy with and not backseat drive each other.
MV: Why now have you decided to put a name on it and make the collaboration official with SURFTEAM?
SE: I think it came down to having a shitload of music
KB: An abundance of collaborations that were finished. It was like, “What are we gonna just put these all out as Esseks and tiedye ky collabs? Nah, let’s just make a name for it.”
MV: From what I understand, SURFTEAM is not an Esseks and tiedye ky collaboration – it’s its own thing, different from the work and live sets you guys have done previously.
SE: I think the vibe is different. Esseks’ music is pretty dark, and ominous or whatever, and tiedye ky’s music is very, you know, I don’t think I can explain it in one word.
KB: Alternative, not always bangers. I think that this set [at Submersion] is meant to be a party. And so, it’s our most shameless version of that. We want all our friends to be on stage as a posse. We have the VHS camera stream that we’re working on.
SE: The whole vibe of SURFTEAM in general is more or less not to take things so seriously. Obviously, we take making music very seriously, but, as far as everything else, I think we’re just having fun, and as far as the music, I’d say the vibe is less serious, but also, I think it’s got both of us in it, but it’s also its own thing, in my opinion.
MV: What does your production process look?
SE: Almost every song has been made in person, in one session.
KB: Always in person. It’s just easier. The chemistry and the trust in person for us works. We enjoy hanging out and making music together.
KB: They do happen quick, and we’ve rarely failed. Once we start making music, it always ends up being a finished track. And I think we share the same vision with SURFTEAM. We’re combining this electronic bass music with this pop hook element. And I don’t think SURFTEAM resembles pop music by any means, but we’ve successfully had a vocal or a vocal hook in every single song, and I… I appreciate that about it.
SE: As much as we love bass music, I think it’s mostly just trying to make what we would make if we were trying to make non-bass music, but obviously, that influence still just exists in us, because that’s where we’ve been making music for so long.
KB: The hybrid of the two, is very much the SURFTEAM sound. Now that we’re here and we’re zooming out and talking about it, every track’s got a vocal hook that kind of matches the name of the song. But then you, of course, have the arrangement and sound palette and hard-hitting drums and all those things of EDM or bass music.
SE: Yeah, I think just as I said, over tour, we liked a lot of the same regular non-EDM music, I guess you could say artists like BREAK and Quadeca have been influencing our production process.
SE: I think just because we’ve been listening to a lot of that other stuff, it’s kind of made us want to experiment more in that direction. But also, there’s no specific intention. We’re kind of just sitting down and trying to make something we’re happy with in that allotted period of time, and whatever comes out, comes out. And that’s part of, also, why it’s good in person, because if you start going down a direction the other person doesn’t like, we’re just like “Nah, scrap that.” We’re kind of just straightforward.
MV: I feel like that’s a difficult point for collaborators to get to – being able to say no to each other without it getting personal.
SE: The whole session this morning has been like that.
KB: Yeah, It’s been a little bit of, “Ah, I don’t like that,” and then the other person’s “Ah, I don’t like that.”
MV: I think there is definitely power in saying no. You’re holding each other to higher standards. Sam, you mentioned that one of the things that you and Kyle connected on was different types of music. Would you share some of those artists that have been feeding into the sound?
SE: We’ve kind of always obsessed over one album at a time, but I started getting really into this guy, Quadeca, who just put out a good album called Vanisher.
KB: Scrapyard is another Quadeca album.
SE: Quickly, Quickly, we listen to a lot of Quickly, Quickly.
KB: Also, John Frusciante.
SE: John Frusciante was my favorite growing up.
KB: He always comes up when we’re talking about music and comparing music. It’s always, “Oh, John Frusciante did this.”
SE: Yeah, his solo records are sick. When I was growing up, I loved those. For me, the Mars Volta was always a big influence, too.
KB: We don’t even sit here and jam bass music and say, “Let’s make something like that.” I’d say hyper-pop.
SE: I just really like music that sounds strange and alien. But alien in a way that’s melodically different or challenging production-wise. Not just weird sounds, but weird ideas.
MV: This is a question for another day, which warrants a longer discussion, but why do sounds make us feel the way they do?
KB: To me, things that you cannot quantify, that’s just called magic. You can’t measure that. You can’t measure why music makes you feel good or bad or however it makes you feel. It just does. There are many names for that throughout life. I like saying magic.
SE: There are strange connections in our brain. Honestly… when you’re writing music you can’t analyze it and have to just trust the feeling that you have.
KB: Yeah, a feeling you just…
SE: You just feel it, you experience it.
MV: The unknown of it all.
KB: Yeah.
MV: Would you guys put yourself in one genre or another? And what do you think are the good and bad implications of categorizing music and specifying genres?
SE: I think, at least in electronic dance music, the main utility of genres and classifying stuff is really just for the DJ aspect to be “Oh, if you’re playing a dubstep set, you want to find dubstep songs that fit the tempo and fit the vibe.”
KB: It’s a language. Without a language, how are we supposed to even decipher between the different styles? So at a certain point, there has to be a language to name these things, these different sounds, these different styles, to understand them.
SE: And there’s a difference between treating those classifications as rules and treating them as just ways of describing art.
KB: Definitely, that’s what I was gonna say. In order to learn these tools of recording and writing music and creating music, you need to experiment with a little bit of everything. And so, if you just put yourself in a box of one style, you’re not gonna learn as much, you’re not gonna try as many new things.
SE: In order to experiment and combine different sounds and genres, you have to understand them individually. And I think if you’re only good at one style, and you’re trying to switch a song up from one style to another, then that switch-up’s gonna sound shit. Or even in your experimentation, when you’re working in the DAW, if you only know one style of music, then your neural pathway is always going to lead you to the same result. You have to try and learn different kinds of music and different styles, and learn what makes them that style.
KB: The more you know.
MV: Creating boundaries or rules just so you can break them.
SE: Right, you have to know the rules to break them.
MV: It’s clear to see you’ve taken inspiration from a variety of music. Besides art, are there any life experiences that have inspired some of the music in SURFTEAM?
KB: Yes. I think from a creative standpoint, absolutely. The lyrics and anything we write about is always based on life experiences. I was almost gonna answer more from a business or logistical standpoint, too,
KB: Sam and I have been through so much individually in this industry and lifestyle that making a new project from the top, you get to make those same decisions again, better than you did the first time, choosing the name, the brand, and the sound. But also, 100%, I mean, my entire bit individually as tiedye ky, I think, is being vulnerable. It’s one of the main parts of the music and art I make, and why people connect to it, so absolutely.
MV: How do you guys feel about the idea that negative emotions can oftentimes be the best creative fuel?
KB: I feel attacked. That’s literally my whole career.
SE: It’s just… my whole life, man. Alchemy. My whole life is alchemy.
KB: Why must I experience pain to make something beautiful? Why can’t I just make something beautiful without it?
SE: Unfortunately, I think when you’re feeling good, you’re never in the mood to work.
KB: When everything’s going right, and I’m happy, you almost get lazy. You get comfortable. It’s easy to be comfortable there. And then when things become hard and difficult, and you’re hurt, or you’re pissed, you have to do something to get out of that feeling, so it causes action.
SE: When I’m in a really negative mental space, working for me is like, “I’m gonna do something about this.” It’s almost like, “I’m gonna fix this.” I think the reason music production, or any kind of art and creativity, feels good to do, especially when you’re feeling down, is because it gives you something you have control over. Ecspecially when you feel like you have no control over your life. “In this little world, I am the king.” “I’m in charge of everything in this little box here.”
MV: It’s cathartic.
SE: Yeah.
MV: What is the best way to enjoy or experience SURFTEAM?
KB: I made a tweet that was meant to be sarcastic, but… It said, “Music to dance to AND in all caps, listen to.” Meaning, you can listen to it everywhere. Sometimes a lot of EDM music is like “This is sick, but I would never put this on in my bedroom.” And SURFTEAM music is meant to be both. It’s meant for the dance floor and for your personal enjoyment. You’re riding the bus back to Philly, you might put your headphones in, listen to SURFTEAM. You want to come to Submersion Festival and rock out with the boys. You might also listen to SURFTEAM.
MV: Speaking of Submersion, it looks like this will be the debut festival appearance for SURFTEAM, right?
KB: Yes. Debut, baby.
MV: As a festival that you guys have attended both as fans and performers, I’d love to hear some of your favorite memories from Submersion over the years.
SE: For me, Shy FX was my favorite memory. Crazy, crazy set.
Shy FX @ Submersion
KB: I’ll definitely say, Submersion has become my home festival. And one of my favorite times there was just swinging on the swings with my best friends. Just kind of being at home. The festival grounds of Submersion are at Paradise Lakes, which I grew up about 20 minutes away from in Medford, New Jersey. There was an older festival, Farm Fest, that a lot of us went to. I was 16 or 18 when that was going on. I was a young buck. But there’s a nostalgia there; it’s where some of my earliest small festival memories were – at that same swing set. That swing set’s probably older than me. One of my fondest memories is swinging on the swings there.
MV: Why is it important for promoters like Jesse and Ryan and festivals like Submersion to provide a platform for artists to experiment in different avenues?
SE: The music business is a business, but it’s still a creative industry. And if you don’t take risks and experiment with the people you book, and only book the same roster every year, then it just doesn’t grow, because things just fail.
SE: When I first started going to music festivals, back in 2015-2016, like Camp Bisco, it was half jam bands, half electronic music, and stuff in between that created a wide spectrum of music. And now, a lot of music festivals have specialized or started catering to a single niche. All those niches have grown a lot, so I understand why. But I also think people’s focus has gotten a lot more specialized too. Everyone’s into one specific kind of music, and those are the festivals they go to and see over and over.
KB: Agree with everything you said, and to nail the question on the head, a lot of the stuff in our scene is getting stale. I would strongly agree with that and publicly say it, that this whole scene has gotten so saturated and stale that without festivals such as Submersion, and talent buyers such as Jesse and Ryan, there wouldn’t be this festival that kind of defies all that, and that’s what Submersion is. It is cool. People appreciate Submersion because it takes risks and chooses the niche over what is popular or a safe bet for a promoter, or the same old acts that sell tickets and draw their community. We need you Submersion. We need you, Jesse and Ryan.
SE: With the economy right now, people aren’t inclined to take risks. Whereas when I started out, there was so much more variety and so many more people taking risks. I understand the promoter aspect of it too, no one wants to lose money. I’m more so saying that I credit those guys for taking those risks, because it’s obviously not easy.
MV: Absolutely, I think risk and the desire to change things up is what’s gonna lead to growth eventually, and as you said, things are getting stagnant, going way too much in these echo chambers. Given the ambiguous nature of SURFTEAM, what can fans expect from your Submersion set this weekend?
SE: There’s gonna be some of our music. I wouldn’t say there’s no tiedye ky or Esseks songs at all, but we’re keeping it more of its own vibe, more of a party. My sets can be kind of dark and taken very seriously. Kyle’s sets can get soft and chill. I think we’re hitting a point where we want it to be more of a fun party vibe.
KB: Expect a party, expect all the original SURFTEAM songs. That have been created so far, which is eight songs. Expect a little bit of each of our individual music, but not too much. The reason we say it’s not the same as a back-to-back is because you’re not gonna get the slow moments of my set, you’re not gonna get the dark, serious moments of his set, it’s a little bit of a mixture and a party, and a fun time, pulling out some extra stops on the vocals. Pulling up some extra stops on the visuals and vocals, but that’s where we’ll keep it hush-hush.
MV:Submersion is undoubtedly going to be a party from start to finish, whether it’s inside or outside the SURFTEAM hours. How do you guys recharge and gather yourself after a long weekend? How do you sustain this lifestyle as a touring artist?
SE: I just try to eat healthy and work out. Treat yourself well while you’re on the road. Even though traveling’s a pain in the ass, but it’s not that bad if you’re chilling in your hotel room for most of the day, not getting into any crazy shit. I’ve had my crazy road stories and days. My road days are behind me now. I just take care of myself on the road.
KB: First of all, this festival is close to us, so we don’t have to fly this weekend. We won’t be at the airport, we won’t be at TSA. I’ll be recharging at home, maybe with some guests. I know I got my boy Snuffy flying in on Wednesday. I look forward to hosting some people that are flying into my place in Philly, so maybe we’ll all veg out, a little cuddle-puddle action at the crib, whatever, with the boys and the gals.
KB: Definitely, though, the bigger question I agree with Sam, you have to take care of yourself. You can’t just tour and live this lifestyle and just drink and party every time, and so the real way to recharge is I’m not gonna be at the festival three nights in a row, throwing down on the booze and the party favors. We’re going to be in work mode because we want to smash it, we want to do this for the rest of our lives. And then Saturday after the set, maybe we’ll hang out, we’ll kick it with everybody all night, and we’ll stay late. But yeah, other than that, the recharge is gonna be nice this weekend, because I’ll be home, and I’ll probably have some guests, and… It’s gonna be lovely.
MV: One of the main reasons why I feel artists such as yourself need to recharge is so you guys can create. Are you guys getting right back into the studio after Submersion?
KB: We have one more release after Submersion, on October 17th, but that will complete the SURFTEAM album.
SE: For my solo project, I got this art show coming up in Denver in November that I’m putting a lot of work into, that’s been mainly what I’ve been working on, and I have another album that’s coming around the same time as that.
KB: May Zeace be with you. SURFTEAM forever. can’t wait to see you guys at Submersion. We’re also on the road playing in Portland, Oregon later this month. Be yourself.
SE: Take care of each other!
Fueled by friendships, hardships, music, and Modelos, SURFTEAM is a one-of-a-kind collaboration, and we can’t wait to see what kind of mark they leave on the scene.
Catch SURFTEAM throwing down Saturday night on The Beach Stage from 8:00-9:00 PM. Keep up with everything SURFTEAM, Esseks, tiedye ky, and Submersion have going on in the links below, and if you don’t already have them, grab your tickets to the festival here.
Immediately upon sitting down with Kyle Bate and Sam Eckstein, AKA tiedye ky and Esseks, you can tell they are cut from the same cloth. The brotherly duo are as quick to correct each other as they are to praise one another, and do not shy away from expressing their opinions openly and honestly.
In a recent interview with Bate and Eckstein, the minds behind bass-forward, hyper-pop supergroup SURFTEAM, we discover that this level of transparency they’ve developed as friends has poured over into the studio as collaborators. The result is a fusion of sounds drawn from several different waters, most notably Esseks’ shadowed sonic profile, transfused with the hopeful glimmer of tiedye ky’s trademark vocals.
Calling out of Brooklyn, New York, a week ahead of Submersion Festival, tiedye ky and Esseks tell us everything that has led up to the festival debut of their collaboration, SURFTEAM, and what it took to get here.
Maximilian Vanegas: So, you guys are back in Brooklyn for another round of studio sessions. When and where was the first official session for you guys?
Sam Eckstein: Probably in 2018 or 2019, and the session didn’t go anywhere, but then over COVID, Kyle came to visit me, and we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, and then came home and made that song, “Dead Meat.” And one other one…on your album.
Kyle Bate: “Another Chance.”
SE: Yeah, “Another Chance.” We made those in one sitting each.
MV: You guys mentioned that it was important to have a personal connection before having a creative and collaborative connection. Can you talk about how your friendship started and how it eventually blossomed into the collaboration you have today?
SE: We were just fans of each other. I got Kyle’s demo for Never Cage a Butterfly, and I became a huge fan of his, and then we kind of just connected through playing shows and the internet.
KB: Definitely. Playing shows with similar artists. Being in the same scene. When I started touring, one of the first places I traveled to play music was Brooklyn, which is where Sam lives, so we connected a lot during that time.
MV: What are some of your fondest memories together?
SE: We did a tour which brought us together for a couple months. Driving around and stuff we also had a similar taste in non-dance music. Regular music.
KB: Tyler (Of the Trees) was there back then, Charles (CharlestheFirst) was there back then, we would do a lot of stuff with them. A notable time was Friendship. We all went on a cruise together which became a huge solidifying moment for our friendship, for sure.
KB: Spending those times together where you’re doing the job, being a touring musician, but you also get to experience this grand thing with people that are your real friends are huge bonding moments.
MV: What was the cruise you mentioned?
SE: Friendship. It used to be Holy Ship, and they renamed it Friendship.
KB: When we got home, one week later, they announced the COVID lockdown. So it was just before that. We were all on international waters hanging out at this crazy DJ cruise festival, and then they were just like “Actually, the world’s on pause for two years.”
MV: So, you guys obviously have had a lot of high moments together, but it seems like the collaboration took off at a low moment for the world – when lockdown started. Whether it was during this time or otherwise, have you guys had any low moments together that you helped lift each other out of?
SE: Yeah, there’s plenty, there’s tons. This music game is all ups and downs. I have my highest peaks and my lowest lows a couple of times a year. It’s kind of a consistent thing, but it’s really just about the people you call when you’re either at the highest highs or lowest lows, those are your people, really.
MV: Absolutely.
KB: We definitely do that. I call Sam all the time when I’m having trouble. And definitely, during COVID, as we were saying, we hung out a couple times. Sam’s parents live in Philadelphia so he often had a place to stay, and that’s when we would hang out.
MV: So the collaboration has been going on for more or less five years?
SE: I’d say, four. The first two years we hung out we didn’t really make anything of consequence. I think the more we got to know each other, the more we were able to just trust each other in the studio and be like: “Alright, I’m gonna let you rock for a little while,” and get to the point you’re happy with and not backseat drive each other.
MV: Why now have you decided to put a name on it and make the collaboration official with SURFTEAM?
SE: I think it came down to having a shitload of music
KB: An abundance of collaborations that were finished. It was like, “What are we gonna just put these all out as Esseks and tiedye ky collabs? Nah, let’s just make a name for it.”
MV: From what I understand, SURFTEAM is not an Esseks and tiedye ky collaboration – it’s its own thing, different from the work and live sets you guys have done previously.
SE: I think the vibe is different. Esseks’ music is pretty dark, and ominous or whatever, and tiedye ky’s music is very, you know, I don’t think I can explain it in one word.
KB: Alternative, not always bangers. I think that this set [at Submersion] is meant to be a party. And so, it’s our most shameless version of that. We want all our friends to be on stage as a posse. We have the VHS camera stream that we’re working on.
SE: The whole vibe of SURFTEAM in general is more or less not to take things so seriously. Obviously, we take making music very seriously, but, as far as everything else, I think we’re just having fun, and as far as the music, I’d say the vibe is less serious, but also, I think it’s got both of us in it, but it’s also its own thing, in my opinion.
MV: What does your production process look?
SE: Almost every song has been made in person, in one session.
KB: Always in person. It’s just easier. The chemistry and the trust in person for us works. We enjoy hanging out and making music together.
KB: They do happen quick, and we’ve rarely failed. Once we start making music, it always ends up being a finished track. And I think we share the same vision with SURFTEAM. We’re combining this electronic bass music with this pop hook element. And I don’t think SURFTEAM resembles pop music by any means, but we’ve successfully had a vocal or a vocal hook in every single song, and I… I appreciate that about it.
SE: As much as we love bass music, I think it’s mostly just trying to make what we would make if we were trying to make non-bass music, but obviously, that influence still just exists in us, because that’s where we’ve been making music for so long.
KB: The hybrid of the two, is very much the SURFTEAM sound. Now that we’re here and we’re zooming out and talking about it, every track’s got a vocal hook that kind of matches the name of the song. But then you, of course, have the arrangement and sound palette and hard-hitting drums and all those things of EDM or bass music.
SE: Yeah, I think just as I said, over tour, we liked a lot of the same regular non-EDM music, I guess you could say artists like BREAK and Quadeca have been influencing our production process.
SE: I think just because we’ve been listening to a lot of that other stuff, it’s kind of made us want to experiment more in that direction. But also, there’s no specific intention. We’re kind of just sitting down and trying to make something we’re happy with in that allotted period of time, and whatever comes out, comes out. And that’s part of, also, why it’s good in person, because if you start going down a direction the other person doesn’t like, we’re just like “Nah, scrap that.” We’re kind of just straightforward.
MV: I feel like that’s a difficult point for collaborators to get to – being able to say no to each other without it getting personal.
SE: The whole session this morning has been like that.
KB: Yeah, It’s been a little bit of, “Ah, I don’t like that,” and then the other person’s “Ah, I don’t like that.”
MV: I think there is definitely power in saying no. You’re holding each other to higher standards. Sam, you mentioned that one of the things that you and Kyle connected on was different types of music. Would you share some of those artists that have been feeding into the sound?
SE: We’ve kind of always obsessed over one album at a time, but I started getting really into this guy, Quadeca, who just put out a good album called Vanisher.
KB: Scrapyard is another Quadeca album.
SE: Quickly, Quickly, we listen to a lot of Quickly, Quickly.
KB: Also, John Frusciante.
SE: John Frusciante was my favorite growing up.
KB: He always comes up when we’re talking about music and comparing music. It’s always, “Oh, John Frusciante did this.”
SE: Yeah, his solo records are sick. When I was growing up, I loved those. For me, the Mars Volta was always a big influence, too.
KB: We don’t even sit here and jam bass music and say, “Let’s make something like that.” I’d say hyper-pop.
SE: I just really like music that sounds strange and alien. But alien in a way that’s melodically different or challenging production-wise. Not just weird sounds, but weird ideas.
MV: This is a question for another day, which warrants a longer discussion, but why do sounds make us feel the way they do?
KB: To me, things that you cannot quantify, that’s just called magic. You can’t measure that. You can’t measure why music makes you feel good or bad or however it makes you feel. It just does. There are many names for that throughout life. I like saying magic.
SE: There are strange connections in our brain. Honestly… when you’re writing music you can’t analyze it and have to just trust the feeling that you have.
KB: Yeah, a feeling you just…
SE: You just feel it, you experience it.
MV: The unknown of it all.
KB: Yeah.
MV: Would you guys put yourself in one genre or another? And what do you think are the good and bad implications of categorizing music and specifying genres?
SE: I think, at least in electronic dance music, the main utility of genres and classifying stuff is really just for the DJ aspect to be “Oh, if you’re playing a dubstep set, you want to find dubstep songs that fit the tempo and fit the vibe.”
KB: It’s a language. Without a language, how are we supposed to even decipher between the different styles? So at a certain point, there has to be a language to name these things, these different sounds, these different styles, to understand them.
SE: And there’s a difference between treating those classifications as rules and treating them as just ways of describing art.
KB: Definitely, that’s what I was gonna say. In order to learn these tools of recording and writing music and creating music, you need to experiment with a little bit of everything. And so, if you just put yourself in a box of one style, you’re not gonna learn as much, you’re not gonna try as many new things.
SE: In order to experiment and combine different sounds and genres, you have to understand them individually. And I think if you’re only good at one style, and you’re trying to switch a song up from one style to another, then that switch-up’s gonna sound shit. Or even in your experimentation, when you’re working in the DAW, if you only know one style of music, then your neural pathway is always going to lead you to the same result. You have to try and learn different kinds of music and different styles, and learn what makes them that style.
KB: The more you know.
MV: Creating boundaries or rules just so you can break them.
SE: Right, you have to know the rules to break them.
MV: It’s clear to see you’ve taken inspiration from a variety of music. Besides art, are there any life experiences that have inspired some of the music in SURFTEAM?
KB: Yes. I think from a creative standpoint, absolutely. The lyrics and anything we write about is always based on life experiences. I was almost gonna answer more from a business or logistical standpoint, too,
KB: Sam and I have been through so much individually in this industry and lifestyle that making a new project from the top, you get to make those same decisions again, better than you did the first time, choosing the name, the brand, and the sound. But also, 100%, I mean, my entire bit individually as tiedye ky, I think, is being vulnerable. It’s one of the main parts of the music and art I make, and why people connect to it, so absolutely.
MV: How do you guys feel about the idea that negative emotions can oftentimes be the best creative fuel?
KB: I feel attacked. That’s literally my whole career.
SE: It’s just… my whole life, man. Alchemy. My whole life is alchemy.
KB: Why must I experience pain to make something beautiful? Why can’t I just make something beautiful without it?
SE: Unfortunately, I think when you’re feeling good, you’re never in the mood to work.
KB: When everything’s going right, and I’m happy, you almost get lazy. You get comfortable. It’s easy to be comfortable there. And then when things become hard and difficult, and you’re hurt, or you’re pissed, you have to do something to get out of that feeling, so it causes action.
SE: When I’m in a really negative mental space, working for me is like, “I’m gonna do something about this.” It’s almost like, “I’m gonna fix this.” I think the reason music production, or any kind of art and creativity, feels good to do, especially when you’re feeling down, is because it gives you something you have control over. Ecspecially when you feel like you have no control over your life. “In this little world, I am the king.” “I’m in charge of everything in this little box here.”
MV: It’s cathartic.
SE: Yeah.
MV: What is the best way to enjoy or experience SURFTEAM?
KB: I made a tweet that was meant to be sarcastic, but… It said, “Music to dance to AND in all caps, listen to.” Meaning, you can listen to it everywhere. Sometimes a lot of EDM music is like “This is sick, but I would never put this on in my bedroom.” And SURFTEAM music is meant to be both. It’s meant for the dance floor and for your personal enjoyment. You’re riding the bus back to Philly, you might put your headphones in, listen to SURFTEAM. You want to come to Submersion Festival and rock out with the boys. You might also listen to SURFTEAM.
MV: Speaking of Submersion, it looks like this will be the debut festival appearance for SURFTEAM, right?
KB: Yes. Debut, baby.
MV: As a festival that you guys have attended both as fans and performers, I’d love to hear some of your favorite memories from Submersion over the years.
SE: For me, Shy FX was my favorite memory. Crazy, crazy set.
KB: I’ll definitely say, Submersion has become my home festival. And one of my favorite times there was just swinging on the swings with my best friends. Just kind of being at home. The festival grounds of Submersion are at Paradise Lakes, which I grew up about 20 minutes away from in Medford, New Jersey. There was an older festival, Farm Fest, that a lot of us went to. I was 16 or 18 when that was going on. I was a young buck. But there’s a nostalgia there; it’s where some of my earliest small festival memories were – at that same swing set. That swing set’s probably older than me. One of my fondest memories is swinging on the swings there.
MV: Why is it important for promoters like Jesse and Ryan and festivals like Submersion to provide a platform for artists to experiment in different avenues?
SE: The music business is a business, but it’s still a creative industry. And if you don’t take risks and experiment with the people you book, and only book the same roster every year, then it just doesn’t grow, because things just fail.
SE: When I first started going to music festivals, back in 2015-2016, like Camp Bisco, it was half jam bands, half electronic music, and stuff in between that created a wide spectrum of music. And now, a lot of music festivals have specialized or started catering to a single niche. All those niches have grown a lot, so I understand why. But I also think people’s focus has gotten a lot more specialized too. Everyone’s into one specific kind of music, and those are the festivals they go to and see over and over.
KB: Agree with everything you said, and to nail the question on the head, a lot of the stuff in our scene is getting stale. I would strongly agree with that and publicly say it, that this whole scene has gotten so saturated and stale that without festivals such as Submersion, and talent buyers such as Jesse and Ryan, there wouldn’t be this festival that kind of defies all that, and that’s what Submersion is. It is cool. People appreciate Submersion because it takes risks and chooses the niche over what is popular or a safe bet for a promoter, or the same old acts that sell tickets and draw their community. We need you Submersion. We need you, Jesse and Ryan.
SE: With the economy right now, people aren’t inclined to take risks. Whereas when I started out, there was so much more variety and so many more people taking risks. I understand the promoter aspect of it too, no one wants to lose money. I’m more so saying that I credit those guys for taking those risks, because it’s obviously not easy.
MV: Absolutely, I think risk and the desire to change things up is what’s gonna lead to growth eventually, and as you said, things are getting stagnant, going way too much in these echo chambers. Given the ambiguous nature of SURFTEAM, what can fans expect from your Submersion set this weekend?
SE: There’s gonna be some of our music. I wouldn’t say there’s no tiedye ky or Esseks songs at all, but we’re keeping it more of its own vibe, more of a party. My sets can be kind of dark and taken very seriously. Kyle’s sets can get soft and chill. I think we’re hitting a point where we want it to be more of a fun party vibe.
KB: Expect a party, expect all the original SURFTEAM songs. That have been created so far, which is eight songs. Expect a little bit of each of our individual music, but not too much. The reason we say it’s not the same as a back-to-back is because you’re not gonna get the slow moments of my set, you’re not gonna get the dark, serious moments of his set, it’s a little bit of a mixture and a party, and a fun time, pulling out some extra stops on the vocals. Pulling up some extra stops on the visuals and vocals, but that’s where we’ll keep it hush-hush.
MV: Submersion is undoubtedly going to be a party from start to finish, whether it’s inside or outside the SURFTEAM hours. How do you guys recharge and gather yourself after a long weekend? How do you sustain this lifestyle as a touring artist?
SE: I just try to eat healthy and work out. Treat yourself well while you’re on the road. Even though traveling’s a pain in the ass, but it’s not that bad if you’re chilling in your hotel room for most of the day, not getting into any crazy shit. I’ve had my crazy road stories and days. My road days are behind me now. I just take care of myself on the road.
KB: First of all, this festival is close to us, so we don’t have to fly this weekend. We won’t be at the airport, we won’t be at TSA. I’ll be recharging at home, maybe with some guests. I know I got my boy Snuffy flying in on Wednesday. I look forward to hosting some people that are flying into my place in Philly, so maybe we’ll all veg out, a little cuddle-puddle action at the crib, whatever, with the boys and the gals.
KB: Definitely, though, the bigger question I agree with Sam, you have to take care of yourself. You can’t just tour and live this lifestyle and just drink and party every time, and so the real way to recharge is I’m not gonna be at the festival three nights in a row, throwing down on the booze and the party favors. We’re going to be in work mode because we want to smash it, we want to do this for the rest of our lives. And then Saturday after the set, maybe we’ll hang out, we’ll kick it with everybody all night, and we’ll stay late. But yeah, other than that, the recharge is gonna be nice this weekend, because I’ll be home, and I’ll probably have some guests, and… It’s gonna be lovely.
MV: One of the main reasons why I feel artists such as yourself need to recharge is so you guys can create. Are you guys getting right back into the studio after Submersion?
KB: We have one more release after Submersion, on October 17th, but that will complete the SURFTEAM album.
SE: For my solo project, I got this art show coming up in Denver in November that I’m putting a lot of work into, that’s been mainly what I’ve been working on, and I have another album that’s coming around the same time as that.
MV: Any parting words or messages for your fans?
KB: May Zeace be with you. SURFTEAM forever. can’t wait to see you guys at Submersion. We’re also on the road playing in Portland, Oregon later this month. Be yourself.
SE: Take care of each other!
Fueled by friendships, hardships, music, and Modelos, SURFTEAM is a one-of-a-kind collaboration, and we can’t wait to see what kind of mark they leave on the scene.
Catch SURFTEAM throwing down Saturday night on The Beach Stage from 8:00-9:00 PM. Keep up with everything SURFTEAM, Esseks, tiedye ky, and Submersion have going on in the links below, and if you don’t already have them, grab your tickets to the festival here.
Follow SURFTEAM:
Instagram | Facebook | SoundCloud
Follow Esseks:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | SoundCloud
Follow tiedye ky:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | SoundCloud
Follow Submersion Festival:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tickets
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