The dynamic group GTA made a stop in Chicago on their, \”Goons Take America Tour\” last week. I was fortunate enough to hangout with the two members, Matthew Van Toth and Julio Mejia and asked a couple questions of what\’s new to come from GTA and what their plans are for 2016. Along with just getting to know the guys.
Let me tell you, these guys are so open minded with everything. So easy to talk to and so laid back. We had some good laughs here and there with our witty sarcasm. It was nice to be able to relax and hangout because interviews can always be so dull. Overall it was a good time getting to know more about the two guys and GTA as a whole.
Read the interview below and you\’ll be able to not only find out what\’s new to come but, the perfect cure for your next hangover, advice for pursuing producers, how they feel about social media, and much more.
What other surprises can fans look forward to in 2015, before the year ends?
Matthew:
\”We have a secret track that should have been on the EP, but it\’s going to becoming out with the receipt purchase of the EP; we’re emailing that out. And some more new music and new mixes coming out. On the tour here, we have some brand new production that you\’ll see, which is all cool little projectors and what not. Some lights will be flashing you in your eyes and you\’ll be like, “oh noo! It hurts,” but you\’ll be having a good time and it\’s all good.\”
Julio:
\”Yeah it\’s mostly just new music, crazy new sets…New press photos, that’ll look sexy.\”
\”Gotta keep the image up\”
Matthew:
\”We\’re actually doing a Victoria Secret spread later this month.\”
Tell me more about that, is it going to be exclusive? Is it going to be showing a little skin?
Matthew:
It\’s a Victoria Secret style calendar for the GTA fans.
I bet people are going to be looking forward to that, but besides whats left of 2015, what can fans expect for 2016?
Matthew:
\”Well we’ve been talking about it for a little bit and we’ve also have been working on it for a little while, but a full length album. Twelve or so songs that we have been spending a lot of time on. Really making things sound as perfect as we can possibly think it; really excited about what we have. A lot of cool ideas and cool songs that are different than what our normal output of music is. We are just really stoked to be able to show the world all the different kinds of influences that we have.\”
What kind of different music are you talking about?
Julio:
\”A mixture of everything really, we have a lot of cool deep house influence tracks. We also have dope 90 bpm Hip-Hop influence kinda stuff. We also have the usual trap stuff that we do but it\’s a different kind of vibe. It\’s not really meant for the club like how most of our previous stuff was. Now, It’s more just about writing actual songs with song writers, writing bridges and courses and stuff like that. I think that\’s the next level of music in general. We have recently been working on bringing that whole vibe back. We are really excited about that.\”
Who do you want to work with in the near future that you haven\’t yet?
Matthew:
\”It’s kinda tuff but honestly anyone. We’re very open to collaborating with whoever. We did that track with Martin Solveig, which no body really thought of us to try to do. We’re just really open to collaborating with people who are open to experimenting and we are open to doing something out of their comfort zone. I think that\’s where we sorta thrive. We try to think about anything that\’s different, or something like a general idea that\’s already established but in a different kinda way; like intoxicated. It’s really just anyone who\’s open to having a good time.\”
Julio:
\”Throwing some names out, off of the top of my head, number one would be, Pharrell. Just cause I am a really big fan. System Of A Down, Diplo, A-trak, bunch of people. Swizz Beatz, Timberland, bunch of people everywhere, from every genre; jazz players, anything. I just wanna make different cool stuff.\”
\”Flying lotus too, by the way.\”
I recently read something that said, all you guys need is 30 pushups and a tequila shot to get ready for a show. If that\’s true, besides that what other pre-warmups do you have before you go on stage?
Matthew:
\”We both, before every show check our emails and look for the newest kind of music that we have available to us. Try to load it up and make sure that we have it available because we both just love playing new music all the time. Between that, the push ups, and the tequila shot we are ready.\”
Julio:
\”We usually walk around have a couple drinks, then discuss what we are going to be playing.\”
Matthew:
\”Me and Julio also high five in the air in slow motion.\”
A lot of your music includes Hip-Hop, so who is your favorite Hip-Hop artist at the moment?
Matthew:
\”Obviously Kendrick Lamar is amazing and what he does is very thoughtful and everywhere at the same time. I say as far as the more party stuff I think, Rae Sremmurd is amazing. They\’re very catchy. They know what they’re doing. You know they’re true artist.\”
Julio:
\”I definitely think Kendrick is one of the best ones…I’ve been listening to the new Game album, which is great. Also, I have been listening to the Travis Scott album a lot and Pharrell.\”
Would you say you like to incorporate these artists into your songs, or is it something you enjoy but wouldn\’t put into your music?
Matthew:
\”No we definitely do. Honestly, as a whole, we are definitely inspired heavily by Pharrell and The Neptunes. Even throwbacks and stuff, which everybody knows pretty much always.We always incorporate that to our sets. As far as Kendrick and a bunch of these other newer guys and Travis Scott, we play Antidote all the time. We really just try to mix it up and also keep it current.\”
Because you guys are from Miami, would you guys say that you\’ll be attending Ultra this year?
Julio:
\”I mean we hoped so.\”
Matthew:
\”We will definitely be in Miami. We haven\’t solidified an Ultra set yet but we’ve been there for the past two, or three years playing at Ultra…We will definitely be in Miami hanging around and partying and going to Ultra. Maybe playing Ultra; you never know.\”
I am actually attending Ultra for the first time this year..
Matthew:
\”Get ready for your mind to be blown. Part of the reason we got into dance music was because of Ultra. The first time I ever went to any kind of big festival was Ultra 2008. Julio was working backstage with Carl Cox. It was amazing and we loved the whole festival.\”
You guys met through social media. Would you say that social media is actually really positive towards peoples careers and not as bad as people think of it?
Juilo:
\”Absolutely, I think it helps. I mean it helps connecting people worldwide and letting those people collaborate. I think it is really important. I feel like a lot of the music now wouldn\’t have been invented and existed, so we are obviously grateful that the internet has been able to help our music scene grow. I’m sure you’ve noticed electronic music is everywhere now and it’s not even just because it’s on the radio. It’s because everyone who’s sitting at home downloading music is downloading all the electronic music that\’s on the radio. That\’s how stuff spreads these days. So it really helps.\”
Matthew:
\”I mean there are always negatives to anything but I definitely look at the positive in it. The fact that we can post up a track tonight and a million people will be able to listen to it, within a few hours; that\’s insane really. If you really think about it, which especially in the past, before the internet was even available, that\’s impossible for the most part.\”
What advice would you have for those kids that are making music and trying to make it, and be where you guys are today?
Matthew:
\”I say don\’t give up and if it\’s really a passion of yours, keep going at it. It really does take a lot of time. In any kind of thing of what you do, it takes a lot of time to master what your craft is. It’s really difficult and it took us a ton of years to even get to where we are today. Even, from the point of us starting to talk to Diplo or whoever it\’s been. It was years before that happened, so it takes a lot of time. I feel like a lot of people kinda want it to happen instantly, but it’s very important to have patience and to have it take a lot of time. If you put in a lot of hard work into it and a lot of dedication into it, it will pay off.\”
Julio:
\”I definitely think that is important, but also just being open minded about everything that you\’re doing. Don\’t be confined sticking to bounce music or whatever’s cool. If your’e down to try new stuff for whatever; make stuff that you really like. It doesn\’t necessarily have to be popular all the time. It doesn\’t necessarily have to be number one on Beatport or anything like that. It’s really just about staying open minded, and being passionate not just for yourself but for the sake of music. People want to contribute a lot of the same shit and that\’s why I feel like a lot of people get drowned out in the same pool of people that are just doing the same exact thing that they’re doing. My advice would personally be just stick to what your gut tells you; whatever you like. Everybody has different taste in music, but you know it\’s possible to be different. You don\’t wanna get caught up in the same kinda stuff everyone else is doing. It’s smart to try different shit.\”
What would you say that you guys are doing different that makes you stand out?
Julio:
\”I feel personally, we are one of the few people who actually make music because we are very passionate about what we make. It’s not just EDM music. It’s everything. It’s everything that we\’ve ever listened to growing up. Whether it may be jazz music. Whether it may be house music or anything you can do on a machine, or an actual instrument; we are inspired by all that.We incorporated that in our music and the reason why we are able to do all these kinds of music is because we are inspired by pretty much everything. Instrumental music, music you can make on a computer; everything. We are not afraid to explore those boundaries and explore those genres in a studio.\”
Matthew:
\”No matter what tempo, no matter what kind of genre it is we just enjoy music.We try to take inspiration from tons of stuff. Honestly, we feel that a lot of stuff gets saturated with everybody trying to be the same thing. We don\’t really pay attention to what’s actually going on currently, at least not too much. You always have to, like I said earlier, listen to what\’s new. Understand what works about that and also take inspiration from other places and mix that all together. So really just keep your mind open.\”
What is your favorite thing about Chicago?
Matthew:
\”I say the people. What I\’ve experienced, the best has been just going out to some bars and stuff. Going out to some roof top bars and stuff like that. Especially in the downtown area, I\’ve had good times there.\”
Julio:
\”I mean I love the people here too, but the deep dish is bomb. I love it.\”
What is your number one remedy to a hangover?
Matthew:
\”If you’re drunk, before you go to sleep, drink a lot of water. Bananas are amazing. The potassium in bananas are amazing for hangovers. You could do some advil, if you want to but, you don’t have to. Definitely water and bananas. If you do that, before you sleep I guarantee you\’ll wake up feeling better than you would if you did not have that.\”
Julio:
\”I would say the same. Not just water, coconut water. Coconut water is bomb. Then in the morning have another coconut water right after you wake up; you\’ll be straight.\”
Matthew:
\”Then a greasy ass, disgusting breakfast in the morning. That apparently always works.\”
What is your favorite song on Death To Genres Vol.2?
Matthew:
\”I’d probably say \”Hella Of A Night.\” I like the whole vocal that we finally got with it; the whole mixture of the intense drop with the vocal and the mix of it. It just kinda fits in together really well, especially with our style of stuff.\”
Julio:
\”I’d probably say \”LCA\” is my favorite. Just cause every time we play it we get a sick reaction from the crowd all the time. Also, cause my home boy here, Matt did it. He\’s awesome.\”
Anything else you guys want to include?
Julio:
\”Death To Genres Vol.2, out now get it.\”
Matthew:
\”Yeah get it. If you go to death2genres.com we’ll have all the links and everything to go check out the music.\”
As you read there are nothing but new things to come from these chill guys.
They did a great job on their stop that night in Chicago. Be sure to check out the review here.
You can also listen to the exclusive interview below.
