If you aren't familiar yet; as the days turn to weeks and the weeks to months, Eric Dingus will soon pop up on your radar. The 18 year old Austin, Texas native has made huge waves recently. Receiving nods from Drakes right hand man Oliver who runs the OVO Sound label. As well as support from Heron Preston and the Been Trill team. Always one to be very humble Eric takes it all in stride and is very excited about what the future holds for him. We had the chance to speak last week, creep below.
EARMILK: Being from Austin,TX and with a production style that thus far embodies the slowed lean back approach Texas is famous for. Did the chopped and screwed scene influence your music?
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Eric Dingus: I really have a lot of respect for DJ Screw and the chop and screw movement, and i do like the music a lot, but i would have to say i find inspiration from certain vibes and moods. Dj screw has a unique vibe which i have drawn from, but a better example is get a ton of inspiration from japanese horror movies such as Marebito, Kario, and the Ringu movies. I love the way they were shot and the mood it sets. So i draw from those moods and translate it into what i think it would sound like in music form. might sound dumb and i donno if it makes sense.
EM: A few blogs have described your sound as being “dream pop” do you agree with that and if not what would you describe it as?
ED:I would not agree with that exact wording but i understand it. On my mixtape 512 I remixed a lot of pop songs into a different dreamy feel. I would just describe it as Ethereal, Dreamy, hip hop influenced, electronic music i soppose. It varries i guess on what songs, cause i make a lot of music from a few different genres, but over all my music has the same feeling.
EM: Can you let us know more about your label Dream Sequence Records?
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ED: My friend and I started Dream Sequence Records over the summer i believe. It really hasn't fully started going full force yet, but we have a lot of cool stuff planned and in the works. The main reason we started the label is to help bring a certain vibe of electronic music and hip hop to listeners. Just the music we like and believe in really. We've got upcoming releases from myself and Austin, Texas rapper BI$HOP $M$, with a collar EP produced by me, and i believe a split EP with a couple producers following that. It's been tricky so far since we really don't have the largest budget, but the music is the most important part in our eyes.
EM: You seem to pull samples and sound bits from a wide range of underground artists as well as vocalists, what factors play into your decision making process when choosing?
ED: As far as samples go, I just try and either change the vibe of the sample into my sound, or alter the sample into something completely different. I really don't like using samplings unless they are very manipulated and altered. My process of choosing is i just try a bunch of samples and see what turns out good to be honest.
EM: This year you’ve teamed up with both OVO and Been Trill what is it about your music that you think resonates with widely respected teams?
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ED: I guess they maybe respect that I'm just making the music i like and not trying to ride trends or change my sound to what will sell. I mean people could compare me to other producers and whatever, but I am differently not trying to sound like anyone else, in my eyes. Also I think they've realized i work very, very hard. Like music is my job but on my free time i also just work on music. I'm not very social and don't party, or play video games, or do drugs, or waist time with 18 year old activities.
EM: Social media has aided in breaking a lot of artists, how do you think social media has affected your career and do you feel you’d be in the same place without it?
ED: Really I dropped out of high school two years ago and started going to this coffee shop near my house called "Irie Bean" every morning and work on networking and making beats on my laptop. The internet has a lot to do with me being able to accomplish what i have so far. I like social media as tools to get known and meet like minded people, but i feel it should all be done professionally.
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EM: Now that your career is beginning to take off do you have any live shows in the near future?
ED: I do! I have a show in NYC feb. 21st, at Pianos, 158 Ludlow St. It should be pretty fun, its an Undisposable party and 10 Deep is hosting it. I'm preforming with High Klassified and Dollar Bin. so yea, I'm exited.
EM: Being so young at 18 where do you see yourself musically at 21? Do you think you’ll be more of a studio producer or do you foresee a lot of touring?
ED: I plan on doing both really. Being a studio producer is WAY more natural, but i wanna do both as much as possible.
