Few people listen to a Flaxo record without leaving impressed. The San Francisco to Manhattan DJ/producer has established a distinct sound in dance music that sets him apart from other producers. With jaw-dropping releases such as his remix of Rihanna's "Diamonds," Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools," and his most recent original release of "Erode," Flaxo has been paving the way for a limitless career.
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If you needed some sexy music for your Valentine's Day, Flaxo has offered an exclusive holiday mix fittingly titled Mattress Rattlers. The 30-minute mix features a fantastic blend of records from a variety of genres, including tracks from artists like Hucci, Disclosure, Flume, Duck Sauce, and Chance The Rapper. You'll find yourself playing through this "mattress rattler" one more than once, and will hopefully act as the perfect soundtrack to your romantic night. Flaxo also took the time to do an interview with us, which you can find in its entirety below. Covering topics ranging from his musical origins to his biggest screw up with a crush, Flaxo gives us a fun look into what goes on beyond the music. Check out Flaxo's mix and interview below, and be sure to follow him on his social media pages.
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EM: Can you tell us a little how you got into DJ'ng/producing growing up?
F: I saw AmpLive of Zion I when I was 14 and started getting into experimental hip-hop production and just kind of went from there. Began messing with GarageBand and Audacity recording in instruments and sampling and eventually switched to Ableton live and figured out the ins and outs.
EM: Huge props on your most recent original release, "Erode." Can you tell us about the process of how this track came about?
F: Thanks! The idea for the track originated last year when I was messing around recording in guitar parts and I thought it would be really cool to sample those and put them in a song. From there I just wanted to make something that held its own as a real song rather than just a dancefloor tool, so I spent some time writing the lyrics and chord progressions out and making sure it felt right to listen to it through ear buds or headphones instead of club systems.
EM: Your productions have an undeniably distinct sound to them. What inspirations have you drawn from to create your unique presence in trap/bass music?
F: I think a lot of producers come at "trap" from an EDM mindset so they get bogged down in the tropes of that world… A lot of stuff feels lifeless and like it was made purely with dancefloors in mind, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but I always think the best dance music is written to be listened to anywhere. I try to really get emotional content across, even if it's within the structure of a dance or hip-hop track.
EM: What do you think sets you apart from other producers right now?
F: I think a lot of producers get tired of their genre and think "OK now I'll make the next hot genre." I'm not that interested in narrowing my focus to just dance music. I take inspiration and sounds mostly from hip-hop and RnB so I'm not going to recycle the same trance lead five zillion times.
EM: So who's your Valentine?
F: Young Thug. Dude can sing. Or Jhene Aiko, she just looks like she smells like apple butter.
EM: What's the worst experience with a girl you've ever had?
F: When I was 13, there was a girl who I was really interested in and I thought throwing water over her and dousing her boyfriend at the same time would be totally cool… I ended up slamming her head with a metal water bucket and giving her a concussion.
Natalie if you're reading this, I'm really sorry.
EM: Would you describe yourself as more of a tits or ass guy?
F: I'm a PERSONALITY guy.
…hi mom.
EM: What music do you like in the bedroom?
F: I will say "Climax" by Usher is well in my top 5 songs of all time.
EM: Your favorite pick up line?
F: To quote Kendrick, "GIRL, I KNOW YOU WANT THIS DYEH"
EM: Favorite romantic comedy?
F: Rambo.
… movie dates don't usually go too well.
EM: Favorite power couple?
F: Future and Ciara. This is the only acceptable answer apart from "Kanye West and himself."
EM: Chocolate or candy?
F: Chocolate candy… wait is this a question about black girls?
EM: If you could collab with anyone on a record, who would it be?
F: PUSHA T. Or The Neptunes.
EM: What can we expect coming up on the horizon from you?
F: More songs (of course) very soon, some collaboration projects I'm crazy excited about that involve non-dance non-electronic stuff. Lots of new directions.
EM: Anything else you want music fans all over the world to know about you?
F: I am financially stable and own both a sandwich maker AND a rice cooker. Ladies hit me up.
