Wolf & Riva – Blame

By starrymag | August 18, 2015

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

Q) Your Wolf & Riva remix of Calvin Harris and John Newman's song "Blame" is out now. How did you decide on this particular song to remix?

A) We wanted to find a song that was popular, but had potential to sound somewhat parallel to its original beat. "Blame" was a song that was familiar to most people as well as our favorite track by Calvin Harris. We felt that John Newman’s voice could go with most of the synths and beats we are used to laying out.

Q) How did you two originally pair up and become a duo?

A)  Three years ago we met at a stay over camp and we had a similar interest in music. What was even better was that both of us were looking for a partner to work with in producing music as we were both DJ’s looking to become recognized as a duo.

Q) Can you talk about the collaboration and how you balanced out your individual visions for the sound of the song?

A) The collaboration was a week long project that both of us envisioned to become something smaller than the actual outcome. It’s a great feeling to get so much support for this track as it is our first released song. What made it challenging yet fun was finding a sound that both of us not only enjoyed, but what we thought others would enjoy.

Q) What kind of training and skills have you learned and honed from working on the piece?

A) We learned more skills in collaboration. With being a duo, patience is something that is needed from both of us because although we have a similar taste in music, our visions in how the song will turn out may be somewhat different. As far as training goes, we both have learned how to use Ableton and are still increasing our knowledge. The beauty of being young collaborators is that time is not an issue to us.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences and how do they inspire the work you create?

A) Our musical influences come from many different artists with more diverse genres such as Shadow Child, Calvin Harris, Oliver Heldens, Tchami and Gravez. These are by far most influential artists to us because they tend to let their sound drift away from the popular EDM artists.

Q) What sets your work and music apart from others?

A) We believe our music is unique because it’s not everyday you hear a new song being released from two sixteen year olds! The major difference that sets us apart from our influences and other artists is that deep house is a genre that has potential to change the music industry and we want to become one of the few that are with the young deep house family.

Q) What made SoundCloud the perfect fit for releasing your remix?

A) SoundCloud is a great way for artists to exchange ideas, collaborate with each other and publish their favorite sounds. This was a great way for us to send our music to our friends and have a fanbase that supports our sound. Our friends really enjoyed us DJ’ing together and wanted to know where they could hear our sound. Not everybody wants to pay $0.99 for a song and we want to make sure everyone has a chance to hear what we have in store.

Q) How have you been promoting the song and will you be using social media as a platform?

A) When we released the "Blame" remix, word of mouth was the go to for us because we really did not have a large enough fanbase to exploit our song to more than a handful of people. Once the song had more views, we started telling our followers to share the songs with their friends if they enjoyed it. What is great about social media is that once a fire starts, it spreads. SoundCloud is a great way for people to discover new artists because the ability to post your music completely free is a perfect opportunity for all music producers to have a chance to show their potential.

Q) What kind of feedback have you been receiving from listeners and do you take in constructive criticism when it comes to future pieces?

A) So far since the song has been released, a lot of our friends are impressed with the fact that we have even done the work it required to make a remix. Most of the people that appreciate it are the ones that are really musically diverse, which is always nice because they not only tell us what they like, but also what they don't like. Constructive criticism is something all artists need whether they are popular or not because it only lets you know what you can do to increase your likeability with a wide variety of listeners. Obviously, there will be some people who accept that and others who resent it.

Q) You're a part of a group called YPG founded by Lawrence Grey, what kind of guidance and advice has Mr. Grey provided that you have taken to heart?

A) Lawrence has taught me so much about everything from basic Ableton tricks to complex synth creation. He is an amazing guy and teacher. YPG is an incredible program where young producers get together for a few hours a week and just simply create and collaborate. Hands down the best group I've been a part of.

Q) Are you working on any new music and when can listeners expect some new music to be released?

A) We are constantly working on new music. We don't live together, but when it comes to fresh sound, we are working almost everyday to find something we both like. We have a show at GDM live at the Yost Theatre on October 2nd and since the release of our first remix, we have already started another project we want to push out before our first big show.

Q) Do you have a website or page that those interested can go to in order to keep up with more of your work?

A) Our SoundCloud so far is the main source for listeners to hear our music. We will soon release our music on other platforms, but for now SoundCloud is what we'd like to use exclusively. https://m.soundcloud.com/wolfandriva

Q) Who is your dream artist to collaborate with?

A) Tchami right now is our favorite deep house/future house artist. It would be one of a kind to be able to make a collaborative original with him because his underground sound is unique to the rest of the deep house and future house genres. When we started DJing together, Tchami was amongst the first artists we played because we both enjoyed him so much. Really Tchami is the one to thank because we found our passions for deep house because of him.

Q) Is there anything else about the song and your music you would really like to share with listeners?

A) Don't take advantage of the fact that we are both sixteen years old and new. Talent comes in many different scales and we are amongst the rest of the young artists that want to have a voice and an influence on all listeners. Wolf & Riva became a group not just for personal reasons, but for collective reasons as we plan to work with many fresh young talent and grow together. Since this remix has been released, a lot of positive feedback has asked us to send out another song and will not fail to deliver.