A while ago now, maybe two months now, I stumbled across what I thought to be a very interesting release. What made it more interesting than your average EP or album was the fact it was a double album. Released under the moniker of HerObust, Hayden Kramer had sure put a lot of time into this one, with a mixture of hip-hop and future club sounds he banged out 16 original productions in only a few months. The album is great and well produced, with the finished product split by two titles, “Late night” and “Morning after“. It really is an electronic musical journey. He is a growing artist from Atlanta and has had support from bigger names like Two fresh. Luckily enough, I was able to catch up with him and ask him a few things about his style and works musically.
You have just released 2 albums in the last month at the same time! You stated on your Facebook “the albums are almost are year old “so why the wait on such good music??
Well thanks first off. I’m glad you’re feeling Late Night and Morning After. The truth is that it took me that long to settle with the right label. Albumin, my debut release, got a significant amount of attention and emails from various labels came in for releasing the double album. Some offers were fickle, and others just didn’t work out. In the end, Saturate records was the best fit.
It’s been a year since that stuff was ready so how soon are we looking at for new stuff?
AH I can’t give you any dates, but it won’t be long. I probably have enough material to steadily release for the next year or so. I just need to figure out the smartest way to plan everything because the new material is quite different.
Will the new stuff be a bit heavier than late night, or a bit lighter than morning after?
The new tunes will actually be more geared towards the dance floor. All of the hip hop and R&B roots will be the same, but tracks will pack a bigger punch and follow more dance-friendly rhythms. I’ll still include the chiller downtempo that I’m known for, but I think it’s important for producers to display some range. I’m hoping that I can use the variation to form a more complete album/live experience for people.
You’re from Atlanta right? Give us details on your location. How is it influencing your sound?
Atlanta GA is in the southeast US. It’s basically the capital of top 40 rap is made. I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop and r&b and it clearly shows in my music. My sound palette is obviously way out there, but it’s all based on hip hop I think. If you’ve seen my live set, you may have noticed that I love throwing old dirty south acapellas in there. Just a guilty pleasure I guess…
Why for your first release, did you release it on a tape (personally think it’s pretty damn cool) but what inspired that idea?
Well beat music is a genre unlike many others. Many of the genre’s fans are producers themselves, or at least audiophiles who really demand the kind of sound quality you can only get on physical releases like tape or vinyl. It’s crazy how in the middle of everyone stealing mp3s we have this group of people paying high dollar for physical releases, but I think it’s great. It shows you who really appreciates your work.
How hard do you work in the studio you must be in there an awful lot to have so much going on, 2 albums and what not. What production stuffs you running with?
I do work hard. Definitely way too much actually, but it’s what I love to do. My setup is actually very minimal because I travel a lot. I only have my laptop, keyboard, and interface. I also use a field recorder for sampling. Some people hate to hear this, but for me the real magic happens in the computer.
Lastly hot tips for 2012 any good tunes you feeling? Artists? Name drop or link me up 🙂
Watch Atlanta artists start blowing up. In 2010 I didn’t know a single local producer. Just last year, we started popping up everywhere. Our monthlies are as dope as any Iv ever played out of town and I’m really proud of the talent we are cultivating here. Time Wharp, P Villa, Divine Interface, Rekchampa, and Ethereal – definitely worth checking out if you’re into downtempo beat music or two-step stuff.
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