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Check out the photos from the launch party for Static, our new fragrance, held at our NY store in Nolita, with music by ATM and DJ trio Earth Beat. After the party we sat down with Andrew Brown from Earth Beat to talk about their sound, inspiration and the New York scene. Read the full interview and listen to one of their two-part sets below.
STATIC LAUNCH PARTY + EARTH BEAT INTERVIEW | STATIC LAUNCH PARTY + EARTH BEAT INTERVIEW | STATIC LAUNCH PARTY + EARTH BEAT INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW - ANDREW BROWN FROM EARTH BEAT
APRIL 2022
DM - Thanks for sitting down with us. Can you tell us about Earth Beat? Who’s in the group, and how did you guys get started?
AB - My name is Andrew Brown, my DJ name is Extra Andrew, and Earth Beat is Greg Droggitis (Gee Dee), Latane Hughes (Latane from Fundido) and myself.
Greg and I both moved from Philly to New York in 2018. We had been doing one-off parties in NY and Philly for years, but never really knew each other.
In 2018 Greg started a radio show for Newtown Radio in Bushwick called "Earth Beat". The show ran for a year and featured some guests / friends from NYC. Soon after he brought Latane and I in as residents and Earth Beat grew from a radio show to a party series - the first big party the three of us hosted as "Earth Beat" was July 2019 at Elsewhere.
We’d all played at Good Room quite a bit, they’ve always been good to us, and they started booking us a lot. We became official residents at Good Room in 2020. We play every other month or so, in addition to traveling and doing solo ventures.
DM - You guys have a very worldly sound that seems to blend a lot of influences and genres. Where did that sound come from?
AB - Our sound kind of started with a love of eclectic music. Synth based, Italo disco, a lot of early 90s Italian or Spanish house, lovers rock or digi-reggae. It's hard to describe what we like - kind of like how the Supreme Court defines pornography, ‘I know it when I hear it’ type stuff.
We all spend a lot of time looking on the fringes, looking for stuff people may not know, but we’re not afraid of playing big hits. We try not to be pretentious like that. Warm weather music, island sounds, Ibiza or Jamaica - that’s what we want to hear.
DM - Who are some other people in the scene you draw inspiration from?
AB - I’d say DJ Harvey is my personal biggest DJ inspiration, with the way he can string together stuff you’ve never heard before. He sort of earned the ability to play a bunch of different stuff, people are willing to go on that trip with him. That’s kind of where I’m at. I’m inspired by people who can kind of change sounds, keep it interesting, and play for 10+ hours. I know Latane is a longtime fan of DJs like John Talabot and Palms Trax. Greg would probably say his biggest influence is the Grateful Dead. Their sense of adventure, their ability to improvise and take listeners on a "journey" has shaped a lot of his DJ sets.
We’ve been lucky to have a lot of friends we’re inspired by that have a long running thing - again, a hard to define sound, but it’s the type of thing you know when you hear. To name a few, I’d say DJ Lloyd from the Lot and our friends Ivan Berko, Dave P and JDH from Fixed, Anthony Naples, Arsenii.
WE ALL SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING ON THE FRINGES, LOOKING FOR STUFF PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW, BUT WE'RE NOT AFRAID OF PLAYING BIG HITS. WE TRY NOT TO BE PRETENTIOUS LIKE THAT. WARM WEATHER MUSIC, ISLAND SOUNDS, IBIZA OR JAMAICA - THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR.
DM - How would you say the NY scene weighs up against other cities, or countries you've traveled to?
AB - I think the NY music scene is the best - dance music was more or less born in NY, so it’s cool to be part of that lineage. Also, to know that it’s going to continue, you’re just a piece of the larger puzzle. It's not the be-all-end-all, it just keeps going.
It’s great, because NY is still a top musical destination. Many of our friends from other countries come to play here.. It’s nice that New York will always have more fun, disco leaning, party house style stuff. While there is a techno scene, it’s nice to know it won’t really eclipse the more classic NY club sound. NY dancefloor crowds stay open minded and are there to be taken on a ride.
DM - That being said, what places do you think keep that lineage going?
AB - We are obviously residents at Good Room… so Good Room is the main one for us. The crowds are always great, the staff is great, the club is perfect - a nightclub, nothing more, nothing less. That’s definitely the place where I feel the strongest connection of lineage and musical freedom. No one ever tells you what to play, the crowd is always easy and up for what you want to give them. Instincts work well there.
DM - What else do you guys have coming up that we should know about?
AB - Greg and Latane both played Coachella last weekend. We're playing in Miami at Floyd on April 28th with DJ Ray and Brother Dan, which has become a semi traditional thing in Miami for Earth Beat. Our next NY Earth Beat party is at Good Room on May 26th with Tornado Wallace...it should be great, Lewie is definitely an inspiration for all of us.
Greg is currently on a solo US run with San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle and Denver on the horizon. Latane does his quarterly Fundido parties in Brooklyn that are always fun, and I’ve got my Nightmoves residency and a Strictly Biz party coming up at Magick City.
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Follow Earth Beat here, and be sure to check them out at Good Room and listen to their two part, eight hour set linked above.
