Ghasper is a rising musician out of Las Vegas who is starting to make some major moves.. From a release on PRMD Music [the label started by Avicii] to a heavy hitting collaboration w/ KRNE, the kid has done a lot of cool stuff in 2016. I sent over some general questions to get to know more about the up and coming star, read our interview below now!
How old are you? & How long have you been making music?
Just turned 24, I'm old! I've been playing music pretty much my whole life, making it though about 8 years, producing being 4.
What's the EDM scene like in Las Vegas?
It's definitely interesting. At the moment it's a bit convoluted, mainly from DJs asopposed to producers. It's also a bit dated, we're still really stuck in the 24/7banger lineups. That being said I have met a ton of great people here, and there's massive room for improvement, more and more people are getting involved in the scene here every day and it just keeps growing. I'm really excited about it actually because before all this growth I felt like things here were just stagnant. I love that people are really trying to branch out and are attempting to make this scene get on the level of like NY or LA. It'll take time but I see it heading in that direction, we just need more development outside of the strip, more local involvement.
How did you get into music?
We had digital cable momentarily when I was in 3rd grade and I used to live onthe Fuse channel, just loved listening to everything that came on there, my love didn't really get crazy until my trip to Michigan in the 4th grade. I went to visit my cousins (I grew up an only child and very close with my family so my cousins are basically my brothers and sisters) and while I was there they showed me a ton of punk and post hardcore stuff. Grace Gale, Tsunami Bomb, Rufio, Pretty Girls Make Graves. I fell in love. My cousin had an account on Oink (at the time it was the largest music torrent tracker on the internet) and showed me a ton of stuff like The Faint and Blonde Redhead. Ever since then I've been obsessed.
What is the first album you fell in love with?
Man this is difficult… It's either M83's Dead Cities Red Seas and Lost Ghosts or Interpol's Antics. I remember those being really impact on me. Or Tsunami Bomb's The Invasion From Within! It's impossible for me to really pick a first. I kind of discovered them all within the same time period.
Who are some of your major influences?
Most definitely M83 was the biggest, Blonde Redhead, Nosaj Thing, Tycho, J Dilla and Nujabes obviously, this guy Aether that I used to blast all the time who I'm actually friends with now. Holy Other really got me into like witchy stuff. I of course give my hat off to Djemba Djemba and Carmack, they really opened my eyes and inspired me. I dunn it's a huge mix. Also all the BIRP playlists used to fuel my sleepless nights growing up, I gotta say they influenced me a ton.
How would you classify your sound / sub-genre?
Beat music — Trap with some Future Bass.
What gear do you use live?
Just CDJs for now. Hopefully incorporating more live elements soon! I want to bring a full performance every time I play.
What DAW do you produce in?
I'm an FL Studio boy.
How did your released with PRMD come about?
They hit me up after the KRNE collab and I think I originally sent them “TurtleShip”, we kind of just kept in contact and then they asked for more WIPs and I sent them Silver. I’m terrible at keeping in contact with anyone who isn't in my direct line of sight so nothing really happened until my manager got on board and really helped me focus and get shit done. The rest kind of just fell in place!
How is your production process? Vocals first and then production or is it a case by case situation?
Definitely case by case, I love vocals first when the opportunity is there cause itmakes it almost easier to write to, but often I find myself making some really weird wonky beat and then kind of adding on to that. I like to think of production as a kind-of puzzle, sometimes pieces don't immediately fit, you know theybelong but you just don't know where until you finish a little more of it. I feel like my approach with vocals follows that mentality if I add them in after. Like they never fit in the beginning but the more I add and the more I experiment I usually can figure out how to make them fit or not use them at all. I think nowadays everyone feels forced to put a vocalist on their track, but a lot of times it just doesn’t work out or feels jammed in there and that in my opinion doesn’t work.
What is your favorite release to date and why?
Probably “Mima“, it's my most heartfelt I would say. I made it for my Grandmother about a day before she passed.
Which record took the longest to create?
Probably “Fake Friends.” I had been sitting on that track for so long, just adding things and taking away things here and there every now and then, it wasn't till Zach (aka KRNE) got involved that I really felt the concept mature into a full fledged track. But seriously I was so back and forth with it until that point.
How did the collaboration with KRNE come to fruition?
Well I'd been sending Zach stuff for awhile before that. I would get back nice comments here and there, you know like “Yo these drums are sick man good Job” or just “This is great keep at it””. Kind of weird but those small compliments from artists I admired really kept me focused. Anyways, when he opened up subs for Sessions I sent in a playlist, in all honesty “Fake Friends” was the song I least expected him to pick. There were like 20 ideas in that playlist and “Fake Friends” was pretty much done (at least I considered it done cause at the time I was just over working on it). I lost my shit honestly, and when I sent it to him he sent it back not even 3 hours later. It was crazy cause what I had thought was done he just added this entirely new dimension to it and I realized how much was actually missing. The rest just kind of happened, he added his parts and we got ready to release. Great experience all around!
