We were able to get in touch with Jake and Mattie of the up and coming musical duo GLD to talk about their new single “Armz” and what is to come for the rest of the year.
- You guys kicked off the year with your new single “Armz”, what can we expect to hear next from GLD this year?
Mattie & Jake: Next is us just coming at the world with all this music we have. Our “wrath” as we like to say. We’ve grown and changed over the past couple years and feel like we have a whole arsenal of records that really represent us as people. There’s so much we want to accomplish with our music and I think we have a message that can connect with and inspire people.
2. “Armz” is a lot heavier than some of your upbeat party-oriented trap sounds we have heard in the past, is this a sound we can expect to hear more of in the future?
Jake: You can expect to hear everything from us. In the coming months that will definitely be a heavy side of us but there are metal bands that made slow ballads all kinds of people still listen to today. That’s what we’ve been working on with our writing. Proving to ourselves you can be hiphop and electronic but still make rock music or pop music.
Mattie: we just really wanna bridge the gaps between various genres. We just make what we want to, I think that's a big key in being a producer.
3. Of all the performances you guys have coming up this Summer, which one are you most excited for, and why?
Jake: Honestly I’m just excited to start getting out of new england and travel and meet people at all the shows we have coming up. That’s been one of the biggest motivations to work hard is to experience what I’ve grown up always wanting to do.
Mattie: I get hype for every show we play. I just love making connections with new people. The goal has always been to influence others & that's why I'm excited to play these upcoming shows
4. What artist/artists do you feel have influenced your current sound the most?
Mattie & Jake: Lately we’ve been not even listening to much electronic music. There’s so many producers and so much content it kinda gets you stuck creatively sometimes. We grew up on everything from jazz to rock, to hiphop so we’ve been influenced by acts like Rage Against the Machine, Volumes, Blink-182, Anderson Paak, 21 Pilots, and other music like that.
5. How were you both involved with music before forming your current project?
Jake: I was in various bands in the area when i moved to connecticut in middle school. I got into music engineering and graphic design in high school so I built a recording studio and starting having bands come to write/record. A couple of Matt’s bands recorded with me and we just always connected. When i came back from dropping out of college to do music Matt was still killing it so we linked up and it really clicked. We knew we had to start something.
Matt: I was a guitarist/vocalist in numerous hardcore & pop punk bands. Jake & I actually played in a band together also prior to “GLD”. We actually recorded an EP for that band but it was never released..
6. If you could collaborate with any artist of your choice, who would it be, and why?
Mattie & Jake: That’s such a hard question… It’s like a close tie between Jon Bellion and Chance the Rapper. Both are just so on their own wave and I feel like with our rock/electronic sound something amazing could happen.
6. What has been your most memorable experience as a duo since the start of GLD?
Jake: Definitely has to be when A-Trak and Vince Staples played at Yale on their lawn. Huge festival setup and so many crazy yale students going absolutely insane. Alain had us come through and brought us on stage and we just danced so awkwardly. Such a great moment.
Matt: When Flosstradamus brought us out on stage at their Fillmore show in Philly, & dropped a unreleased tune of ours from the upcoming Fools Gold EP. It's was just a craziest adrenaline rush ever.. To see a couple thousand people go crazy for a song we created in our apartment was just incredible.
You can catch GLD opening for Ghastly with the “On the road to Mysteryland” Tour at Webster hall in New York City tonight, Friday March 31st.
Check out their new single below:
