Artist Spotlight: Joker
June 28, 2024
June 28, 2024
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Julio Mejia and Matt Toth, the two Miami-based producers making up the genre-less duo GTA, have been on a roll lately with a plethora of club and festival bangers being released left and right. Experimenting with all kinds of sounds, electro-rock, latin, and everything in between, these guys truly push the boundaries of discovering the different tastes and appeals in their burgeoning audience. But for them, it’s not about putting labels on their sound, it’s about creating quality music.
As of late, the duo has been hard at work touring and putting together their latest release, Death to Genres Vol. 2 which features new music from GTA including collaborations with the father of Jungle Terror, Wiwek, as well as Sandro Silva. In addition, GTA just played one of the biggest shows in their career at the Hollywood Palladium, where they sold out the enormous venue and brought along some very special surprise guests.
Following their ground breaking performance I had the chance to speak with GTA regarding their landmark headlining show, the popularity of the Skrillex edit of their track “Red Lips” and what these two artists have in store for the future. Plus the duo delves into what we can hear on Death to Genres Vol 2. Check out what Julio and Matt had to say!
Wow, you guys just played a sold out show at The Hollywood Palladium and I am extremely disappointed I missed out on that. This was a festival sized crowd that came out just to see you guys play? What is that like, how did it feel to sell out that show and give your fans everything they wanted this weekend in LA?
“It was honestly one of the greatest experiences for GTA to date! The energy was unreal and we really felt amazing after watching the new stuff we’ve been working on the past few months go off to one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever headlined a show for!”
And not only that, you brought out some very special guests that I’m sure fans were not disappointed by. Was it always the plan to bring Skrillex & Dillon up or was it more of a last minute thing?
“It was a last minute thing but we’ve been talking about premiering the Skrillex remix of Red Lips at The Palladium for a few days before. Dillon actually showed up last minute! So glad it all came together the way it did!!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umvBemxQXBc
GTA – Red Lips feat Sam Bruno (Skrillex Remix) (Official Music Video)
The official video for Skrillex’s epic remix to your track “Red Lips” was just released and it’s fantastic. However there was a lot that went into the production and release of this particular track. Can you give us a little bit of the background on “Red Lips”?
“Basically we made it during a European tour last year and finished up in Amsterdam, but really it was just inspired by the cool vocals our home girl Sam Bruno sent us! After a few months, Skrillex heard it and he said he loved it and wanted to remix it! Since then, it was taken to the next level with the music video and of course became one of the major staples in our/Skrillex’s set! So proud of this one!”
May we see an original collaboration between you and Skrillex anytime in the near future?
“Definitely! We have something in the works with Skrillex, hopefully it’ll come out soon!”
https://soundcloud.com/wearegta/gta-goons-funtcantasy
You guys also just released Death to Genres Vol. 2 and on it you have some tracks that fans have been waiting a long time for. Funtcantasy, as it was known as for quite a while, official title being “Goons”, was a track in high demand, what kind of reception have you received on this particular track and what is it about it that you think resonates?
“We think the track is awesome and it really is supposed to involve all of our fans! It’s just a dope song that we made a few years ago, and now it is the anthem to all the Goons out there! Every time we play this, everyone always gets hype! All our mothafuckin Goons turn up to this one ;)”
You also have a collaboration with Wiwek who is often adamant about his Jungle Terror being less of a genre and more of a “vibe”. What was it like working with another artist with such a unique sound, but one who holds the same “death to genres” mentality?
“It was awesome working with Wiwek. We love working with people who are open to trying things outside of their comfort zone, and Wiwek is one of the most open minded people we’ve worked with so far when it comes to music! The ideas kept flowing and the vibe was great in the studio.”
https://soundcloud.com/wearegta/gta-wiwek-blow-up-original-mix
What advice would you give to aspiring producers out there looking to breakthrough the walls of genres?
“Don’t be afraid to try something! The best stuff always comes out when you least expect it, and most of the time its when you’re trying to make something different!”
Finally, in a series of 5 hashtags, what is in store for GTA in 2016?
“#NEWMUSIC #GOONS #DEATH2GENRES #GOODTIMESAHEAD #TOURLIFE”
Keep an eye on GTA for it sounds like they have some exciting material in store for 2016. A Skrillex collab to follow “Red Lips”, more Death to Genres, and after selling out a show in Hollywood, it does not sound like their roll will be slowing any time soon.
Stay Connected with GTA:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreGTA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wearegta
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/wearegta
