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Matty Spangler and Jeremy Bruce Lee Miller came together and built what seemed to be a tiny studio in Southern California, but turned out to be an underground hit factory that has produced noteworthy tracks that the mainstream has not yet grasped on to. Binary Hertz is a new force to EDM that has actually been right beside us all along. Both DJs who combine to form this duo have more experience in the electronic genre than most of us realize. Both Jeremy and Matty have over 20 years of experience, Matty in AZ and Jeremy on the West Coast, yet both show a fresh enthusiasm to a brand that they want to ignite.
Originally hailing from Arizona and California respectively, the duo, from their home-made studio in Southern California, are the leaders in the birth of a new music revolution. Their goal? “To embrace the current styles of EDM while at the same time influencing the next generation of dance music. Binary Hertz are more than just another DJ or production group; they are creating a platform, one piece at a time, which will revolutionize dance music as we know it today.”
In 2015, Matty and Jeremy came together to form an electronic-duo that has a mission. Kicking it off in Phoenix, providing us with their introspective brand of club-bangers and bass-thumpers, Binary Hertz will be opening for Infected Mushroom on April 29th. Join us in this musically intimate interview as we have a chat with two EDM heavy-weights who have witnessed the rise and fall of Rome over the course of their near two-decade long careers:
What first inspired the two of you to craft beats and produce music?
Matty: “We ran into one another on the top of a mountain (literally) in Colorado at a private event, not realizing that we knew one another from a decade ago until a few hours into our conversation. We spent most of that night in Jeremy’s truck listening to his original production and I really liked it, and I am a picky one. After we basically ignored the entire party listening to his music in the truck, he invited me to his studio in Boulder. A month or so went by and I finally made it out there, and I was really impressed. Fast forward a few months and a few tracks later, he invited me to join his project Binary Hertz. I happily (or probably reluctantly) accepted and we packed our shit and moved to Cali to chase the dream. Really, the inspiration came from our mutual taste in music. Our similar backgrounds as successful DJ’s and passion for dance music allowed both of us the courage to give this project a serious push.”
Jeremy: “After reconnecting with Matty after so many years, I was excited to share what I have been working on with someone that I have always known as an incredible DJ. With his massive and loyal following, some of the people I respected most in the scene happen to be among his many fans. I realized that via his perspective I would gain a critical, yet welcome response, to what I already had in the early stages of my music development. When we finally sat down in the studio for the first time, it was immediately clear that we were on to something bigger than either of us had anticipated.”
Matty: “I had arranged for Jeremy, an opening slot for Junkie XL at Myst, maybe 12 years ago. I was doing the booking in the Ballroom and a resident DJ, Thomas Turner was the main promoter for Myst House 7340. Anyways, some of our mutual friends showed me Jeremy’s CD (as DJ N10CT) and I arranged to have him in the opening slot. This is noteworthy because you don’t just give some random dude, that is a friend of a friend, that’s not even local, an opening slot for the headliner at Myst. It was the biggest dance music night AZ at the time and it was tough enough to get that slot myself, and I worked there! It took us a few hours after we ran into one another in Colorado to realize.”
Your music has an extremely likeable sound that has grown since the beginning of your careers. What do you think are the best changes you’ve witnessed in the genre, but also some of the more unfavorable? How have you as artists adapted to this changing climate in dance music over the last couple of decades?
Jeremy: “It would have to be the ability to do so much more when it comes to producing music.The sheer amount of VST’s available to us now, their quality, and how their capabilities are literally limitless. It wasn’t that way when I first started producing. Now, the work flow and the infinite possibilities make producing music that much more enjoyable.
Because making music is now so much more affordable than it used to be, it creates a different kind of struggle. The downside is that there is so much more competition. However, on the up-side, there is a ton of good music that comes out each and every day.”
Matty: “When it comes to adapting to the changing climate in dance music, we really try to stick to what it is that we love musically. We both feel that this is crucial to our success yet we realize that we have to incorporate what is new and trending to stay relevant. We are constantly listening to what is new and popular and then we take some of those pieces and apply it to what is tried and true to our sound.”
It is obvious that inspiration came from many different avenues given, Matty, you have performed under different aliases such as Matty Spangler for your progressive music and Nick Papageorgio for your deeper material, and now again as another name in Binary Hertz. What is it about Binary Hertz that is going to separate you from your past material, and how do you believe that Binary Hertz will fit more into the mainstream electronic dance culture?
Jeremy: “Ill take this one: That’s easy, it’s ME! Let me explain. The bottom line is, Matty can be really [long pause] reeeeeeally mellow with his Djing and production. However, I am in direct opposition because I tend to be more chaotic with my songs. Yes, we have very similar taste in music but I tend to take giant leaps that are out of the box and in a much more experimental way. Matty is much more traditional; our number one goal is to reach out to as many people as possible. We feel we can achieve this by not limiting our selves to a single genre. Many of our songs cross through two, sometimes three genre’s before we move on to the next.”
As you know, there have been many marks made by old-timers and newcomers alike that have dabbled in not only EDM, but those that have also attempted to cross other genres of music into the world of electronic dance. Who could you recognize as some of your favorites in the world of EDM, as far as artists crossing-over and experimenting with sounds as you are?
Matty: “This is a tough one. There are many artists that inspire our music yet it is hard for us to think of someone that has not stuck to their foundation in a major way. As far as one that has “crossed over” we would have to go with Daft Punk and Kaskade. Daft Punk evolves with each and every album at a rate that is downright impressive. You never know what you are going to get with their new stuff, but it is always amazing. Kaskade built his roots with deep soulful house, and now his music reaches an energy level that is a force to be reckoned with. Some other artists that come to mind in this regard are: Eddie Thoneick (one of our favorites, love this guy), Porter Robinson, James Egbert, The Glitch Mob, Swedish House Mafia.”
Kaskade – Disarm You [Binary Hertz Extended Remix 2016]
RB: How would you describe your writing and production methods when the two of you have an idea in mind?
Jeremy: “Often we sit down and we show one another a random track we heard on Facebook, YouTube, whatever. From there, we decide on a particular sound then we argue about what part of that track is the hottest, the best, and why. Next, we try to harness the essence of what we were listening to, what we agreed on, and we begin layering a song with that ‘idea’ in mind.”
Due to your diverse backgrounds and experiences in the growing EDM industry, do you ever face creative differences?
Jeremy: “Always; our success absolutely relies on our creative differences. “
Matty: “Only when we are talking to one another about music. We both go about things in a very different way but part of the process is that we both have our strengths and weaknesses.”
RB: Both of you are using Binary Hertz as a means of emerging from the underground to, as you say, “revolutionize dance music as we know it today.” What is your plan of action to do so?
Matty: “We are really focused on making a diverse style of music that will not pigeon hole us into any specific style. The goal is simple: make the music we love (regardless of genre), and fit it into a set that is cohesive and that will move people. We want there to be highs, and lows musically, all over the place really. We have been to many shows over the last few years and noticed that often, each performer’s songs, in their set, were very similar to one another. To us, that limits the potential movement of the energy flow. To think that if we have an evolving sound, in our sets, that would be revolutionary. This concept is the core of our project and our main goal.”
Using your extreme knowledge from nearly every aspect of the scene, from 20 years ago to today, from the promotions side of things to the production side of things, you’d like to use this to push yourself into the spotlight, but also to aid in directing the path of the future of dance music. Part of this is showcasing the abilities of new artists and labels. How important do you believe it is to push these lesser-known artists and labels, and in the end, how does doing so also benefit you?
Jeremy: “I feel that this is wildly important. The more people that are involved in growing an environment the more successful everyone will become. When I was young, we had “techno,” and at the time, we didn’t think it couldn’t get any better than that. All of the sudden, there were sub-genres and now you could choose from house, trance, jungle, DnB, hardcore, whatever. It was an exciting time when we all realized that there was no end in sight.”
Matty: “For me, cultivating the younger generations by sharing your hard learned knowledge will not only make them better, but it will make the entire music scene grow. It will also make you have to step up your game too. Back in the day of vinyl, only a select few could get their hands on the hottest tracks, for many different reasons. You either had to be friends with the record store guy, you had to be able to afford it, and you had to know the name of the song (which a lot of DJ’s did not share)! This made things tricky to get your hands on the good stuff as all of these things did not come easy. If music and knowledge is made exclusive, then only a few benefit, if we share it with everyone, then we can all grow. I feel that music and knowledge is meant to be shared with anyone who seeks it, and we all benefit from that.”
With all of this said and done, we will get to experience the revolution first hand at your show when you open for Infected Mushroom on April 29th. What will we see from Binary Hertz when they take to the decks at The Pressroom for the very first time?
Matty: “The set consists of just about every genre that we hold near and dear to us. This live set is a culmination of all of the things we love about dance music. A lot of our songs focus on really hard hitting bass lines that have trance-y elements that permeate from within. There are some dubstep elements, as well as some deeper and even funky grooves. Overall the sound is pretty big, energetic, and plenty of parts to sing along to. We have a handful of remixes that should catch your ears right off the bat as well as plenty of original songs too. Everything we are playing will be originally tailored for this specific show.”
Any final words?
Binary Hertz: “We would like to add that we are thankful to Thomas Turner and the entire Relentless Beats crew for giving us this opportunity to step back into the light.”
We want to thank Binary Hertz for sitting down with us and giving us the real on the genre of EDM. Be sure to check out their Soundcloud for their latest work, and be sure to keep your ears open for some sick tracks from two guys who definitely know their shit: The revolution has begun.
Catch Binary Hertz at The Pressroom on April 29th for Infected Mushroom’s CVII Animatronica Live Tour!
Connect With Binary Hertz: Facebook | Official Website | Soundcloud
