tagged: ableton, easter egg, girl talk, jackin for beats, jonsimo, mashup, myspace, night ripper, ugr, version1

Interview with Mashup artist ‘Easter Egg’

Posted by Jon in Music

I started getting into mashups a few years ago when a friend of mine introduced me to Girl Talk and ever since then I’ve been addicted to them like crack. I’m not sure if it’s the sporadic song choices, the complete ADD feel of it or just the insanity of some of the mixups.

Through Girl Talk’s myspace, I came upon a mashup DJ by the name of Easter Egg, at the time he had a few mashup albums released, one going by the name of ‘Jackin for Beats.’ By the time I found his album, I had been listening to Girl Talk’s night ripper album ’til my ears bled, so I was ready for something new and I fell in love with Jackin for Beats, it became my new go to anthem for parties. It’s really incredible what he did with over 240 different samples, there are some crazy mixes in there that I would have never expected and it all flows incredibly well. I got the chance to interview the man behind Easter Egg, Natham Pham from Portland, Oregon. Check out the interview below and the links for all his downloads, I highly recommend getting them all, you’ll thank me after you listen to it.

Download Jackin’ for Beats HERE

Download Master Blaster Mixtape HERE

and visit Easter Egg’s myspace for all his other stuff.

UGR: So how’d you get into creating mash ups and mixes?

I’ve always liked the idea of creating music, but it was hard for me because I’m simply not musically talented. Some people just suck at production but still have an ear for music, and I’d like to think I’m one of them. Shortly after high school, I had heard some blends that a friend’s friend had made. I wasn’t familiar with anything like that at the time, and I fell in love with the idea. Eventually, I did some studying on it and downloaded some music programs and toyed with layering songs. I purchased Ableton shortly after because it’s such a powerful tool for blending, and I realized I could easily make mixtapes with it, so I took advantage of that and started toying with mixes. This all lead to me getting turntables and DJing the traditional way. I’m going back in time, rather than forward, and I love it.

UGR: Who are some of your influences and how do you position yourself in respects to the Avalanches, Girl Talk and Diplo?

My biggest influence would probably be the old Hollertronix mixtape, “Never Scared.” That mixtape influenced many, many people at the time, and I am one of them. Girl Talk and Diplo were obviously big influences. I don’t follow either of them anymore, but they helped show me what’s possible. A lot of people started trying to recreate “Night Ripper” and I’m sure I am lumped in with that group, but I’m really trying to stray away from that, not saying that I’m something completely fresh and new, but I just don’t really “do” that anymore. I’m very slowly working on another megamix in the style of “Jackin’ For Beats” but I’m in no hurry. I’m really only creating it because I feel like a lot of people want me to. It’s definitely not going to be forced, but I’d probably give up on it to focus on more useful music if I didn’t have a reputation to live up to.

UGR: Why the name ‘Easter Egg’?

“Easter Egg” was a short lived nickname given to me due to an outfit I wore once. Pastel purple t shirt with a yellow beanie. I did look an Easter egg, so it made sense. When I made my first “song” I had created a music Myspace account to upload it to share with friends, I was so hyped at the time. It then asked for a name, and I entered that just for the hell of it, not knowing it would follow me around for years. To be honest, I hate the name, but it’s too late to change it. It’s a pretty lame stage name, obviously.

UGR: What’s the music scene like in Portland, are parties and clubs embracing your music?

The music scene in Portland is fairly diverse, it’s a small town in size and population but a “big city” so there is always a lot of things going on but you see the same people over and over. There are certain people running certain scenes, which I figure is like everywhere else. The younger crowd seemed to get down with the old Easter Egg stuff (the megamixes) but the older crowd does not. I am now 22 and play in bars and have played daytime corporate parties and that stuff won’t fly, which is fine because I’m over it anyways. I play for a fairly mainstream crowd most of the time, so my partners and I will warm them up with some familiar jams and when the dance floor becomes packed, we start playing whatever we want. People seem to be okay with it.

UGR: Given that you use so many samples in your mixes, you must listen to a wide variety of music, what are you listening to these days?

There’s not a huge variety actually, I’m pretty strict on what I listen to. I enjoy non gimmicky rap music, preferably from the south. Mainstream rap isn’t always bad but right now, there is a lot of shit out so it’s hard to filter through it. I don’t care much for artsy, indie underground hip hop so I stick to a fairly mainstream sound when it comes to hip hop. I enjoy all the classic party jams, like most people, and I like funky dance music, glitch hop, powerful soul music, and recently I’ve really been getting into dancehall.

UGR: How long did Jackin’ for Beats take to complete and did you ever think about charging for it?

Never thought for one second that I would ever want to charge for any creation of mine, it isn’t my job and I never planned on making money from music. The beauty with free music is that it’s easily accessible, which is exactly what I want, for people to hear my music. The mix took a few months, but it should have taken 3 times as long. The whole thing is a slop fest and I can’t listen to it anymore because I’ve developed a more trained ear and can spot out the many flaws in the mix, but a lot of listeners probably aren’t super picky which worked to my advantage.

UGR: How do you decide what samples go over what beats, is it just trial and error or do you think about it when hearing a new song?

Sometimes samples, transitions and blends just hit me, but it is plenty of trial and error. There are plenty of samples that I know I have to use though, because they seem so perfect.

UGR: What’s your setup like at home and at parties? (In terms of gear and software)

At home, my gear is pretty bunk. Laptop, headphones, my speakers that don’t bump too hard because I have neighbors, one good turntable, one bunk turntable, and an old mixer with a few flaws, but I can not complain because one of the turntables was given to me by DJ Hit n Runn and the mixer was given to by DJ Izm. So much love for both of them to help me out when I first started using traditional gear. Totally appreciate it, guys.

UGR: Your collaborations with DJ Hit n Runn and Dr. Tron are wicked, how’d that come about?

DJ Hit n Runn lives in Salem, which is 40 minutes south of Portland, so I know the guy personally. We’ve played together 4 times and I’m bringing him in to play a party with me in March. Not sure whose idea it was, but it came out great. We’re both on the same tip when it comes to enjoyable party music, so our styles came together nice. We sound even better together live. Dr. Tron is a music producer/DJ I met on Myspace. He liked my stuff, I liked his, and he wanted to collaborate for a long time, and we finally came together on a couple mixtapes.

UGR: Would you want to do the music thing full time?

A job is a job, and no matter what a persons job is, they will get burnt out on it. I do not want to get burnt out on music, so no. If I made enough money to live by DJing 2 or 3 nights a week, I’d quit my job in no time, but I wouldn’t want to play a bunch of parties I wouldn’t want to play for 5 nights a week as a living.

UGR: What do you have planned next?

Just finished a mixtape for the hell of it, and as I type this, I’m working on a more universal mixtape to promote the 1 year anniversary of a party I’ve held down with my buddy DJ Izm, and I’ll eventually get back to that mixtape. Whenever I feel a song needs some tweaking, I’ll make an edit of it so I can play it in clubs. Thanks Jon!