Last September we spoke to Don Froth about his approach to producing music and general outlook on life. At the time he was on the cusp of two releases for Uno and West Norwood Cassette Library’s WNCL Recordings. With those records behind him and a relatively quiet 2013 (so far) we thought it’d be nice to catch up with him. Not soon after the thought crossed our minds we received an unsolicited mix with a selection of tunes that can only be described as eclectic. Unsurprisingly, it did not include a tracklist, but for those diggers among us we’re sure that won’t be an issue. After a few back-and-forth emails, he mentioned that he pulled away from the hustle & bustle of life (aka the Internet) and isolated himself in a cabin for a while before returning to LA refreshed. With a clear head and new appreciation for the things around him he gave us a quick update on his musical trajectory.
When we last spoke you mentioned records you made for Uno and WNCL. Since then those have both been released. What was the feedback like on them? “Mixed nuts, some really interesting feedback from different camps. I got the green light from XLR8R to open a fantastically sloppy night club, so that’s cool. RA reviews “VAP” as hilariously quixotic, someone else mentioned that it’s de-sexualized, while other reports came in that you should listen to it whilst copping, rather than doing your homework. I could only hope for that kind of response. Any of the feedback, being positive or negative to me is positive, reminds me of an art crit – you just can’t be soft skinned about that stuff, you can always take away something positive.
RE: the last few records, I suppose they are alternative in sound. I look at it like an unpredictable trail, you might see a bulbous plant out there, or better yet, what if you came up on a blown out Chevy Lumina exo-shell wiped out from years ago, or mis-calculate a step and wind up taking a fierce shoulder roll. You would remember that, I guess.”
You’ve had a relatively quiet start to the year, what have you been working on? *Dialing in the omelet flip — ten times out of ten* “I just did a remix for Eshone for the Futra Label here in LA. He is a true bad man producer, I had a blast working on this project, top gun working with friends. Preview listen here.”
In our email exchange you mentioned isolating yourself. Can you elaborate and how has that affected your writing process? “In about ten to fifteen years from now people will be begging to be disconnected. Figure I’d give it a jump start. I haven’t been able to write much though, just incase my mom reads this, I don’t want her to worry – so ill say I have been living with a stocked fridge, hot water, insurance, and wheels. Having time to think with no distractions does wonders on your psyche, but makes it extremely difficult to produce anything, mainly because with limited resources, the day in it’s self knocks you flat out with survival basics. It’s been a great experiment – now I am out of that pinch ready to start wrestling with this VP-9000 Jason dropped off on me.”
The mix you’ve recorded for us is entitled “Cosmic Experience”, can you tell us a bit about the mix and idea behind it? “It was an exceptionally nice day out, wanted to share a few sounds.”
Download: Don Froth’s Cosmic Experience
