LOVE AND LIGHT

   The emotive musical dynamo that is Love and Light made their entree into my musical repertoire in August of 2010; the second Headband Fest at Harding Ranch in Santa Cruz (pictured above). Needless to say, the intimacy with which these artists command the crowd held a profound impact. 
  The inherent care in it all is unmissable. It's almost as if they get the people psyched vicariously through their own enjoyment of the work they do. They get psyched,the people feel it, they get more psyched, and et cetera. Of course this all makes for a very familial show-going experience and I've been attached to their music at the hip ever since – charting every release, posting every soundcloud player within hours of its respective unveiling, and keeping a loose correspondence with the artists. 
  Hence, and some time later, the result of these correspondences have payed off in a most productive and exciting manner. I have just now, this very now, received the answered questions of an interview I shot over a while back. 
For you today, another dialogue. 
I hope you enjoy, hope it makes ya think, and I hope it makes you smile. 
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So you guys come out of Reno, just north of the legendary Black Rock city. What's the scene like out there in terms of being fresh and supportive? 

The Scene is Reno is absolutely incredible! It is by FAR one of our favorites. Burning Man has had an incredible impact on both Reno's music scene and conscious culture. Any and all quality bass music acts have come through Reno, and gratitude and kudos go out to Fresh Bakin' Production Company for making it all happen. We are happy to call Reno Home.

 

Would you say burning man spiked the Reno scene, or did Reno eccentricity play a role in the birth of burning man?

I would say a little bit of both, but the majoirty of it was burning man being a catalyst in Reno's growth... at least for Bass Music. 

Did the fest/the city play a role in you two meeting? How and where did that go down?

Matt and I have been friends for about eight years, since 2002. We went to the same high school, but never hung out until after we graduated. We met through a mutual friend and have been kicking it ever since. 

You each had an artistic identity prior to your collaboration. What led you two to work together? Did you feel a need for change of sound, or partnership...?

I think the main thing that led us to work together was our intention behind what we wanted to accomplish with our music. Making music that is both uplifting and inspiring  was a necessity for us both... the most important thing of all. There aren't a lot of artists who truly hold that reason as their own for creating sound, or understand the importance of it... We do, and in my opinion, it shows greatly in our music.

Is there a silent influence in the mix, such as an intention or a life event, or would you say the act of collaborating changed each of your initial sounds?

Yes the act of collaborating definitely changed our sound. Some of our favorite artists over the years have been Vibesquad, Tipper, Opiuo, Bassnectar, Desert Dwellers, Ott, and Bluetech. Listening to these amazing artists for so many years we have come to understand the ideas and concepts in their music, and fuse the best parts of them with our own original creativity to form Love and Light.

<What is the beginning of the creative process? Is it a sound, a conversation, a concept?
<How does the collaboration work? Who does what in the mix?

The creative process is different EVERYTIME. we do not have a set way that we do things. Sometimes we start out with a melody, other times a drum beat, other times recording vocals or samples. We just kind of go with the flow of how we are feeling. Anything can spark creativity. It depends on the moment. Our collaboration together is awesome though. Trust is by far the main thing that makes it flow so well. I am 100% confident that is matt takes a song I am writing another direction that is is going to be great... and Vice Versa. 

What are you most proud of as a result of the joint project?

We are most proud of our ability to create music that moves people in a positive way. for all of the people who come up to us or email us about how great they feel when they listen to or dance to our tunes. That is by far the thing we are most proud of.

Where would you say your music comes from? Like, does it arrive from thoughts, feelings, the outside world, the soul, people, et cetera...?

ALL OF THE ABOVE... All five senses, and beyond. 

How do you handle promotion, how do you get your sound out in the community?

We do a lot of our promoting through various social networks. Soundcloud has been one of the biggest tools for us. With out soundcloud we would not be where we are today. THANK YOU SOUNDCLOUD 

What are your comments/feelings about Simplify? 

We couldn't not say enough about Simplify. In particular Aaron Simpson!!!  We love him so much. He has so much love to give. We couldn't be happier with Simplify as a record label. Simplify makes things happen. FAST. Nothing but love for Simplify Recordings! 

<What fellow artists on the label do you admire most, which ones, if any, do you work with?

To avoid leaving anybody out we wont get into favorites. We have only directly worked with Stephan Jacobs and thoroughly enjoy doing so!!! 

Who in this world would be most evoking to do a collab with, and why?

It would be awesome to get together with all the guys and gals from the 60's and 70's dead/alive to show them whats up with technology.  So they could show us whats up with live instruments and rocking out. Making the fusion of OG hippie and New School Hippie would be phenomenal!! 

How does your touring system break down, how do you decide where to play, when, et cetera?

We don't exactly decide where we play. The fans decide that...  The more people that find out about us and like our music, the more promoters from certain areas are likely to book us... All the technicalities of where, when, and et cetera are worked out between our booking agent and the promoter. 

 

Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to play that you haven't hit yet?

We would really like to take our music and spread it to the hearts and minds of people across the planet. Everywhere!!! Brazil, Italy, Japan, Australia...   EVERYWHERE 

We all know about the new EP, but do you have any other forthcoming efforts or big shows that the people should know about?

 

The summer festival season is definitely what is on our plate right now :-) You'll be able to catch us us Lightning in a Bottle, Emissions,  Conscious Culture, Raindance, The Bounce, Sonic Bloom, and Earthdance.

Troll: http://simplifyrecordings.com/

Buy:http://www.addictech.com/store/index.php?atech_id=53021b76d424c3f1c3c6d15c30ca4ebc&keywords=love+and+light&usetags=true&x=0&y=0&type=all

Listen: http://soundcloud.com/love-and-light

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