The first time we heard "Rust Lung" we were, well, in AWE. The track—by a young L.A. producer named AWE—is a nasty monster of stomping bass and hip-hop swagger cut through with a purple West Coast gangster lean. We kept hearing Plastician cane it on Rinse FM, so no surprise that the dubstep/grime/UK bass don has snapped up this young'un for his Terrorhythm label. On January 27, "Crystals" will be out for the world to hear and play and freak out to (preview it via Annie Mac below) but we thought we'd drop the dude (who prefers his face remain anonymous) a line to see what's up with "eagle soul" and how he likes to snack.THUMP: How did you get your name?
Awe: Awe is love, joy, shock, sadness, fear, anger, happiness, pain, and peace. Take them all and mush them together and you are left with this super intense feeling you just can't put into words. I know it's a huge idea, an amalgam of every strong sensation and emotion rolled into one, but I genuinely want to show people that through my music. I want to inspire that feeling as much as I can.What did the first track you made sound like and what was it inspired by?
It sounded like a broken arcade cabinet. I think I was twelve when I wrote it. It was probably inspired by really bad Flash animations, you know like the ones that used to be on Ebaumsworld and Newgrounds back in the day. I used to animate in Adobe Flash and this other program called Pivot when I was 11 or 12 and started making my own little techno loops to accompany the animations. I ended up creating more music than animations and it kind of just took off from there.What labels do you record for?
Lately I have been putting out my music through Terrorhythm, which is Plastician's label. I plan to continue working with forward-thinking labels and people!Who is your best friend that also does music and what are they like?
I have a couple. My friend Nataniel, he's from France and is the biggest techno head. Crazy dude. Shout out to my boys Yung Orca, Olaf, and Lazloh as well. And a special mention to the friends at Team Supreme. Love you all!Other than a club or a house, what's the best environment to hear your music (real or imagined)?
The Grand Canyon. You have eagles and hawks flying everywhere and the acoustics are probably crazy. Has anyone ever thrown a rave in the Grand Canyon? I'm gonna be the first person to do that.What is your favorite sound (or sounds) right now?
I definitely like the new stuff from Panteros666 and Club Cheval. They are killing the game right now. Go to Panteros666's Soundcloud right now while you are reading this and just pop something on. You'll love it. If you are reffering to literal "sounds," I've always had a huge affinity for 80s electric lead guitars and panflutes. I get a lot of inspiration from 80s electro-funk like Zapp and Roger and even bands like Europe and Def Leppard. If you can listen past the "cheesiness" there is some insanely sick stuff in there. Panflutes just sound dope too.Name three non-musical inspirations.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Super Smash Bros, and my dog. Tim and Eric Awesome Show helped me realize that the most important thing in art is doing something that will first GRAB people's attention with something new that no one has ever experienced before, then make it genuinely great and creative so that once people are tuned in they don't change channel. Super Smash Bros is just the dopest game ever. I don't really mess with Brawl. Only 64 and Melee. My dog Sophie is the most loving creature in the world. It trips me out sometimes how much better dogs can be than humans.How did you initially meet Plastician and what is the best thing about him?
The first time I met him was when he moved to Los Angeles for a couple months, which was about a year ago. The best thing about him is definitely his support for new sounds. Not that long ago he was playing only 140 BPM dubstep and grime and now he has really opened his ears up to the new "sound" coming out of a lot of today's young producers. It's not easy to change your outlook on music like that, and present a new sound to fans that expect something certain of you. I'd have to say the funniest thing about him is that he grew up with Skream and Benga and a lot of those other dubstep giants, causing a ruckus as teenagers. He told me a story involving a rival DJ group smashing stuff in a chicken shop over a soundclash. Madness!What was your musical first love?
My first true musical love was probably ska and punk music. I was a skater kid who couldn't get enough. I jumped off to drum & bass, which really isn't that different energy-wise. It's fast and intense. I've mellowed out now but I was very into that kind of music. I still like to listen to it, but it isn't my life like it used to be!What is your favorite snack to eat and what is your least favorite?
This is hard because I love food so much. I think my favorite snack food has to be the purple bag of Doritos—the flavor is called "Spicy Sweet Chili." A lot of my friends will come over and have no idea what it is and by the end of the night three big bags will be empty. It's delicious. My least favorite snack food has to be wasabi peas. I cannot eat that stuff. It just doesn't make sense to me.
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Awe: Awe is love, joy, shock, sadness, fear, anger, happiness, pain, and peace. Take them all and mush them together and you are left with this super intense feeling you just can't put into words. I know it's a huge idea, an amalgam of every strong sensation and emotion rolled into one, but I genuinely want to show people that through my music. I want to inspire that feeling as much as I can.What did the first track you made sound like and what was it inspired by?
It sounded like a broken arcade cabinet. I think I was twelve when I wrote it. It was probably inspired by really bad Flash animations, you know like the ones that used to be on Ebaumsworld and Newgrounds back in the day. I used to animate in Adobe Flash and this other program called Pivot when I was 11 or 12 and started making my own little techno loops to accompany the animations. I ended up creating more music than animations and it kind of just took off from there.What labels do you record for?
Lately I have been putting out my music through Terrorhythm, which is Plastician's label. I plan to continue working with forward-thinking labels and people!Who is your best friend that also does music and what are they like?
I have a couple. My friend Nataniel, he's from France and is the biggest techno head. Crazy dude. Shout out to my boys Yung Orca, Olaf, and Lazloh as well. And a special mention to the friends at Team Supreme. Love you all!
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The Grand Canyon. You have eagles and hawks flying everywhere and the acoustics are probably crazy. Has anyone ever thrown a rave in the Grand Canyon? I'm gonna be the first person to do that.What is your favorite sound (or sounds) right now?
I definitely like the new stuff from Panteros666 and Club Cheval. They are killing the game right now. Go to Panteros666's Soundcloud right now while you are reading this and just pop something on. You'll love it. If you are reffering to literal "sounds," I've always had a huge affinity for 80s electric lead guitars and panflutes. I get a lot of inspiration from 80s electro-funk like Zapp and Roger and even bands like Europe and Def Leppard. If you can listen past the "cheesiness" there is some insanely sick stuff in there. Panflutes just sound dope too.Name three non-musical inspirations.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Super Smash Bros, and my dog. Tim and Eric Awesome Show helped me realize that the most important thing in art is doing something that will first GRAB people's attention with something new that no one has ever experienced before, then make it genuinely great and creative so that once people are tuned in they don't change channel. Super Smash Bros is just the dopest game ever. I don't really mess with Brawl. Only 64 and Melee. My dog Sophie is the most loving creature in the world. It trips me out sometimes how much better dogs can be than humans.How did you initially meet Plastician and what is the best thing about him?
The first time I met him was when he moved to Los Angeles for a couple months, which was about a year ago. The best thing about him is definitely his support for new sounds. Not that long ago he was playing only 140 BPM dubstep and grime and now he has really opened his ears up to the new "sound" coming out of a lot of today's young producers. It's not easy to change your outlook on music like that, and present a new sound to fans that expect something certain of you. I'd have to say the funniest thing about him is that he grew up with Skream and Benga and a lot of those other dubstep giants, causing a ruckus as teenagers. He told me a story involving a rival DJ group smashing stuff in a chicken shop over a soundclash. Madness!What was your musical first love?
My first true musical love was probably ska and punk music. I was a skater kid who couldn't get enough. I jumped off to drum & bass, which really isn't that different energy-wise. It's fast and intense. I've mellowed out now but I was very into that kind of music. I still like to listen to it, but it isn't my life like it used to be!What is your favorite snack to eat and what is your least favorite?
This is hard because I love food so much. I think my favorite snack food has to be the purple bag of Doritos—the flavor is called "Spicy Sweet Chili." A lot of my friends will come over and have no idea what it is and by the end of the night three big bags will be empty. It's delicious. My least favorite snack food has to be wasabi peas. I cannot eat that stuff. It just doesn't make sense to me.