On Monday, November 21, I had the opportunity to interview Sweater Beats at Big Beat Records' Friendsgiving. It was my first interview and I went into it without knowing much about him—I was petrified, but shortly after sitting down with him and feeling his positive energy, I felt fine. He was so friendly and warm that it took the intimidation away.
Because I wasn't very familiar with Sweater Beats' musical style, I wanted to find out as much as I could about it. He described his genre as in the future bass sphere, but "a little bit rock n roll, a little bit country.. yeah, beats and guitars, that’s me."
I shortly discovered how it came to be beats and guitars once he described his musical influences growing up. He disclosed that he used to be in emo bands throughout middle and high school. (Fun fact: "My first band was called Jerk in the Box, I was like in middle school. Jerk in the Box. Now it just sounds really weird if you think about it.") His emotional side was molded by bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Taking Back Sunday, while electronic artists like Cashmere Cat, Lido, Ratatat and Daft Punk inspired him to create his own, new electronic sound.
Many of Sweater Beats' babymaking tracks are infused with R&B, with what he describes as a "sweet and salty, but smoky flavor." He also likes to incorporate 70's movie music into his beats for a retro vibe. After our talk, I watched him play a set and he definitely scored high marks in my book. I've been listening to his Boiler Room set almost daily since then.
As someone who hasn't been able to get my mind off of the results of the election, I couldn't help but end our interview by asking for a comment on the election. It's a touchy subject and I may have put him on the spot, but I feel as though he gave enough insight to show his positive energy and compassion for other people:
"My parents and I were immigrants. We came to this country. Right now I’m living the American Dream, you know? We came from the Philippines and we started out and just worked our way up. And to hear all this shit, you know, I don’t want to get into it too much; I don’t know what to say about it. I’m just really, really sad about the current situation. Being an immigrant out here, my love and support goes out to everyone in the same situation and hopefully, things will work out to be the best they can be.
"My chat with Sweater Beats taught me that he is a passionate, whole-hearted guy; the set that followed proved his talent. I am eagerly awaiting his new single, EP, and music video expected to be released in early 2017—you should be, too.
