Your EDM Exclusive Interview With Slander

We recently got a chance to sit down with Slander, a bass-music duo based out of Los Angeles, CA, for an interview. Slander includes California natives Derek Andersen and Scott Land. The duo mainly produces trap music — or as they like to call it, “trapstyle.” From “heaven trap” to downright and dirty festival-style bangers, Slander has been throwing down constantly, and they’re showing no sign of slowing down any time soon. From their heavenly remix of Above & Beyond’s “Love Is Not Enough,” to the banging facelift they gave Showtek’s “We Like To Party,” Slander are relentlessly vicious when it comes to their music, consistently pushing out amazing tunes time and time again. We asked them everything from how it was like growing up as DJs, to their dream collabs. Check out the interview down below.

Your EDM: Alright guys — first things first — who are you and where are you from?

Scott: We are Slander! I’m from Manhattan Beach, CA
Derek: I’m from Glendora, CA

Your EDM:  Awesome! So what’s it like coming up in OC as a DJ? What are some of the positives and the negatives?

Scott: Well, we actually both got into the OC nightlife scene back in 2010 when Hip Hop/Top 40 was still the main type of music that was being played in clubs.  It was interesting to see the shift occur in OC but also made it difficult because there were plenty of other young DJs who we had to compete with for the few EDM shows.

Derek: OC nightlife is a very delicate scene. Parties rarely stick around for long. Coming up in OC helped create our strength in a way because we were forced to be very versatile so we could adapt to the changing environment.

Your EDM: Watched some live footage from your show… you guys bring it!! I know some DJs have trouble with stage presence and just the overall energy they bring to their live performances… Has it always felt natural for you guys to be on stage?

Scott: It’s safe to say we are always focused on crowd interaction and it was always natural… but time has definitely made it more smooth.

Derek: I’ve been performing on stage since I was young so I’ve never had stage fright and I feel at home in front of the crowd. I try to channel their energy and reflect it right back at them. We play every show like it’s the last show we will ever play.

Your EDM: You guys have gotten a lot of attention in the the past 2 months, racking up a little over 25k fans off only 2-3 remixes. How did it feel to break 50k fans?

Scott: It was pretty incredible.  A lot has happen for both of us in the past 2 months that we thought would take much longer to achieve.  Just goes to show how powerful the internet is now.

Derek: It was a major milestone. One we never thought would come this soon. Music can reach the entire world in a matter of days and this has empowered us in more ways than one.

Your EDM: 1 dream collab. Who would it be and why? You both can answer…

Derek & Scott: TNGHT. These guys, HudMo and Lunice, are so far ahead of anyone else in our scene that people don’t even realize it. If we were able to work with them we would make some apocalyptic trap the likes of which the world has never seen.

Your EDM: Where do you guys see yourself in the next 6 months? What can we expect music wise?…would love to hear more Heaven Trap!

Scott: Our goal is to keep releasing music (both festival, energetic trap and Heaven Trap) and hopefully hop on tour with some bigger artists so that we can start playing for our fans in other parts of the US.

Derek: In the next 6 months we are going to release ALOT on new songs. We are going to develop Heaven Trap into a genre of its own while still bringing the festival bombs constantly. We want to show our diversity while still keeping the ideas cohesive.

Your EDM:  Awesome…Well thanks for your time guys. Keep us updated on new music 🙂

 Derek & Scott: Thanks dude! Will do!

FOLLOW SLANDER: Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud

Check out a couple of their tunes down below.