The title says it all, honestly; you are most definitely about to feel this.
Bay Area music-maker, Rudebrat AKA Jake Bratrude, went all out on his latest release and it definitely shows. The all-original 4-track EP is a display of his signature sound applied across several different genres, ranging from house and dubstep to glitch and hip-hop and everything in between. Actually, it’s less of a range and more of a blend; Rudebrat incorporated many different elements into every one of these tracks and his composition is just so on point. Each song has a perfect mixture of gritty and melodic, managing to feel heavy and intense while also being extremely danceable and, above all, fun.
To get a better sense of what his intentions are, we caught up with the young producer and asked him a few questions:
You incorporate a wide range of styles into your music, but there’s usually a pretty noticeable level of intensity. What is your musical background like?
I’ve always been very into hardcore and heavy metal. When I was younger, I played in a bunch of bands that focused on that type of music. One Flew West is the group I stuck with the longest and we made some really cool tunes. We weren’t focused too hard on any one genre or sub-genre, but I guess the term for it would be ‘technical death metal’. When I moved to Santa Cruz, One Flew West kind of fell apart; there wasn’t really a death metal scene there at the time since everyone was a lot more focused on electronic music. So, I decided to give that a shot.
How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard of you before?
Well, it depends on whether they’re familiar with electronic music or not. If they are, I’ll try to describe it as a blend of things like ‘melodic trapstep’ or ‘heavy electronica’, you get the idea. If they aren’t familiar with electronic music at all, I’ll usually just call it ‘bass music’.
Given your background and the diversity you bring to your music, it can’t be too easy to categorize. How do you feel about genres and their use?
Personally, I hate genres. Whether it’s a well established one or just some niche thing that popped up because someone was trying to categorize their sound, whatever, it’s still just gonna lock you in and pigeon-hole you in the end. The more you identify with one genre, the more people will expect you to create that and only that; they get almost rabidly attached to what should be a loose, flexible template because they think it’s set in absolute stone. The only thing genres are really useful for is searching music websites for similar sounds. Other than that, I don’t think they’re really necessary.
How do you feel about the release of ‘Feel This’? What’s been the initial reaction to the EP?
I’m really happy about the response it’s getting so far! People really seem to like it, though there are always haters complaining about genre-related stuff (where’s the ‘real’ dubstep, bro?). I just ignore them though. If numbers are your thing, the EP is at #16 on the Beatport glitch-hop charts right now. Hopefully it’ll climb a bit higher, but I’m really not too worried about it as long as everyone is enjoying the music. Excision reposted one of the tracks the other day, which I’m super stoked on. I mean, I released it on his record label, but it was still unexpected and really awesome!
Are there any tours or collaborations in the works we should know about?
Nothing really on the tour front, but I am working a pretty exciting side-project. It’s going to incorporate more live instrumentation and performance and the main focus will be a blend of metal and electronica. Still a couple months off and I need a singer, but this has been in the works for a year and half, so I’m really excited to see where it goes.
Will it be sort of like Destroid?
Emphasis on sort of (chuckles). Basically, I’d call them an influence and leave it at that. We’re going to be doing things a bit differently than they do. We’re also gearing it towards people that are more into metal and live music than EDM. The electronic side of things will definitely be represented though.
Well, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! Last one: is there anything you want your fans & supporters to know about you personally?
Oh, wow, that’s kind of tough. I guess I just want everyone to know I’m doing this solely for the love of music. Fame and money don’t motivate me anywhere near as much as pushing the boundaries of what I can create does. I’ll always be more focused on the content and quality of my music than on my bank account and how popular I am on Facebook.
Rudebrat has released the Feel This EP on Rottun Records and the full release is available on Beatport. Check out the title track below and make sure to pick up a copy of the EP if you’re feelin’ the vibes! Also, if you live in the Bay, come check out Rudebrat‘s EP release party in San Francsico!
RUDEBRAT
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