Heard It Here First

Just a over a week ago, fans flocked from all over the country to the gorgeous grassy plains of Bigfoot Adventure in Tracy City, TN for four bass-fueled days and nights at Bigfoot Electro Festival. Boasting an incredible lineup with headlining performances from Truth, Yheti, Mr. Bill, and The Widdler, this was one intimate festival you did not want to miss.

Bigfoot Electro created a truly unique experience for fans by showcasing not one but four different sound rigs between three stages. The main stage was powered by Danley Sound Labs, the Big Chillin Stage showcased a heart-thumping Hennessey Sound Design rig and the Underground Stage with a Headway HIFI x Allegro Audio setup. Each stage brought a rare experience for fans.

One of the most notable was the lottery wheel brought to fans by Levitation Jones. A wheel was brought on stage with multiple artists’ names. Whoever the wheel landed on was given thirty minutes to throw down the most sinister set on the fly on the most reputable sound system out there, the Hennessey Sound Design rig at the Big Chillin Stage. This was quite easily one of the best experiences at the festival, and we would love to see this idea implemented at future festivals!

Among the many talented artists to play the main stage was the incredibly gifted DMVU. On top of throwing down a bunch of new originals, he showcased tons of dope music from some of his favorite artists, including LITTLE SNAKE, ONHELL, Of The Trees, and Esseks! Before his diabolical main stage performance, we sat down with him to ask some questions that all the fans at HIHF have been dying to know.

HIHF: So Matt, first and foremost, we’d like to thank you for sitting down with us today at Bigfoot Electro, as well as your headlining performance at Cabin Fever Fest. We’re just going to jump right into this. What artists/genres of music did you listen to growing up?

DMVU: Definitely rap. I grew up listening to most music. There wasn’t anything I avoided. I’d listen to country. Being in Colorado, I listened to bluegrass. Rap was the first music I fell in love with, from skate videos. Eventually, I’d stop watching the videos and just put them on to listen to the music. Specifically would listen to Fat Lip, Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Chamillionaire, and some cheesy stuff like Atmosphere.

HIHF: What are your biggest inspirations for your music?

DMVU: Definitely other music. I love Aphex Twin. Weird IDM like Amon Tobin. Oftentimes I watch a movie and it makes me want to write music. I feel anything creative can inspire creativity. Anything that’s dope makes me want to write music. Anything stimulating can inspire me. 

HIHF: What are some hobbies you have when you aren’t creating music?

DMVU: It’s embarrassing, but I don’t do anything else. All of my hobbies are different aspects of music. I play drums. I play the piano. If I’m not writing it, I’m listening to it. Playing video games and reading cowboy books. I’m deep into cowboy books. I just finished a 1,000-page cowboy book called “Lonesome Dove.” I play a lot of old-person video games. I don’t play games with other people. I’ll play Skyrim, City Skyline, and flight simulators. I played Farm Simulator for like a year and a half and could name farm equipment while driving around. Like, what am I going to do with that knowledge?

HIHF: You’ve got some exciting festivals coming up this summer between Illfest and Submersion; what can fans expect from these performances?

DMVU: I’m really excited to be playing some smaller intimate fests. I love playing for massive crowds, but you lose that attachment to the crowd. I played Bigfoot last year, and they’re right in your face, and I love that shit. It reminds me of why I started in the first place.

HIHF: What would a dream collab look like for the DMVU project?

DMVU: The older I get, the more I realize I’m not great at collabs. I have one with Leotrix and a couple with Of The Trees that’ll never see the light of day because I’m too much of a control freak to finish them. That’s why I’m a solo artist. If I did, it would be with someone who’s not a music producer. Maybe a pianist. Who wrote “Watermelon Man?” Quincy Jones! I’d collab with Quincy Jones. We could create a piano loop, and I’d distort it and cut it up and make a fat beat out of it.

HIHF: What do you want fans to know about your recent “Tools For Those Who’ve Lost Their Way” EP?

DMVU: This is my official attempt at bridging the gap between my lit music and my chill music. It was scary releasing some sad music, but I wanted to show that sad music can still be lit and dance-worthy.

HIHF: Any plans for a return to Wakaan or Deep Dark & Dangerous for a new EP?

DMVU: Ya maybe, I never intentionally stepped away from those labels. I gravitated towards music that doesn’t really fit on those labels. Most of my releases are on labels that my homies run. I released on those because I’m friends with Martin and Dre. If I write an EP that I feel is appropriate, then I’ll release it on those.

HIHF: What’s next for the DMVU project? Any big upcoming shows or announcements you can tell us about?

DMVU: Not yet. There are still things in the works that I can’t talk about. Mad releases. All of my releases for the year are lined up. I have an EP with Ill Chill coming out with nine songs and an album after that, and I have eleven bangin EDM-esque songs that I need to figure out what to do with. So, two sad EPs and two banger EPs. The one with Ill Chill is like melodic stuff with him rapping over it. It’s a mixed EP with a lot of older stuff that never made it onto other EPs. 

HIHF: What is one life lesson you can pass on to up-and-coming artists as they continue to navigate their careers? Your path has been impressive and unique so your insight is extremely valuable!

DMVU: I know it sounds cheesy and cliche but stick with it. Keep your head down and don’t focus on other things. If you keep at it and keep practicing, you will get there!

Stay tuned into DMVU on: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Spotify

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