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View Winners → Archive Jul 25, 2013
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In the last year electronic music producer Michael Graham, otherwise known as Falcons, has consistently been releasing a steady flow of “genreless” bootlegs and singles, which have rapidly given the young LA producer some major online popularity and support from the likes of Diplo, Ryan Hemsworth, RL Grime and Djemba Djemba. Although he uses some elements of trendy internet genres, to simply categorize him as just another SoundCloud-famous music maker would be unfair. Falcons is a versatile producer with a strong sense of structure. He manages to seamlessly blend various subcategories of bass music within a single song, creating explosive club-ready tracks packed with a widely dynamic range of sounds and styles. The up-and-comer has already performed at notable venues and events such as Boiler Room, Low End Theory and Red Bull Music Academy’s This City Belongs to Me.
We managed to get Falcons to take a break from Ableton and answer a few questions for us.
LAC: How old are you and where did you go grow up?
FALCONS: 26. Grew up in the south—my mom’s in Texas, dad’s in Oklahoma. Also lived in Vancouver, Canada for five years. So pretty much a North American transplant.
LAC: What brought you to LA?
FALCONS: An enormous gust of wind.
LAC: What led you into producing?
FALCONS: I was a dancer (house and b-boying) for 12 years, so music was always something I felt passionately about, but I didn’t really take production seriously until I got injured and needed a musical outlet. I also was super excited by all the cool, new genreless music popping up around the internet, but felt like something was missing. 😉
LAC: Did moving around influence your sound?
FALCONS: That’s a great question. I think it did inevitably from experiences and inspiration, but the root of my sound is still very Southern, very sticky.
LAC: Who are your early influences?
FALCONS: Timbaland, Pete Rock, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Organized Noize, Mannie Fresh and DJ Screw.
LAC: What are you listening to at the moment?
FALCONS: Basically just THE 2k14 BASS ALL-STAR STARTING LINEUP lol; Sango, Kaytranada, Dom$olo, Cabo Blanco, Arnold, Lil Texas, CZ, Yung Satan, DJ Hoodboi, Djemba Djemba, Colta, TwoFresh, Penthouse Penthouse and Carmack.
LAC: If you could work with anyone, who would it be?
FALCONS: I think the obvious answer would be Missy Elliot and/or TImbaland . . . but really, I want to just sit in with people like Mannie Fresh and see the magic happen.
LAC: On any given day, where can we find you?
FALCONS: On the stoop in front of my place in Echo Park, drinking an iced coffee from the Thai donut shop by the crib (shoutout Angeleno’s Donuts, #turnup). Then back into my music cave.
LAC: So are you staying in LA?
FALCONS: I don’t plan my moves usually, but I can say that for now LA is working great for me, and as more of the homies move here, it’s just seeming better and better every day.
LAC: What can we expect soon from you?
FALCONS: EP of original tracks with HuhWhat&Where records, a steady flow of bootlegs as always, and lots of fun mixes. I’m doing one for SSENSE fashion site in the next few days, then Vice’s music site, Noisey.
LAC: Where are you spinning next?
FALCONS: Toronto, Austin, Vancouver and New York in the next little bit . . . never been to the east coast so I am very exciiiited. In LA, I just got a residency spot every Sunday for a new daytime party called Daylight at ATX 3245 Casitas Ave. It’s somewhere in between the party vibes of the Do-Over and the open mindedness of Low End Theory. It’s sort of a Low End spin-off that Nocando and some of our homies started. Hosted by DumbFounded. Definitely the new spot for Sundays.
