Exclusive Interview with GTA
GTA is an American DJ & Production duo from Miami. Their music is a mix of Electro House, Progressive House, Moombahton and Trap, but their sets are known to contain unexpected twists of Hip Hop and Electro, and at times even Rock. They have released tracks on Diplo’s Mad Decent, A-Trak’s Fool’s Gold, Tiesto’s Musical Freedom and Calvin Harris’ Fly Eye, and they have remixed for superstars such as Kylie Minogue, Rihanna and deadmau5. In 2013, they were the opening act for Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour and Calvin Harris & Tiesto’s "Greater Than Tour". They are best known for their recent collaboration with Martin Solveig called "Intoxicated" - the track has close to 71 Million views on YouTube.
Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with GTA, shortly before their performance at Onyx RCA on 18th December.
Where are you answering these questions?
On the plane to Beijing, China!
You are an American DJ & Production duo. How did each of you get in touch with electronic dance music in the first place, how did you meet, what made you team up, and how did you get into DJing and music production?
Well being from Miami, electronic dance music has been bubbling for a while through Winter Music Conference and Ultra. We both fell in love with Dance music through Ultra, and we actually met through Facebook through a mutual friend. He showed us each other’s music (since we were producing individually at the time), and after a couple of days of talking through Facebook we met up to try working on music together and things just clicked! After working with each other for a couple of months, we began going to Matt’s old college to play our own music and show our friends what we have been making, and through that we began trying to DJ actual clubs and stuff. We both have loved making/playing music since we were young, and we’re honored to have been able to continue doing it!
You play and produce a mix of Electro House, Progressive House, Moombahton and Trap. How would you describe your music in a few words, what is distinct about it?
Our music is a bit of everything we’re inspired by. We love making all kinds of music, but one distinct thing about it is that its based on high energy since that’s what we love playing at our DJ sets.
You have released tracks on Diplo’s Mad Decent, A-Trak’s Fool’s Gold, Tiesto’s Musical Freedom and Calvin Harris’ Fly Eye, and you have remixed for superstars such as Kylie Minogue, Rihanna and deadmau5. You are best known for your recent collaboration with Martin Solveig called "Intoxicated" - the track has close to 71 Million views on YouTube. What other tracks, remixes or mix-sets would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?
Definitely our track with Flosstradamus called “Prison Riot” since trap music is a pretty big part in our set. Like we said, we love making all kinds of music and people can tell by all the labels we’ve put music out on, and the different people we’ve collaborated with that GTA is about music that makes people dance! Also check our Hard Summer 2015 set, since we get a lot of love for that too haha!
What is on your agenda for the near future and what are you currently working and focusing on?
In the near future, we will be going back to the states to work on music for next year, and doing a couple of dates for New Years. We’ve been working on a lot of different kinds of music, we hope to put a full length album out at some point next year too. Keep an eye out!
In 2013, you were the opening act for Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour and part of Calvin Harris’ & Tiesto’s "Greater Than Tour". What was the best and the worst gig you ever played, and what was the funniest thing ever occurred during any of your performances?
Best gig would have to be Hard Summer this year, it was overwhelming and we played on the main stage for 35,000 people which was insane! Haha I’m not sure what the worst gig was to be honest, we had a pretty great year! One funny moment was when we were on the Rihanna tour, our mixer actually burned out and turned off in the middle of our set! It was awkward to have that happen in front of 25,000 people but yeah, that was pretty funny!
You are from Miami - nicknamed the "Capital of Latin America”. What can you tell us about clubbing and nightlife there? Do you have any nightlife related suggestions for first-time visitors?
Miami’s nightlife is in our opinion one of the best nightlife scenes in America. If you go there, you should definitely check out the clubs on South Beach (like Story, or Space Miami) since they go all night, and after you’re done partying, you should check out some of the late night cuban food spots like “Puerta Sagua” to get your late night food fix!
On 18th December you will make your Thailand Debut at ONYX RCA. Have you visited Thailand before? What can the Bangkok crowd expect of your upcoming performance?
We’ve never been to Thailand before, but we’re very excited to see what you’ve got! Bangkok can expect a lot of high energy and dancing, we’re really excited to play for everyone! This is our first time doing a club tour in Asia so expect a lot of new music and good times!