It’s no secret that this summer has had both some incredible highs and some incredible lows within the Music Industry. The losses of Chris Cornell earlier this year, and more recently Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, have made a profound and deep mark on what has otherwise been a very exciting and favorable festival season. With both men such influences, and seeming to have it all, it caused us all to really stand and take notice of just how severe a toll this industry can take on people’s mental health. It reminded us to be more mindful, and considerate of our fellow man; to support and be there for one another whatever the circumstance.
Delivering on this crucial and beautiful sentiment, is the latest release from DirtCaps, “Need A Friend.” Over a bed of silky synth and swelling melody, Jantine lends her sweet and soothing vocals to bring forth a message of hope. Taking a swift detour from their usual club bangers, I had to ask the guys what brought about this departure from the norm, and why they were compelled to create this song. Here’s what they had to say:
What was the initial inspiration behind ‘Need A Friend’?
We all have that one friend going through a hard time. Sometimes it is so hard to let them know you just want to be there for her/him. That was the biggest inspiration for this song. We all separately experienced something like that in the recent past and felt like this should be the subject for a track.
What about Jantine’s voice stands out to you the most and why did you guys feel it was so well suited for this track?
We’ve known Jantine for a few years now, and she can sing, write and produce, so we are creating stuff together in different ways. She’s both vulnerable and powerful at the same time and that’s a combination we really love. That also really suits the subject and the approach for this song in particular.
It seems you’ve gone into a more melodic direction with ‘Need A Friend.’ What is it that drew you to this, as opposed to all your harder music?
We started doing it a few years ago to broaden our music – we decided to really make what we feel and like. We were tired of only making one specific genre. So we made music in every range. Pop, Trap, Hardstyle etc. Everything is possible now and that gives us a lot of inspiration. Every studio day is different. The thing that stays the same is how we start. That’s most of the time with chords. This track is a further “study” into more melodic music for us. We are really happy with the result.
What’s next for you guys? Anything exciting you’d like to share with your readers?
We are running our own label now, KLASH, with the Armada team. They let us do what we want creatively and that’s what we want to offer to other artists; a place that is not genre bound. A label that can put out our music in a way that allows us and our artists to be proud and say what they want music wise. We are currently working on the selection of our second KLASH Dime Pieces. Of course there will be a Dirtcaps track or 2 on it as well! Collab wise we can finally say that our collab with Flosstradamus is coming soon. And we are going to tour USA, Asia, Europe and Australia later this year!
With such great things on the horizon, I’d say these boys are clearly ones to be watched. And whether you need a hug, or just wanna hear something that’ll give a lil’ tug to your heartstrings, check out their brand new release right here!
