Exron Exclusive: graves

We recently got the chance to catch up with Hawaiian producer graves before his tour kicks off in February.  Graves will be taking off on a fifteen stop headlining tour in North America.  Recently he collaborated with Hex Cougar who will also be supporting the tour. Another graves collaboration is expected to come out in early February. Check out the exclusive interview below for all the details and be sure to grab tickets for the tour here!

Exron Music: What was the initial inciting factor for you to start producing music?

graves: I’ve been making music since I was a kid. My parents didn’t want me to spend my time not studying or doing homework, so I’d have to sneak off and practice guitar, or wait until they left the house. Maybe there was something a little rebellious about that before I was even old enough to understand what that meant. I dunno, I got hooked pretty quick.

Exron Music: Can you tell us about the evolution of the graves project from the start to the present? 

graves: It’s always been my primary outlet for my emotions. It’s really a window into what Im thinking and feeling over the course of time. I think early on I tried to fit what I was doing into a box. If it’s this, than it cant be this also right? Over time I’ve started loosening up those confines a little and really trying to make music that’s derivative from all the stuff I fuck with. I grew up listening to punk and hardcore, then I fell in love with heavy dubstep and bass acts, then I started my career in hip hop. I think the music I make now is a little bit of all of those things.

Exron Music: We are so excited for your “Far From Here” Tour with Hex Cougar to start. What are you most looking forward to with this tour? 

graves: The energy. It’s my first time headlining shows in a lot of these places and I know the kids are going to bring it. Their energy is going to be something that’s hard to describe and it’s only going to make me want to go harder.

Exron Music: How will this tour differ from previous ones that you have done? 

graves: This is the first headline tour of mine. I’ve toured a ton playing weekly parties at nightclubs, supporting guys like RL Grime, What So Not, etc. or even last year when I toured with Josh Pan was a co-headline. These are my shows and I couldn’t be more excited. There’s so much new music in the set, so many unreleased tracks and edits. It’s going to be fun.

Exron Music: We are obsessed with your newest track “glass hearts (how much you mean)” with Hex Cougar and lil Narnia. How was it working with these artists on this single and what was the inspiration? 

graves: Hex and I have written some stuff in the past so we have a great bond already. Lil Narnia is honestly one of the most talented dudes out right now and it’s only a matter of time before he pops. There are a TON of guys in this kind of emo / trap space but Narnia’s writing, melodies, and delivery are head and shoulders better than anything else that’s out. We really just wanted to get him in the room and let him do what he does and produce a track around it that tied both these worlds together. People called it Emo Dance Music, Emotronic, or Emonic I honestly have no idea what it is but it felt really important to do something like that.

Exron Music: You’ve now released two singles under the “Far From Here” Project; Glass Hearts and I’m Fine. Can we expect more from this collection soon? 

graves: Yes definitely. I’ve got a couple of really big collabs coming, then we are going to have a few more treats from my project after that. The EP is right around the corner though, so you don’t have to wait too long!

Exron Music: We hear you have a collaboration with RL Grime that will be coming out in early February. What can you tell us about this? 

graves: RL and I have worked on so much music over the years it’s been great. There’s an obvious chemistry there that I think goes beyond just making music together. We like a lot of the same shit and are inspired by a lot of the same genres and cultures so the influences run pretty deep. The track is called Arcus. RL closed out his Halloween mix with it last year, and we’ve both been closing our sets with it for the last couple of months. Kids seem super excited about it, so I’m stoked to get it out in the world.

Exron Music: What’s one of your favorite performances that you’ve had to date? 

graves: Hard to say really. My show at Life Is Beautiful in Vegas last year was absolutely insane. It was hot and I was on kinda early I think like 4 or 5pm but everyone was going crazy. Energy was so next level. So many of the brownies and lemonade shows are super fun as well. There was one I did back in San Diego and then their NYE party just a couple of months ago when I went b2b with QUIX. Those three are the ones that stick out.

Exron Music: What sort of emotional response do you hope that your music brings out in your fans? 

graves: I hope that my music can take them somewhere. I hope they can sink their teeth into it and it sends them to a place that’s far away from wherever they are in that moment. More than just a single in your Spotify stream, I try to create something that’s a little bit more special and a little bit more compelling. I think that’s why I gravitate towards writing projects rather than releasing singles all the time. I want to create a world for fans to get lost in.

Exron Music: What are your biggest goals for graves in 2019? 

graves: Drink more water. And destroy everything that gets put on my plate….