EXRON EXCLUSIVE: DECADON

In the midst of the blazing Tampa heat, we got the chance to chill out with Denver native Decadon at Sunset Music Festival this past weekend. We’ve recently been intrigued by his talents with blending rock and roll with an electronic sound. It was refreshing to finally catch up with the rising DJ/producer for ourselves and find some of those answers. We didn’t hesitate to dive right into discussing inspiration, goals, and most importantly, the music.

Exron Music: How did it feel to perform today at Sunset Music Festival in Florida?

Decadon: It was awesome. I mean, it was my first Florida show, so coming out here and getting to play Sunset was an honor. Just because it’s a big festival out here obviously, and the Disco Disco fam puts on a great show, so I was honored to be on a really dope lineup. It was fun, it was good. It’s very hot but it was very fun.

Exron Music: So, what do you hope to accomplish by fusing dubstep with rock?

Decadon: Well, I just want to bring something new to the table. There’s not a lot of guys out there that are doing the live instrumentation. I didn’t get to do it here because it was only a forty minute set so I didn’t get to bring the guitar to this set, but I want to bring something new that people aren’t doing and kind of have multigenerational fan groups. You have young kids that love the dubstep part of it and you have the older folks that love the rock part and bring it all together.

Exron Music: Besides your roots in rock and metal, what do you think sets you apart from other artists who are doing kind of the same thing you’re doing?

Decadon: I kind of focus on the classic rock and like alternative sound. Like you got Sullivan King who does the heavy metal stuff, and you got like Boogie that does all the funky, wooky guitar stuff. And then I do more of the classic rock—or like the throwback rock stuff. So, I don’t know, I think I bring a lot of nostalgia to the sets. Like today I like played Paramore and Fall Out Boy—

Exron Music: So, some déjà vu?

Decadon: Yes, exactly! Yeah, I want to take people back to those days for a couple minutes during the show, that’s what I try to do.

Exron Music: In what ways have you already seen your goals become a reality?

Decadon: Being here, you know, just being able to travel and play shows for all these people, it’s crazy. It’s really started picking up in the last year and a half or so, maybe a year. Just getting to play all the [festivals] like Coachella, and Phoenix Lights, Das Energi, Electric Zoo’s coming up. Just all the summer festivals. It’s been a long time coming, finally getting into the festival circuit, getting to play because there’s so few spots for so many artists to play. So, getting onto those festivals is a good benchmark to show that everything’s kind of happening.

Exron Music: Well we’re glad to have you here in Florida.

Decadon: Thank you, I’m glad to be here.

Exron Music: What’s the most rewarding part of producing and performing on such a large scale?

Decadon: I think just meeting so many new people, and having the music affect people in a way that I didn’t really know it would. You know, I love writing music for myself and I love writing music that I like, but when people latch onto it and connect to it in a way where like—there was a kid here with a tattoo of my logo on his leg, there are people making kandi and signs. It’s so cool to see some weird sounds that I like connecting with people in a way that’s deeper than I ever thought would happen.

Exron Music: How do you feel about the reception of your new Fall Out Boy remix?

Decadon: Great. I’ve been sitting on it for like seven, eight months so, yeah I’ve been waiting to put it out and it’s finally—people are stoked. It’s number three on the SoundCloud dubstep charts right now, and it’s just climbing. So, I love it. I mean I’m glad people are liking it as much as I like it. Because it’s a lot of song for one remix. I got psytrance in there, a weird trappy breakdown and the dubstep. So, it’s a lot crammed into four minutes but I’m glad people like it.

Exron Music: Why did you decide to remix that track specifically?

Decadon: I’ve always loved it. I mean I’ve done a Fall Out Boy Remix before. I did “Sugar, We’re Going Down” and that’s my favorite Fall Out Boy Song so, second to that was “Thanks For The Memories”. So, I was like, well let’s see if we can have fun with this one too.

Exron Music: Are you working on any new projects or collabs?

Decadon: Yeah, I got a couple collabs in the works. One with Lucii on Wakaan, got one with KJ Sawka from Destroid and Pendulum, got one with Brondo—the new dubstep guy coming out, he’s going to be the next big guy for sure. Who else do I got—one with Fransis Derrelle. And then a bunch of new material, a lot of more rock remixes are coming out. I’m doing another Sum 41 remix, what else do we got—Three Days Grace, stuff like that. And also, another five originals coming out back to back over the next few weeks. Yeah, a lot of new music coming for sure.

Exron Music: I have a couple friends who are DJs and of course they haven’t “made it, made it” yet and you’re starting to “make it, make it”, but they’ve all told me about their “aha” moment. You know, going to this thing or that thing that has made them want to become a producer. And I’d like to know what your “aha” moment was, that made you want to become a producer and to influence people.

Decadon: There were two, so the first one—that’s a good question. I was in bands all in high school, and I was trying to do the band thing and no one ever really wanted to work as hard as I did. I really wanted to do music for my life, for my career. And everyone was like, no let’s go party. I was like, that’s fun but I really want to work on—you know, try to build something. And when I found out [with] like electronic music I could do all of it—I could produce it, I could write the track, play the guitar, do the keys, all of it. I didn’t need to wait on a drummer or a bass player, I was like, whoa this is cool music. And it was Skrillex and Bassnectar that I first heard. And then a few months later, Skrillex, Zedd, and I want to say The M Machine—they played at Red Rocks. And my buddy was like, let’s go! And I’m like, okay I haven’t seen this before. It was like 2011 I want to say, or 2012. And I was in the crowd and I was like, I want to do this, this is so cool. Because they’re like rockstars, you know? They’re electronic music rockstars. So, that was my “aha” moment. First hearing the tracks and finding electronic music, and then going to Red Rocks and seeing Skrillex play.

Exron Music: When you step on a stage to perform and you look at the crowd, is there something that you hope the audience takes away specifically from your set? Is there a moment or an impact that you want to have on them?

Decadon: I’d say just [to] take away something different that they haven’t seen throughout the rest of the festival. I want them to have an experience—because normally like I said I normally have my guitar. So, the performance aspect of playing a live instrument for people and creating music on the fly sometimes doesn’t happen a lot here. So, that’s one thing, getting that rock n’ roll feel like you’re at a rock concert. I want them to bring that mixed with the electronic feel. And then also like I said earlier, the nostalgia. I want people to leave going, “that was fun, I haven’t heard those songs in ten years and it was cool to hear those again in a new way.”

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Ashley

I’ve been a part of the dance music scene for nearly a decade and with Exron for more than half of that time. My first event was Diplo’s Mad Decent but these days you’ll find me at Club Space or the Brooklyn Mirage. Some of my top artists are G Jones, Tipper, Of The Trees, and CharlestheFirst. My favorite genres are techno, experimental bass, and ambient but I’ll get down to anything with a beat!

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