Exron Exclusive: Botnek

Last Friday night, Botnek brought the wubz to Myth Night Club in Jacksonville, Florida. The two producers rocked the club with their unique style. Their funky, progressive house beats kept listeners on their toes and their mix between old songs and new releases kept the crowd alive all night.

Before Botnek performed, we had the privilege to sit down and hang out. It was so nice getting to know Gordon Huntley and Erick Muise. We caught up with them to hear about where it all began, their inspirations and most of all, the music.

Exron Music: Every artist seems to have an “aha moment” that inspired them to be a producer. What was yours?

Huntley: I started getting into music because of my dad, he loved music. Every Saturday he’d play a new record. Then, I discovered music software when I was 14 or 15, but never thought I would make a career out of it until I met Erick. He was the only other person in Nova Scotia that was into music and he knew what Ableton was. I had never met a single human being who knew what that was at the time. So what got me inspired to be a producer was a series of events. I was surrounded by music, was interested in it, and I met a dear friend of mine that was also interested in it. We did it together. We were the only two doing it and we got each other excited. We still do.

Muise: I started making music when I was pretty young, especially electronic. There was a long time where I was figuring out what was me and what wasn’t. I would say that through all of those experiences, like remix competitions, making tunes and looking outwards for people to recognize what I was doing. There was definitely a strong sense of validation that needed to happen that I was not getting from my family. Ultimately when I met Gordon, we were both in agreement about one thing that was so different than what we were both doing at the time. And now we do what we do.

Exron Music: What keeps you motivated to keep producing in this industry?

Huntley: Over the 10 years we have been doing this, we have had an influence on young producers and this is something we never expected. I have learned a lot, but I am always a student. So what keeps me motivated is that the two of us have a record label now and we sign a lot of new artists that think we are a big inspiration. So now, what’s exciting is seeing a new generation of artists that are excited about creating new music, want to share with people and look up to us.

Muise: Now it is not just Gordon and me having a good time together, we’ve added more people to it. There is so much more to it and we never really thought we would be apart of that and it has taken a different form of energy.

Huntley: We’re building a community for them. They are from all corners of the world and they are young artists that we think are dope and we’ve put them in touch with each other. Now some of them are collaborating and that is exciting to me, we are influencing change.

Exron Music: How did you handle setbacks when you first started out and how do you handle them now?

Huntley: When we started, I remember a setback where we remixed this artist that we loved a song from and we happened to get a version of it before it was released. We remixed it and put it on the internet and the artist was not happy. That was a learning moment for us. We learned there are ways to go about everything we are doing and that was not it.

Exron Music: Did you ever think you would make a name in the music industry as you have now?

Huntley: Definitely not. For example, Rock Nation reached out and wanted to manage us. They did for a while. At the time, they asked what our goal is and we were just shocked they even wanted to talk to us. We just said we were two bro’s who loved making music and maybe one day we will work festivals.

Muise: Back then our vision didn’t really extend past 6 months. Now, we spend more time focusing on what we are about, what we love and who we love.

Exron Music: How did working with Steve Aoki and Dim Mak Records shape or influence your music in your past?

Huntley: That was our jump off. Erick and I were sitting in my apartment in Montreal watching entourage and eating noodles when we got called up by Dim Mak to do an EP. The first EP is called siracha and beer because of it. The point is, they put us out. We were kids sitting around doing nothing and then we started playing shows and going on tour.

Muise: That is essentially when we both gave up our 9-5 jobs. We weren’t making too much money on it but it was a focus on doing what we want to do and being able to keep doing it.

Huntley: I remember us watching YouTube videos of Steve Aoki recap shows and thinking one day we will be there and then moments later we got the call to go on tour with him. With Steve and Dim Mak, we were fans first. We wouldn’t be who we are today if it was not for them.

Exron Music: Botnek became an independent label two years ago. What changes has this led to?

Muise: I think it’s nice to have control. It’s not like we didn’t have control then, but now we can pick and choose the artists who send us demos and we can pick and choose our own demo’s that we want to release.

Huntley: With Dim Mak we were sending in tunes and asking if they wanted to release it. We were an artist on their label, but they got to choose what we could or could not put out, which is fine. That is every label in the universe. But being our own label, we not only do what we want but we spread awareness.

Muise: When we get crazy music from producers, it is so fun to know that no one is putting this out, but we will.

Huntley: Realistically, we are trying to be a voice for those freaks. Those kids who like the crazy club music that doesn’t fit for most labels, but we know they wanna be wacky and we do too.

Exron Music: Is there anything you are currently working on that you’re excited about?

Huntley: Up next we have Jiffy, our next single. It’s a fun club tune that we weren’t sure we would put out, but we love it and everyone else seems to love it, so Jiffy is coming out of “World Famous Headquarters.” Shoutout to Sebastian Knight for playing with us the other night, shoutout to UKnew, shoutout to Dirty Funk, which just came out. We have more next releases, but we can’t talk about those yet. But, you’ll get to hear us play it tonight.