Exron Exclusive Interview: SoDown at Elements Festival 2022

August 31, 2022

Exron Music recently chatted with SoDown about his upcoming debut album, life in Colorado, and more.

Denver-based producer and multi-instrumentalist SoDown gave Elements Festival a treat with his unique fusion of live music and DJing. The saxophone-wielding bass music aficionado is currently dominating the electronic music scene, recently selling out his two-night run at Colorado’s legendary outdoor venue, The Mishawaka.

SoDown is currently preparing for his headlining Worlds Beyond Tour which will touch down in major US cities. After witnessing a massive crowd gather for him and his sax at Elements, we got a feel for just how much momentum he’s built this year.

sodown at elements festival — SoDown at Elements Festival, Courtesy of Swayne Parsons

Exron Music: You’ve been known for fusing elements of live music and DJing. Why the saxophone?

SoDown: Oh, because I fucking love it. Easy answer. [laughs]

Exron Music: What’s your history with the instrument?

SoDown: I started playing ten or eleven years ago. Always loved saxophone and r&b and soul and funk. And, yeah, I played instruments before that. I was playing like guitar and piano and drums and I played the cello. I played flutes, played all kinds of shit. And then I wanted to do something new. So I picked up the saxophone and here we are a decade later.

Exron Music: At what point in your life did bass music and the saxophone come together?

SoDown: Well, once I started [playing saxophone], I was already producing. So, once I started playing the saxophone, I was just like, it’s natural.

Exron Music: From what I understand, your debut album is in the works.

SoDown: It’s finished!

Exron Music: Congrats! How does it feel to finally reach such a big milestone?

SoDown: It’s so crazy. Honestly. I’ve wanted to do an album for a long time, and it felt like this was I felt like this was the right time. Yeah. Just some of the music I’ve been working on for years and some of it I’ve written in like the past year. It’s called “Worlds Beyond.” And that is essentially about the concept of Memento Mori, which means remember your death, which sounds morbid, right? But remembering your death has a lot of positive effects on your life. You know, like, if you are conscious of your own mortality, small stresses will have much less of an impact on your overall happiness. You know what I mean?

Exron Music: I know exactly what you mean! So, tell us about your ‘Get Up’ EP. What was it like putting that body of work together?

SoDown: It was super fun, yeah. I’ve loved reggae for a long time. And so I wanted to make a project that was very influenced by that. I grew up going to Reggae on the Rocks and listening to Steel Pulse and Bob Marley and Damian. It’s been a part of my musical inspiration for a long time, so I wanted to dive into that.

Exron Music: You’re from Colorado, born and raised right?

SoDown: Yeah.

Exron Music: I wanted to ask, a lot of people consider Denver the bass [music] capital of the US, in what ways do you think this benefits you as a musician in that realm?

SoDown: Oh man, I mean, there’s so much good music all the time in Denver. And the scene is so strong. There’s so many amazing producers that live in Colorado and it seems to be multiplying. Everybody just is moving to Colorado right now, it’s insane. But I think music has kind of just found a home not only bass music but music in general. Red Rocks is a huge contributor. Everybody wants to play at Red Rocks. You know, every artist from country to reggae, hip hop, r&b, soul, funk, and obviously everybody. So, we just get a wide variety of music in Colorado and it’s also centrally located around the country. So, it’s great to fly out of and tour. And there’s an amazing culture with the mountains and Denver being so close. It’s really the best.

Exron Music: What was it like working on your remix for Illenium’s track, “Sideways”?

SoDown: Oh man, it was so fun… it was so fun! I’ve looked up to Nick for a long time. And when he sent me stems, I was just over the moon.

Exron Music: Last question for you, what stops on your upcoming Worlds Beyond Tour are you looking most forward to?

SoDown: Tough question…every single one. Well, we got the mission Ballroom in my hometown, which, of course, I got hometown love like crazy. So that is a really special, that’s gonna be special.

SoDown at Elements Festival, Courtesy of Swayne Parsons

SoDown will be passing through some of the most coveted venues in the country for his Worlds Beyond Tour. Tickets for the tour and additional information can be found on SoDown’s website. For now, check out the first single on his forthcoming debut full-length titled, “All Go Wrong,” and stay tuned for more exciting announcements!

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Featured Photo Courtesy of Swayne Parsons

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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