So, I had the opportunity to interview the two members of TAGRM (The Al Gore Rhythm Method) a duo that’s been blowing up the music scene lately with their interesting blend of dance music. Their newest jam is called, ‘Clones,’ but they have tons of releases (on various labels) and many of them are available right on their soundcloud. So, I recommend you scroll down to the little soundcloud player widget below, click play, and listen to some fine 2014 style grooves while you read the interview. Also, worth noting – they have a couple of EP’s coming out soon! I, uh, well… I was going to write a little bio of this duo, but after perusing their soundcloud page for a bit, I realized they have a very thorough biography already posted, and I’m not about re-inventing the wheel. Just now about that shit. So, I figured I would just copy n paste their bio below..
Formed in early 2012 by producers Red’s Life (Milwaukee) and PatrickAwesome (Madison), TAGRM has already been making quite an impact on the electronic dance community. Being internationally recognized for their productions and performances right out of the gate, the duo has caught the attention of producers and musicians such as: ETC!ETC!, Designer Drugs, Team Bayside High, Schroff, Sazon Booya, Astronomar, Trapzillas, Brillz and many others.
TAGRM found that their first Beatport release, “In Dabs We Trust”on Demon Dub Records, enjoyed a spot on the top 10 charts for Dubstep, along with a firm hold amongst the top 5 on the Glitch Hop chart. Now having charted again, this time in the Electro House section, with their song “PG-13” Released by both Yucatech Recordings and Straight Up! Records, it appears that they are surely making their way towards success.
Their repertoire of music can be found on numerous of the most popular blogs regarding Moombahton, House and Trap music. Each of their tracks has received press from some of the top electronic music outlets and air time on multiple popular radio stations.
Headlining the majority of their 2012 debut performances, TAGRM shows no signs of slowing down. Kicking off 2013 with multiple releases on Superstar DJs Designer Drugs’ label Sex Cult, this duo is proving they’re a serious force in the dance scene.
Ok, now, to the interview……..
Bassadelic: so, the obvious question.. The name… Quite ironic.. How? Why?
TAGRM Haha. Well Paddy was finishing his degree in Computer Science, basically he was dealing with algorithms, so naturally came to The Al Gore Rhythm section of the name. And on top of that, the over all gist of the rhythm method form of contraception is just kind of a joke, ha. So, all together! The Al Gore Rhythm Method
Bass: Alright, fair enough!
TAGRM: Thought you might get a kick out of that… Everyone has their own idea of where or how or why, so we love when they click with the true origin
Bass: Also, how long has that project been going on?
TAGRM: we have been writing music together for 1 year and a couple of months.
Bass: So would you say you guys make mostly moombah-influenced tunes? What is booty bounce? …or am i taking the tags on your soundcloud trax too seriously?
or, is 110 a better description?
TAGRM: I would say that moombahton has seriously influenced a good part of how we enjoy and produce our music, but it isn’t the only part of it!
When we first got together and decided we wanted to start making music together we both went into it wanting to write a ton of moomba.
Bass: Ah ok. so what brought you to that sound?
TAGRM: We both had been writing our own moombahton in our solo projects, it was just so new and awesome and we both loved it for our own reasons.I think moombahton caught my attention because I was raised with a lot of world music, the percussive elements in moomba were so on point.
Bass: Word.
TAGRM: Beyond Moombah, though, we have a ton of new material that will be releasing soon that really spans different genres and bpms.
Bass: What new styles or influences ae you going for?
TAGRM: We are both really just into so many types of music that we really just want to show that. Specifically we have really been enjoying a ton of this big room heavy house stuff, it’s just been big and bold and we are totally into that. A lot of our new tunes have a bunch of elements from world stuff, moomba stuff, dirty dutch, and lots of influence from that big room stuff.
Bass: Yea, that arena-rave / big house sound has def been growing lately.
TAGRM: It totally has! It’s super dope too, we both think it’s super heavy, and a lot of the stuff we have been playing out and had been playing out in the 128bpm area just has that energy and hugeness.
Bass: So you guys are from Wisconsin? Is there much of a rave or moombah scene out there? I know you guys play shows outside of wisconsin too.
TAGRM: Moombahton has a much smaller following in Wisconsin, but the electronic scene is strong and growing here! Shows in the area do super well, particularly around Milwaukee/Madison.
Bass: Ah ok. Yea, I believe it. Madison’s a fun town. so, I was wondering about the Clones tune – what do you use to make your melodies? Or do you want that to be a trade secret?
TAGRM: We use Native Instruments Massive for the majority of our synth work! We love the shit out of it! Ha.
Bass: Any helpful advice for aspiring musicians who are listening to the Al Gore Rhythm Method and thinking, “ahh! I want to be them! Ohh! if only!”
TAGRM: Always do what you love! TAGRM is all about the sounds and tunes that make us happy. When you do what you love you will always be successful! Work hard and learn your stuff and you can do anything.
Bass: So, damn, how many labels have you guys gotten on in the last year? Looks like you have a super prolific output! Do you record and write music incessantly? Or doesn’t it take much time to get a track down? How long would you say you might take on an average tune?
TAGRM: We have released under five different labels!
– SEX CULT Records
– Demon Dub Records
– Straight Up! Records
– NinthWave Records
– Yucatech Recordings
We would love to be churning tunes out day after day, but we prefer to take our time and really get the songs to exactly where it needs to go. It all really really depends on our writing schedule! Sometimes a song can be done in a few hours, sometimes it can take over a month.
Bass: Word. Do you guys master your own tunes or does the label usually send it off?
TAGRM: For every release that we have done, with the exception of one remix, we have done all of our own masters
Bass: Cool. You use the standard ozone? or you got some tricks ?
TAGRM: We for sure have our secrets, but Ozone is our main lady for mastering. The key to a really solid master is a really strong mix down, and referencing other tracks that you are familiar with and enjoy the sound of
And that pretty much wraps up the interview. So, I’d like to thank Paddy and Red, the two members of TAGRM, for doing the interview. They both seem like hard-working, sincere fellas, and I know their sound is going to be showing up all over the place in the future.