The story of how BlackGummy harnessed the dark energy behind his music reads like a modern piece of folklore—if you believe in such things. While on a journey through Asia and the Middle East, he came into contact with an ancient talisman. The black bear’s earlier attempts to speak to the world were fruitless until it met Iman Marouf, the human channel for the idol’s message. What exactly the bear is trying to communicate isn’t completely clear. What is evident, however, is that its message is dark, intense and multilayered.
What do you get when you separate the myth from the man behind it? A young, L.A.-based producer whose dark and gritty tunes fit perfectly within the mau5trap DNA. Continuing the label’s history of breaking genre-bending musicians whose creativity often puts them in a category all their own, BlackGummy is part of the new class of deadmau5 protégés. Straddling the lines between techno, electro, and industrial with traces of progressive trance, BlackGummy’s bold, dancefloor-friendly rhythms help tell the unfolding story of the dark, sticky effigy from which he gets his name.
BlackGummy perfects his dirty, low-end vibes on his newly released Impactor EP , out now on mau5trap. Ahead of his performance at Escape: Psycho Circus 2016 , he has packed all kinds of dark techno goodies into an exclusive mix, the ideal primer for our Halloween festival.
We chatted with BlackGummy—the man, not the bear—about the mau5trap life, his relationship with the unmistakably recognizable bear, and the inspiration behind his debut tune for the label, “ Lullaby .”
The slightly creepy music box playing “All the Pretty Little Horses” at the beginning of “Lullaby” was something you sampled. Where did that come from, and what inspired the tune?
That recording came from a music box that had been passed down to me from my oldest cousin when I was born. Many years later, that same lullaby came up in conversation at a family gathering, and my cousin asked if I still had it. Not knowing what he was talking about at first, I searched through a box filled with memorabilia and came across an old wind-up music box. As soon as I wound it up and heard the first few notes, I instantly remembered what he was talking about. I decided to record the lullaby and the sound of me winding it up, just in case my cousin were to lose it after I gave it back to him. Once I recorded it onto Ableton, I just couldn’t stop messing around with it, and the inspiration kept on coming.
There is a Latin phrase on your SoundCloud page: In perpetuum, in omnibus locis. In omni loco, in omni tempore. Can you offer a translation of the phrase and explain what significance it has for you?
“Forever in all places, everywhere at all times.” It represents the narrative behind the BlackGummy bear idol. I don’t want to give away too much about how this quote ties in with the bear and my future plans for live performances, but I’ll say this: The bear is very dark, ominous, and borderline creepy, and this quote reflects the bear’s menacing vibe.
Before you attended Icon Collective Production School , what was your experience, if any, in the music industry?
Before attending Icon, I would spend most of my time either in a studio creating music or building studios. Aside from DJing one-off parties to make money, I didn’t really have much experience with the business side of the music industry. I was always much more focused on the creative side.
Does music run in your family?
Art and creativity definitely do. I have numerous painters, actors, and other visual and performing artists in my family. But as far as music specifically, my uncle is the only musician in the family. He wrote and produced a really unique-sounding classical album in the early ‘90s. Although it was never released, the album was one of the main things that sparked my curiosity for music production and led me to discover how music is made using synths and computers.
You signed with mau5trap fairly early in your career. Was that ever your intention? Or was it just a matter of being in the right place at the right time?
It’s probably a combination of both. I’ve always been a big fan of Joel’s [deadmau5] music, so having a release on his label was always a goal for me. I’ve always liked how unique the releases on mau5trap were, and as a producer, I like trying new things and experimenting with new sounds that people don’t normally use, so mau5trap seemed like a natural fit. I wanted to be on a label that would understand that and support what I was doing, even if it was weird. mau5trap has a history of that—helping launch artists like Skrillex and Feed Me , who were making totally unique stuff when they released their first tracks.
“Lullaby,” my first song on mau5trap, was a song that came to be very organically. I didn’t make it with the intent of it being the first song I would eventually release on mau5trap. I was more focused on how I could translate my thoughts into the music and create my own narrative through “Lullaby.” It was around that time the label heard some of my older tracks and reached out to me. I sent them a few demos, and they were immediately interested in “Lullaby.”
Your music has some heavy industrial influences. What were you listening to prior to discovering electronic music?
There wasn’t a specific genre of music I was listening to before discovering electronic music. Growing up, I was really open to all styles of music. I was mostly drawn to music that used cool sounds and felt like it was telling a story. The narrative component is a big thing for me. I love music that makes listening to a composition feel like watching a movie or reading a book. I’m naturally a visual person, so when I produce, I generally base it on a story I see in my head. As the track evolves from just messing around with a concept in Ableton to a fully composed song, that story begins to become more and more clear. I like to think of it as composing a score to a theoretical music video.
To list some of the artists I grew up listening to: System of a Down, 2Pac, Biggie Smalls, Karlheizen Stockhausen, Bach, Nirvana, Sublime, Gesaffelstein, deadmau5, Cirez D , and Carl Cox were all favorites at one point or another, each for their own unique styles and perspectives.
BlackGummy Escape: Psycho Circus 2016 Mix Track List
BlackGummy “NeverDeader”
BlackGummy “The Machine”
BlackGummy “Alarm”
Olivier Giacomotto “Bipolar Star”
BlackGummy “The Unseen”
Screamer & Soptik “Grant” (Cubex Remix)
deadmau5 “Slip”
Brodinski “Gimme Back the Night”
Sluggers “Underground”
Boris “Can You Hear Me” (Enrico Sangiuliano Remix)
deadmau5 “Strobe” (BlackGummy Remix)
Catch BlackGummy at Escape: Psycho Circus 2016 Friday, October 28, at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA. Tickets are available now . For more information, visit the official website .
Alexander Dias eats black gummy bears for breakfast. Follow him on Twitter .
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