I Can Give You Des McMahon [Interview]

Posted on Nov 4, 2012 in Bass, Drum n Bass, DubStep, Electro House, Interviews, Moombahton

Last week amidst the battering of Hurricane Sandy, we were able to get in touch with one of our favorite up-and-coming artists based out of Washington DC; Des McMahon.

In the past year, Des’ music has done a complete 180, with magnificent results. Originally a trance producer, his newest EP Ginger Problems showcases a vast array of bass music compositions ranging from moombahton and dubstep to kuduro and liquid DnB. The album immediately piqued our interest, so we caught up with Des to get a little more insight on his life and multifarious production style:

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ICanGiveYouHouse: For those who are not yet familiar, who is Des McMahon?

Des McMahon: A 22 year old DJ/producer from Philly who specializes in bass music, dance music, and music as a whole.

ICGYH: How did you get into electronic music? What attracted you in the first place?

DMM: There were a few things that led me into dance music. When I was really young they used to play old cheesy dance tunes on late night radio. I would stay up late with headphones and a radio and listen until I’d fall asleep. By the time I was 13 I started collecting compilations and really diving deep in trance and other kinds of rave music. Then when I turned 16 I started dabbling in music software and eventually picked up a pair of CDJs.

ICGYH: How’d you get go from making Trance to producing Moombahton, Kuduro, and Dubstep?

DMM: I was producing and listening to trance for a really long time before I moved to D.C. By the time I got down there, I made a bunch of friends who were listening to all different kinds of dance music. We would share music with each other and eventually my music tastes kept expanding. Later on we stumbled across dubstep through Radio 1 and it really stuck with us.

For moombahton, it was all through my buddy Rez. He showed me a bunch of Munchi tunes one day and a few weeks later we wound up at a Moombahton Massive and I was hooked. At this point in time, I was getting really bored of producing trance. The scene was becoming a bit too “glammed” up for my taste and the music itself was becoming really stale. That whole year I spent my time experimenting with other styles of music to diversify my skills and eventually I made the switch to bass music.

ICGYH: Do you feel there are elements of your trance background that you’ve carried over to bass music?

DMM: Yes. There’s a ton of techniques and little tricks I’ve carried over from trance, specifically tech trance. I do this specifically because I notice a lot of producers don’t have the same background as I do. So if you’re trying to get a unique sound, then the best way is to bring something to the table that no one else has.

ICGYH: What are your thoughts on the electronic music culture in DC? What makes it special/unique?

DMM: I specifically left Philly in 2008 because its scene wasn’t great at the time. I didn’t want to go to New York, because it was too hectic for me then. But, DC was just right. Not too big, not too small and constantly bringing top names in EDM every week. I didn’t expect by 2011 I could go see Skream & Benga, Nadastrom, and Ferry Corsten all in one week. DC is special not only because it’s a melting pot of all different corners of EDM, but it’s also just the right size where the scene is like a giant family no matter what event you go to.

ICGYH: Tell us a little bit about the your Ginger Problems EP. Was there a specific motivation behind the entire album or was it more of a collection of tracks you had been working on?

DMM: Most of the tracks on the Ginger Problems EP were tracks that I started right after I graduated in May. Come August I moved back to Philadelphia, finished them all up, and got the EP set up with Tittsworth and Ayres at T&A Records.

ICGYH: How important was it for you to diversify the genres/sounds throughout the EP?

DMM: I wanted to do an EP that kind of showed what I would play in a DJ set. I’m at the point now where I will play anything from moombahton to dubstep to tribal house and I wanted to show that through an EP. From a production aspect, I always tell myself to never set limits. If I like a style of music, chances are I will try to produce it or incorporate elements of it. Showing diversity in production skills is important to me. I’m here to be a music producer, not a genre-specific producer.

ICGYH: How did you select who you wanted to collaborate with/have remix on Ginger Problems?

DMM: For “Half”, Tittsworth and I were messing with some Eddie Murphy samples I cut up the night before and we just had fun with it. From there it turned into weird tribal kuduro and the rest is history. I chose Rex Riot for “The Come Down” remix because we spoke a few months earlier when I heard his EP on Play Me Records and realized he was a DC local. When I was looking for a someone to do a dubstep remix he was the first to come to mind.

ICGYH: What’s next for Des McMahon? Any new releases, collaborations, remixes?

DMM: Right now I’m sitting on 6 to 7 different tracks that are all 75% percent finished. I’ve also got a couple collaborations going on, but nothing that I can announce yet.

ICGYH: What is your biggest ginger problem?

DMM: Sunburn. One time I was in Barbados and stayed out in the sun for a good 4-5 hours. I regretted that really quick. Good vacation though!

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Grab the full Ginger Problems EP on Beatport today and make sure to follow Des McMahon for future releases:

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