MitiS reflects on past lessons, inspirations and his Lost Lands debut [Exclusive Interview]
MitiS
BY ANASTASIIA and Stephen RIDDLE
There’s not many names more synonymous with melodic, vocal-driven bass music than MitiS these days. Having started his path in music as early as 11 years old, the classical pianist-trained, future bass producer has now become one of the biggest, fastest growing names in electronic music. From going b2b with ARMNHMR at Lost Lands to a headline nationwide tour, MitiS proves that it’s his hard work and pure dedication that’s paved the way to his success. We had the opportunity to talk with MitiS during his stop in Atlanta on his “Lost” tour, and got to know his influences, creative process and that b2b with Armnhmr at the bass music wonderland.
Atlanta EDM: So, first question. What's your favorite color?
MitiS: Teal? Like a light teal. Not Aqua. No, I don't like that. *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: So, I’ve read that you started music as early as 11 years old, could you give us a run down on what it’s like, going from being a young pianist to one of the top rising electronic music artists?
MitiS: You lose a lot of time with people and friends, growing up and constantly doing music. You're alone a lot. You know what I mean? But it pays off in the end. Yeah, it was just always a lot of practicing, practicing, practicing, missing out on events on weekends and shit like that. But it was worth it. It’s so many lessons.
Atlanta EDM: Are there any lessons that were taught to you while learning piano that you still hold on to as a producer now?
MitiS: Probably, but none that were quotable. I think more of it was like etiquette stuff and perfecting crafts, you know what I mean? Like learning the lesson of how hard piano is at a certain level and wanting to kind of bring that over as a DJ, to be as good as you can, but it’s just different worlds.
Atlanta EDM: I know you had a Russian teacher. Did he ever give you any Russian life advice?
MitiS: Russian life advice? *chuckles* He was pretty inspirational. He would always be saying some shit. And he always knew when I was in trouble, or he always knew when I was doing something stupid. When he was teaching me his English was pretty broken, but we understood each other really well. So he was almost speaking Russian sometimes, like English, Russian, English, Russian. And it was always something cool like, “Play and live life like a butterfly.” He used a lot of imagery, how he spoke to me about things? I mean, he was intense, but he was a very sweet man. *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: If you could collab with any pianist, past or present, who would you choose?
MitiS: Collab? It would probably be Chopin. Or I don't know. I feel like probably Chopin.
Atlanta EDM: Do you think that being outdoorsy and in nature often when you were younger has an influence on the music you make now?
MitiS: Definitely! When I first started to write music, it influenced everything, because in nature I don't feel like heavy dubstep but instead it's very emotional and melodic. Mostly chill. So yeah, it definitely is a big influence.
Atlanta EDM: Who are some of the early artists that influenced you towards the melodic side of electronic music?
MitiS: I used to listen to the trance stuff like old Tiesto all the time. I loved Just Be and “Bright Morningstar” and all of his In Search of Sunrise mixes and stuff. I was like, “This is just so wicked!” That stuff, Deadmau5, some of his melodic stuff was so good. Yeah, those two guys really were a great inspiration for me.
Atlanta EDM: Do you ever just make filthy, ungodly heavy tracks just for fun while in the studio?
MitiS: Yeah, then I just delete them. *laughs* I've taken so much time off from making growls and getting good at certain sound designs, that now I'm so much more focused on melodic sound design and stuff like that, that it's absolute garbage…
Atlanta EDM: We would love to hear some!
MitiS: Some of them are actually fun! I have a collab with a heavy bass artist right now that's going to be coming out eventually. We just started working on it, but I think it's gonna be a cool mix of stuff. He's also a little bit melodic in certain parts, so it's gonna be sick.
Atlanta EDM: Stoked for that! So, being on tour can be rough at times, what’s something you look forward to at shows that always pick you back up after a long day?
MitiS: That's a good question, man. That's hard. I think it’s when all the drinks are ready, and everything is placed, and we're all here chillin, popping champagne… That’s when I’m like, “Aight, we’re in this, we’re gonna have a night, we're gonna fucking do it!”
Atlanta EDM: Your latest album has so many awesome artists featured. Tell us about your creative process, how do you find the artists to collaborate with?
MitiS: So, my team was really really good at that. Specifically, my day to day. He worked with me every single day to find vocalists, and see which ones I felt would match the vibe of the album. Also I appreciate the kind words. But yeah, he just crushed with that. He would just go through his network and contact different artists, telling them that I have a record and asking them if they could listen to it. And then I would pick and choose pretty much whichever I felt was really fitting into that mold of the album. The vibe of the album.
Atlanta EDM: Your b2b with ARMNHMR at LL was an absolute hit. How did it feel to see so many bassheads yelling the lyrics to your songs?
MitiS: That’s an interesting question! *laughs* I mean, it was cool, man. We knew it was gonna be different because it's a bass festival. And we were down. It was cool to see all the MitiS and ARMNHMR fans and stuff like that out there. They're both the homies, so it was just fun to get up on that stage. It was a humongous stage! Literally like the size of a football field! I was like, “Oh my god!” Walking up there felt crazy. It was pretty nuts. And it was really cool to see how the fans reacted, and I met a bunch of them on the side, feeling grateful that they came to support us. If I went to Lost Lands I would go listen to bass music, you know what I mean? Having them stay and watch our set was cool.
Atlanta EDM: You guys played against Excision...
MitiS: Yeaaah... We knew what we were up against. *laughs*
Atlanta EDM: We were there! And that was a much-needed break!
MitiS: Oh, hell yeah! I think I feel like that's a good way to put it, “a break.” It was a nice break from the wubs.
Atlanta EDM: What’s your guilty pleasure song?
MitiS: Dude! Whatever Spice Girls comes on, I’m down, I'm fucking down! I used to fuck with Spice Girls. It was my first cassette as a kid. A fucking cassette, and I'm 30, I'm not ancient yet… *laughs* It was the heater, you know what I mean? This cassette was crazy revolutionary, so, yeah, anything by Spice Girls.
Atlanta EDM: Any messages for your Atlanta fan base?
MitiS: Thank you for all the love as always! Every time I've come out to Atlanta, whether it's been the underground back in the day, and then to this, it's always been a lot of love out here. So I’m really grateful for this fan base and stuff. It's sick.