Airmow and Rubika Discuss "Prodigy" [Interview]

Airmow and Rubika Discuss "Prodigy"

2/28/2019

We caught up with the anonymous duo Rubika as well as the French producer, Airmow! They talked about their musical background and dreams in addition to giving the scoop on their new track out now on Lacuna called "Prodigy." You can give it a listen and read more below!

As this is your first interview, why don't you both take a moment to tell us about your musical backgrounds and what inspired you to start producing?
Airmow: Back in the day, I was a big fan of rap and R&B music like The Weekend, PnB Rock, and Eli Sostre. So when I started producing music around three years ago, it was mainly hip-hop instrumentals for other rappers. However after about a year or so of this, I got to this point where I wanted to start producing stuff with my own vibe instead of making beats for other people. Thus, Airmow was created and it was a place where I could produce my pop and electronic track that had this blend between rock, trap, pop, electro, and house music. Step by step, the project started to grow with first uploads appearing on Trap Nation and my first gigs and bookings starting rolling in. Music is a real passion for me and I'm really excited about the future where I can meet new artists, work on some new projects, and explore new vibes

Rubika: We first met nearly ten years ago at a recording session in London. We'd been running recording studios and production companies separately, working with major artists such as Jess Glynne, Ghettz, and Skepta. We got talking and realised that we were actually both from a very small town hundreds of miles away. We discovered that we also signed to the same record label previously with our Screamo/Heavy Metal bands. Oddly enough, our paths had never crossed until then, but we were brought together in the most unlikely of circumstances. After that first recording session, we kept working on various projects and wrote a lot of songs together so we decided to become a producer duo about 2 years ago. Since then, we've been blown away at how fast this project has grown. Things really took off with our independent release, "Lost In The Moment" and now we've had amazing support from BBC Music Introducing when they played our last single with Airmow, "Final Call."

View this post on Instagram

Thanks to @bbcintrodc for playing our new single "Final Call" on #bbcintroducing @bbcintroducing @radiocornwall @bbcradio1

A post shared by RUBIKA (@rubikamusic) on Jan 27, 2019 at 2:31am PST

"Prodigy" is out now on Lacuna and it marks the second collaboration between you and Airmow. What brought you both back together to work on this and what were some of the challenges you faced along the way while making this track?
Airmow: I really like working with Rubika because they are really serious and they have some really cool ideas! I think we work well together because we have the same visions of our projects and we are accomplices. For "Prodigy," they sent over a sick topline with perfect chords that they wrote and recorded at the studio. I took it and did the production part, the sound design, and the mix & master. We each had our role and the project came together really naturally. I really like how they write their lyrics, their topline, and how they record the singer. I hope to work with them again in the future!

Rubika: I worked with Airmow on a few songs for my solo project, we have a really great understanding of each other so I brought him on board for some Rubika tracks. I think we tend to focus more on the lyrics and melody side. We want to create great pop songs that connect with people and Airmow brings a more underground electronic sound to it. He's great with sound design and the mixing aspect so I think it's a really good combination.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AIRMOW (@airmowmusic) on Oct 24, 2018 at 10:56am PDT

How do you feel about the recent announcement that Soundcloud will serve as a distributor to Spotify and Apple music?
Airmow: It's a really good news for artists! It's also a good idea by Soundcloud which has lost some interest these last years.

Rubika: I think it's probably a good move for Soundcloud. It's going to give more of an incentive for people to get the premium option on there. What impact it will have on Spotify and other distributors I'm not sure yet. I do worry that if Spotify isn't careful, it can devalue itself. If it's too easy for lots of people to distribute on the platform, they could soon fall into the same traps that Soundcloud did.

Having both worked with original vocals in your other tracks, what tips do you have for reaching out to vocalists and some technical tricks for making the most out of those vocals?
Airmow: Contacts in the music industry is the key! With social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Soundcloud, it's really easy to contact new artists. When I discover a cool singer on a streaming service, I'll send them a demo if I feel that they'd fit well with one of my projects. One of the most important things for me is the topline of the singer. It's always great when the singer and I are on the same page when working on a project and can work together to make the best track possible.

Rubika: We have the advantage since one one of has their own studio, so we get a lot of great singers passing through that we can utilise. For me, I've searched for singers on Soundcloud, Instagram and I've even gone so far as to put out adverts in my local area. There is also a great app called Vampr which is a dating style app for finding local musicians who want to collab. I've worked with a lot of people remotely with them recording at home, but I find it's always best to record together in person. As a producer, you can really focus on details and give the singers a different opinion on the vocal, so I think this gets the best results.

Where do you guys hope to go next with your music and careers?
Airmow: I just want to keep producing music, meet new artists, discover new styles and share my music with everyone. Music literally changed my life these last few months. My goal at the moment is signing an EP to a major like Sony, Universal, or Warner so I'm already working on it! This year I will probably release less tracks compared to 2018 but they will be better quality.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lacuna (@lacunarecs) on Feb 27, 2019 at 11:58am PST

Rubika: We hope that this year we can grow and take things to the next level. We've already had success with independent releases but we want to branch out with more label releases and hopefully release our EP soon. Our goal is to get on a major label and have regular airplay on Radio 1, we've already had great support from local BBC Introducing shows so we want to work towards that. Most importantly, we just want to get great music out there and hopefully a lot of people will enjoy it.

A huge thanks to Airmow and Rubika for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to check them out using the links below.