Last night at the King King Hollywod, the Do Lab hosted a special event featuring Bridge Theory, Fractal, and Crywolf. We had a chance to chat with Fractal before his set and we're excited to sit down with Crywolf soon as well.
Fractal's take on electronic music is a breath of fresh air that he refers to as “Genre you tell me.” Some of his most popular tracks are known for a unique blend of dubstep, progressive, drum and bass, and trance mashed in with various types of electro and even glitch. Whether you're looking for uplifting sounds that enrich the soul or chill out vibes, he's got you covered. Now he's even reached outside of electronic music as he discusses his recent worldwide tour as the personal DJ for Enrique Iglesias and an upcoming full-length album. We're thankful to Fractal and the Do Lab for helping coordinate this interview.
Make sure to check him out across various social media where Fractal has a very humorous and loyal group of fans that the Baltimore native maintains a loving relationship with through music and inspiring messages. We're grateful to hear this story and meet such an appreciative, talented, up and coming artist.
How long have you been touring with Enrique Iglesias, how did that come about? What is that like?
Awesome gig, I feel really grateful. Three years ago I went to a BT show, who was my biggest inspiration. You know, my dad turned me on to his music when I was a kid and I found out he was coming to D.C. so I was like, “Dad! I'm gonna go give BT my CD!” and I had my third album. I'd been doing Fractal for two years at the time and he was like, “Yeah, okay, whatever son. Have fun.” And then I went to the show just in time, right before security kind of pulled him away. He grabbed my CD. I was like, “Can you listen to my CD, BT?” He was like, “I'd love to.” He grabbed it and just washed away.
I was close to not bringing the CD in the club. So I didn't hear back from him for a while but I was like, whatever, at least I tried. Then I get a random phone call and it's like, “Hey is this Fractal?” and I'm like “yeah whose this?” and he said “BT.” A sub drop went off and my heart dropped. He was like, “Dude, you're a pain in the ass to get a hold of. I get thousands of CD's a week. This is the best shit I've heard in three years. Come to my house right now.” And we hooked up. He featured me in his new album, we worked on some tracks, and we actually became best friends. Like now, our families get dinner together. I'm DJ'ing his wedding. He's one of my best friends and he's one of the biggest and most important parts of my life.
We were making music in the studio one day and he gets this phone call and he gets off and he's like, “Dude, Enrique Iglesias is looking for a DJ. I told him I have the man for the Job.” I just lost my shit. So I went to Philly to meet Enrique at a show. Had an interview, they we're like “you're dope.” But everyone fought it because I was nineteen but BT fought (it) and finally they gave me a chance. They flew me across the world. Monte Carlo was my first gig, played for a bunch of billionaires. Enrique goes, “Fractal, go ahead. Do your thing.” I was just like, okay. I dropped “Crystal Mathematics” by Au5.
Now I'm here. I've gotten to the point where I can support myself just from (Fractal) but I'm sticking around with Enrique. I like to help people in my life. When my friends lose their job, I buy them groceries for two or three months. It's not just me I'm supporting. It's everyone in life that I care about, that's why I do it.
What's been the highlight of touring with him? I saw you on the Jimmy Kimmel Show recently.
Yeah, we've been doing a lot of TV. We were on X-Factor, Dancing With the Stars, Jimmy Kimmel Live, a bunch of Sports Illustrated stuff, The Today Show… it's definitely fun. The band is awesome, Enrique's a great guy. One of the other perks is working with Enrique's producer. I got to help produce Enrique's latest album, a hit with Sean Paul that just came out, got to produce for other guys in that pop scene which is sweet. I like to party and spread love through music and work on the road which is cool.
What are you working on right now?
My big project right now which was kind of inspired by my fans is my first officially released album for Monstercat. It's going to be full length. It's my fourth album technically but it's going to be the first one I'm going to release. I have a big, secret history of Fractal shit that kind of never saw the light of day. I'll probably come back to and re-imagine it. “Halcyon” which was my first Monstercat song and “Tunnels” which was a pre-release I did before Monstercat were songs from my first or second album that I re-imagined.
I've got ten or eleven tracks right now (on the album) that are almost done. Hopefully within the next three or four months I'll be able to have a solid package. I asked my fans in a few different platforms if they wanted EP‘s or an album. Everybody was just like, “album, album, album.” So I was like, alright. Monstercat is clutch. They're my saving grace. I can't show my appreciation for them as much as I really would like to. They helped make Fractal what it really is. I've always been making music but the hardest part is getting it out there, getting it heard. Monstercat is amazing for that. I feel so lucky to be on an established, huge label with a huge mouthpiece to help actualize the hard work I put into my music. I feel blessed. They're great guys. They're super cool, they love music, and they put out great music. I consider them friends and not just business partners.
END
Fractal
http://www.facebook.com/fractalmusic
https://twitter.com/officialfractal
http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialFractal
https://soundcloud.com/officialfractal
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