Earlier last week, I told you lovely folk about the Ontario duo The Girls Can Hear Us. Edmond Huszar, the hard working producer behind their unique sound, has since moved on to bigger and better things and is doing his own solo project under the name OVERWERK. I was lucky enough to score an interview with him to find out a little more.
This young creative wonder hails from London, Ontario, a couple hours outside of downtown Toronto. He has only been churning out awesome bangers and technical electronic masterpieces as OVERWERK since last summer, but has been making music since a very early age. I think it’s quite easy to see and hear that his talent is far from unnoticeable and a true mystery as to why he hasn’t been snatched up by a label yet.
SSOM: So what kickstarted the whole DJ thing for you?
I was in grade nine, went to my highschool dance and there were weak tunes. In grade ten a friend and I rented everything we needed and learnt to DJ on the spot. Did every dance from grade ten on.
SSOM: How would you describe your style?
Classy crispy electro, powerful enough influence your mood. My tunes usually reflect how I’m feeling. They are an expression of creativity. I’m always learning and improving, so my style and sound will always be a progression.
SSOM: There’s definitely a Daft Punk-ish feel to your music and obviously they’re a major influence to you, are there any others?
Daft Punk influenced the entire electronic genre over the last decade so any electronic artist you hear will have some Daft Punk influence. I’m making music far different from what I was making a year ago though, so lately I think my sound is most influenced by Muse, The Strokes, Wolfgang Gartner, Porter Robinson, Mord Fustang and Chrizz Luvly. Electro house of today has become everything I wanted my music to sound like two years ago.
SSOM: I love the recent collaborations with Andy’s iLL, but who is that guy?
To me Andy was a random dude from London who messaged me on SoundCloud asking if he could remix one of my tunes. I said why not just come by and we’ll do a collaboration? He came over, we made Death Electro and became great friends. We’ve learnt a lot from each other and that’s the best type of friend; someone who influences you to grow and become a better person.
SSOM: Obviously the Southern Ontario electro/house/electronic scene is huge, any more collabs coming up with some of the other up-and-comers?
The Southern Ontario electronic scene has fucking exploded. The MDMA scene has also blown up equally… I’m always down to collaborate, but I like collaborating with someone in a different genre. A different perspective can put a really fresh spin on what you are used to.
SSOM: What advice would you give to young DJ’s/producers out there?
If you don’t produce music, don’t become a club DJ, there is a major over-saturation and there are plenty of weddings and barmitzva’s that could use you. If you are actually talented and passionate about music, Research and learn as much as you possibly can. The more you understand about sound and production, the better you will be. Surround yourself with people and music that inspires you. Hang out with people that are better than you; the people you are around always rub off on you, if your friends are better than you, you will always learn and grow from them. Don’t concentrate so much on pimping yourself, good things tends to be discovered and sought after. If it’s great, it will be shared, if it’s not… that’s why no one has heard of you.
SSOM: I noticed that all your music is up for free on SoundCloud, and even your upcoming EP, The Nth º, is going to be available for free. How could anyone from outside of Ontario support you?
If anyone wants to support what I do, the best thing is to just suggest my facebook.com/overwerk page to their friends. Also if people in their areas just talked to promoters, try and create a demand for my music, it helps a lot with my bookings for sure.
SSOM: Any plans for touring in the near future?
A tour is tough to organize being an independent artist like I am. More likely just one off shows, and maybe a couple stop tours if I fly to different countries.
SSOM: Aside from Daft Punk, who would you love to open for/have as an opening act?
I’d love to share the stage with… too many artists to name. I respect so many artists, the list would go on and on.
SSOM: Any particular favourite venue or venues I should check out when I move out there?
(laughs) Depends where you are moving. Toronto? I’ll wait to see which ones book me, that might sway my opinion.
SSOM: Of all the stages in the world, where would you most want to rock out?
Somewhere in Europe or Asia. I’d love to go to Korea or Japan, their culture is like a whole other world, and just imagine how many people would come out to jam. Europe has a strong appreciation for electronic music as opposed to North America where a big name artist is an excuse to get drunk and drop pills. – I know there are many in North America who appreciate good music, but there are many more who just follow the trends.
SSOM: You’re obviously quite the creative, any other talents besides music?
My original passion is visual art. I’m pretty good at drawing, painting and design. I’m also pretty good at film and editing. If I were to start a creative agency of some sort I’m pretty sure I could handle any department. “Over worked” was originally the name of my graphic portfolio.
SSOM: So that’s where your stage name came from?
I had named my graphic portfolio “overworked” because I’m always working on so many projects. I really liked the ring it had and decided to use it when I went solo. I changed “worked” to “werk” in tribute to “Kraftwerk” who were pioneers in the electronic music genre.
SSOM: In a feature on Remix-Nation you expressed interest to open an advertising agency in the future, any chance you’d hire me as a copywriter?
I liked your interview questions, they were creative. If that is what you are interested in, keep in touch. I’ll see where this blog takes you 😉
This is the part where I’d usually say go buy some of the artist’s stuff or go to their shows to support them, but since you may not live in Ontario, let alone Canada, pump up the demand for OVERWERK in your city and become a fan of him on facebook to receive updates and spread the word.
I expect to hear about your bangover tommorow morning,
Grant.
OVERWERK – Introducing OVERWERK
Andy’s iLL & OVERWERK – Stop, Drop & Roll
Andy’s iLL & OVERWERK – Death Electro
OVERWERK – Over It ft. DJ Mateus
OVERWERK – Feedback ft. Texas King
OVERWERK – The Nth º
OVERWERK – I Am London
Wolfgang Gartner – Space Junk (OVERWERK Remix)
Wolfgang Gartner – Conscindo (OVERWERK Remix)
Daft Punk – The Son Of Flynn (OVERWERK Remix)
Silver Medallion – Live Forever (OVERWERK Remix)
Bonus
This is a mashup that he released three days ago.
OVERWERK – Somebody Louder
All these bangin tunes and more can be found on his SoundCloud page.
Tags: Andy's iLL, Bangers, Daft Punk, Edmond Huszar, Electro House, Electronic, House, Interview, OVERWERK, Silver Medallion, Tron:Legacy, Wolfgang Gartner
somesortofmusic. 