DJ Sober
Five Questions With Brenmar.
Last month, we kicked off our all-worries-to-the-wind monthly dance party, Pop That, at the It'll Do Club with special guest Spank Rock. It ruled. A lot.
And we've got something special up our sleeves for tonight's second edition of this bash, too. Joining us and DJ Sober at the It'll Do Club this evening will be Houston DJ Dayta and, to close out the night, Chicago's Brenmar.
Brenmar's well worth knowing: After years of honing his craft, the cutting-edge DJ and producer has in recent years developed a unique sound that melds his loves for hip-hop, R&B, pop, house and club music into one, singular, decidedly grimy and surprisingly gritty sound. It's an amazing aesthetic — and you can hear it throughout Brenmar's incredible catalog, which has found him doing everything from expertly remixing Beyonce, Kanye West and Dom Kennedy to dropping insanely incendiary cuts all his own while earning recognition both stateside and across the pond.
But perhaps our favorite entrance point to Brenmar's music can be found here, in this incredible, almost 45-minute-long mix the DJ produced for V Magazine earlier this year:
Just go ahead and hit play on that embed right away. We know you'll love it. Then, while you're listening to the mix and making plans to come out to tonight's party ($10 cover! Doors at 10! Cheap drinks! Good times!), check out the below interview, in which our partner DJ Sober gets a piece of Brenmar's mind to help further explain tonight's cause. — Pete Freedman
Were you a DJ or a producer first? How does each of those crafts impact the other and the type of music you make?
I started DJing when I was 14, then started making at beats at 15. I stopped DJing for a long time and just focused on making music, though. I picked up DJing seriously again four years ago. They both totally feed into each other.
Being from Chicago, how were you influenced by the pioneers of house?
House music in the early '90s was everywhere. But imagine being in the city that birthed it. I knew what house was before I knew what house was, in a way. I didn't really think much of it to be honest. It was what it was. It wasn't until I hit my late teens and the clubs that I started to really appreciate it. I was a hip-hop kid growing up. Now, in a way, I guess I'm somewhere in the middle.
Your style and image are big factors in your appeal. Have you always been into your image and looking sharp?
[Laughs.] Yeah. Style is everything — music, art, fashion, design, whatever. I've always been pretty keen on it, but I couldn't tell you why, to be honest. Making something uniquely yours is very important to me, I suppose.
I feel like music is exciting right now, with so many styles being merged and new producers and musicians popping up daily. Any sounds or artists in particular you're hype about?
The west coast ratchet hip-hop and R&B scene is really killing it right now: Mustard, TeeFLii, Ty Dolla Sign.
Any last knowledge you want to drop on the people of Dallas before the party on Friday?
Call off work if you're working Saturday morning. We're going ham on Friday night.
Brenmar headlines tonight's Pop That bash at the It'll Do Club. Doors are at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10. You can get them in advance here.
