Meet the underground talent of CRSSD Fest: Hotel Garuda
San Diego’s CRSSD Fest – presented by FNGRS CRSSD — has become a sanctuary for underground electronic music fans. The upcoming Fall edition is pumped with a wide array of unadulterated talent, where headliners including RÜFÜS DU SOL, Richie Hawtin, and Hot Since 82 are joined by up-and-coming acts like Breakbot, Solardo,and Hito to make for a weekend of top quality music from all over the underground spectrum. To dig a big deeper into the lineup, we’ve tapped some of our favorite acts on the bill for an interview series before the festival.
Hotel Garuda have made an exceptionally large impact on the scene within just a few years existence. The duo, comprised of Manila Killa and Candleweather, broke into the scene with brute force thanks to their chilled, jazzy take on Disclosure’s “White Noise.” More recently, they’ve begun releasing their own original work as well — “Till It Burns Out,” for example, became a summer anthem upon its release. Thanks to these notches in their belt and their demonstrated ability to craft sets and mixes that combine all the best of bass, deep house, tropical, and indie electro, Hotel Garuda have since become one of the most in-demand acts on the deep house/indie electro circuit.
The pair will be be taking over the Ocean Palms stage as their CRSSD debut, where they’ll likely be treating guests with their waterfront-worthy melange of sounds. Ahead of their takeover, Hotel Garuda have kindly sat down to unveil some key details about their career together thus far.
Photo Credit: STVN
At what point did you realize that Djing could be a career for you, rather than simply a passion?
Candleweather: Honestly, when we started making music I had only been DJ’ing parties at the college i attended, so I thought of it as a hobby until about a year after I graduated. We began to play bigger and bigger shows, and as soon as festivals started booking us, even my parents couldn’t ignore it! They were surprised and anxious then but have since supported my career choice fully, so shout-out to them for letting me follow my dreams.
What’s the most important project in your pipeline at the moment?
Manila Killa: For our fall tour, were trying to make the Hotel Garuda show experience a bit more unique than a regular DJ set at a nightclub, so it’ll be interesting to see how it comes to fruition.
What’s your opinion of the dance scene in the US right now?
Candleweather:Yeah, to add to what Chris said, I’m really glad that dance music is granting a lot of flexibility to artists that want to uphold all their influences and follow different creative paths, because thats what we try to do in our music to keep it interesting. We’re fortunate to have fans that are open-minded and relate to us, even on the level of “people who like all kinds of music.”
What are you looking forward to most about CRSSD Fest?
Manila Killa: I’ve wanted to go to CRSSD for a while, a bunch of our friends have played and attended that festival in the past and have spoken many praises about it. Also I grew up living in Singapore, where there is some similarity to San Diego in the way the city is right next to sea. There’s a sort of dichotomy between man-made office towers and all the trees and body of water at the venue for CRSSD and thats weirdly nostalgic for me.
If you could be another artist for a day, who would you pick?
Candleweather: I’ve been listening to a lot of Nicolas Jaar and I really admire the way he composes and produces his music. He seems to me like a really self-aware artist trying to break the mold that everyone else seems to be content conforming to.
If you could recommend three artists to catch from the lineup, who would you pick?
Both: Breakbot, Dixon, and of course Rufus Du Sol
If you were recruited to provide an Essential Mix in 2017, what’s the one song you couldn’t leave out?
Candleweather: Florence & The Machine – What Kind of Man (Nicolas Jaar Remix)….this song destroys me every time i listen to it. 12 minutes of glory.
Read More:
Meet the underground talent of CRSSD Fest: Lee K
CRSSD Festival releases stellar fall 2017 lineup with Richie Hawtin, Dixon and more
7 of the best sets from Spring 2017’s CRSSD Fest
Categories: Features