INTERVIEW
When it comes to music, there are three core ways to experience it: You can hear it, you can listen to it or you can feel it.
When it comes to music, there are three core ways to experience it: You can hear it, you can listen to it or you can feel it. The latter is typically what happens when music has the most powerful impact on you and in many cases, it causes you to move, dance and just enjoy yourself in that moment. That’s what the goal is when it comes to Blast Havers - hence the name. Representative Ori spoke on this more:
“It’s just about having fun. If you like to have fun, we want you at our shows. None of the other labels society places on us matter when you’re on the dance floor. It’s all about fun people coming together to have fun.”
The latest Blast Havers song mixes the fun of an up beat tech house song with a bit of irony that ties in with a small concept too. In short form and in Ori’s own words, it’s “tech house with a twist.” Titled “Tested On Animals,” the track’s title came to Ori first - which was already different from his usual process. After reading a label on dog treats that said “This product has not been tested on animals” the irony became inspiration. He began to formulate the concept of the song itself being tested on animals - party animals on the dance floor to be exact. After honing in on this concept, he began building the song from the ground up with a 115 BPM rate and layering the bass, drums and synth. While the conversation of “drumless loops” is popular in the abstract/underground rap world right now, Ori selected a different kind of melodic loop for the track.
“I picked this loop that has a little bit of an anxiety feel to it. I thought it went well with the lyrics of the song.”
Ori further explained that the lyrics on the song come from the perspective of a mad scientist running a test on his subjects, the titular party animals. However, while crafting the song, the idea to include actual animal noises came to the forefront. From a practical standpoint, Ori knew he wanted something to fill the space in the second verse area of the song and from a creative standpoint, he concluded animal noises would fit rhythmically. When hearing them for the first time, they’ll likely catch listeners off guard in a good way as the mix of humor, irony and creativity all come together to create something fun and unique and most importantly - danceable. Listeners can expect more moments like this to happen in other tracks released by Blast Havers - but not too many of them.
“I think it [the noises] could be a bit of a signature - but I don’t want to wear it out either. I think it adds a lot of personality to the track. When we’re doing dance music, it can get very repetitive so sometimes you just need little things to spice it up and you just have to know the right place and the right time to implement those into the track.”
Anyone on Twitter - or nowadays, Bluesky - can tell you that music opinions are subjective. One sound in a song can be the most beautiful sound in the world to one person and the most grating sound in the world to the next. However, the way music sounds is more in the objective lane. One song can sound different depending on if it’s coming out of headphones, home theater speakers, car speakers etc. The music of Blast Havers is crafted to sound excellent no matter where people listen to it.
“I definitely rely on the car check because people spend a lot of time driving. I also have a pair of Yamaha headphones that are modeled after the technology of their NS10 monitors (speakers) which were a pretty big deal back in the day. I use those headphones when constructing a track. I gotta make sure what I’m hearing is bumping. I’ll sometimes run it through my little portable JBL speaker or even just cell phone speakers. I have to see how the music sounds in the different ways people would hear it. I also have the Mackie HR 624 monitors that I’ve actually had for the last 10-15 years. With monitors, it’s all about knowing and learning the specific ones you have. The more music you listen to through them over the years, the more you get to know not only the music itself but the way the music sounds through those monitors and the way it sounds in that room and things like that.”
For the music of Blast Havers, the feeling of the music is a top priority. They want the joy the music brings to overtake listeners and bring them happiness as they dance and just naturally have a great time. When creating music, Ori doesn’t force it - in the words of Kevin Parker of Tame Impala fame, he’ll just let it happen.
“I let it unravel itself naturally. In the case of “Tested On Animals,” the title came first and I just built from that. But, sometimes I’ll use a template I created where the kick drum and BPM are already set. Then I’ll start tuning drums and going through loops or playing something through my MIDI keyboard. I’ll also say I know some people just getting into music may be worried about the “sample vs. synth” topic and I’ll say I’ve spent just as much time searching for a sample as I have crafting a loop myself. And, in some cases, what I’ve crafted sounds so much like a loop, I might as well have just used a sample from the beginning. And with the synth, I can add things to make it more interesting and sometimes, the sample will have more character. But, I don’t think about all that stuff as much anymore - I just go with what I think sounds good.”
While that process does sound time consuming, Ori’s final sentence connects directly to his process of how long a song can take him to make now. By eliminating all the aspects that came with overthinking and in some aspects, overworking himself, he’s now at a completely different point that’s better for himself but also the people waiting to hear the music of Blast Havers.
“I’m finally at a place where I can say the song making process is short enough that it doesn't get frustrating for me. One of the biggest hurdles for me and other people who make music is being able to finish the song. Some people just jump to a new song when they can’t finish one and that initial feeling of starting something new gets restored and that cycle just goes on until there’s multiple Frankenstein (unfinished) projects. Before really diving into the Blast Havers sound, I was doing band stuff and going from the computer software production to live instruments and producing through those means only made producing when I got back to the computer easier. Taking a break from it only gave me more drive and focus when I returned to it and I was banging out tracks much faster than before.”
It’s clear that the process of making the music for Blast Havers is layered and intentional. But, with Blast Havers, the aspect of enjoying this entire music making process is just as important as people enjoying hearing it when that process is complete. Ori shared he wants to be able to enjoy the music now and enjoy it just as much in the distant future too.
“When I’m an old man and listen to it in the future, I want it to bring me pride and happiness. Whether it was something expressive, observational or social commentary based from the time it was originally made, I want the satisfaction of being proud of the fact I made it to carry over across the years. I want to look back on it and say ‘We did that!’ That’s what will bring me the most joy.”
There’s more coming from Blast Havers as they plan to release more songs at the top of 2025. The themes of fun, danceable, “tech house with a twist” will continue with these songs, especially the next one whose concept fits right in with our world today. However, the most important aspect remains across all their music: when listening to Blast Havers, it’s all about what the name says - having a blast.
You can keep up with everything from Blast Havers on the following platforms:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
