San Francisco artist AMPRS&ND has been DJing since 2008.
"I was at a friend’s house after a rave, and I decided to give it a try and I didn’t suck," she says. "I started dabbling in production in 2010, but I got serious about making music in 2011 after having a moment during Swedish House Mafia’s performance at EDC. My friend had brought me up to VIP, and it was the first time I had seen a crowd that size from above. It’s hard to fathom without seeing it from that perspective. Something about seeing that many people sharing a moment in unison made me want to dedicate my life to bringing people together through music."
If she has to label her sound, she’d call it heavy tech house or bass house.
"I feel like it doesn’t exactly fit into a sub-genre box," AMPRS&ND says. "I used to make electro house under an old name, and those influences have always stuck with me over the years. I love making house with a darker edge – thick, chunky percussion with a groovy bassline."
AMPRS&ND's latest release is Out Past 2.
"Lenny (BLK&WHT) initially worked with Dances on the vocals for both tracks," she says. "After he and I chatted at a show about working on something, he sent these over. I LOVED the vocals and his initial ideas, and I was so stoked at the offer. "I really love the contrast of the lyrics on the two tracks. "Out Past 2" is a straight up party tune that many of us can relate to – you go out just to check out a show, and you have so much fun that you end up partying til dawn with your crew. Freak Freq is almost like poetry…the lyrics are subtly suggestive, and Dances’ word play is really fun and unique."
As for gear: "I’m one of the few people I know who uses Logic, and I don’t wanna switch," she says. "Well maybe kinda, but I don’t want to be slowed down by the learning process. I use all software synths, mostly Serum. I have a 49-key keyboard, and I greatly prefer using that to write things rather than drawing it in or using an on-screen keyboard."
"As for DJ equipment, I recently upgraded from CDJ900s (with the black and white screen) to the Pioneer Opus Quad. It’s so cool having four decks in one machine, and I like having a visual interface that’s more similar to what is in a standard club setup. (Plus it matches my living room)"
Looking ahead, AMPRS&ND has plenty planned for the coming months.
"I have a few remixes slated for the end of the year, including a couple for our label, Gold Bloc Records. I’m looking forward to a packed September, in which I’m playing at the Applecross Festival in central CA and the How Weird Street Faire in San Francisco," she says.
