If you are familiar with bass music then you are familiar with up and coming dubstep artist, VERSA. VERSA first erupted onto the scene with the release of, “Welcome Tune,” which was premiered on Circus Records. “Welcome Tune” has amounted to 13k likes and 276k plays on Soundcloud and has been played out by countless artists within the bass music community including dubstep heavyweights Funtcase, Virtual Riot, and Executioner. Not only that, but VERSA collaborated with bass music legend Funtcase to produce his first official release, “Death Stomp,” prior to releasing “Welcome Tune.” “Death Stomp” premiered on Funtcase’s Soundcloud and amounted to 11k likes and 238k plays.
To add to this already impressive resume, VERSA joined Funtcase’s record label DPMO with “Welcome Tune” being the first song on DPMO Volume 3 and was accompanied by “Death Stomp,” which released on the album this year. Having two separate tracks on the album is a sizeable accomplishment considering DPMO has debuted some of dubstep’s heaviest tunes from artists including Funtcase, Phiso, Infekt, Yakz, and MVRDA. DPMO has established itself as one of the most prominent labels in the dubstep community ever since the release of DPMO Volume 1 in 2017 and has continued its success through its merchandise, festival takeovers, and albums.
We were able to catch up with the rising star to discuss the release of his new record “Bluetooth“, his career, and his advice for up and coming artists. Click here to stream “Bluetooth” now and show your support by following VERSA on Soundcloud, Instagram, and Twitter.
EDM Maniac: What inspired your new track Bluetooth? How did you come up with the idea? How long have you been working on this project for?
VERSA: Bluetooth was actually born out of The Pit project file and was a result of me experimenting with a snare instead of a kick/clap. The samples were inspired by a Bluetooth FM transmitter I had in my old car, every time it connected to a device it would say “Bluetooth connection success”. It took about 5 months of messing with it (on and off) to get a final version I was content with releasing.
EDM Maniac: Can you talk about the first time Funtcase rinsed one of your tunes? What was that feeling like? How was it received?
VERSA: Aaaaaaaa the first time was so surreal. I was at the first year of Forbidden Kingdom in Boca Raton Florida and he had played an early WIP version of “The Pit” (one of my unreleased tracks). I was too busy enjoying myself to really focus on the crowd reaction, to be honest, but it’s definitely one of my favorite memories and it was so satisfying seeing all the hours behind a computer screen finally pay off.
EDM Maniac: Obviously, you are now part of DPMO. Can you describe what that initial process was like? How did you get recognized? Was it a specific tune (“Welcome Back”) or was it a series of tunes?
VERSA: I had sent a demo to the DPMO submission email at the advice of a friend, never expecting a response. Funtcase loved it so much he asked me to put it on DPMO 3. Later on, I sent him a half-finished WIP that ended up turning into Death Stomp. That was a huge track for me as it was not only my first official release but also a collab with a dubstep legend I’d looked up to since discovering the genre.
EDM Maniac: What is your relationship with Funtcase?
VERSA: James is awesome, as a veteran in the scene he has loads of useful insight as well as being an excellent resource for production feedback. We’ve grown to become good friends since the first meeting on Twitter dm’s.
EDM Maniac: What is your favorite festival to play at? Why? If you haven’t yet, what is your dream festival to play at? Why?
VERSA: I’d love to play Lost Lands someday. I eat sleep and breath dubstep so a bass music festival of that scale is like a dream come true. Excision has done an outstanding job of curating what has been my favorite festival experience to date (I attended year 2 and 3).
EDM Maniac: How much time do you spend looking for new music? How often are you sending artists your music? (Kind of explain how you go about sending artists your new tunes or how they ask for them.)
VERSA: I browse my SoundCloud feed several times a week to try and stay up to date with the underground, but I’m actually really bad about connecting with other artists. I always feel like I’m bothering or annoying them. I’ll usually only send out tracks once they’re at a point where I’m fairly certain I won’t make too many more changes (although I usually make changes all the way up until the second right before I submit the master to distribution LOL).
EDM Maniac: Can we expect another VERSA tune soon or a live stream? A lot of artists have been putting out showcase mixes… can we expect one from you?
VERSA: I’m not against showcases but don’t expect one anytime soon. However, you can rest assured there are some highly requested Versa tracks coming in the near future…
EDM Maniac: If you had to give any advice to up and coming artists who are trying to break into the industry, what would it be? What would you tell your younger self?
VERSA: Consistency is more important than anything else. Find whatever it is that inspires you to create and just do the best you can with the resources you have available.
Stream “Bluetooth” here.
Feature Photo – VERSA
