While his MySpace categorizes his music as "Hyphy/Electro/Pop", I don't think words can even come close to describing Easter Egg's sound. The Portland DJ's most recent release, "Wiggers and Hipsters", mixes obscure indie music with main stream hip hop, European techno with Oakland's finest hyphy rap, and everything in between. While a bit chaotic at times, I find it perfectly suited for a generation riddled with pop culture ADD.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Nathan Pham, I'm turning 21 a few hours after I type this, and I was born and raised in SE Portland, Oregon. I currently work in production at a microchip/semiconductor plant, and am confused on what else I want to do with myself. For fun, I enjoy dance parties the most, but I also enjoy just spending time with friends and listening to music. The weather in Oregon doesn't permit for much throughout most of the year, so I have to make my own fun.
How and when did you first get into mixing?
About a year ago, I was playing with some pretty bad programs on my old PC. I used Adobe Audition, and it would take me forever to get things to the right speed. I eventually wanted to get more into this, so I picked up a MacBook and purchased Ableton Live, so I was pretty serious about it. I picked those things up last summer, so that's when I really started playing with music.
How would you describe your sound?
Right now, anything I have released is pretty messy. I'm most known for the "Wiggers Hipsters" megamix. That took me about a month to do, and now that I listen back on it, I wish I hadn't released it so soon. This was not long after I started using Ableton, so I had no idea at all what I was doing. I'd say the sound then was a big mess, but right now, I'm working on some new stuff. I'd describe it as "hectic dance music. " I seem to appeal to mostly a younger generation.
What are some of your favorite artists, and why?
I don't have too many favorite artists of all time, I usually just have some people that I'm really into at the time. I've been listening to a lot of PJtheVIKING lately. He has this overly banging electro sound, which is very hit and miss, but he adds so much feeling to it. It's like, bangers for a nice summer day or something. I always listen to COPY, who is a local dude. He takes 8bit music, which I don't normally care for, and adds his own distinctive spin on it to make it sound "smart. " I've really been getting into juke music lately, and DJ Funk stands out the most. His mixes are just non stop, wild music that I'd shake my ass too if I knew how. That's what I've been listening to lately, I guess.
It's clear from your mixes you have a vast and eclectic range of tastes. What do you attribute this to?
I grew up with older brothers who were into hip hop music mostly, with a touch of corny pop songs, funk music, and eventually, electronic. That probably had an impact on me. I also have always had a diverse group of friends, so people would introduce new music to eachother. I just can't listen to one type of music forever, it bores me. In middle school when was I started ranging out from the mainstream and finding my own music. I listened to a lot of interet radio to find new artists, and from there, I'd use Amazon's "users who bought music from this artist also enjoyed... " feature. With the growing blogosphere, it's been much easier to find new music.
How do you decide what indie, pop, or electronic songs to pair with which hyphy, hip hop, and gangster rap songs?
I work 12 hour days at work, and during the whole time, I listen to my iPod. I keep it on shuffle a lot, so sometimes I hear a song, and it just clicks right away, or I'll hear a small snippet that I really like, and I take mental note and eventually play with it, to see what it sounds good with. I listen to a lot of corny pop music, which most people wouldn't get down to if it was thrown in a DJ set, but maybe if I were to sample it and throw it in with some more friendly songs, then it'd be more accepted. I'm not super picky about what I use, I just don't want it to be super played out, and if it is, I'd have to somehow put a whole new fresh spin on it.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Obviously, Girl Talk. he was my first inspiration, I'd be a liar to say he wasn't. For a long time, I was just really into DJ mixes. I just like continuous music, it's easy to listen to. Right now though, I'm inspired by my old work. I don't listen to it, because I don't like it anymore, but that's what inspires me. I want to make something thathas the same idea, but sounds like it came from someone who knew what they were doing.
Anything new on the horizon?
I just finished an exclusive DJ mix for notontheguestlist. com, it's much more electronic than I usually do, but I guess that's what I was mostly listening to at the time when I was making it. I'm in the middle of a collaboration with Dr. Tron right now, which will be another DJ mix. He did the first half, and I'm doing the second. I was excited to work with him, because his mixes are great, and sound like how I'd want to do DJ mixes. That one will be very hip hop/electronic. I'm playing with production, but I don't think I have time for that right now, and I also am not too sure of what I want my sound to be like. I'm sitting on a few remixes right now, and I'm not sure if I want to release them or not, some songs are better left alone. I really should be working on the next megamix though, which will be like, "Wiggers Hipsters" the sequel. It's taking on a new name, and will have all new samples, but mostly the same style, just, less messy and easier to listen to. I want all the samples to be relevant and not drowned out in a fuzzy sound of too much overlapping. I was about half an hour deep into one, then I lost it due to a hard drive failure, then I started again, got about 15 minutes deep, then deleted it. I want this one to be as perfect as I can make it.
http://www.myspace.com/eastereggmusic
Written by: Cassandra Brown
