Rain Man beyond Krewella: "I've been doing what really inspires me"

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2015 is the year of renewal, refocus, and emergence of Rain Man. Formerly as part of Krewella, Kris Trindl (aka Rain Man) has spent the last several months hard at work in the studio to establish his own sound as a solo act. Choosing to go back to his roots by creating music with metal and industrial influences, Rain Man released a powerful track with Grammy winning Sirah called "Visionary" which gives us a preview of what is to come from this talented producer.

EDM Canada managed to talk to Rain Man in an exclusive interview that talks about his latest releases, new projects, views on the scene and so much more. This interview is an absolute must-read for all bass fans out there as I believe Rain Man will be someone to watch in 2015 and beyond. Enjoy:

The past year has been a testing time, but it seems like the clouds are lifting. Is 2015 a happier time for Rain Man, where are you at right now?

Rain Man: I'm totally stoked right now. I've gotten some new management and I think we're on the same page a little bit more. My new manager is Brandon from Red Light and he sort of gets me. He understands where I come from, what inspires me, what I'm interested in, and what I'm not interested in. When you're in a group with 3 people, you do what the majority says. But now I get to make all of the decisions creatively, artistically, and make decisions on shows I want to play, or don't want to play.

It's been great. It's been inspiring to make new tracks by going back to my roots with a little bit of metal and industrial. That's just been awesome. So I've been doing what really inspires me. When I wake up in the morning I head straight to the computer and just go at it.

I'm reaching out to vocalists that I am inspired by and we're just doing tracks.

"We pull[ed] a palm tree out of L.A., drove it out to the desert, and we lit it on fire."

You've now released “Visionary” with Sirah and you had a track with this new trio Hunter Square. Are you kind of experimenting right now? Or are you now just a solo artist?

That Hunter Square remix we put out was for the track “Falling In Love Will Kill You” with Gerard Way, and my friend Matt, who was one of the singers on that track, was one of the first people in Chicago hear my records when I was 19 years old.

He loved my first productions and back then he was in a popular band called Kill Hannah. Last summer we reconnected after 5 years. We worked on a Wrongchilde remix which was sort of a product of just sitting together and making a tune. And now the outcome of our work together will be two upcoming singles under Rain Man.

So I'm focusing on the Rain Man thing and Matt will be featured as a vocalists on two of my upcoming records. We've already shot a video for one of them actually. The video is awesome as we pull a palm tree out of L.A., drove it out to the desert, and we lit it on fire. We did a bunch of crazy antics. The video is done and we're just waiting on finalizing the record. We're going to call it “Earthquake”.

Will it be signed by Buygore?

I think so. We'll talk to them to see if they're interested in putting it out. Those guys are so cool and so down to earth. We came to them with “Visionary” and asked if they liked the record. They said yes and within a week we put it out. No bullshit, no problems. So the first thing I'm going to do is go to them with this next one and ask if they want to put this one out. I hope they dig it.

Tell me about your “Visionary” track featuring Sirah.

Like I said before, I got together with my friend Matt in the summer and we were working together 2-3 times a week. Around November I had this beat and asked Matt if she knew of any vocalists and asked me if I knew Sirah. I was like YES, of course I do! So Matt texted her that day and after she heard the record she said yes.

We got in the studio in December and it was an interesting time for me because I had no manager or booking agent. She understood what I was going through and that's how the lyrics for “Visionary” was created.

So you have “Visionary”, which is out now, and two new tracks with Matt - is that right?

Yep, and I have two new tracks with this reggae singer called Rootsman, and 2 club tracks with no vocals. So I have 6 in total that I'm working on right now.

Are you releasing them all one at a time?

I think so. When you release a project then you have to be very prepared. With Madeon, he waited 3-4 years before putting out his first album. I think it's smart to put out singles until you put out your debut album. That's what I'm going to do.

Tell me about your relationship with Buygore.

Borgore's label Buygore is managed by some people over at Red Light. In January I signed with Brandon from Red Light and when I played “Visionary”, he asked me what I wanted to do with it. He told me we could bring it to any label but we decided to bring it over to Buygore, who were two doors down from his office. They said yes and 7 days later it came out. After that Borgore invited me to play at his new mansion in L.A., and later at the Buygore Miami party.

Everyone is so cool over at Buygore, and it's not everyday that it only takes 7 days for your record to come out with all of the contracts signed. When I went to Miami for the party, I brought my girlfriend with me and hung out with the team, ate with them, and went to shows together and they are really good people. In my experience in the music industry, this is not easy to find.

I found your WMC Mix to be pretty sick. Do you plan on creating a radio show?

I was thinking about it but it's a lot of work. I put a lot of dedication into my mixes because I want to make sure that the song flows into the next song and it's gotta be ridiculous. It's got to get me excited. To do a mix every week might be too much. I'm kind of a hater because I don't think there's enough sick tunes to make a mix every week.

What is Rain Man up to in 2015?

I have a couple of records on the way with two music videos that have already been shot but aren't released. 5 days ago we did a shoot for “Visionary” that features me, Sirah, and Borgore mobbing. We have a black panther in the shoot so it's pretty epic. I have that video and the other video I did with Matt for “Earthquake”.

I'm going to play some spot dates just like what I'm doing now with dates in Chicago, and L.A. But by the Fall we are going on a full tour. So I definitely want the fans to know that because I have a lot of requests to do shows. I have a couple of underground guys that I want to bring along to help them and give them a bit of a push.

Is this tour going to be a solo thing or part of a larger Buygore tour?

It's going to be a solo tour. I love Buygore and I want to keep on putting out records with them. But they didn't sign me as a producer so I wouldn't say that I'm a part of their movement. I'm just a dude putting out records with them.

How do you see the scene today?

A year or two ago I would have been much more skeptical than now. I didn't know how anyone was going to get the notoriety they need to break out in the scene. At that time I didn't know of anybody that was going to take it to the next level. But now it's crazy. Everybody knows that Jauz is next level. Ghaslty is opening up for me in Chicago and he's next level. They're doing Future House. Everybody knows that Snails is killing the game. I think bass music is bigger than they've ever been. It's ready.

I was on Soundcloud yesterday and saw that Flosstradamus has 4.8 million followers on Soundcloud. Everybody talks about this bubble bursting and there's no way. I don't think it's true. Bass music is here and it's here to stay. It blows my mind how many new producers keep killing it.

Everyone is focused on what's new but no matter what bloggers want to put out there, guys like Flosstradamus aren't going anywhere. Bass music isn't going anywhere. People are turning 18 every day and people are getting exposed to this music every day. That's why Flosstradamus has 4.8 million followers because new people are checking out their music for the first time every single day.

"Without confidence and standing up for yourself – I think you're just playing a losing game."

Who's up and coming in the bass scene, who are some people that we need to look out for?

Jauz and Ghastly. There's something about their sound. When we look back at let's say Moombahthon, we now know that was just hype. But the way Jauz and Ghastly DJ's is ridiculous. Ghastly is for me at the Mid in Chicago, and he's a really tough act to follow. The only other act I can think of is marshmello, and I don't necessarily like his records but people are losing their shit to his sound.

You were in Krewella, and now you are finding your footing as a solo artist. Do you have any tips for up and coming producers trying to find their way in the music business in 2015?

When you're an up and coming artist you worry that you're not good enough. They ask if they are not good enough, that they're some bullshit bedroom producer who might get 3 likes on their Instagram posts or whatever. The most important thing is to believe in yourself. To believe that you have what it takes and believe that your music is good enough. Because that's what we ever did. We made the music and it was the best job that WE can do, and hoped that people will like it.

Confidence is important.

Without confidence and standing up for yourself – I think you're just playing a losing game.

I know you have a ton of fans up here - when are you coming to Canada?

Dude I can not wait. Canada is fucking awesome for bass music. Every time I've been there it's been such a pleasure. I just was announced as part of the Veld line up this year, so I'll be coming at the beginning of August! It's going to be my debut festival so its really special to me. 

My thanks to Rain Man for this interview and I'm stoked to hear what's coming up for him for the rest of the year. Make sure to check out his Soundcloud page as I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot of new material from him in the near future. 

Rain Man will be making his solo festival debut this August as part of the Veld Music Festival lineup in Toronto. For tickets, click here. 

5 questions for Rain Man from Krewella

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Rain Man is one third Krewella and has played a major role in their meteoric rise through the electronic dance music world. If you think Krewella has had it easy, think again, because this trio took a long time to get where they are now as I learned in this 5 question interview with the production mind behind the group. Kris Trindl, aka Rain Man, was a guitarist in a metal band for 6 years before switching it up to be a full time producer and become a part of Krewella with singers/sisters Jahan and Yasmine. Read on as Rain Man talks about his role in Krewella, his journey to get where Krewella is today, the Volcano stage, and even what he finds most annoying about travelling on tour with Jahan and Jasmine. Enjoy: 

1. What's your role in Krewella?

Rain Man: My role in Krewella is to basically do the brunt of the production work as far as all of the programming, engineering, recording, stuff like that. And then the other thing I do, or try as much as I can, is listen to the songs that the girls have written and maybe do some really small tweaks on melody. So most of it is recording, engineering vocals, and doing all of the tracks.

2. When you guys create a track in a studio – do the vocals come first or do the beats/melodies do, or both? What's the creative process like for Krewella and the making of your album “Get Wet”?

I always keep my studio in my room, or wherever I am living, and so the girls will come over and I'll ask what they have written, and they'll send me songs. Sometimes we'll record songs they have written and then I'll have a crap load of acapellas on my computer. So I'll just surf through those and if I'm feeling inspired by one I'll just go and start a new track around it. Others times I'll just be sitting around and make a beat or sound that is inspiring, then I'll send it to the girls and they'll write to that. So basically it goes both ways. “Alive”, for example, came with the vocals first.

The way we create tracks is really between vocals first or having the beat first. Sometimes I'll write a sick beat and we'll try to write to it but sometimes we don't get what we want. Or vice versa, where the girls have this sick acapella and I just try and try to match a beat to it. Like with “Live For The Night”, we had to do 4 or 5 different beats to it before it was right. And in my opinion, it's still not really right.

3. You had a massive 2012-2013 which vaulted Krewella into the limelight – how difficult a journey was it to get where you are now?

It was intense to say the least. It's 2013 now so we've been making music together for over 6 years. From my first year in college when Yasmine was still a freshman in high school – there was something that happened in College where I decided I just wanted to be a music producer, and Jahan and I were really good friends back then and we were like: okay you be the singer. We brought Yasmine on eventually and.... we sucked. We were horrible – we didn't know what we were doing - I didn't know how to produce, the girls didn't know how to write. So we spent a solid 5 years and I'd be just working on my production, listening to other people, trying to learn tricks on blogs and Youtube or anything I can get my hands on. And same with the girls, where we would sit down together and they would give me their ideas on how I could get better while I'd give them ideas on how they could get better. This was all before we really did any songs. It was in 2011 where we put out the first stuff and then it moved pretty fast after that because we put out our first single in January 2012, and by summer we put the Play Hard EP out. It was definitely tough and a lot work. We are still working when we're on the bus, where I'm basically starting to work on album two, and where the girls are writing everyday. So it's been a product of how much we put into it, and also we've got great management and a good booking agency, so our team is very solid.

4. What's the best and worst thing having to tour with Jahan and Yasmine?

Two good things: we get to hang out because they're the two most entertaining people I know, more than everybody else really. Sometimes when we're in L.A. - I live a solid 25 minutes from them, and especially with traffic - it will be harder to meet up with them and go over ideas because you want to do that in person. So I'm looking forward to this tour to be able to throw ideas back and forth in person and get stuff done like that.

Now let's see about the worst thing......The worst thing.... [Long Pause]... They eat too healthy, that's the one thing. I'm trying to drink Red Bull and eat Taco Bell and they're eating like, flax and chia seeds. I don't even know the kind of stuff they eat. Our bus is stocked with produce and flax wraps, which I don't even know what that is. I didn't even know that it existed. They criticize the men's tour diet. But yeah I've been drinking almond milk.

5. For those that haven't seen the Volcano stage, describe what fans can expect in Ottawa and Montreal for your “Get Wet” tour later on this month?

It's really special. The first time I saw it after V-Squared had been working on it, I was wide eyed - like holy shit! We had the idea such a long time ago and seeing it actually come to fruition and having it come out so well... We have a whole 90 minute performance now with the live vocals and full stage production. Every night we do this kind of unveiling, and the crowd starts screaming before we are even on the stage. They see the production and the volcano and they lose their shit. When we first started making music 6 years ago we were dreaming about having this awesome show and now that it has finally come to fruition, it is just so awesome.

My thanks to Rain Man for the interview. You can catch Krewella as they make their way back to Canada this week for their "Get Wet" album tour with Candyland and Seven Lions. They will be in London for a sold out show on Wed, Oct 23rd, and then on Thursday, Oct 24th they will be playing in Montreal for another sold out show. On Friday, Oct 25th they will be in Ottawa at the Ernst & Young Centre where less than 100 tickets remain. Click here to purchase now. They will wrap up their Canadian adventure on Sat, Oct 26th in Toronto at the Guvernment complex for Thriller.