Matt Egbert

Matt Egbert, 19, was born and raised in Southern California and has been in love with music since the very beginning. Growing up, he knew being a musician was his life’s goal. He started playing the guitar when he was seven, paving the way for a lifetime of creating music. He discovered electronic music when he was about 15 and absolutely fell in love with everything about it. Matt started DJing and producing beats when he was 17 years old, and the rest is history!

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Home Town: Westlake Village, California
Currently Living: Santa Monica, California
Origin of Name: I just kept my real name, Matt Egbert (no relation to past Discovery Project winner James Egbert!)
Weapon of Choice: Maschine baby.
Source of Power: Good music, good times and sushi.

What advice would you offer someone thinking about entering the Discovery Project competition?
Do it! Even if you don’t think you’re going to win, do it anyways and don’t be afraid to be confident in your work. And most importantly, make music that you love. Don’t make something because it’s the hot thing out –find your sound!

Are there any dots to connect with where/how you grew up to your musical output?
Absolutely, 100 percent. I have some cool-ass parents who listened to really good music when I was growing up so I was always exposed to different types of sounds. I also grew up playing a bunch of different instruments so music was always a huge part of my life.

What do your parents think of what you are doing?
They’re super supportive, my mom is my #1 fan!

What’s the biggest misconception about being a DJ? Or, what would people be surprised to find out about the profession?
I’d say the biggest misconception, or at least the most annoying, is that some people think it’s easy to produce electronic music or that it’s not “real music” because it’s created on a computer. I cringe when I see people say shit like that!

Tell me about your most memorable night out as an artist or as a fan. Do you have any memorable moments from past EDC’s or any other Insomniac party?
Hell yeah. I’ll always remember EDC Las Vegas 2014 as the moment when I decided that this was what I absolutely wanted to do. I had been producing and DJing for a while beforehand, but right around that time is when I really started to take it seriously, and I specifically remember being so inspired by everything around me that I said to my girlfriend, “Give me a year and I’ll be playing an Insomniac event.” Well, here I am now playing Insomniac Countdown!

How does what you do for a living affect you on a day-today basis? How, if at all, does it affect your friends and family?
Well, it changed my social life a bit, that’s for sure. Once I got serious about my music, I found that I would be going out to party a lot less and I would stay in and work on a track or practice mixing on my Friday night.

What is your ultimate career dream?
To get a headlining spot at a massive festival like EDC or Coachella is up there for sure.

Are you impulsive with your work or do you have a sketch in mind before you start?
When I’m in the studio producing it’s usually very impulsive. I’ll spend days just playing around with different ideas before I find something I really like and stick with. Same idea when I’m mixing; I’ll mess around a lot playing with some tracks seeing what works and what doesn’t and once I’ve got a good idea with what I want to do I’ll start constructing a set.

How, if at all, does listening to music figure into your creative process? What’s the last song you heard that made you drop what you were doing and go into the studio?
It’s definitely a big part. I draw inspiration from all my favorite artists and I’m basically listening to music all day long. When I heard Justin Martin’s VIP mix of “Don’t Go” I was floored, as well as when I heard the Chris Lake edit of “FUNKNROLL” by Prince.

What’s the most important piece of gear in your studio and why?
Laptop and Maschine. I literally do everything on Maschine, it’s super easy to use and really intuitive.

How important is it for you to experiment and take on the risk of failure?
I think its’ pretty important. If you stay in your comfort zone and never take a risk on something new you’re never going to get anywhere.

Do you have a list of people you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
I wouldn’t say I have a specific list, but I love everything that dirtybird does, and it would be amazing to work with those guys.

If we pressed shuffle on your iPod while you went to the bathroom, what would you be embarrassed to come back to us listening to?
Definitely some rap songs I made with my friends when we were 15.

What sound or noise do you love?
In my opinion, you can’t beat a clean, deep bass. Think “Love Taking Over” by Dusky. I also love the high pluck I used in my track “On the Run.” I tend to use it in most of my tracks in one way or another.

What should everyone just shut the fuck up about?
Genres. I swear man, I’m always hearing that music should be called this or that. No, you don’t need five different sub-genres to describe a song! I think people can get too caught up in labeling and it can take away from the music itself.

What gets you excited when you think about the future of electronic music and club culture?
The beautiful thing about electronic music, to me, is that you can create anything you think of. You can record whatever noise you want and make something amazing out of it. Also, there are always going to be creative, talented people making awesome music! That’s what gets me excited, knowing that there will always be new and original ideas coming out.

What are your weaknesses?
I can be too critical of my work sometimes.

Do you have a secret passion?
I love traveling. Getting to a point in my career where I’m able to travel around the world or at least the country and play music is definitely on my list. Also, I love to snowboard!

Do you have a favorite all-time mixed CD or series?
One album that will always be special to me is Random Album Title from deadmau5. I think that album will hold up as one of the best electronic albums ever. From start to finish it’s just amazing! Outside of electronic music, Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is definitely my favorite.

Winning Track:

Winning Mix:

Discovery Project: Insomniac Countdown 2014 by Matt Egbert on Mixcloud

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