How does one begin to tell the tale of an artist inspired by their life experiences and musical feelings? How does an artist identify with a global subconscious and the music industry as a whole? In an increasingly globalized world, saturation has been a recent and central focus of the electronic music wave that has been going on for around four decades now.
Ultimately what drives an artist to success is individuality and a sense of humbleness in their craft and artistic expression. Some have the performance gene in them, some are more reclusive on stage but weave beautiful tales through their music – 7Grams has a splash of the former and a dose of the latter. He grew up in a small Chinese city called GuiLin -he had passion and there was soul in his artistic expression – that fire could not be extinguished despite obeying his parents intonations on studying economics abroad in Canada. 2017 was the year 7Grams felt ready to start his musical journey, and his patience paid off in spades – with immediate international DJ support from the likes of Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Afrojack, Fedde Le Grand, and Tommy Trash, amongst many others – 7Grams has become a formidable name and face on the big room house and festival genre.
With a deluge of releases set and planned for 2017, and big remixers on the horizon re-imagining and reinterpreting his compositions, 7Grams is currently planting the seeds for his life, for his art, and for those who believe in his ideals and musical abilities.
Check out our interview with him, where he talks about his new EP and more.
T.H.E – Welcome! How’s the year treating you so far?
7Grams – Greetings TME! My year is going pretty well thanks for asking! I’m consistently putting out one EP or LP each month and it seems like more and more people are listening to my music. It always feels good when you know that people are listening and accepting the songs & head-space you’ve made
T.H.E – What was the first piece of music you heard today?
7Grams – First piece I listened to was Kayzo ‘Wake Up’. It’s a very energetic song and it’s different from the genres I usually write to; it’s always interesting to listen to other genres and expand the mind.
T.H.E – Tell us about your latest release, do you think it is your best production yet?
7Grams – My latest release is the DIAO EP, DIAO means “badass” in Chinese, I really like that word, and I think this whole EP has the “DIAO” feeling too. What I really like in the EP is “Future Invasion”, I tried different ideas and element from what I have created in the past, and I think it really comes out strong! I like all of my releases but yeah, DIAO EP is gotta be the strongest one so far
T.H.E – What did you listen to when growing up?
7Grams – When I was in China, I was listening to a lot western music. I started with listening to hip-hop like Snoop Dogg and Eminem. And pop music like Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars. Just like normal audiences I suppose. I started listening to electronic music and EDM 4 years ago.
T.H.E – Do you remember when you first started becoming inspired by electronic music?
7Grams – Yeah man it was like yesterday. I remember I was part time working in a bagel store, the boss of the store was a crazy fan of EDM, he always listen to Spinnin Sessions and some dancing web radio. Other people working in the store didn’t really appreciate the music he played, but that was my first time connecting with EDM music and I was so impressed about how strong the kick and the bass was. After that, I was hooked, I went online to search everything that’s EDM related, and I listened to it everyday and every moment I can
T.H.E – Where abouts are you from and what do you make of the dance music scene there right now, especially in your home area?
7Grams – I was born and raised in a small city called Guilin, which is in the south of China. A beautiful city, surrounded by mountains and water. But EDM culture wasn’t popular here at all. People prefer songs that are super melodic. But it’s great to see that China is starting to pick up electronic music culture slowly slowly
T.H.E – Was there one total rave, DJ or general moment that made you realise dance music was something you wanted to take seriously?
7Grams – I don’t think there’s one specific rave or DJ got me into this. I’m the kind of person that once I decide to do something, I’m gonna take it very seriously, that’s who I am. But buddy, every rave I go, it always makes me think that, one day I wanna be rocking the crowd like this, every time I go, the thoughts become stronger.
T.H.E – Do you make goals as a producer/DJ?
7Grams – First of all I’m doing this is because I really love EDM, and the people I met in this industry so far are all great people, they gave me a lot of help, so maybe one day if I become “famous”, I can help those who are trying to make an impact in the industry. If I have to say a goal, I wanna create a track maybe multiple tracks that people can always remember. I can’t live forever, but my spirit can.
T.H.E – Is there or anyone you’d really love to produce with
7Grams – Axwell, Kshmr and Deorro. Those three are the artists are on a different level in my opinion.
T.H.E – What are you 3 all time favourite dance tracks?
7Grams –
Axwell – Barricade
Flashlight(R3hab/Deorro)
Deorro – Five Hours
T.H.E – Who are your 3 current top/favourite artists?
7grams – Axwell, Kshmr and Deorro are my all time best 3. Recently I’m listening to Malaa and Kayzo a lot. They are pretty sick too
T.H.E – Finally, what’s next for 7Grams this year
7grams – Consistently working on better and better content, improving my production skills. Looking to work with talented vocalists to improve my sound and reach as an artist. I’m also working on improving my performance skills on stage to always improve the experience of the audience that has taken the time to come see me perform. I will be performing at the iconic OWL Music Festival in China for my first headlining event, and it will be a great show.
