T.H.E Interview – Attom

Following on his hugely successful single ‘Stay’, rising American producer Attom recently released his new single, ‘Better feat. Justin Stein’

We caught up with Kyle Stern, aka Attom and spoke to him about this brand new single plus various topics including the “Attom” moniker, his musical influences, his first ever performance at Bonnaroo Music Festival and more!

Read our chat below. :)

T.H.E – How did you come up with your moniker “Attom”. Is there any interesting story behind it?

Attom – I know it’d probably be cooler if there was something behind it, but there really isn’t. It just popped into my head on walk late one night and I figured I’d use it for a bit (at that point I was still switching names a lot because I had no music out and it didn’t matter). After winning two remix contests as “Attom” though, I just decided to keep rolling with it!

T.H.E – Who are your musical influences?

Attom – I have quite a few, but some big ones are definitely Lemaitre, Uppermost, and Oliver Nelson. A lot of my earlier stuff is more nu disco oriented, which I attribute to Lemaitre and Oliver Nelson, but I think it terms of the general feel of my tracks, Uppermost had a big impact on me. Specifically his track “Beautiful Light”, which really made me rethink my process after I heard it the first time.

T.H.E – Your first ever performance was at Bonnaroo Music Festival, what was it like playing your music to an audience?

Attom – It was so great. I mean, I was absolutely terrified, but it didn’t take long to settle in on stage and start enjoying it. It’s cool seeing a track get x amount of plays and knowing it’s doing well because of that, but numbers on a screen can’t compare to seeing a crowd actually get into your song in front of you. Can’t wait to do it again.

T.H.E – What other festivals would you like to play and why?

Attom – Summerset for sure. It’s the only one I can think of that’s actually close to where I am in Northern Minnesota, meaning it probably won’t be insanely hot. Plus it’s just an awesome festival with a stacked lineup that I’d be flattered to be a part of. Electric Forest too. Never been, but the atmosphere of that place just seems really cool. Hahah at this point though, I’d be happy to play any festival.

T.H.E – You previous releases, “Her” and “Stay” scored thousands of plays across different platforms. Do you feel pressured to produce tracks to match your previous success?

Attom – As much as I try not to, I do a bit. After seeing how well a track is doing, it’s hard not to think like, “I have to at least match that level positive reception”, or “I should just keep making stuff that sounds exactly like that previous track because it did well”. At the end of the day though, if I don’t switch things up a bit with what I’m doing, I’ll get bored enough to the point where I don’t want to make anything at all. So even though those thoughts can stunt my creative process a bit, I’ve at least accepted that the reception of certain tracks might not be as great because it’s not what certain people want to hear from me.

T.H.E – We love your latest single “Better” feat. Justin Stein. How did this single come about?

Attom – Thank you! Better was really just the result of wanting to explore a new direction. In this case it was more down the dance pop road, which is quite different from my previous tracks, but it’s actually a lot more in line with the kind of music I consistently listen to. I also wanted to make something that had more of an ambiguous tone for once. A lot of my past tracks are very straightforward and sound very feel-good, but it’s not like I’m mr happy go lucky all the time, so if felt good to break away from that.

T.H.E – You’re also a keen remixer. Is there any tracks at the moment, you’d like to put your Attom touch on?

Attom – Snakehips’ new song with ZAYN, “Cruel”. That track is so awesome.

T.H.E – If you could collaborate on a track with anyone, who would it be and why?

Attom – Mura Masa. I really admire his sound / style, and I think working with someone like him, who makes such creative and consistently great music, would be a cool experience.

T.H.E – Describe your sound in 5 words.

Attom – Chill dance and some pop

T.H.E – What’s coming up next for Attom?

Attom – Definitely playing some shows. I also have a few tracks / remixes lined up, one being a collaboration that I’m very very excited about. That said, I’ve kind of stopped trying to plan too far ahead because things can change really fast in the music world, so I’m just gonna keep trying to make the best music I can and see what happens.

Listen to ‘Better’ featuring Justin Stein here.