You have lived in Colorado for a few years now. When I first started seeing shows in the area, Colorado was known for bluegrass and jam music. But now it seems like Boulder and Denver are known for livetronica and DJ music. Was there a point where you felt like the scene shifted?

I’ve lived out in Colorado for about 4 years now. It’s interesting because when Pnuma wasn’t playing as many live gigs a few years ago we started to perform these Pnuma PA shows. We were kind of the first people to be a band but play a show with just computers and drums. And then Pretty Lights started doing that. We are friends with the Big Gigantic guys, and I mixed and mastered their first two records. Now, Big Gigantic are touring the world and playing the music they love. Even that band Savoy is in New York. They’re Colorado to me, too. And they’re on some pop electronic music. I really think Colorado has a lot of things going for them.

There was a scene here but I would say Colorado now has one of the most amazing electronic scenes in the world. People think of LA, London and New York as these hubs for electronic music but Colorado is really the hub for the new electronic scene. I do think that we helped cultivate that scene, whether it was through Pretty Lights or Pnuma or Paper Diamond or Big Gigantic or everything else. Especially with Elm and Oak, the company I started. Besides being on Pretty Lights Music, I also run a label myself called Elm and Oak, which makes exclusive limited merchandise and ‘one-of-a-kinds.’ We have a gallery which is our design firm and record label. And we help different bands. It is located on Pearl St. in Boulder, Colorado. We have the physical location to help develop this music and art scene in Colorado. We’re able to push the boundaries of what people are learning about on a daily basis.

Given that you are on the road so much how do you balance running a label, design firm, art gallery and management company with making your own music?

I’ve got people that run it as far as a team. So there’s this band Cherub that I manage from Nashville. They recently got signed to Paradigm [booking]. They’re doing shows with Ghostland Observatory and all this really cool stuff—they sound like MGMT meets Prince in the body of two white boys. They’re really dope, And then Two Fresh, they just moved out to Colorado. I’m helping to develop them—we are trying to move their sound from just beats and making more songs.

We’re not only pushing the scene, but also helping these young artists cultivate themselves and come into their own sound. So even when I’m not there I have a team of people working on their stuff—and my stuff—and Cherub’s stuff. We’ve got the clothing line and the design work. When I’m there I’ve learned that I need to focus on music all the time so I’ve become a master of delegation. So I go in there a lot and really make it known that Elm and Oak is Boulder, Colorado and that people in the area know what we are doing there. We have these parties that we announce on Twitter and pack the store in a night. So I’m very excited about where we are and the fact that people are looking to us musically in different manners.

I remember doing an interview with STS9’s David Murphy where we said, “electronic music doesn’t have to necessarily be dance music or rave music.” I think it is only in the past few years that people in America have realized that.

Yeah, it’s not limited to ‘floor music’ or ‘house music’ anymore. Some people are certainly still making music with that intention but you don’t have to. It’s cool for me because the music production chops I’ve always had help me. Anyone can pull out a laptop and make music now and, in a world where now everyone can do that, how do you stand out? I think the way to do that is to create your own voice in your musical intention.

The electronic scene is growing, and it is exciting for me. Since I was in college I knew that electronic music was going to be big in America. And it’s Kind of coming into fruition now. It’s exciting for me to see the change and everything that’s coming. Like you said, the Biscuits, Sound Tribe and all these bands paved the way for these musicians to do their thing. Now, it is at a time where a single person can make the music they hear in their head and then present that to the people without like compromising it with a live band. I feel like young people have come to expect that. It’s cool.

Are you currently working on a studio project?

Yes. My new EP, Paragon, is gonna be coming out. I’m actually gonna be working on the last track. It’s eight tracks, jut like Levitate. I just put out a new remix the weekend before Jam Cruise. I also finished a remix for Bassnectar that he sent me the parts for. I don’t know what the plan is for it yet, but people have been begging me to release that. He said it was cool for me to play it, so I’ve been playing it and people are like, “When can I get it?” So I got Paragon. We’ve got two new videos. I got a couple of other singles that aren’t on the record. I’m gonna be working on a third EP right after that. A series of remixes and videos. Like I said, I have a designer in New York named Nook who happens to be one of the most ill designers. He can build cityscapes. He draws a city and everything looks hand-drawn, almost like anime but more surreal. I’ve got him and I’ve got this character designer in Denver named Josh Holland who’s like one of the most amazing character designers. I’ve got somebody making backgrounds and somebody making characters and we have all these animators and animations for the next video. We’re creating a storyline for everything that’s happening. The music is my main focus, but I’m really interested in turning this thing into one giant art project.

That goes back to the idea of having a multi-media vision for Paper Diamond.

That had to do with my preparedness. I started doing shows in December, but I started planning the change from Alex B and Pnuma to doing Paper Diamond for like six months before I even told anybody. Then I started this marketing campaign “Who Is Paper Diamond.” Like super elusive. I got the branding all finished first with the text and the diamond logo. I think about things like that. With Elm and Oak branding is something we specialize in. It’s cool because I’ve seen it work for this and with the other groups we’re helping too. Over the years, I’m 28 now, I dropped out of college to pursue a life of music when I was 19. I’ve learned and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I feel like this project specifically, musically is where my head’s at. And I can tell the fans are relating to it. It’s giving me inspiration and motivation to push it as far as I can take it.

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