WolfSnarling

Origin: None

Music has always been something we hold dear to our hearts. For us, the music we create is our avenue of expression. It allows us to convey our feelings and beliefs in a way that everybody can relate. It allows us to take the listener on a journey and ultimately give them an experience. Whenever we make a song or compose a set, it’s our goal to evoke specific emotions from our listeners. If we aren’t doing that then we aren’t doing it right.

This whole concept of putting a deeper meaning behind our songs began when we started producing uplifting trance together while attending high school in Palm Springs, California. While in school, we’d spin sets at lunchtime in front of our 3,000+ student body. Even though at that time not many people were into electronic music, we still managed to pull a large crowd every week solely from the fact that the music we were playing wasn’t just music, it was a form of artistic expression.

We grew up listening to Armin van Buuren and Tiësto—two of the most influential trance artists of that time period. We understood what they were doing, and it was amazing.

Home Town: Palm Springs, California
Currently Living: Palm Springs, California
Origin Of Name: Surprisingly, we actually thought of the name when we were in middle school.
Andre: Colton and I grew up together and used to play around with my golden retriever, KC, in the backyard after school. Every time we would bring out a tennis ball, she’d curl her lip as if she were snarling like a wolf. The ironic thing is that she is still, to this day, the sweetest dog in the world and wouldn’t hurt a fly if it landed on her nose.
Weapon of Choice: The only weapons we need are some Pioneer 2000s and some mains. Drop bass, not bombs.
Source of Power: Most of our influence comes from the early 2000s trance scene, believe it or not. Armin van Buuren, Tiësto and Dash Berlin all made significant impacts on us as kids. We could listen to their uplifting melodies and warm vocals all day and sometimes we’d even let it play at a low volume while we were sleeping. That’s not to say we didn’t listen to other styles, however. Artists like Fedde Le Grande are responsible for the house-iness that comes through in our tracks and our minimal use of dubstep is a result of Caspa’s remix of TC’s “Wheres My Money.” At the end of the day, we know that the majority of artists in today’s musical realm are all making music that sounds the same. We’re here to make something different, unique—something WolfSnarling-esque.

What advice would you offer someone thinking about entering the Discovery Project competition?
Honestly, we never thought we had any actual chance of winning the Discovery Project. It had always been something we had dreamed of, but to actually get the call from Insomniac was a real reality check. We knew that we were making cutting-edge music that the world had never heard before, and Insomniac’s Discovery Project was the perfect opportunity to showcase it. If you’re thinking about entering the Discovery Project, just make sure to utilize your best work and spend as much time as you need on it. It isn’t the type of competition where you can just throw together 30 minutes worth of your favorite songs. The more original content you can use, the better.

Was there one particular moment in the recording or mixing process for your Discovery Project entry that made you feel like you were creating something pretty damn special?
Earlier this year, Andre and I spent a couple weeks in the studio creating “Break Away.” We knew we were making something special because the combination of uplifting trance melodies, electro basslines and bigroom drum progressions was truly unique. Everybody we showed it to absolutely loved it and wanted a copy for their iPods. Once we found out that we had won the Discovery Project, we knew we had to capitalize off of the song’s cutting edge sound, so we decided to make a similarly styled track called “I Know You.” After having the opportunity to play these songs in front of hundreds of people, we feel as though these two songs have huge potential to be global radio hits.

What do your parents think of what you are doing?
Colton: My parents have always been supportive of my passion for music. When I was in middle school, my mom forced me to play piano. I took lessons twice a week for a few years and really became accustomed to classical music. When I started producing electronic music in high school my parents didn’t really consider it music so much as they did noise. It wasn’t until my senior year when I signed my first song to a label based out of Spain when they started to respect what I was doing and support my quest to become a full-fledged producer and DJ. Now they try to come to most of my shows and rock out in support.

What is your ultimate career dream?
Our ultimate career dream would be able to produce and DJ for a living. People spend their whole lives trying to figure out what they love to do and how they can make a living doing it. We’ve found that passion. Getting up on a stage in front of hundreds or even thousands of people to see your music rock the crowd is an unforgettable experience. Being able to control the crowd and its movements through the music you play is an unworldly experience and is something that fuels our creative fire. All we can strive for now is the opportunity to continue to compose and play our music for people around the world.

How important is it for you to experiment and take on the risk of failure?
It’s human nature for the thought of failure to always be in the back of your mind. Sure, you always want to do your best and make something spectacular, but you just can’t let that one negative thought hold you back or prevent you from doing what you love to do. At the end of the day, if you don’t take the time to experiment with certain sounds or concepts, you’ll never know what could have been. And, in a creative line of work such as this, you can’t afford to not be creative and try new things.

Do you have a list of people you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
We’d definitely love to collaborate with Spartapalooza (Discovery Project stage design competition winner). His unique and enticing design for the Discovery Stage at EDC Las Vegas 2014 was probably one of the coolest and most original ideas we saw at the festival and really helped display his talents. Also, a collab with Maroon 5 would be epic, just saying.

What sound or noise do you love?
It doesn’t always fit the style of the track we’re working on but I absolutely love the sound of modern talking. We’ve used it for breaks, basslines and even leads. Honestly, its uses are almost endless.

What gets you excited when you think about the future of electronic music and club culture?
Electronic music is great in the sense that it allows such a wide variety of people to come together and share an unforgettable experience. Regardless of race, ethnicity, background, sexual orientation or family history, people from all over the world can unite and bond together through the music that’s being played and ultimately forget their problems and worries for a few hours. If that isn’t a valuable concept, then we don’t know what is.

EDC Las Vegas 2014 Set:

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