DIV/IDE Keeps the Buzz Going With Double-Sided Single ‘Get in the Car / Braille’ for IN / ROTATION

In 2015, DIV/IDE (Anthony Torres and Jayson Earles) emerged as winners of Insomniac’s Discovery Project, which is aimed at boosting new talent on the rise. Since then, the Colorado/New Jersey duo have kept the buzz going with a slew of tracks, including collaborations with and remixes for Aylen, Shaun Frank, Lil Uzi Vert, Flume, and the Chainsmokers, to name a few.

DIV/IDE recently dropped a banging set at Nocturnal Wonderland, bridging hip-hop and bass house, and their booming new single Braille/Get in the Car is the latest release on Insomniac’s IN / ROTATION imprint.

It’s been a momentous couple of years for the duo formerly known as Baewatch, who met by exchanging messages on SoundCloud. We caught up with them to find out what goes into their secret sauce, where they see themselves in the near future, and who else they think is worth a listen.

You won Insomniac’s Discovery project, which promotes up-and-coming talent. In that spirit, is there anyone you care to shout out in return?
Anthony: There are so many names that come to mind; a lot have already made names for themselves since I started following them. They are Nitti Gritti, Holly, Jace Mek, Noizu, and Aylen.

Jayson: There is so much amazing up-and-coming talent out there right now! Some of my favorites are Noizu, Sam F, Oolacile, Aylen, Jameston Thieves, and Kevin Flum!

Your set list for Nocturnal featured a mix of hip-hop and EDM with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Major Lazer, Flume, Kanye, Excision, Migos, Nero, and Cardi B. Are the styles and cultures more fluid now, or are people too hung up on genres?
Anthony: It’s very fluid now, compared to three to four years ago. It all depends on the artists, too, but we like to keep things fresh every set we play, giving new experiences to the fans and ourselves at every show.

Jayson: I believe that the styles and cultures are definitely more fluid now. We try to play everything we personally like and have been bumping recently. Nowadays, so much “EDM” is hip-hop influenced and vice versa, so it works well together.

Your name plays on the physical distance between you. What are some stylistic or personal differences between you that you’ve bridged through working together? Either of you have any hobbies or other interests that are kind of your own thing?
Anthony: Style-wise, I wasn’t too on the hype stuff until Jayson introduced me to a whole plethora of music I would usually never listen to. Now, I incorporate that in our music and my personal playlists. I’m a master technician and love working on performance vehicles—currently loving my Subaru WRX and doing anything I can to it.

Jayson: We have a lot of the same interests and styles when it comes to music—that’s why we work well together. I have always been more into the hype music, and Anthony was always into more underground, off-the-grid sounds in the beginning. Since we both expanded our horizons and ended up where we are now, we are constantly building off each other’s ideas. Besides music as my main hobby, I really enjoy the streetwear culture. I guess you can say I am a hypebeast. I collect a lot of sneakers and stupid Supreme accessories, lol.

What’s the “Colorado” in your sound, and what’s the “Jersey” in your sound? How do your hometown vibes/flavors show up in your music?
Anthony: I try to incorporate anything I can that I think is different. I know Colorado is known for bass-heavy music, so I make sure there is a lot of it in our music.

Jayson: Growing up in New Jersey, I definitely have been exposed to a lot of styles of music. Being close to the NYC scene is where I’ve been influenced the most. The sounds range anywhere from Top 11 or dubstep to a lot of after-hours style.

“Get in the Car” feels like it has more of a sway, disco vibe; “Braille” feels more like dark, late hours. How were these tracks approached and produced differently?
Anthony: “Get in the Car” went through a few different versions, until everything came together smoothly. Once the ideas started flowing, the track was done within a few sessions. “Braille” was hard to mixdown; we had a hard time making everything fit together. I think we went through four to five different versions of it until we were happy with it.

Jayson: “Get in the Car” was finished in only a few sessions; it came together rather quickly. “Braille” took quite a bit to make because of all the different versions that were scrapped. We tend to make what we would want to play and what we are feeling at the time.

You did some fun mixes of NSYNC and Sisqo. How’d those come about? Do you have any songs that are “guilty pleasures,” or does that idea not apply to music for you?
Anthony: Just fun throwback remixes. We like to do them every now and then that feel super nostalgic to us.

Jayson: We grew up listening to those tracks and had to put our own twist on them. I’m pretty sure I purchased an NSYNC CD when I was like 8 years old. Blink-182 (with Tom DeLonge) is definitely a guilty pleasure. I could listen to their stuff on repeat for days without getting sick of it.

When you switched names from Baewatch, you said you wanted something a bit more grownup. Where you do see DIV/IDE in a few years? What will grownup look or feel like for you then?
Anthony: I think as far as our brand goes, it’s more personal and well put together than Baewatch was. I can see us on many tours in a few years.=

Jayson: Hopefully, we will be touring the world and doing what we love somewhere a few years from now. We really want to focus on growing the brand more and connecting with fans in many new ways.

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