NGHTMRE plays The Shrine Dec. 15; photo Koury Angelo
Bass music is always in a constant state of flux, constantly evolving and absorbing influences from almost everything. NGHTMRE is no exception; the wide range of styles he has employed along with boundary pushing sound design have earned him the spotlight in electronic music.
“I grew up playing music,” explains Tyler Marenyi of NGHTMRE. “Yea, I mean I went to college in North Carolina and when I graduated, I moved to Los Angeles to write music; that’s what I was passionate about. And after about a year working on music in L.A., I felt finally ready.”
Currently headlining the NGHTMRE Before XMAS tour, Marenyi is excited as ever to be playing shows across the country.
“It’s that moment we have been working on to put all this music together and you get that one hour to share your music,” Marenyi noted. “And the fact that I get to go up there…you know, as much energy as I give out, it’ll get returned. And the harder I go, the more energy I have.
“When I first started, it was when house and electro were crushing it. I made some of that, and also grew up listening to a lot of punk and rock kind of stuff too. I’ve always kinda made a little bit of everything, and definitely still do that now.”
NGHTMRE’s most recent release with The Chainsmokers “Save Yourself” showcases that love of taking risks and twisting genres together.
“I’ve kinda known those guys for a really long time,” Marenyi said. “Not super well, but we’ve shared music for years and years before we got to do this. It was nice to be able to finally work on something.
“Me and Drew (Taggart) had always talked about doing a festival banger, which they traditionally don’t do. And I’ve done crazy dubstep tracks so yea we tried to make the track a little bit of both. And we both really enjoyed it. It’s been great cuz people on that level of fame and busyness in general would be harder to get ahold of or deal with, but everyone’s been really cool.”
Along with this collab, there is also one in the works between NGHTMRE and Big Gigantic as well.
“That’s another one that I feel I grew up watching and I really fell in love with their sound at a show a long time ago,” Marenyi recalled. “I’ve grown to their music and it’s the same kind of thing; we’ve been looking forward to working together for a while.
“There was one specific idea that I wrote… and felt there was some amazing horns and vibes and live instrument swag to like every track they do… you know, they kill it. Really excited for it, I feel it is a good mixture of our sounds. It’s really jammy but really hard too.”
And if that wasn’t enough, there is still the collab with NGHTMRE and ASAP Ferg slated to be released next year.
“The song’s all done, and we just filmed the music video for it last week in New York,” Marenyi revealed. “It’s all set to release early next year. I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to get ahold of him, but he is really into the music video and really likes the song. I’ve been playing the song at shows, and it’s always one of the best tracks…. so excited for it.
“For me, as a producer, I came more from a background of engineering and producing rather than DJ-ing first. So, I feel every time I work on a song with someone new, I learn something new about mixing, or a tip or a trick or technique that helps me a lot. Even if you’re working with someone who isn’t as experienced as you, there’s always something I end up learning. You know, something I would never have figured out on my own.
“It gives me the excuse to do weirder things too…like I wouldn’t be able to put out a jammy saxophone song myself but with Big Gigantic, it makes sense.”
Hear all the mind-melting sounds and genre-bending grooves NGHTMRE has to offer when the NGHTMRE Before XMAS tour hits the Shrine Dec. 15!