Au Contraire
NYC-based producer Au Contraire continues to break the boundaries of genre. The project, started by well-known DJ Danny Johnson, combines Afro Latin & Caribbean influences with “heavily syncopated percussion rhythms with UK-inspired bass-lines & psychedelic flourishes” to create a unique soundscape. This comes in the form of their first single, “Hit It On The Go”, which was released late last month. The song was a collaboration between the artist and Grammy-nominated artist Berry Boo. “She just nailed it”, he said. “[The process was] almost completely effortless.” This first project is the first of many that they plan to release in the coming months. We spoke to Au Contraire about his love of music making, the debut single, and more!
Tell me a little about yourself. How did you get started making music?
I became obsessed with the drums when I heard the drum solo from In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida in my dad's car, and later on got into battle DJing & scratching and sampling records - I think the first thing I sampled on fruity loops was The Clockwork Orange soundtrack.
What aspect of music-making do you love the most and why?
I like the feeling of having no idea where I'm going with an idea, and then all of a sudden I hear a little blip of something that stands out (often times it's something unintentional). From there, my brain just blasts off with like a thousand ideas & the effort then just becomes focusing everything into something cohesive - you're just awash in ideas and nothing else matters & all of a sudden the birds are chirping outside and you have a song.
I also love the shared experience you get with collaborating with people - you become attuned to each other in a way where you both know you're experiencing the same very specific type of joy, and that's a unique type of connection.
What was it like working with an artist like Berry Boo?
Almost completely effortless. I gave her an idea of what I was thinking for the vocals, and she just nailed it. Love it when that happens.
Let's talk about "Hit It On The Go". What inspired the track?
So I actually made the precursor to this beat a good 10 years ago - it was a hip-hop instrumental, and then recently when I was working with Zuzuka Poderosa (*does light foreshadowing), she inspired me to flip it into a baile funk track. And after hearing Berry, I’m thinking “Okay, damn she would FLIP that baile bamboo beat heavy.” Then she did just that. I’m so happy Berry made it a sexually empowering song from the female perspective, I’m like “Yes, please more of this.” (*does more heavier foreshadowing)
Your music seems to combine a diverse set of influences. Who were some of the artists that inspired this style?
Leo Justi & the whole heavy baile thing, Branko, Douster, Murlo, Uproot Andy, Jubilee, basically every dancehall producer especially Russian.
How has living in NYC shaped this sound?
Well, the way I met Berry was when I was DJing at SPIN (the ping pong club) while Berry was working there. A coworker of ours requested that I play one of Berry's songs, so I did, because it seemed like he was trying to cheer her up. And then it turned out to be good! So it never would’ve been the way it is without Zuzuka's influence and this random culmination of events. Berry & I both make music but definitely reside in different worlds of the music scene, or rather we did. I’m just grateful I've learned to stay humble & open to every possibility that presents itself.
If you could choose any era of music besides our current one, which one would you prefer and why?
Early 1960's Detroit. I love Motown, and more importantly, I would've loved to be in the city where George Clinton ditched Motown to mutate into a giant freak & start one of the most influential movements inn dance music in the world. I love when people hate on the Midwest; it’s the funkiest fucking place on earth. Where do you think house and techno came from? And Cleveland was way ahead of New York in the rock scene before Alan Freed moved there. Spoiler Alert: I'm from Cleveland. 216 represent.
Describe your music in just three words.
Bumpy flub nubber
What can we catch you doing on your day off?
I like to be outside with trees.
What's next for Au Contraire?
I have a guest mix on Feel Up Radio , which is on Diplo's Sirus Xm channel wednesdays at 11 pm EST (it'll air multiple weeks & ill also post it on aucontrairebeats soundcloud) & my next song with Zuzuka, "Vem Meu Amor" is coming out around halloween. a lot more collaborations and some UK bass-influenced stuff as well.