Snakehips and EARTHGANG are no strangers to collaboration. The EDM duo and hip-hop imprint first joined forces on “Run It Up” in June of 2021 and then again on “Sometimes…” last year.
“Our sounds complement each other really well,” EARTHGANG’s Doctur Dot shared, though all four SNAKEGANG members attribute the group’s creative cohesion, most of all, to its “energy.”
With a simple mandate of having fun at the forefront of their process, the duo of duos has collided yet again – this time, on their first-ever EP, SNAKEGANG VOL. 1. The five-track project’s rollout kicked off with the Sinead Harnett-featuring “Been A Minute…,” which is now joined by more hybrid-genre cuts “Intro (if u down),” “The Remedy,” “GLIMMER,” and “Bounce.”
Snakehips’ Oliver Lee and James Carter sat down with EARTHGANG’s Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot to share more on the first-ever record – Dot calls it “the easiest project I’ve ever worked on” – from the supergroup.
When did Snakehips and EARTHGANG first link up?
Johnny Venus: It was in 2021. We were in the studio for another project, actually. Our manager was just like “Yo, this DJ crew named Snakehips wants to do this record with y’all.” We hadn’t even heard of them yet …
Doctur Dot: I’d heard of them.
Johnny: I was a fish out of water then. So they sent over the hook for “Run It Up” and immediately we were like “Let’s do this sh*t” and the relationship continued to grow from there.
Oliver Lee: “Run It Up” was not only the first track we did together, but also the first track we released on our label. Then we put out “Sometimes…” with Daya on our album never worry last year.
How did you find your collaborative sound?
Dot: In the beginning, a lot of divine intervention. Our sounds complement each other really well which made working in the studio together sort of effortless.
Oliver: We make a lot of house beats that tap into jazz, and that’s where Dot and Johnny really go crazy.
Dot: It’s really easy to write to Snakehips’ music. There’s a lot of room for creativity as a writer and to carve out different pockets.
Johnny: You know when you’re listening to a Snakehips song – and no two tracks sound the same, which I find really inspiring.
Oliver: We love hip-hop, and these guys just sound so good on our beats. But even when you put EARTHGANG on a house beat, they still sound like EARTHGANG. They are so versatile.
James Carter: We work with a lot of artists but the energy with EARTHGANG is unmatched.
Dot: It’s really about the energy. Being in the studio with Snakehips is super encouraging. It’s a good environment. Even when ideas get nixed, it never feels like it’s coming from a place of criticism or dislike.
How would you describe the sound you create together in one word?
James: Colorful.
Dot: A pure vibe.
Oliver: I think “colorful” sums it up really well.
Why now for an EP?
Oliver: The timing worked out nicely. We were in Atlanta for a bit and, for once, we had time to build out more than just one track and focus on a cohesive project.
Walk me through collaborating on a track like “Been A Minute…”?
Oliver: “Been A Minute” was the last track we recorded. We all got in the studio together out in LA in January. It’s one of James’ beats. We had a keyboard loop with a little vocal sample but no lyrics yet. We used that sample to build out the hook with Sinead.
Dot: That studio session was my first time meeting Sinead in person. It was super light. Everyone was just being kinda goofy with it.
Why do you think Snakehips and EARTHGANG collaborate so well?
Johnny: We just want to have fun.
Do you guys have more tracks in the archive?
Oliver: One I really want to put out is this really sick track we did ages ago with Alina Baraz. We sampled an old Lauryn Hill record and the sample never cleared so it never dropped.
What’s everyone’s favorite song on the EP?
Dot: I’m gonna stand ten on “GLIMMER.”
Johnny: I’m gonna say “GLIMMER” too.
James: I’ll say “The Remedy.”
Oliver: Same as James.
What was the hardest part about making this EP?
Dot: Nothing. This is one of the easiest projects I’ve ever worked on.
Stream 'SNAKEGANG VOL. 1' on Spotify and Apple Music now.
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