LA-based producer Ookay rose to fame in the trap scene, a subgenre of electronic music featuring bouncy hip-hop instrumentals. We called him in his home studio in West Hollywood to talk about his favorite LA hangouts, his recent EP Ghost and his long-term goals as he pushes his own boundaries into new genres.
What part of LA do you live in?
I live in West Hollywood kind of by Miracle Mile.
What attracted you to that area?
I moved here from San Diego. I was just hopping from apartment to apartment shopping around and I found this spot out here on Olympic. It was the perfect place for me—a young neighborhood that’s accepting of loud noises when I’m producing, so it worked out.
You play all over LA. What’s your favorite venue?
I really like Avalon. The whole team there has been really nice to me and the crowd is always great. I had an awesome time at the Belasco Theater, as well. They just started to do LED night there. I’m excited because I’m playing this month on Dec. 30 at the Shrine Auditorium downtown, which will be my first time playing there. It’s for OMFG New Year’s Eve.
What are some of your favorite LA eateries besides In-n-Out?
There’s this organic, healthy place I love called Four Café on that strip on Fairfax with all the great restaurants. I just ate at this great Argentinean place today called Lala’s on Melrose. It’s on the fancier side.
Where’s the best pizza?
Oh man, Garage Pizza is pretty good, but I think my favorite is Blaze Pizza. I had my EP release party there not too long ago. It’s at the Farmers Market at The Grove. It’s kind of like the pizza version of Chipotle where you pick your ingredients and then they fire up the pizza. That place blew my mind.
Where did the name “Ghost” come from for the new EP?
It started with the first track on the EP that I named “Ghost.” It fit the atmosphere that I set in the song—sort of like a mysterious and emotional type of feel to it. I felt that captured the essence of the EP, so I went with it.
You have a big collaboration on that with Riggi & Piros. What was the process like working with them?
I love those kids. They are so young and they have so much talent. It was a pleasure working with them and seeing how they work now that we are all on the same team, the Buygore record label family. They have such a bright future ahead of them. I’m so glad how the song came out.
On the EP you seem to explore different sounds and genres like house and future bass. What prompted this experimentation? Are you moving toward a new sound?
I just wanted to really push my boundaries as a producer. I wanted to see how far I can really take it. This was the first step, kind of like dipping my toe in different genres and seeing how far I can get with my production. This is just phase one really. I feel like it was a personal success and that a lot of fans liked it as well.
Are there any other producers right now whose sounds you are really feeling? Who are you listening to right now?
I really like Boaz Van De Beatz from the Netherlands. I’m listening to a lot of Valentino Kahn as well as up and coming producers like Retrohandz. I love the sounds that Jack U is creating right now for themselves and how far they are taking their brand. I really look up to people like that and I enjoy listening to their music.
For a while you wouldn’t release your identity and you hid your face at shows, but now you post photos on Facebook of yourself having a good time. What prompted the switch?
I felt like the mask was emblematic of when I was just making trap music, and I wanted to break out of that and say “hey, I don’t want to be labeled as just a certain sound.” I wanted to try new things, make house music, moombahton, future bass and big room house. I wanted to be an overall producer and I feel like that was my transition from just trap to all sorts of things.
So it was kind of like the unveiling of the real Ookay?
Yeah, exactly. It was an unveiling of the new sound of Ookay. Plus it was hard playing with the mask live, especially when you’re moving a lot. It’s hard to breathe with a cloth on your face.
You’re constantly on tour. What’s your favorite city to play in if you can pick just one?
That’s like picking a favorite son! I can pick the top three. These places never fail me and the crowd always gets so rowdy: Los Angeles, Chicago, and El Paso. I always know those cities will be great shows no matter what.
Do you read the comments on your social media posts? What’s one of the funniest?
Sometimes. Someone told me in a comment not too long ago that I’m more beautiful than any of the Victoria’s Secret models.
You’re constantly hanging out with and touring with your friends on the Buygore label Kennedy Jones and Carnage. Tell me one of the best memories hanging out with these guys.
South by Southwest was a great time for us all because we were all just hopping from one party to the next. We didn’t have rides so we had to call our fans to come pick us up and take us to the next show. We’re actually doing a bus tour pretty soon in January so I have a feeling we will run into some of the same scenarios. God forbid our tour bus breaks down somewhere, but if worse comes to worse we’ll be ready for those kind of situations and we’ll be able to create some good memories. Everyone on the Buygore team including Borgore, KennedyJones, Riggi & Piros, Dotcom, and Jauz are all family, so I’m excited to do this tour.
Carnage recently blew out $10,000 at his fans through confetti cannons. Any plans for you to do something similar?
We might do pizza ingredients like pepperoni and shredded cheese. We’re working on the health issues; I have a disclaimer to any lactose intolerant fans. We’ll find the middle ground and work around it. (laughs)
You trolled pretty hard on your Reddit AMA recently. Someone asked you what your favorite pizza topping is and you said “sushi or more pizza.” Would you really ever eat sushi on pizza?
I have! Borgore posted a recap video not too long ago of Halloween where we actually eat sushi pizza. It’s not a joke.
Is it good?
It was a very interesting combination of flavors but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it.
Also from that AMA you said you were playing metal before you transitioned into EDM. Tell me about that.
I was in a metal band for a while and I’m still in touch with my former band members. I’m always open to listening to different kinds of music. I can’t listen to dance music all the time. I gotta get inspiration from other places as well. That’s important.
What’s next for Ookay?
I actually have an awesome release that I wish I could share with people right now but it’s not finished. It sounds incredible and I think it’s promising. After that I’ll just be touring and working on my album. I really want to do an album. I feel like that’s the next step in my career—songwriting, writing lyrics and even singing. I want to try new things and see how far I can take the boundaries of being an artist in general, not just a music producer. I want to record myself playing guitar, drums and more. I also don’t just want to be an electronic producer. I want to make pop, hip-hop and other genres. I guess the next step is anything.
Dream big. What are some challenges you face as you look towards your debut album?
Sounds change in the middle of making an album. Albums usually take like a year to make. In the course of six months a lot can change. Six months ago future house or deep house wasn’t even popular yet and now it is. Those are some things you have to keep in mind. But at the same time the goal is to make timeless classics. So if you do make songs for an album, they should be immune to the popular fads. That’s the challenging part of it and that’s what I’m looking forward to succeeding in—creating something that will resonate for years to come.
Ookay’s latest EP Ghost is available now on iTunese.
