ARMNHMR

ARMNHMR’s back with their new release “Fallen”, another example of the LA duo’s intriguing blend of emotional progressions and more traditional chill trap elements. Desiree Dawson – supported by smooth choral vocals in the background – adds a soft touch to the track and rounds out the middle interlude. “Fallen” is the latest addition to a line of both innovative originals and creative remixes that has made industry players take note.

We caught up with ARMNHMR to ask them a few questions about their production partnership and plans for the future – check it out below.

Thanks for talking with us – let’s start with the inspiration behind “ARMNHMR”.

Initially it was a visual preference; I listened to a lot of MSTRKRFT and SBTRKT, and what intrigued me was how they take out letters but phonetically it still sounds the same. “ARMNHMR” to us though is the idea that everybody has potential but nobody is able to reach their goals alone. The arm signifies finesse and authority while the hammer signifies strength and power, and I think that’s a perfect representation of Joseph and I. You know, I come from a grittier hard dark side where Joseph comes from a more melodic and emotional side. When you combine the two, it’s like poetry in motion.

Sounds like a cool combo. What do you think sets you apart from the rest of the pack?

I think if you check out our music, we put out chill trap, chill music, Melbourne bounce, trap and more. It’s been an asset for us because we can delve into different genres.

So how would you describe your non-conforming “sound” then?

As far as our sound, it’s very experimental – we don’t try and sound like anyone. I’m more melodic and he’s a bit harder so we try and find a nice balance and be as forward-thinking as we can. At the end of the day, we would describe ourselves as high energy that makes you dance but also makes you feel. Music without reaction is pointless.

That sounds great. What does your typical production process look like, and what are the main challenges you’re coming across when remixing versus creating original tracks?

I think with an original, it’s a lot easier because it flows and we can do whatever we want whereas with a remix we’re stuck inside certain boundaries that we try and work our way around. For our remixes, we try and go as minimal as possible – we only really use the a cappella and nothing else from the original track itself. With remixes you don’t want to recreate what’s already made, you know? You want to show them another side. But I think there’s a lot of room for creativity in both instances.

You’re also definitely not afraid to take on big names (Kaskade, Galantis and Odesza being a few). What goes into your song selection process, and can you tell us some artists that are on your hit list?

We don’t really choose songs because of “big names”. We always initially need to love the song – that’s the main thing we look at. Another important thing is the idea of the song being timeless. We try and make songs that will be timeless because we want people to constantly listen to them because they love it; we don’t want them to play our songs just once. As far as people we want to remix, maybe Galantis and Kaskade again? We’re open to a lot of artists as long as they have very strong vocal tracks.

We also noticed your live sets are much deeper with more house hints than some of your SoundCloud tracks. Are you planning on moving more towards your live sound?

I think what people will realize right away is that we love to play different styles per venue. Both J and I have great admiration for a wide range of producers so we take every opportunity to play different genres. We believe every venue has a different story – from intimate venues to festivals to clubs, DJ sets should always be refreshing.

That being said, you can’t really put a finger on our creative process. We plan on staying true to our melodic background and will continue to incorporate it into our future productions, but at the end of the day, our goal is to make what we love and really showcase our music. As a wise man once said, “goosebumps don’t lie”.

Congrats on all of your success recently, especially with the awesome reception for “Disarm You“. What are your current goals for ARMNHMR, and how do you see your music developing artistically?

As far as our personal goals go, we just want to live and breathe music; we’re not really trying to live the lavish lifestyle, we just want to make music for a living. For ARMNHMR, we really want to play a festival. We both went to EDC a while ago and since then we’ve fallen in love with it. One day we hope to be playing in front of thousands of people.

Stay on the lookout for ARMNHMR as they continue to carve out a unique brand for themselves in the coming months. If you’re in LA this weekend, also be sure to catch ARMNHMR before Madeaux and Slander hit the stage on October 16^th at Create Nightclub.