Interview: Five minutes with GotSome
Bristol’s GotSome has just shared his latest sampling of Black & White Brothers’ ‘PUMP IT UP’. The original track has been hailed as ‘one of the most iconic tracks and acapella’s in house music history’ and with the adding of kicks, claps and hi-hats, we see the song come to life once again. Adam Gorsky aka Gotsome has worked alongside artists such as Wiley and Jus Now while also remixing tracks from other notable acts such as Kanye West, Craig David, Not3s & Mabel.
Following all of these collaborations and remixes, we decided to learn a little bit about the man behind the music.
Hi GotSome, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. How has the year been so far? Tell us some of your highlights?
Heyyy Playground…
This year has flown by. I started the year in the studio writing a lot of the new music you’ve been hearing over the last few months.
Restless, Plastic On Acid & Pump It Up….
In March I toured Asia, which certainly was a highlight – Playing with Roger Sanchez in a casino in Manilla & playing on the beach in Bali with Moose T. Then coming back to the UK where the festivals were all kicking off. Festival highlights have definitely included running a take over at the Gas Tower in Shangri-La (Glastonbury) with my Who Cares family (all my mates from Bristol) and playing to over 2,000 people at The Psychedelic Forest at Boomtown Festival. I also had the chance to play at the original boutique festival in Port Eliot Cornwall where I closed the dance stage on the final night of the festival that had been running for 10 years. All in all, I’ve had a lovely summer! Not as busy as past years but pure quality.
Looking back, what were some of your earliest entries into music appreciation? And music production?
Looking back I was in & around music in Bristol from an early age. Whether it was going to Glastonbury when I was 13 months old or watching Top of the Pops with my dad. I always wanted to be around music… It just made me super happy. I spent a large part of my childhood and teenage life around music & DJs. My mum used to go clubbing when I was a kid so I kept hearing all the stuff she was listening to. That really influenced me to want to be a DJ. I worked day and night in a supermarket to buy my first set of Technics. Then from the age of 16/17 all you heard from my bedroom was Hip Hop & DnB blasting out. I was a true Bristol Raver. Then I was sneaking into raves. Trying my hardest to blag DJ sets wherever I could.
It was much later in the day when I started to produce. I realised if I wanted to make it as an act I would have to produce records for me and my pals to play out. I used to hang with a few of the DnB guys at the time – like DJ Die & Danny Byrd. One day I was in Bath with Danny and he asked if I wanted to make a tune. Next thing you know we had rolled out this liquid DnB tune and Hospital Records wanted to sign it.
This experience really drew me in. Two months later I had enrolled in music school and was learning how to produce. I guess the rest is history. I’ve been a band called ‘Substatic’ and was in a trio called ‘Forget Me Not’ and now obviously GotSome.
You have recently released a new track that samples The Black & White Brother’s ‘Pump It Up’. How did you approach this re-interpretation? What guided your creative decisions in your 2019 version of this classic?
So I first heard the original The Black & White Brother’s ‘Pump It Up’ years ago on some house compilation… but it wasn’t until I was in Mexico in 2017 at a festival called BPM. I heard Seth Troxler and The Martinez Bro’s play it at this mad rave in a jungle. I remember going home from that festival and buying the record… I started playing the original out at the clubs but I felt it wasn’t quite matching up with all the tunes I was playing at the time. So I decided to make a DJ edit of it. Adding my own kicks, claps and hats…. Also, I wanted to lift the middle section so I added a hypnotising harp line on the middle build up…. Then played it out myself as an edit for over a year before I took it to play at ADE 2018 where it got picked up by my fellow DJs & then it got signed & officially cleared.
Outside of music, what stimulates your imagination?
Outside of music I’ve always been obsessed with art and fashion. I studied Art, Design & Graphics at uni so I always wanted to design record sleeves or flyers from my early teens. Also, I have a mad sneaker addiction. Anyone that knows me personally knows it’s become a real issue recently… my hall in my apartment is starting to look more like a sneaker store than a living space. Hey, I’m still young I keep telling myself…. LOL
You’ve been on tour around the world from the UK, to Asia to Europe. So far, where has been your favourite place to perform? Why?
Where is my favourite place to DJ??…. Now that is a hard question. There’s been so many of them. Not sure if there is a favorite. Maybe the first time I played at WHP in Manchester also when I played at Burningman in Utah Desert. Playing Easter Sunday at The W Hotel in Bali on the beach. Nothing beats DJ’ing barefoot in the hot sand. As I mentioned before there’s nothing like DJing at Glasto with all your pals in the crowd, that’s a proper treat….. Big ups Glastonbury.
Tell us your dream venue and fellow musicians to perform alongside?
My Dream venues I’ve always wanted to play at are probably Printworks in London and Shambala Festival outside Vancouver in Canada. I would love to play alongside Dj’s like Cashmere, DJ Deon, Mall Grab, Floor Plan & Kenny Dope to name a few
The rich musical landscape of Bristol continues to thrive and reach new heights. Who are some Bristolians we should be keeping an ear out for currently?
There’s so much new talent coming through Bristol at the moment.
On the Bass & Grime tip: Sir Hiss, LUCY, OH91, Lemzly Dale & Jay 0117, Polo & Lobby, Nior, and finally, Jenny Wade
On the House & Techno side of things: Natural Sugars, Dave Bull, Daisy Moon & Djs like Em Willaims, Ellie Stokes, Danielle & Cousin and finally, Jay L.
Finally, what is one piece of wisdom you want to leave for your fans?
Always keep learning every day. Don’t stop learning at any level. Always keep it rolling and fresh.
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