Exclusive: We chat with Urple Eeple

Peter Farr, under the moniker Urple Eeple, is gearing up to release his upcoming EP, Lost in Motion. Out on April 15th, we managed to chat with the musician to chat about music, his influences, and much more.

Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?

I’m doing well. I was just mastering some records today and I’m just now about to leave to see Robot Koch play at Wormhole in Oakland, so very much looking forward to tonight!

To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?

I think it’s always difficult for an artist to describe his or her own sound. Usually when I sit down to write a song there may be many things that are simultaneously influencing me, but genre is certainly the last thing on my mind. I actually do believe that by writing without barriers or constraints like that you come upon the best results.

That being said I’d say my music is a bit of a fusion between Leftcoast Beat Music, Bass Music, Future, Chill Trap, and Synthwave.

What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?

Oh boy, this is a tough one because so many artists and albums have influenced me. I’m not sure these are exactly the top 5, but 5 albums that influenced me significantly were:

Slugabed’s breakthrough EP, “Ultra Heat Treated”, TAKE’s “Only Mountain” album, Lazer Sword (Their Live Sets especially. Their albums were great but they really were a completely different beast live),
Two Fingers self titled album from 2009, and Eskmo’s self titled album from 2010 he released on Ninja Tune.

I’m leaving out A LOT of huge influences but these are 5 that are definitely up there.

What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?

20syl – soulful and beat-driven with intricate sample use and dirty synths,
Datassette – very dope and underrated, his productions are insane and intricate and love his synth choices,
TORA – Nice soulful band that brings a lot of nice elements together in their evocative music,
Freddie Joachim – his beats and key work are really beautiful,
Robot Koch – Incredible and soulful production, very deep,
Sorrow – super sick and soulful,
Yoggyone – innovative and artistic and really beautiful key work and love his off-kilter beats,
Lapalux – very soulful and deep and love the way he mixes vocals, synths and beats.

This list really could go on endlessly as I’m always finding amazing new artists to listen to!

If we gave you the budget to put a line-up together for a mini fest, who would you book and where would you play?

I’ve actually thought about this quite a lot. Here would be my line-up: Amon Tobin, Flume, 20syl, Eskmo, Com Truise, Datassette, Sweatson Klank, Robot Koch, Slugabed, BobbyTanks, Pixelord, Lazer Sword (would have to force a re-union), Om Unit, Freddie Joachim, Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing, Low Limit, Haywyre, TORA, Thriftworks, Yoggyone, Lapalux, Sorrow, Padwriterz, Baconhead and Two Fingers.

If you weren’t a musician what would you be?

Honestly I can’t imagine being anything else. I’m the kind of person that couldn’t live life unless I’m following my dreams but I do have a lot of passions. Music is my biggest and that extends to my Mastering career as well. In the end you’ve got to follow the fire that fuels you.

Do you enjoy playing to an audience or working in the studio?

I think playing to a crowd of people can definitely be a lot of fun but my heart is in the studio. It’s in the act of creation where I find the most fulfillment. There’s a moment where you become so enraptured with the music you are creating that you forget the world even exists, and you forget even that you exist. The music almost is making itself and you are a conduit for that process. That feeling is like nothing else.

What are some of the key pieces of gear you use to write your tracks in the studio? Or do you prefer to use software and plug ins?

My Moog Mother-32, My HCL Varis Compressor, and my Buzz Audio REQ 2.2. Sometimes I also go down to the Vintage Synth Museum in Emeryville and play around on their huge selection of vintage synths. As for plugin synths I don’t use too many these days. Usually I’ll build multi-layered sampler instruments from analog synths I play and then play them from the sampler so I can have more control in my DAW.

Has your arsenal of equipment changed much since you first started?

Absolutely. I used to be 100% in the box and now I’m a bit of a hodge podge but definitely am out of the box quite a bit. I’m always trying to blend those two worlds together as there are ways in which analog has it’s benefits and can do things that digital could never do, and there are times that digital tools can achieve things that analog tools cannot.

Do you have any information regarding upcoming releases, projects, DJ mixes or collaborations in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?

Absolutely! I have an EP coming out on April 15th with Chillage Records, and there will be remixes on there by Sweatson Klank, Pixelord, BOATS and Audiotreats. I am also releasing a song soon on Chillage Records 5th Crunksauce compilation. I will also be releasing a couple collab songs on that same compilation so there is tons of great content coming out soon!