It’s summertime people, the undisputed best season of the year. A time filled with blue skies and hi-five’s. A time when if you’re not outside by a body of water, you’re doing something wrong. It’s a 3 month long celebration, and as midday barbecue’s start to become the norm, there’s nothing more needed than a good, summertime mix. Thankfully, we have our friend Rankin for that. Last year, the Southern California native put together an unbelievable summertime mix packed with drum & bass and dubstep that had us dancing into the fall. So when this summer came around, what did we do? We asked Rankin to make another radical mix! Presented by us and the good folks at RVCA Clothing, we are proud to debut Rankin’s Good Vibrations Mix.
 

Rankin: Good Vibrations Mixtape
 
 
 

Hit the jump to check out our exclusive interview with Rankin
 
 

What’s going on Rankin! We are super amped to be presenting your Good Vibrations Mix for this summer, as your mix last year was basically the soundtrack to our entire summer. It’s been an a whole year since then…so tell us, as an artist where are you at now compared to 12 months ago?

 

Glad you enjoyed the mix! Jeez, so much has changed since then. A lot more producing that’s for sure. I’ve spent a majority of this past year In the lab at Icon Collective Studios. Now that summer’s here i’m ready to come outside and get mental. Woooahhh, its brighter out here than I remember!

 

 

You grew up and are currently based out of Southern California–Newport Beach and Los Angeles respectively. How did you get into djaying and playing the type of music you do? If I remember correctly, you got into all this–drum & bass and dubstep that is– a lot earlier than most did here in the U.S.

 

It all came about pretty randomly really. In 2005 when I was about 15, me and a really good buddy of mine were at his older brother’s party when this tune came on that caught both of our attention immediately. It turned out to be non other than an old Pendulum track haha. I think it was the beat more than anything that really caught my ear, it was definatly something fresh. From then on it was a constant progression of researching and downloading tunes. Then about a year down the line I picked up my first pair turntables, which is when i realized that this was something i needed to be apart of.
 
I remember seriously being afraid to play some of the stuff i was into when i’d spin at parties back in high school. Everyone just thought we were huge trippers making sketchy noise come out of speakers…which i guess wasn’t too far off hahaha. Anyways, everything changed pretty damn quick. I think it was my senior prom…i gave the the top 40 school dance rent-a-dj some drum & bass and he played it for a bit and everyone was stoked! It was crazy. Dubstep came into full effect in the States shortly after, and then it was all over–goopy basslines and heavy drum beats had began to take over. And i wasn’t complaining.

 

 

One thing that really impressed us about you is that you djay (and compose your mixes) on REAL TURNTABLES with REAL VINYL RECORDS. And I know you sometimes use CDJ’s just for convenience purposes, but how do you feel about most dj’s coming about today not having any idea of the roots of djaying and just learning how to match songs on a computer? It’s gotta be a little irritating…

 

I mean, for me personally, the art of djaying and using vinyl has such an awesome feel to it. It has that lovely warm tone, and just the fact that you have this piece of music you can hold has such a special vibe compared to just downloading an MP3 in a sea of billions of other MP3′s. But I do sometimes use CDJ’s…I made the Good Vibrations Mix with 2 Technics and 2 CDJ’s so I can have that original vinyl feel as well as be able to keep my mixing fast paced with using more than 2 turntables.
 
As far as live shows, a big part of the thrill of playing for me is that you are holding the dance floor together when mixing. It’s all on you to keep the partiers partying. If a computer program is doing the skill part for you than I think it would take the fun out of it. Wouldn’t say it irritates me so much as they don’t know what they’re missing!

 

 

We also love how you’re mixes and dj sets are all over the place, and not solely compiled of straight drum & bass and dubstep tunes. Why do you think it is important to keep things funky by spinning all different types of genres?

 

The way i look at it is that it’s all dance music and its all just for a good time. I’ve watched the scene go from being very segmented as far as genre separation to it melt together per se, which I think is totally rad. I played solely d&b for the first 3 years of my djaying adventure, and I will always stay loyal to my favorite dance genre. But a set of just one of any style gets a bit stale in my opinion. I like to be taken on an epic quest when listening to a set or mix. So I try to do just that. I Am primarily bass heavy dance music, but jazz and hip-hop among many other styles have influenced my music to such a degree that it only feels right to incorporate them in some way.

 

 

You recently partnered with RVCA Clothing. That’s a huge move, congrats. How did that all come about and what does the future hold for you two?

 

Thanks homie! Im super stoked. I’ve been pretty close with RVCA for a while through surfing and stuff, But it wasn’t till recent that they wanted to fully support me as an artist. My buddy who goes under the name FUSS and Myself Are Also doing A project with RVCA called ‘Call The Cops Events’. Which is basically the product of us getting over dealing with all the bullshit that comes along with being booked By Shady promoters for shows consisting of a 95% male crowd. So we’ve decided to just do it ourselves and throw our own nights in the Los Angeles/Orange County area and beyond.

 

 

What are some things we should be doing while listening to your mix?

 

Just feelin the good vibrations.. having a good time. that’s what it’s all about!