say bye bye to the first weworemasks.com spotlight. it’s being archived. we’ve set up a sidebar for you to have easy access to these.

heart collapse is an up and coming producer/instrumental hip hop artist from orlando. dude knows how to make a beat for sure. i’ve been listening to this album a lot as of late, and god bless his aesthetic. very clean music, along with simple, yet stunning album covers, right down to the simple design of his myspace page. his beats are very laid back and the overall vibe is very atmospheric/mood driven. one of the things i really enjoy about his debut album, buried in the fold, is that he manages to stay consistent the entire way through without having to overpower the track. you can definitely hear his influences shine throughout the album, yet he manages to pull of a signature sound that isn’t contrived.

heart collapse has been kind enough to grace us with a full album download of buried in the fold. be sure you get it and let the inspiration build as the beats do.

he’s also got an ep that you can get from amazon mp3 by clicking here. if you’re into the full length and what he’s doing, definitely show him some love and pick that up.

heart collapse on myspace.
download buried in the fold:

– panda

——————————————–

i had the opportunity to interview the man known as heart collapse, which you can read below:

Jerome, we wore masks: First, tell us your name and a little about how you got into production. Was there a certain moment musically or non that made you want to pursue this particular style?
Heart Collapse: I produce under the name Heart Collapse. I always knew hip-hop could be powerful, but I never realized it could be beautiful until I heard Team Sleep’s “Ever” with DJ Crook playing the SP-1200. It was at that moment my mind clicked and I began to pursue a career in music.

WWM: Do you have a place in the Orlando music scene, or have you mostly found a niche online?
HC: Orlando doesn’t really have a solid, defined music scene. Most of the music that comes out of here is mostly screamo, pop-punk, or stuff like that. There are some good bands, my best friend fronts one called It’s Alive (myspace.com/itsalive). But that scene’s just not me. I’d rather be in the background, just making music that floats around. It’s not in-your-face, but once people find it they tend to hold on to it longer… it stays in their head as a soundtrack. The internet is great because people from all over the world can find you. I would say a good portion of my fanbase comes from overseas. People in Amsterdam and Tokyo really get in to good music.

WWM: From what I’ve read, we seem to share a fascination with Japanese culture. How did you get turned onto the culture/music scene? where did the idea to work with Japanese artists come from?

HC: The Japanese really understand aesthetics, and that carries over into their art and music. I’ve always been fascinated with their culture, but it wasn’t until 2006 or so that I began to explore their music scene. Their hip-hop community is thriving over there, and they listen to a lot of instrumental stuff as well. It’s different because over there, mainstream music is actually good, which really blows my mind. As a people, they value actual musicianship over pure hype. It’s funny because EVERYONE over there knows who J Dilla is… and if you talk to an average hip-hop fan in the states they won’t know who the hell you are talking about. It’s ironic but it is also a blessing because Japanese producers really know their shit and continue to put out amazing records. I decided to seek out working with Japanese producers because almost everyone I’ve heard over there is dope… you go on myspace and just browse the artists, every single one will make your head nod. Compare that to the US, where most “producers” nowadays are just straight shit. I guess Fruity Loops isn’t big in Japan.

WWM: Have you had anything turn out yet, or any works in process?
HC: In Japan? Not yet. The language barrier is kind of hard to get around, at least for right now. But by next year I plan to go over there and hopefully record with some people. I would really love to pay a visit to Jazzy Sport records. That would make my year.

WWM: Do you have influences outside of music that affect your musical output?
HC: When I make songs, sometimes I try to think about a certain environment and that kind of gives me inspiration to evoke a particular feeling in the music. Traveling is a big part of my influence. Being in transit really gives you a different perspective on things. Whether it is sitting on a bus, a train, or being thirty thousand feet in the air, it helps get your mind moving in a way that wouldn’t be possible if you were staying in the same place all the time. Little things inspire me – like the cover art I did for the Tourism EP… I was walking around in downtown Mobile, Alabama at like three AM, and I just passed this garage with the door up, and snapped the picture. It’s a picture of nothing, but if you meditate on it enough sound will start to appear. And that is the sound that I make.

WWM: What’s different now about how you approach production from when you first started? How do you feel you’ve evolved?
HC: I discovered the Akai MPC… and the rest is history. I began recording using a shitty Tascam 4-track like back in 2002, then I slowly moved up to a full-blown studio. I was running Pro Tools and all of that fancy stuff. But then I got my first MP, and it all changed. I started focusing less on the “production” aspect of it, and began to focus more on the music. If you try too hard to produce a sonically perfect record, you are going to end up with something like Hillary Duff or something like that. But the best music in the world is made through honesty. It can still be as dirty and raw as you want it to be, and if the music is good, it’s golden. All you need is an MPC and a stack of dusty records and you can make a great hip-hop record. I am trying to move to an all-hardware setup, and I am trying to throw out everything that isn’t necessary. I learned that from Pete Rock, Dilla, and DJ Primo.

WWM: Do you have any kind of a formula for your creative process?
HC: I really wish I did. I’d probably make a lot more tracks.

WWM: With the role of the producer being more respected now than perhaps ever, there’s so many different approaches to how a beat is made. is there anything in particular you hope to accomplish with each beat you make, or with heart collapse as a whole?
HC: I want to make beats that make people step outside themselves. I think that with the best producers, they can make beats that take people instantly to another place or time just by hearing it. Danger Mouse once said that the tracks he makes are like soundtracks to movies that don’t exist. I feel the same way.

WWM: Have you entertained the idea of having outside musicians/artists contribute on a regular or permanent basis?
HC: Possibly one day… what I really would like to do is make a record with a band like Idiot Pilot or Radiohead. Doing solo albums is nice, but I wouldn’t mind being a producer for a great full-band album. If anyone reading this knows Damon Albarn.. Tell him to hit me up for a new Gorillaz album.

WWM: Plans for the rest of ’09?
HC: I’m currently working on an album with Soul Subjektive (myspace.com/soulsubjektive) that should be out this summer. It is going to be more sample-based hip-hop. I have a stack of old jazz and soul records sitting next to me that are just waiting to be made into brand new classics. I’m also currently working on a few mixtapes.. Hopefully they will see the light of day sometime soon.

WWM: Any last words for the readers of we wore masks?
HC: Go get the new P.O.S. record that comes out Feb. 3rd