Together, producers Benzi and Esentrik make up TWRK. This New York duo has been making waves with copious amounts of enormous remixes, several originals, as well as Diplo & Friends mixes; and yesterday, they released their WE ARE TWRK EP on Mad Decent, which you can stream through out this piece and purchase here.
WE ARE TWRK is made up of four tracks, including collaborations with Fly Boi Keno, The Rej3ctz, Dougie F, and San Holo. Although the sound sticks to the twerk style, each track brings its own flavor to the table. In chatting with the guys for an interview, they provided some insight on what makes twerk so darn appealing. As they can tell you from their live shows, crowds get down and dirty when their dance floor-rattling beats drop. TWRK is currently on tour, and tickets are available here. Aside from chatting about twerk in the interview, the guys delve into their history with the project, their live show, the new EP and what’s to come in the future.
TMN: How did each of you get into creating music originally?
Esentrik: I heard N.E.R.D’s album, “In Search Of…” and it changed my life. Listening to the Neptunes’ production made me appreciate music in a different way and it was a big influence in me DJing and producing.
TMN: How did you two first meet and TWRK come about?
Esentrik: We met on the internet. I would send Ben demos/remixes so I could get on one of his mixtapes and that lead to working on songs together.
TMN: What do you think it is that attracts people to the twerk style of music?
Esentrik: I think it’s the hard hitting drops with clever sample chops keeps people interested. At the end of the day, it’s all about having fun and our music brings that.
TMN: What has been each of your favorite song that you have created as TWRK? Also, Benzi what’s your favorite eSenTRIK track?
Esentrik: Trippy’s Theme (TWRK Remix) and Dirty Laundry (TWRK Remix).
Benzi: TWRK – Helicopter & Trippy Turtle (TWRK Remix), my favorite eSenTRIK track is his INOJ – Love You Down (Remix)
TMN: Do you enjoy making originals or remixes more? How do you approach the two differently?
Esentrik: I think now, making originals is more fun since we’ve already done a lot of remixes in the past. Approaching the two is different cause a remix, the idea is already there. In my opinion, the main idea for a remix is to make it better than the original or then it’s not worth it. As far as originals, everything is from scratch.
TMN: What software do you use and what are some of your favorite plug-ins?
Esentrik: Ableton. Favorite plugins are Sausage Fattener, Waves, and Multiband Dynamics in Ableton.
TMN: How has it been working closely with Mad Decent? How did that connection come about?
Esentrik: They’ve been great and very supportive. We’ve working with them for so long with the remixes and Diplo & Friends mixes on BBC Radio that it was about time to release new music thru them. Benzi and Diplo have known each other for years and kept the relatiosnhip strong throughout the years.
TMN: Can you tell us a little about what we can expect from the WE ARE TWRK EP?
Esentrik: We kept it classic TWRK and built on that sound. “Helicopter” has dancehall vocal that brought a whole new feel to that track. “Dump It” is probably the most melodic track we’ve ever done.
TMN: Who are some producers you two have your eyes on right now?
Esentrik: Flume, Lido, Mura Masa.
TMN: You’re getting ready to travel around the world to play shows, what’s your live set up like?
Esentrik: Lots of bangers and high energy. We also like to engage with the crowd cause we feed off their energy.
TMN: What are your tour essentials?
Esentrik: Laptop, BBC jacket, hair gel.
Benzi: Blue hooded sweatshirt, Detroit Pistons Jersey, Electronic cig, iPad with reality tv loaded, and my newest Air Jordans.
TMN: Anything else you’ve got coming up that you want to let people know about?
Esentrik: After the TWRK EP, continue to pump out more TWRK jams. I’m also working on my solo EP which is more Future R&B/Bass.
Benzi: More TWRK content and to continue the GIRL TRAPZ mixtapes series.
TMN: What’s one quality you each share with a ninja?
Esentrik: Perseverance
Benzi: I can do a cartwheel.
Special thanks to TWRK for taking the time to chat with us!
