House, Bass, O2 and CARBIN [Exclusive Interview]

Meet McKenzie Morrow, a 22 year-old bass producer from Portland, Oregon and now Austin, Texas transplant, better known as CARBIN. CARBIN introduced himself in the electronic music dance scene in 2014 and has been rising to fame ever since. Known best for his heavy, in-your-face bass tracks, CARBIN began making music as soon as he was introduced to the world of dubstep. His music is often played by headliners, including Bassnectar, and has lead him to tour with artists such as Herobust and Figure. “Music is my life. I love it, I live it,” Morrow states. Now, during the pandemic known is COVID-19, Morrow continues to play music virtually for his fans, he is working on his house music alias, O2, and promises to keep you on your feet. Festival Squad spoke with CARBIN this week to hear more about him, what he is doing during his self-quaratine and to hear what he has in the pipeline for his fans. CARBIN is also hosting a livestream on the Festival Squad Facebook Page today on Friday, April 17 where he will be playing a genre defying set at 11am PT.

Festival Squad: Thanks for speaking with us today! We are excited to speak with you about what you’ve accomplished as an artist thus far and what you have coming up. To start, can you tell us where you got the name CARBIN from?

CARBIN: I’m a pretty big gamer, and I actually got the name from the Need for Speed: Carbon video game.

Festival Squad: Awesome, we love that. To stay on the topic of beginnings, can you tell us what were you doing before you started producing? What inspired you to get into the music industry? 

CARBIN: I used to be really into aeronautical engineering but then one day I heard Bangarang by Skrillex and after that it became my dream to have him play my music at his shows! This was in high school and it took about 4 years until things started taking off and he played one of my songs. And now I’m making music for me instead of trying to get people to play it at shows. It took about 5 years from that point to play my first festival, Dancefestopia, and then I played at Lost Lands after. 

FS: Love that back story. Taking a step into the present now, we’re obviously in the middle of a pandemic limiting touring and festivals. How are you doing through all of this? How has this affected you creatively? 

CARBIN: As much as it has been annoying to be “trapped” at home, it has actually made me way more creative and I’m very excited about music again! I have went outside my comfort zone so much recently and it feels good. I have been trying different genres including drum and bass, wook bass, and pop and even a little bit of country. If you ever want to see what I’m working on, you can head to my Twitch channel and I will often produce music live there. I don’t feel like I have writers block, its been great. Other than that, I like to go outdoors to clear my mind and get back to music. 

FS: Are you working on any big projects we should know about?

CARBIN: One! My new house alias called “O2”, a Drum and Bass EP, and a Wook EP. I want to tour as O2, it’s a nice breath of fresh air and thats why it’s called O2… its oxygen. I’d like to tour with that alias and get into house music. Oxygen is also a complimenting element of carbon too.

FS: Love that they go hand in hand like that, very creative. So tell us, which song is your favorite that you’ve produced so far? What makes it so special to you?

CARBIN: Definitely “Whatchyu Gonna Do”. I put 6 months of production into that song and it just took a lot of effort to work, I don’t know why. 

FS: What would be a dream collaboration for you and why?

CARBIN: I would love to work with Skrillex, Missy Elliot, Nero and Knife Party. They are all the best of the best in my opinion and it would be an honor to blend my creativity with theirs.

FS: Great choices. Speaking of collaborations, we noticed that you’re doing a lot of livestreams on Twitch and with Crizzly and Big Chocolate. Are you planning to host those throughout the rest of quarantine? 

CARBIN: I have been live-streaming a lot, yeah! I think I am at day 38 or so, I started on March 6. I plan on doing more production and game streams consistently until the end of quarantine. I might as well! It’s fun and I love connecting with fans. I also take time to critique songs that are sent by fans. Again you can check out my Twitch and follow/subscribe to keep up with what I’m doing there. I do offer music critiques for my subscribers when I stream too.

FS: On the topic of live streams, what streams have been your favorite to watch so far and why? 

CARBIN: I’m not going to lie I haven’t watched a lot of streams but I did enjoy Digital Mirage and all the Insomniac streams. 

FS: How about festivals? What festivals are you looking forward to later this year/in 2021? 

CARBIN: I was looking forward to playing my first O2 set at Backwoods Music Festival but at this point doing festivals in the near future is just a dream sadly. 

FS: We are pretty sad about whats happening to festival season this year too, and we are hoping for a strong come back soon! What/who are you currently listening to that we should check out? 

CARBIN: I have been listening to basically nothing but drum and bass. Sub Focus, Kanine, Paul T & Edward Oberon plus many others!

FS: Anything else you want to share with us? 

CARBIN: Like I said before, I’m always streaming! Come learn, laugh and just have a good time with me! I’ve got multiple new EP’s in the works and I am stoked for you guys to hear them!

Get to know CARBIN THIS OR THAT questions

Beach or mountains? Mountains

Bass or House? House

Sweet or Savory? Sweet

A night out or a night in? A night out

Movies or gaming? Gaming

Exploring national parks OR exploring a new country? New country for Sure

Reading a new book or learning a new language? new language 

Catch CARBIN live on Facebook today, April 17 at 11am PT to hear what he’s working live and get a chance to see Android Jones’ MicrodoseVR visuals! You can also support CARBIN via donations during his stream. Support CARBIN via venmo at McKenzie-Morrow, and Paypal at CarbinOfficial@gmail.com.

The post House, Bass, O2 and CARBIN [Exclusive Interview] appeared first on Festival Squad.