Bass pop duo syence are coming off of an incredibly successful 2021, following the release of their debut EP, bass pop as well as many exciting live shows including Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge Amphitheatre, HiJinx festival in Philadelphia, and Countdown NYE festival in Southern California. With a strong year behind them, it comes as no surprise that they are already starting 2022 on the right foot. The duo, comprised of Zach Montoya and Brayden James, kicked things off in January with “don’t leave” and just last month celebrated the release of their new single, “don’t you wanna know” featuring Britt Lari, which is sure to make fans long for summer and festival season.
With two new songs out now and no signs of slowing down, syence are poised for another massive year. We caught up with the duo to talk about their busy 2021, their signature sound on bass pop and plans for new music. Listen to “don’t you wanna know” and read more below.
Prelude Press: You guys had an exciting 2021 with the release of your debut EP, bass pop and some exciting live shows. What was the highlight of your year?
syence: so hard to pick…countdown probably wins because it was the biggest show we’ve ever played AND in our home state of california AND with almost all our best friends were in attendance. brayden did get covid though and it still wins so that probably gives you an idea of how awesome it was for us. honorable mention goes to our show with one of our favorite artists of all time, zedd. stayed up til 5am and with him and his team and had the night of our lives. what a year.
Now that it has been out for a bit and you’ve had the chance to play the songs live, what are some of your favorite things about bass pop?
favorite thing about the ep is that there is no other ep out there that sounds like it. while this may make it harder for the songs to land on genre-specific playlists or in dj sets because it’s so different, we’re very proud that we carved our own sound out into an ep. “bass pop” will always be special for that reason. we also really enjoy every vocal and think each one is extremely catchy. if you finish hearing a song on that ep and don’t remember the vocal easily, we haven’t done our job well.
You also kicked off your new year with your new single, “don’t leave” in January! What has the response to that song been like?
the response has been nothing but positivity from our loyal fans. as we’ve progressed in our careers our fans have always stuck by us. through thick and thin they stand by us and when “don’t leave” came out we got a TON of texts and DMs about how much they loved it. we also played it at countdown on new years eve and that was a very special moment.
Last month, you released your newest single, “don’t you wanna know” featuring Britt Lari! How did the collaboration with Britt come about?
brayden was looking for vocalists and doing some random research and found britt lari’s music and loved her vocals. when he went to reach out to her, he realized they had connected on facebook in the past (not sure when/how?!) and so he immediately reached out to see if she wanted to collab. she responded with a demo of “don’t you wanna know” and he immediately sent it to zach. after we both agreed it was badass, we got in the studio and after a few hours the main idea for the drop was already done. It came together so quickly and now the rest is history.
Can you tell us a little bit about “don’t you wanna know”? What inspired the song?
we really wanted to make a festival banger that we could play out at shows that showcased a dancier version of our signature “bass pop” sound. we wanted to create a unique bass idea that stood out from the incredibly high number of house tracks being pumped out today by many artists. after a little experimentation, we came across the bass sound you hear in the drop today and knew we had found something that is truly “syence” and unlike pretty much anything else out there today.
Does your writing process differ when you’re collaborating with another artist?
not really. vocal-wise we prefer to find vocals that are finished/mostly-finished that we resonate with and inspire us to produce the instrumental behind it. this was the case with don’t you wanna know. from there, we want to incorporate production elements that come from the “world of syence” we are building. often times, this is where you hear our unique bass idea shine through.
You’re already gearing up for a busy 2022 with two new songs out – what can fans expect next?
more music! we have some incredible tracks we’ve finished recently and are really focused on collaborating with new producers and vocalists this year. please reach out if you have some ideas for us! outside of music, we are really active on social media and love meeting other artists and fans on discord, tik tok, instagram, etc. hit us up!
Do you have any big goals for the new year?
so many. i think our biggest goal is to connect with more passionate fans of our music and artistic vision. we are fueled by those who believe in us so the more of those people we find, the more our art grows and improves. we are nothing without our fans!
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
come say hi on instagram (@syence)! don’t be shy. also stream the new track, “don’t you wanna know”! we’d love to hear what you think of it.
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