Behind The Beat: Shlohmo

Henry Laufer, better known as Shlohmo, is a founding member of L.A.'s WeDidIt collective, one of the most forward-thinking labels in electronic music, and, within in that world, the crew with the most crossover hip-hop appeal. Other than Shlohmo, members like RL Grime and Ryan Hemsworth have produced for Deniro Farrar, Big Sean, Tinashe, and even Pitbull. Growing up on a heady mix of J Dilla and Aphex Twin, Shlohmo first started making GarageBand beats, and along with an entire generation of Internet producers, found his stride when he graduated to Ableton. 

Toward the end of high school, as WeDidIt grew from a rag-tag group of weird music lovers to a legitimate creative force, Shlohmo began getting more experimental with his music, as his sound moved toward the club before delineating into a mixture of ambient textures, frazzled electronics, and pulsing bass. Always a hip-hop head, Shlohmo was able to incorporate the above sounds into some bootleg remixes, which would prove massively influential. Jeremih caught wave of his "Fuck U All the Time" remix, which led to a collaboration, "Bo Peep," and later, a full EP. His new album, Dark Red, is miles away from his work with the Chicago crooner, but good things seem to happen when Shlohmo does his own thing. 

I talked to Henry at NYC's Irving Plaza before his live rendition of his latest album Dark Red, his most experimental, and polarizing, work yet. We talked about the new album, working with Jeremih, his first time getting "fucked" by a major-label (courtesy of Def Jam), and an upcoming WeDidIt EP with Tory Lanez. 

The night after the record release party, after which the WeDidIt crew got matching rose tattoos (see album cover), Shlohmo was preparing for one of the biggest shows of the tour. From the dressing room, we could hear the start of label co-founder Nick Melon's opening DJ set, who transitioned from Billionaire Black's Chiraq anthem "Costa Rica" into some kind of doom metal, a pretty good picture of the WeDidIt aeshetic. As the show's energy picked up by the second, I asked Shlohmo about the reception he's been getting for Dark Red, and he had some harsh work for critics--professional music critics, that is. 

"Fans love it. It seems like people on the Internet love it, and every critic hates it--because if you're a critic, you probably don't have any other skills. I mean, if you think about it, why would someone become a critic? Because they can't do it. It's like a P.E. teacher. You wanted to be in the NBA, but you couldn't even make Varsity, so now you sneak diss on the computer." 

He ain't mad, though. As he continues to find himself musically, he often feels "exponentially cut off and disconnected from what people actually like in the world, so it's always a fuckin' gamble." The fact it's the only album he's felt comfortable presenting via live instruments is telling. Deconstructing the album for live performance, he realized, "Oh, I like actually wrote a song. Anyone can play this." Though not anyone--composition-wise, it's his most ambitious work yet. 

Shlohmo's collaboration EP with Jeremih, No More, was released a year after we heard "Bo Peep," though it was finished months earlier. He'd never experienced his music being put on hold--at least to the same extent--but he later reflects, "that's never not been part of the industry or the rap game," something Jeremih's well aware of. 

"That was the first time I had been fucked. I had dealt with other majors before, but only in pleasant terms with remixes and stuff--even with Def Jam before--but it was a really strange time for their company. I don't wanna put it on blast too much, 'cuz at the end of the day, I just wanted to put the music out." 

To everyone's confusion, the project was put on a permanent hiatus, so WeDidIt took matters into their own hands. "We were trying to figure out a way to not get sued." Eventually, they said, "Fuck it: If we just make a new website that's not associated with us in the slightest, put it out for free, they can't fucking do anything." 

Maybe they could've done something, but there haven't been any repercussions since, and No More, is still available right here (not the same site). The EP is a nice introduction to Shlohmo's more visceral sound on Dark Red, frenetic, noise-inspired R&B that only an improvisational genius like Jeremih could handle. 

Though Shlohmo doesn't see any Def Jam dealings on his horizon, Jeremih's solo album, Late Nights, which was first announced in early 2013, still sits on the shelf. Though Shlohmo's heard the album--and confirms: "it's so good"--he was reluctant to speak on the controversy: "I feel like whoever's concerned about it should know, but that's not part of his music career. We'll get his album when we'll get his album, and it'll be fire."

WeDidIt started in similar fashion to some of the more creative young hip-hop crews, with an aesthetic that goes beyond music. Henry and Nick Meladandri (Nick Melons) started the crew in junior year of high school and it quickly started to encompass all of their creative-minded friends: "You just wanna call your group of friends some classic shit." 

As various members of the roster continue to surprise with left-field genre turns and collaborations, WeDidIt's organic structure continues to lead to future success, even if there's no predicting where that success might lie: "Our goal is just to keep doing it. If I'm not making shit, and putting shit together that sounds cool to me, I'm fuckin' done. Like I might as well kill myself." The suddenly macabre shift, quickly followed by a laugh, can be well explained by WeDidIt's logo, a gravestone showing a smiley face with "1990" dated below. Their mantra: "Professionally unprofessional since 1990," the year Laufer was born. 

As new artists continue to, somewhat randomly, link up with the crew, their prospects for collaborations are more exciting than ever. Next up out of the WeDidIt camp is an EP with Tory Lanez, who's long been a fan of their experimental movement. The EP will feature individual production from Shlohmo, RL Grime, DEEJ, Groundislava, and even label affiliate Baauer. While you might hear these guys on one-offs, you won't find a range of producers like this on any hip-hop project this year.