Spend any time in conversation with Troy Beetles and you’re likely to find yourself fantasising about the contact list on the musician’s phone.
After all, the man behind the Datsik moniker has collaborated with some of the most important names in contemporary hip hop, pop and techno – Lord knows he must have some fairly important numbers saved away. Just as excitingly, Beetles has nothing but positive things to say about his famous collaborators. He describes Diplo, the American producer with whom he collaborated on ‘Pick Your Poison’, as a “wizard”.
“It was actually really a lot of fun banging shit out with him,” Beetles says. “He invited me down to crash with him in LA. From there we spent a few days in the studio messing with ideas. It was like, ‘Well damn, we could totally use a vocalist. Do you know anyone?’ Ten minutes later a vocalist is in the booth recording for us. He [Diplo] has got a tonne of connections, so on that front it made it really easy to do something original.”
That said, of all the artists Beetles has worked with, it’s not the likes of Diplo or hip hop legend Snoop Dogg he singles out for praise – it’s his serial collaborator Bassnectar, AKA Lorin Ashton, a legendary figure in the DJ community who’s well known for his energised live shows.
“[Ashton] is such a cool dude, and he’s very humble considering the amount of people he’s played to over the course of his life and career,” says Beetles. “Everything about Lorin is awesome. He promotes the good side of electronic music, minus all the bullshit that can come with getting notoriety in this industry. I really respect that. I’m a basshead for life.”
Indeed he is. Beetles doesn’t only make bass music, he lives it, and the affection with which he regards the genre is exceedingly obvious. “I am very fortunate that I was able to ride the wave of dubstep as it blew up,” he admits, “but anyone who’s been to shows of mine knows that it’s not all I play. I love all forms of bass music, whether it be dubstep, hip hop, drum step, bass house – it’s all under the same umbrella and it’s great that people are so open to hearing all different types of stuff.”
Of the many tracks that Beetles has had his hand in, ‘Nuke ’Em’ remains his best known. The glossy and gargantuan tune represents bass at its most giddily pop-culture-centric, and the piece’s gloriously swollen beats have been echoing throughout clubs for almost seven years now. That said, to say Beetles was surprised by the response to the single is probably an understatement.
“It’s so funny that tune blew up in everyone’s eyes,” he says. “I banged it out in a couple hours before I was gonna play one of my first-ever shows in Kelowna [in Canada]. It’s crazy that it caught on.”
But despite how unprepared Beetles was for the tune’s success, he has now completely embraced the number, and seems pleased to have it as part of his musical identity. “I am really happy that people are listening to my music. It still blows my mind that I am able to travel around and play music for people, and it’s turned into my career.
“Once I made money from it, I realised I didn’t want to do anything else in life, because it seemed too perfect – [I] never saw it coming, and never thought ‘Nuke ’Em’ would be part of the reason why.”
Datsik plays atManning Bar on Saturday February 27.
