INTERVIEW: GTA on Their Upcoming Album and Tour “Good Times Ahead”

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Ahead of their upcoming album release and their “Good Times Ahead” Tour, Julio Mejia & Matt Toth, together forming GTA, sat down with us to discuss their upcoming album, tour, and their approach to music making.

To those unfamiliar with you, can you please tell us a little about yourselves?
Julio: I’m Julio Mejia. I’m 25, almost 26. I’m from Miami. I’m about good times.  And I’m in a group with my friend.
Matt: I’m Mathew Toth.  I am also from Miami. I am older than Julio by a few months and we are in this group called GTA. We are all about bringing good times.  We love making music, touring the world, playing clubs and festivals, and making people jump and bounce and cry and laugh and love
Julio: Above all things, we love music and being open minded about music.
Matt: I also really love coffee and caffeine

You’ve released 3 EPs titled “Death to Genres”, what is your “Death to Genres” approach to music producing?
Matt: “Death To Genres” is what brought me and Julio together. We both love listening to and making all kinds of music, as well as challenging ourselves to thinking outside the box. We didn’t want to put a restriction on ourselves, so we started with this thing called “Death To Genres.” It came from a written interview that said at the end of it “Death to___” and Julio put “Genres” and we were like, “Oh man, that perfectly describes what we’re trying to do.”
Julio: It’s our mantra, our mentality on music and being open minded to everything. We are influenced by all types of stuff. We want to make everything and not be pigeonholed.  So, “Death To Genres” is what we’ve claimed since the beginning.

Do you take a different approach to producing a single than you do an album?
Julio: Yes, specifically because singles are a lot less to worry about.
Matt: When you’re producing a single, you just worry about that one thing and where it takes you. As an album, it took us while to create Good Times Ahead because we tried to make a cohesive body of work with 10+ songs that all fit into each other and share a similar vibe. It took some time, but we felt like we were finally able to accomplish that.

Why do you feel like now is a good time to release a new album?
Julio: It’s something we haven’t done before and I also feel the amount and different types of music that we wanted to put out would be best and coolest in an album format. It showcases us as producers and we took our time to make sure that everything connected as an album. It’s a whole new perspective for us as artists.
Matt: I think any time is a good time to release an album as long as an artist is ready and knows what they are getting into.

Is there a message or an attitude that you’re trying to convey with your upcoming album, “Good Times Ahead”?
Julio: Absolutely.
Matt: *laughs* Yeah, we’re trying to convey good times. That’s literally what GTA means. We’re just trying to showcase everything that we’re about, everything that we’ve been working on aside from the crazy festival club stuff. We wanted to make something that you can play from front to back and will put a smile on your face, make you happy, and prepare you to experience a good time.

What do you feel has led to your success in the dance music industry?
Julio: I think our open mindedness to all kinds of music and trying to make all kinds of music is what has helped our success. We’ve worked with a lot of different people — from Diplo and Flosstradamus to guys like Martin Solveig — and making completely different records. That has only help with our fan base. We’ve had different kinds of DJs play our stuff, and I think it’s from the similar way we think about music: if you like it, you play it. I feel that helps us reach all kinds of people, all kinds of music fans.
Matt: I think a lot of it has to do with us trying to push music forward, and we try to think of things differently all the time because that’s what pushes up to keep creating and making stuff.

Summer 2016 has been a busy year for you guys, is there any particular moment that stands out?
Matt: I think this whole album has been years in the making from the thought of it to finishing and putting it out. All that stuff has been fun. I think this is a milestone for us because we’ve finally accomplished this idea. We finally put this whole thing together which we never really thought about or thought we could do.
Julio: We’re also touring off it on our Good Times Ahead tour. I’m really excited about that. Not only is it a bus tour on our own, but it’s also us showing a bunch of new and unexpected music. I’m super excited to just see how it tests out with our crowds and dancefloors…
Matt: …and to show the world what good music sounds like.

Preorder GTA’s Good Times Ahead (Drops October 7th) at http://smarturl.it/i.GoodTimesAhead

good-times-ahead

Tour dates:
9/21 St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House
9/22 Lawrence, KS – Granada
9/23 Denver, CO – The Church
9/24 Salt Lake City, UT – In the Venue
9/25 Las Vegas, NV – Hakkasan
9/29 Edmonton, AB – The Ranch
9/30 Calgary, AB – Marquee
10/1 Vancouver, BC – Celebrities
10/2 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
10/4 Chico, CA – Senator Theater
10/5 San Luis Obispo, CA – Graduate
10/6 Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst
10/7 San Francisco, CA – Regency
10/8 Los Angeles, CA – Shrine
10/9 Tucson, AZ – Rialto
10/12 Houston, TX – Stereo Live
10/13 San Marcos, TX – The Marc
10/14 Dallas, TX – Stereo Live
10/15 New Orleans, LA – Republic
10/20 Orlando, FL – Beacham
10/21 Chicago, IL – The MID
10/22 Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution

Connect with GTA:
Official: http://www.wearegta.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearegta/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wearegta
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreGTA/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/wearegta
Snapchat: @wearegta

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