Local Dialect sat down with us to chat about their latest releases, and how they show the world what “good music” means with the launch of their new label, Translations.
Disenchanted by the monotony of their corporate careers, Sam Perricone and Reed Tan, better known as Local Dialect, made a bold decision in 2017 to leave their nine-to-five jobs.
Fueled by their immense love for electronic music, the two friends reignited their college passion for making beats and began building a recording studio in their basement apartment. Their momentum grew steadily as their dedication to their craft saw them making splashes on festival circuits and dancefloors.
Throughout the years, the pair have enjoyed releases on esteemed labels like Deep State Recordings, Desert Hearts Black, Zerothree Music, and more. With a drive for creative freedom and maintaining the integrity of their artistic vision, the dynamic duo launched their brand new imprint, Translations, earlier this year. Describing it as “the first time that we truly feel like we are in control,” Local Dialect are now serving up energetic basslines and heavy synths with their latest EP, Frequency, on the fledgling label.
Kicking things off, the title track begins with expertly crafted drum beats and palpable, raw tension that rises with each explosive drop. The glitchy production packs quite the sonic punch to create a hypnotic rhythm that takes listeners on a trippy journey. With this tune, Local Dialect aim to combine the aggressive power of heavy electro vibes with enchanting melodies that build up to their climaxes.
As “Hera” comes on, listeners are immediately thrust into an intense, bass-rich soundscape that pulses steadily with the rhythmic loop. This auditory journey of suspense and exhilaration continues to soar as subtle hints of melodic techno supplement the variation of groove in the track.
After catching up with Local Dialect, there is nothing quite like hearing the story of their career trajectory. It serves as a reminder that the most profound transformations begin with a single leap of faith back to one’s true passion.
Be sure to stream their latest EP, Frequency, on Spotify or your favorite platform, and read on for our conversation!
Stream Local Dialect – Frequency EP on Spotify:
We love that you’re giving the fans another new banger less than two months after Hallucinations / In My Mind! How is this EP different from the last? Perhaps you could share your inspirations and the process of putting it all together.
Thanks for having us! We’ve been sitting on a bunch of music, tracks that we’re proud of and that have done well when we’ve tested them out — so we decided to start the label off with a bang and put out a few releases back to back. This second EP is a bit more varied than the last, with “Hera” providing a much more progressive vibe than “Frequency.” We still want to keep the focus on club music for the first few releases, though, and in that way it’s made for big moments, just like our first EP.
Well, let’s dive into the two tracks on Frequency. The title track contains so much raw breakbeat energy, while “Hera” has your signature melodic techno sound. Any interesting stories to share behind the production of these tracks?
Both tracks were inspired by our love of big rooms, epic moments, and massive soundscapes. “Hera” came from a more classic progressive/melodic techno groove, and we worked on the loop for some time before constructing the powerful second drop, the climax moment of the song.
“Frequency” was started as a writing exercise — we were inspired by older trance music that had heavy electro intros/outros surrounding a beautiful melodic drop. Once we got started, we decided to flip the paradigm of those songs and build one epic and dark drop that was surrounded with a trancey melody. Before we found the vocal sample, the project was titled “Inverse Trance.” (Laughs)
It’s nice to see that Local Dialect started out as two friends with a similar passion for music, and you worked out of your basement studio in New York. When it comes to making music, how do you draw on each other’s strengths? Are either of you particularly skilled at specific elements?
We both produce all of our music together — certain tracks were started by either Sam or Reed individually, but by the time it’s finished it contains a little bit from both of us. But we definitely do have different strengths. Sam is a professional song finisher and is best at taking a project to the finish line, while Reed is a bit more of a tinkerer and is good at tweaking sounds and samples to perfection. Sam also tends to write punchier melodies, while Reed is better at composing chord progressions in breakdowns. We complement each other well — a good collaborative relationship has been crucial to pushing our project forward!
We also want to congratulate you on the launch of your label, Translations! It’s a very exciting time for you both to be making music and building your imprint after making music together for almost a decade now. How did you choose the name of this label, and what are your goals as label bosses?
Thank you! The name of the label came from the name of our mix series and it relates to our name. If our music is a Local Dialect, then Translations is our vehicle to show the world what our music means. Our goal with the label is to release music we are proud of and without having to compromise our artistic vision.
You described Translations’ tagline as “The only rule is good music.” Can you elaborate on what “good music” means to you, and how it aligns with the vision of Translations?
To us, good music has soul — it evokes an emotional response in the listener and is imbued with meaning. We strive to achieve this with every song we release on Translations. It’s all about taking the listener on a journey and telling a story.
We love that for you both! What do you hope to achieve with Translations and how do you foresee the music coming out of the label evolving (or not) in the next few years?
No grand plans — just aiming to continue releasing music consistently and building a reputation as a label for forward-thinking club music. The music will evolve as we do.
We enjoy seeing the growth of your artistic vision as musicians and label heads. Thank you so much! We look forward to seeing you back in NYC!
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