In April, boss man UZ welcomed in a new era of sound, and introduced his new label ‘Quality Goods’. UZ promises to deliver a diverse discography with all styles of bass music, however, you can definitely expect to hear signature trap influences.

Queue the joining of forces between UZ and Tascione, a match made in bass heaven, and one of the first signings to ‘Quality Goods’.

Tascione is premiering his brand new mix with us today, and both UZ and Tascione were kind enough to join us here at Stoney’s to answer a few questions.

STONEY ROADS: Hey there UZ! Congrats on announcing your new label ‘Quality Goods’, what influenced the decision for you to create this label?

UZ: Hey! Thanks. I wanted to create my own platform, and release my music like I want and when I want. I also wanted to create Quality Goods to give the opportunity to new artists to release their music without any artistic restrictions. There’s so much talent out there to be heard.

SR: What kind of diversity can fans expect in the artist roster?

UZ: Right now it’s a mixed style of trap and future bass, but we’re open to different styles – as long as the music is good we can release it.

SR: You’ve admitted you’ve been ‘very selective’ in choosing artists, what do you need to make the cut?

UZ: I want originality and quality! Good ideas, clean mixdowns, and great people!

SR: You’ve recruited Tascione, tell us about how you discovered him.

UZ: I can’t exactly remember how but it must have been on SoundCloud. I spend a lot of time there looking for new music, there are lot of great producers on there.

SR: What’s next for you and for Quality Goods?

UZ: I just came back from a 2 and a half month tour and I’m going to take a little break to work on new music. I would like to find more upcoming producers and grow the Quality Goods family, maybe release vinyl, and other cool stuff like that as well. I’m really excited about the music we’ll be releasing in the next few months.

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STONEY ROADS: What’s up Tascione! Congrats on being a part of UZ’s label ‘Quality Goods’, how does it feel? How did the pairing come about?

TASCIONE: Yo, what’s up! Really stoked about this interview! It feels really good to be apart of Quality Goods. It’s extremely humbling to be the second EP release following the label owner himself. Last year, UZ reposted my single “Machete”, so I DM’ed him on Twitter to thank him and sent him my next few releases. When he asked to do the EP, I honestly freaked the f**k ou,t because UZ was one of the first trap producers that I really got into.

SR: You’re premiering a mix with us today, what a stellar tracklist, what was the thought process behind creating this mix?

T: I just wanted to get a bunch of unreleased fire from all my producer homies. They always show lots of love and support, so I wanted to take this opportunity to showcase some of their latest work!

SR: How would you personally describe your sound?

T: It’s kind of hard to describe your own sound, but my manager likes to refer to my music as “Calculated Madness” – so I’ve been going with that, haha. But in all seriousness, I tend to lean towards writing super melodic tracks with insanely energetic drops.

SR: Your new EP ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ comes out later in the month, what inspired you to create these tracks?

T: When I started writing the EP back in January, I really wanted to branch out and use a wide variety of sounds and styles. I didn’t want to just have four hybrid trap bangers and call it a day. I wanted to break my own mold, try something outside my comfort zone, and I really feel like I accomplished that.

SR: You’ve teamed up with a bunch of awesome people for this EP, such as Ian Everson and Kompany, what was it like working together?

T: Working with both Ian and Kompany was incredible. Ian is one of the most talented people I have ever worked with, and when I found out he was down for the project, I knew we were going to have a special track. When he sent me back the vocal stem for the track, they were self engineered so amazingly by him, that I didn’t even have to do any processing before I put them in the track. He’s not only an incredible singer, but an amazing producer as well, so he gets how the behind the scene works. Kompany is one of my closest producer friends so it was really cool that I was able to put our track on the EP. He’s someone that I am constantly learning from and being inspired by. We also both work for Cymatics and a lot of the time we’re working together on the same project. I’m really lucky to have worked with such talented people.

SR: Which track are you most proud of and why?

T: I’m definitely most proud of the title track “Smoke & Mirrors”, because I feel like it is the most complete and well-rounded track I’ve produced. It’s powerful, emotional, energetic, and marketable without being cheesy and mainstream.

SR: You’re originally from NJ, now living in Philly, what are the music scenes like in both areas? Do you think your environment had much influence on your music?

T: Really the huge influence that stems from New Jersey is the Jersey club scene, which originated in Newark and mostly lies in North Jersey. However, Philly has its own, faster version called Philly Club. Both styles can be identified by their unique kick pattern, and you can hear it in a lot of my music, including my title track “Smoke & Mirrors”.

SR: What are you currently listening to? Which producers do you think we should be keeping an ear out for?

T: Some of the artists I’ve been listening to lately are Herobust, Barely Alive, Ricky Remedy, Joyryde to name a few. Their music is so spot-on and really inspires me to make crazy tunes. Some awesome upcoming producers you should definitely be keeping an ear out for are Dimebag, Tynvn, Jordan Andrew, and Tuslo. These guys are all super creative and talented producers that are always pushing the boundaries. You’ll be hearing a lot more from them very soon.

SR: Lastly, where do you see yourself five years from now?

T: My long-term goals are to create a brand that can weather the storm of the ever-changing market that is dance music. I want to create long- term success and a life for a future family and myself. I don’t want to be your typical gimmicky DJ. I’m a musician and artist and I want to carry myself as such. So you ask me, where do I see myself in 5 years? I don’t exactly know, but that’s the best part…

Smoke & Mirrors is due out on the 22nd of July, and you can preorder the EP here.

Keep in the loop with Quality Goods via Facebook and Soundcloud.
Keep in the loop with UZ via Facebook and Soundcloud.
Keep in the loop with Tascione via Facebook and Soundcloud.