Ray Volpe is a Los Angeles based electronic music artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. Pulling from his roots in emo/punk rock and the brostep era of dubstep, Ray started to produce his own music in 2010 as an emotional and creative outlet. After producing for more than a decade, he has earned releases on labels such as Never Say Die and Disciple, as well as released official remixes on OWSLA and Dim Mak for the likes of Excision, Zomboy, and Boombox Cartel. Combining both heavy and melodic influence, along with his own vocals, Ray has created his own unique sound that can be instantly recognized anywhere. With plans to achieve his goal of world domination, Ray will continue to develop his emotional sound as a sad dubstep boy. Read interview below!
Hi Ray Volpe! How are you doing?
I’m honestly the best I’ve ever felt right now!
Take us back to the beginning, how did you found your passion into producing electronic music?
I used to edit a lot of Call of Duty montage videos, gaming videos, etc. I had a huge passion for film and video (still do!) and that introduced me to EDM as I’d use those songs in my edits. One day I was like damn, this is sick, let me try it!
You have almost 10 years’ experience of working with electronic dance music. You have seen how the electronic music has developed. What is your opinion about todays ”Dubstep”?
Over ten years now officially! This year was year ten…so crazy to think it’s been that long. I really like where dubstep is right now. It got stagnant for a little bit last year in my opinion but there’s this new wave of melodic influenced bass really taking over both the heavy dubstep and riddim scenes. I like to think that some of the reason is because of my music, but there’s also incredible names like Ace Aura, Oolacile, Akeos, & Papa Khan that are all also heavily leading that movement.
How have you been staying productive during the quarantine period?
I’ve been making a lot of music! I usually am pretty bad with creative droughts and I will go months without working on new tunes sometimes, yet somehow I’ve really hit a stride during this quarantine period and kinda re-found a new drive for making music. I’ve also been working out as of like two weeks ago which is great as well!
You released an EP called “World Domination” through Disciple Records. Could you share the creative process behind about this EP?
I really wanted to have fun with this one. I wanted to have a theme and make every track flow/compliment each other so it could tell some sort of story in a way. It’s a lot more creatively fulfilling to make music that way, for me at least. I also wanted to try new things! Battle of the Bros, for example, that silly intro/theme is something I’ve never done before and I had a lot of fun with both the drastically different styles combatting against each other.
What is your favorite song from the EP?
Probably that one yeah Battle of the Bros! Or Endgame, it was my favorite to play out for a while back when it was just a little live VIP of my old tune ‘By Your Side’.
This quarantine period has been hard for music industry so now it’s time to support and support, any interesting new producers you would recommend to follow?
Absolutely! Those I’ve named earlier PLEASE check out their music. So much great talent there alone. But I also am really loving Voltra, Deadlyft, Control Freak, Nyptane, Pocket, man there are sooo many great names right now. That’s probably enough though!
Any advise for up & coming producers?
There are so many routes to the same destination. Don’t let someone tell you that you’re doing something ‘wrong’ just because it’s not the same way as them. While there are a few REAL rules to music (like staying in key or something like that) a huge part of it is subjective and up to interpretation. So, don’t be afraid to get weird or do things differently. Also, have fun!!!!
Would you like to share something with the followers of Let the Bass Get You?
Thanks for taking the time out to read this whole thing! And I hope you’re all staying safe during COVID wherever you may live. If you have a dream of pursuing music, I believe in you. Never give up on that dream!
More info on Ray Volpe:
More info on Let The Bass Get You:
Let The Bass Get You 