Experience the Best of Both Worlds in "Cali Nights Chicago Mornings" by Purple Tokyo
- BUZZ LA
- Mar 9, 2020
- 4 min read
Purple Tokyo is an experience, to say the least. From mashing multiple genres together and exploring the dark and mysterious places of the mind, Purple Tokyo is able to create music that is familiar, fresh and exciting. The live shows of Purple Tokyo are even more of an experience. The shows feature musicians, visual artists, and filmmakers. Recently, Purple Tokyo has played at Pilsen Fest 2017 and in 2016 won the Chicago Nightlife Award for "Best Producer/Remixer". In 2020 Purple Tokyo released the song "Cali Nights Chicago Mornings" with the up and coming Chicago hip-hop artist MAKIA, who is known for his catchy hooks, and unique cadence and flow.
"Cali Nights Chicago Mornings" is a perfect late-night experience that features synth-wave synths and drums, fresh but familiar effected vocal hooks, modulating melodies, and explosive verses from MAKIA. The song opens with synth-wave elements, then the main hook, and then teases the capabilities of MAKIA before delivering an exciting verse that will get you fired up. "Cali Nights Chicago Mornings" is able to make you feel both laid back and hyped up for anything, this unique crossover from Purple Tokyo and MAKIA is something that is able to be your soundtrack to no matter what you're doing.
Hey Purple Tokyo, welcome to BuzzMusic! We're loving your sound and flairs between genres; it's quite unique! In "Cali Nights Chicago Mornings" what inspired the production and songwriting? Is there an element that gets created first and then everything builds off that?
PT: The instrumental was created first. This had been a song I was really trying to harness the dark elements that have always been in my music. In this case, I imagine creating a soundtrack for The Montauk Project. Which was a government operation after WWII that illegally recruited human subjects/runaway kids for the purpose of mind control, space/interstellar travel and reverse engineering of extraterrestrial technology. Which was what the show “Stranger Things” was also inspired by. I've always been about creating music without thinking about a genre. In this case, Makia was able to bring hip hop into the mix and his voice just fit perfectly into the synth-wave/cyberpunk instrumental.
MAKIA: The lyrics for CNCM were mainly inspired by the production itself. Usually, when I create music, I take the time to really listen to what the beat is telling me. For this record, I automatically pictured the opening scene of Drive with Ryan Goslin. In a sense, the beat evoked the feeling of being a “badass” and inspired me to write from the context of having all the materialistic things I spoke upon. In reality, I haven’t actually acquired these things
For your live shows, what inspires the creation of each set? Do you start with the music and build a visual around that? Or is there a story created pre-hand and everything else follows that?
PT/MAKIA: My visuals and stage design are inspired by the mood and vibe of the records that I intend on performing for that specific show. One thing that I truly look forward to is to fully bring my ideas to life during my live shows. The story has always been there for me. At the moment the majority of it still lives in my head but being able to collaborate with the different visual artists has helped the process of bringing it to life.
What would some of your influences be for the music that becomes written? Are there any idols that are looked up to?
PT: My biggest musical influence has always come from Pink Floyd. It sounds like a “stoner” thing to say but they were pioneers in the music industry. From creating one of the first light shows to their genre blend and introducing electronic elements when no-one was really doing that. For this record, I really got sucked into the ’80s. Experimenting with vintage synths and gated reverb to give it a nostalgic yet future vibe.
MAKIA: My influences for the music stem from being inspired by artists that I truly feel have been able to make a significant impact on music as a whole. For this particular record, I was definitely channeling Kayne West as you can hear it in the tone, melodies, and overall attitude of the record. Kanye West <x-apple-data-detectors://0> has always been an idol of mine despite some of the nonsensical things he’s said. Kid Cudi <x-apple-data-detectors://1> is also another artist who has played a pivotal role in my development as an artist.
How did the collaboration with "MAKIA" begin? Was the song written together or were elements of the song created before everyone got together?
PT/MAKIA: The collaboration started with a friend/collaborator of mine named Sam Hagensick who originally showed me the record. I decided to record over the beat, and eventually, Sam sent it over to Purple Tokyo who expressed that he was digging the concept. We finally connected in person in the alley of my old job at the Wit Hotel in which we briefly got to pick each other’s brains musically and artistically. From then on we spent hours tweaking the record to create the best possible version. It’s been quite the journey! It definitely feels good to finally see the record out amongst the world.
Thank you for being here Purple Tokyo! Tell your fans, what is next?
PT: I think its really important to talk about where the music is coming from. My focus is to dive further into video this year to show my fans where it all originates from as well as implement new live elements into my shows.
MAKIA:
New visuals and hot new music!