Cobra Krames is coming to town. Richmond’s all world, club bangin’, ex-mullet rockin’ son has returned to drop heavy on RVALUTION for one night only. Make it out and get ready for the man to bring a little of the NY Club scene with him. Reinhold asked him whats up in this short interview. See you tonight.
Cobra Krames is coming to town. Richmond’s all world, club bangin’, ex-mullet rockin’ son has returned to drop heavy on RVALUTION for one night only. Make it out and get ready for the man to bring a little of the NY Club scene with him. Reinhold asked him whats up in this short interview. See you tonight.
Reinhold: When did you you start DJ’ing and producing?
Cobra Krames: I started in 2001 cause I wanted to freestyle. Soon after that, I started producing beats so I could be a famous rapper and have the skills to battle at RVA house parties.
Reinhold: What music did you initially start spinning?
Cobra Krames: At first I was playing mostly classic hip-hop and electro breakdancing music. When mash-ups started gettin’ popular I was already doin’ that, obviously now everything’s changed, and electronic music is becoming mainstream.
Reinhold: You used to rage out in Richmond, what parties made the most impact on you here in the Fist City?
Cobra Krames: Wax Museum and Richmatic were really the only parties I was going to in the early 2000’s. When we started the Cobra Kai parties I remember having a lot of fun, other DJ’s and kids were throwing house parties. There was raves back in the days. Those were crazy and I liked the atmosphere but at the time the music was a bit much for me.
Reinhold: At what point did you decide that it was time to move from Richmond to NY?
Cobra Krames: I was on a 6 week US tour and kept thinking, damn if I ever wanna do this again I’m a need to live in a city that supports this a bit more. Not like fans and whatnot , more like companies, people, musicians that are involved in the nu-rave stuff at a high level. A few years ago it was just time for a change. I love RVA and come back all the time, I’m not that dude that pretends he never lived there, that’s for sure, I just wanted a bigger city while I’m young.
Reinhold: So you travel quite a bit in DJ’ing all over, what places outside of the US have you found have the best clubs?
Cobra Krames: That’s a good question, people always ask about the parties, lets talk clubs. Logically this makes sense to me, when thinking of dope clubs I think Scandinavia!! They are such a rich country, like have mad money, so they just do really dope clubs. Sick sound systems, spaces, rooms, hospitality and design theme. These guys go all out to really impress a dude from the states.
Reinhold: And whats the weirdest place or situation to occur? I could imagine that some ridiculous situations could occur from the language barrier at least.
Cobra Krames: Oh yeah, you get in to trouble really quick with the languages, especially like ordering food sometimes, its just way more than you really wanted, they be ordering everything you nod at. The weirdest thing to happen was def in Oslo, Norway. Not weird in a bad way, more like just peep: when I got to the pre-party homie pulls out a bottle of liquor with a dead cobra snake preserved in the bottle with another snake in its mouth. This stuff was from Thailand, and he brought it out just for me, hence the name. So, I brought it to the club and all night we drank this stuff, got retarded on it. Then after the party we smashed the bottle and carried around the cobra. Pretty positive. One dude put it in his pocket at the end of all that for a keepsake I guess!!
Reinhold: Have you eaten any crazy food in your travels?
Cobra Krames: Fasho! I’m a food dude, love crazy food, I ate these small muscles called “tailenes” straight out of the ocean in the Mediterranean. You just reach into the sand underwater, find one, open the shell and eat the inside. They are amazing. France has the crazy foods, I tried the snails, frogs legs, all the duck stuff, blood sausages, its all SOO GOOD!!!! We get scared of stuff we don’t really eat, but damn, frogs legs tasting better than a BW3’s chicken wings I know that much!
Reinhold: Where are you just dying to go and play a party?
Cobra Krames: Thats easy, Ibiza!!!
Reinhold: Tony wanted to know what the wildest party you have ever been to, regardless if you were in the lineup or not?
Cobra Krames: Thats a hard question right! so many amazing parties. I guess wildest, I’m thinking what other people are doing etc.. ya feel me, I mean 8 years ago it was a rave at Edge in the DC area, that party was CRAZY!! Changed my life really, I’ve been to crazier parties since, but its burned in my brain that party and the level of awesome that it was!
Reinhold: What happened to the mullet and chops? I was totally digging that. I thought a mullet party would be all the rage.
Cobra Krames: It would be a rage! I still rage, just without all that hair everywhere. I just wanted to get a clean look going. Less is more and more is too much.
Reinhold: What producers are you favorites, and are influencing you now?
Cobra Krames: That’s a crazy question, like favorite producers, that’s how much music has changed, it actually matters who produces it. Right now influence wise DJ Class, Chuckie, Kassiano, Greenmoney, Dave Nada’s Moombahton stuff.
Reinhold: What’s your go to track when you want to kick it up a notch and make the crowd freak out?
Cobra Krames: Hmmm, this A-Trak Remix of Drake “Loonies To Blow” that one is pretty dope, for people who like that Pon De Floor vibe, but don’t wanna have to play that song AGAIN!!!
Reinhold: Tell me about some of your collaborations up to this point, and forming of the Gold Whistle label?
Cobra Krames: Stuff with Maggie Horn, Anton Glam, DJ Fatboy, supposed to meet up with Dances W/ White Girls, Jasmine Solano soon and finish up the original club record. Gold Whistle is like a way that I can do it myself, w/ out always having to work through a label. Sometimes its just quicker and then you have direct control of it and since its digital its not that much to get something up and onto iTunes quickly!
Reinhold: How did Sticky Noodles come about?
Cobra Krames: That’s me and Morsy, we got a record coming out on Top Billin’ Records from Helsinki! basically we like the same latin funky kinda stuff so we were like, yo lets make bangers we would maybe be to embarrassed to make alone, ya dig?? Its an excuse to make fun ass tunes for the kids.
Reinhold: How do you go about working on a remix? What programs or equipment have you been using in production?
Cobra Krames: For a remix I try to find a part of the song I like and can flip into something original, change the way you hear it, but still familiar, that’s a good remix! I use Ableton live, just some computer stuff and keyboards and whatnot, no need to be all techy, unless… is this a techy interview.. ?? Hahaa….
Reinhold: Would you play Sandstorm for me dude? And on that note what song do you loath but know if you play it people will love it?
Cobra Krames: Yes I’ll play Sandstorm. Why not. I mean, I know I got other tunes but I’m past trying to force feed shit people don’t like. If you are nostalgic for 100% Pure Love or some Madonna or Jackson 5 stuff, I’ll play it. I don’t really loath playing any particular song, I love them all.
Reinhold: Are you a beer guy or a mixer guy?
Cobra Krames: I am a whiskey or rum and ginger guy with shots of tequila!
Reinhold: Did you see the Adidas Star Wars collection? I could totally see you rocking some of the shit, those shoes are dope.
Cobra Krames: Yeah those shoes are crazy. To be honest I love crazy shoes for sure, but lately I get my grown man on and leave crazy shoes for the youth… maybe I’m hating cause I don’t have them.
Reinhold: Whats the plans for the future of mankind, or at least your plans?
Cobra Krames: My plans are to get my songs on TV shows that I watch cause that just trips me out. Watching TV and your song comes on….. I’d be like DAMN , THATS MY SONG!!
www.myspace.com/djkrames
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