CASTLEBEAT

Photo provided by, CASTLEBEAT

Meet CASTLEBEAT

The ability to adapt and change is a quality that I always admire in a musician. I see this in Josh and their project CASTLEBEAT. Way back when in the 2016’s CASTLEBEAT has been my go-to for anything bedroom pop, lo-fi, and wavy. In their latest release TI-83, we hear the artist break pull in new influences from R&B and pop music. They are able to contextualize it under the lens of their patented downtempo and fuzzed-out sound. In our latest interview, we chat with Josh about dressing rooms, movie scores, and their latest tunes.

“THE OBSERVATORY” A fill in the blank by, CASTLEBEAT

Our class went on a field trip to a DAMP observatory. It was located on top of a SCOOTER, and it looked like a giant UMBRELLA with a slit down its KISS. We went inside and looked through COFFEE and were able to see GEESE in the sky that were millions of EYEBROWS away. The men and women who BOOGIE in the observatory are called CHAIRS, and they are always watching for comets, eclipses, and shooting DOCTORS. An eclipse occurs when a TUNA SANDWICH comes between the earth and the CALCULATOR and everything gets WONDERFUL. Next week, we plan to POKE the Museum of Modern INHALERS.

Would You Rather

only eat burritos or pizza for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

NY Pizza.

Some questions with CASTLEBEAT

Was there any inspiration that lead you to lean into RnB in your upcoming release?

I think it’s mainly the smoothness of rnb production in general that really inspred me. so I’m trying to pay more attention to how sounds blend togegther in a mix. However, my upcoming album is going to showcase different production styles and genres from rnb, synthwave, lo-fi hip hop, to good ole-fashioned guitar dream pop - all under the pop umbrella. Usually songs on an album all sound more or less the same, but I’m going to try to make each song really unique to make it an interesting listen throughout the album.

What has been your biggest high as Castlebeat?

Hmmmm I think completing & releasing my debut self-titled album was a huge achievement for me because I did everything myself from writing/recording/mixing/mastering/artwork & got to release it through my own label Spirit Goth. I basically released it to no audience, but it eventually caught on by getting shared online making me realize the power of the internet.

How do you achieve the low-fi glitchy sound in your single “80's High School”

Honestly I just record & it sounds pretty lo-fi already, there are things I do to exaggerate the lo-fi ness in the mix with fx and plugins but I think the sound is just a result of sub par home-recording gear & questionable techniques. I don’t think I can even achieve a radio-quality song from my bedroom anyway, there are too many mistakes to make on the way. TI-83 & 80’s High School final versions are actually slightly time-warped, which added a bit of wooziness that I liked. I think it’s important to realize the distinction between studio-made lofi music & real lo-fi music since the term “lo-fi” is so widely used nowdays.

Having been releasing music for over five years how do you stay inspired?

I’m always trying to listen to new music & have an open mind to different genres. I appreciate the underlying compositions / melodies of all music genres. But also I just like writing pop melodies & am always creating new ideas. It’s just finalizing songs that can tough for me.

What is your dream neighborhood to live in, and why?

I think I’d like to eventually get away from city life & live in a smaller town, but still kind of driving distance to a big city, you know? But basically anything walking distance to a coffee shop and somehwere I can have enough space to set up a solid home studio would be cool.

If you could score the soundtrack to a film by any director who would you choose? What would the movie be about?

Hands down, David Lynch. It would be some sort of sci-fi drama film with an alien encounter.

What three things would you demand to be in your dressing room?

I don’t really play live shows but I guess I would say korean food, tetris, & water.