Bro Safari, one of the many musical facets of Knick Weiller (of Evol Intent and Ludachrist fame) is a busy man; apart from production and DJing for his various identities, he’s got his game on lock and is a wise and well-spoken individual who understands the music industry and is tuned in to the sounds quite well. We got a minute to catch up with him after he shot us over his edition of the Media Contender podcasts, and learned a little bit more about what he’s up to these days.

The mix is a nice blend of moombahton, deeper dubstep, and glitch-style tracks, from a ton of both new and established artists within the scene. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

01. Bro Safari & LeDoom – Avalon
02. Valentino Khan – Kingstone
03. McMash – Braindead
04. Stratus – Jasper’s Theme
05. LeDoom ft. Tony Mundaca – CumbiaTRON
06. No Body – Munch On This
07. Bro Safari & Sazon Booya – Quieres Sexo
08. Bro Safari – K-hole
09. Jay Fay feat. G-Eazy – Starlight
10. Schlacthofbronx feat. Gnucci Banana – Coolie Fruit (Valentino Khan Remix)
11. Skratch Riddim (Jay Fay Remix)
12. JWLS – Redlight
13. ETC!ETC! – Killafornia
14. Will Bailey – Sex Shop
15. Autoerotique – Turn Up The Volume (edit)
16. Bro Safari – Cold Turkey
17. 2 Edit – Datsun Tropicalia (JWLS Remix)
18.Tasha Baxter – The Journey (Culprate & Twist Remix)
19. Atlantic Connection – Set Me Free
20. NumberNin6 – Where’s The Drop?
21. RackNRuin – Signal ft. PMoney_Koast (Torqux & Twist Remix)
22. Chuckie – Who Is Ready To Jump (Dillon Francis Remix)
23. :DFace – Mad Man
24. Inan3lik3 – Bad Pitched (Aylen Remix)
25. ETC!ETC! – Kilogram
26. Valentino Khan – Talk Trash
27. Munchi – Fuck This
28. Bro Safari & ETC!ETC! – The Clap
29. ETC!ETC! & Sazon Booya – She’s The Bass Drum
30. Puga – Bolete
31. Pickster One – Dem Bow Is The New Amen
32. Nadastrom – i!!
33. Bro Safari – 5150
34. Bro Safari – Da Worm
35. SPL – Back At It (Bro Safari Remix)

How’s 2012 been treating you so far?

So far, so good. I’ve been staying busy with studio work and I’m about to move to Austin, TX at the end of the month as well. Gigs are coming in and I’ve got a lot of new original material to unleash soon. Things are good!

What’s the reasoning behind the name Bro Safari? When and why did you decide to officially make this into a project?

Well, there’s no reasoning behind the name, specifically. I created the moniker quite some time ago. Bro Safari originally started as a Dubstep project around 2008. I made a few tunes and kind of abandoned ship shortly after. Early in 2011, I decided to resurrect the project and I decided to just nurture it as an “anything goes” type of thing. I wanted the freedom to explore genres like House and Moombahton, yet still retain the artistic integrity to make a Glitch-hop tune if I wanted. Things are going well in that regard. I’m all over the map recently.

Moombahton is a considerably trendy and expanding genre. Do you think that with its rise it’s gotten diluted or misunderstood?

It’s a new sound, so it needs space and time to grow. Towards the end of 2011, it definitely became a bit repetitive and stagnant. However, lately I have really seen a shift in production quality. Newer producers are stepping up their game and people are coming forward with much more original material. The problem, in the earlier stages, may have been the lack of original material overall. Simply, there were too many edits and remixes floating around. I’ve been somewhat outspoken about this honestly. I really have pushed for Moombahton producers to focus on bettering their engineering and to steer away from making bootlegs. So, yes, I think it might be a little bit misunderstood at times. But, this is changing quickly.

Which artist(s) have been the most influential to you over the course of your career?

This is a tough question. Certain people were more influential than others. Some had an impact on me personally and then some of them, professionally and musically. So I will pick someone who has continuously motivated me in all of these areas, Kill The Noise. We have been friends for a really long time and his work ethic has always made me examine my own. He is almost a freak of nature when it comes to having a dedication to your craft.

If anyone could remix a Bro Safari original, who would it be?

I like to hear House remixes of my Bro Safari material. I’m not sure why, but I just like the way it translates. Having said that, I don’t listen to much House! Currently, I have Codes (of Slow Roast Records) remixing one of my songs and I can’t wait to hear that. I think that if I had to make a short list of who I’d like to see remix my stuff, it would mostly consist of my peers. People like Kill The Noise, Feed Me… And let’s be real here, who wouldn’t love to have Skrillex remix their track?

Any upcoming artists you’ve been digging lately? Fresh talent that deserves more attention?

Absolutely. This dude Valentino Khan is going to be doing huge things soon. I know it. His production is great and his tunes have been going off in my sets. Jay Fay, from St. Louis, is also making huge tunes lately. ETC!ETC! from LA is another guy to keep an eye out for (psst… Media Contender’s got something in the oven with this dude. Stay posted!) LeDoom, from Texas, is someone I really enjoy working with. Nerd Rage is a really dope Dubstep producer who is going to surprise some people this year. He has really been working on improving his sound. There are obviously a lot more, but I’ll stop there.

As somewhat of a veteran to the music scene, having worked in various genres and groups, what advice do you have for the newer crowd or young producers?

Well, this is the type of thing that I won’t shut up about once I get going. I said something on Twitter recently that could apply to this question. I said that hard work will get you much further than natural talent. I really have found this to be true. Over the years, I have known too many talented artists who simply don’t put in enough work to achieve the success that they may deserve. On the other hand, I have also witnessed producers with modest amounts of talent, escalate themselves into the spotlight by working their asses off. Just with anything else in life, you only get back what you put in to something. If you do the minimal amount of work involved, then you’re not going to get much in return. It’s a simple concept, but it will take you much further in life if you remind yourself of that every once in a while.

Favorite production tools/plug-ins/tricks?

Earlier this year, I simplified everything in my set up. I got rid of my mixing console and just got it down to this: Computer, Apogee Duet 2 sound card & Adam a8x studio monitors. That’s it. I have some hardware synths that I jack in, but I really like to just keep it simple. For me, less is more. I’ve been using Ableton Live since version 2 and I think they’re on 8 now. I know that program like the back of my hand. Aside from that, I rely heavily on EQ’ing and spectrum analysis these days, while always remembering to go with my instincts when it comes to certain aspects of mixing and sound design.

What’s next for Bro Safari?

This year, I’m going to focus on content. I obviously want to play enough shows to pay the bills, but I really want to create some quality music for people to enjoy and play out. I have an EP that is almost finished which will come out on T&A Records. The theme for the EP is “Bro’s Gone Wild” and it will consist of mostly collaborations between myself and people that I respect and have wanted to work with. There will be a few solo tunes on there and also some remixes. Past that, I’ll be starting on another EP or possibly short album project after that. I have other projects that consume some of my time as well. My main goal right now is to stay positive and focus on releasing as much quality music as possible. Anything else, to me, is icing on the cake.

Bro Safari has a bunch of free downloads up on his Soundcloud. We’ve included the ‘set’ here for some easy access but definitely go check him out.