Chris DeLine

“There was just a lot of noise to sort through,” says Josh Hawkins, speaking to the time he spent living in New York City. “I think the best thing about Nashville is the country music overload. I’m not a country music fan, but in New York it was hard to meet people who were really doing interesting electronic music because everyone was doing electronic music.” The producer, who records as Super Duper, has an interesting perspective that almost welcomes the artistic whitewashing of his hometown that many others hold in contempt. “When I moved back to Nashville it was so refreshing to find just a handful of electronic acts starting to bubble up, and they all stand out here,” he continues. “The city’s stereotype filters out a lot of the noise and makes it easier to meet and collaborate with other truly talented artists.”

Growing up in Nashville, Hawkins moved to New York to work at a music house after he graduated from MTSU. Returning home a little over a year ago, he says the city now “feels like a perfect fit.” Despite feeling at home, he hasn’t felt entirely secure with his music, especially his new release, Diamonds & Doubt. “I’ve been finished with this album for almost a year, so I was getting worried that the songs wouldn’t be relevant with people anymore.” An unlikely blessing came when Diplo hand-picked a remix of “Diamond” for a recent episode of his BBC Radio 1 show. “It was such a huge boost! Having that kind of support gave me a lot of reassurance that not just fans, but also artists, would really dig these songs.”

Having previously drawn influence from electronic acts the likes of M83 and Air, Hawkins has likened the sound of his last EP to TNGHT, though he says he’s focused his direction since then. “That album was a lot of experimenting and I had no real concepts in mind. With Diamonds & Doubt I tried to simplify my use of sounds [to] give each song more personality to stand on its own.” Simplified doesn’t mean simplistic though, as is evidenced by XLR8R’s description of “Circus Bird,” which transitions “a low-pitched brass loop that resembles baleful laughter” into “wonky, decaying synths.”

“With this new release I’m trying to mold trap foundations with a lot more emphasis on electronic sounds.” Beyond the music, Hawkins is trying something else new in releasing the set physically… on cassette. “It’s been fun to tell people the album will be released on tape because I always get a positive reaction, even if I’m talking to my grandparents. Everyone likes tapes! It’s also really nice to have a tangible piece of music for my songs to live on. Vinyl is great, but cassettes definitely speak more to my generation.”

[This article was first published on villin]