Candyland started from modest beginnings in Santa Barbara, California, and has busted the door to the big-leagues of EDM wide open with her newest track ‘Murda.’
Originally made up of long-time friends Josie and Ethan, Candyland first began when Josie was hired to DJ Ethan’s 17th birthday party. Bonding over their mutual love of music, the two began working together starting back in 2011 and has amassed a loyal following of fans who love the way that the duo fuses hip-hop and EDM to create a whole new sound that doesn’t quite fall into “trap,” yet is able to stand alone on its own. Although Candyland is Josie’s solo project, don’t let it fool you — she still brings the house down no matter where she is.
I sat down with Candyland before her show at Echostage in D.C. to catch up with any upcoming projects they have in the works and see if I could catch even a glimpse of what makes Josie tick.
STEFANI: Can you tell me about your upcoming track for Smog Records and Dim Mak?
JOSIE: Yeah, so I have a song called “Murda.” It’s coming out on 12th planets label Smog and I’m super excited about that. It’s very hybrid dubstep-trap which a lot of fans have been asking for, so I thought I would do that.
I have a song with RETROHANDZ coming out on Dim Mak, Steve Aoki’s label. It’s like super heavy electro house song, I’m super pumped about it.
Who do you love to collaborate with/who you would love to collaborate with?
Well I had a great time collaborating with my friend Cameron “Big Chocolate.” He’s a good friend of mine so working with him was a blast. As far as who I would love to collab with, probably Knife Party or Skrillex. Someone I have been so influenced by over the years would be crazy
Can you tell me what you think about Echostage and DC?
I love D.C. I only got to explore it once, I have always wanted to go to the museums and explore the city…but as far as playing at Echostage , I’ve played here what like four times and it’s been amazing every time. It’s one of my favorite places to play. So I’m super excited.
What you can’t live without on your rider?
As far as my rider is concerned? Water. I can’t live without it. I don’t really have anything crazy on my rider anymore.
Who do you “fangirl” for?
As far as dance music or just in general?
In general.
Man, if Beyonce walked through I’d probably like faint, and that goes for a lot of people. I fangirl for most people. It’s something I have to tone down a little, but yeah you could name anyone and I would probably freak out.
What about Justin Beiber?
Except for him, except for Beiber. Actually, you know what I’m lying I would just be in the corner staring, just like “what are you doing?”
What is your Netflix guilty pleasure?
Netflix guilty pleasure? Pretty Little Liars. I think most people would be like, “I had no idea” but I’m obsessed with it, like actually obsessed with it. It’s a problem. I have theories [about who A is] — it’s bad. I can’t go into it.
Favorite fist gen pokemon?
Um, it’s a tie between Snorlax and Squirttle, yeah they are pretty much the best. [laughs]