Interview: Go Yama & Lidly (+mini mixes)

We recently featured the a track from Lidly and Go Yama's, Blue Magic Tapes. We had the opportunity to interview both of them about that tape, their process of working together, and the potential for another collab! Altogether, they are both really talented artists who are making dope beats.

On top of the interview, they each put together a pair of mixes for us, both of which are phenomenal illustrations of their individuals talents and influences. Go Yama incorporates some truly awesome guitar work into the mix; his beats will unfold into these soaring and enveloping guitar solos, creating a distinct sound of his own.

While Go Yama explores the capabilities of  hip-hop and electronic beat music, Lidly is much more rooted within boom bap hip-hop. His selection features fresh verses throughout that won't fail to get you head-nodding.  I highly suggest listening to their mixes and then going back to Blue Magic Tapes - you'll really be able to hear each of their distinct musical identities come through, and work together.

Special thanks to Chris from Paxico Records for helping setting this interview up!

I’m really glad I could chat with you guys. First off, could you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? How did you get into producing music?

Go Yama: Definitely, same here! Thanks for having us. I’m from east bay California originally and started producing music in college. I’ve always been a guitarist and was studying jazz in school so I started trying to find other ways to express my musical ideas.

Lidly: Yee. Thanks for your kindness! I’m Tokyo based beatmaker /producer. [The] Japanese beat scene is small but there are many dope beatmakers. Music is part of my daily life.

Who are some of your major influences in music, and who are some of your musical heroes?

G: Man, too many to recount. I think like the majority of other beat scene producers, I started making beats to try and copy flying lotus circa 2008 or something. Miles [Davis] is definitely one of my musical heroes; his aesthetic vision was way ahead of his time and he was never scared to experiment.

L: Hmm Just difficult question….If I was to say it, my beats homies all over the world.

Tell us a little about the tracks you’ve selected for your mix.

G: I’m using a mix that I’m prepping for touring in London and Germany with Darker Than Wax. I have some unreleased stuff along with some tracks that we made on blue magic tapes.

L : My respect homie's beats and the last track is Go Yama’s beat.

How did you two first meet and what led to you working together?

G: We met in the early blossoming SoundCloud days; I always thought Lidly’s beats were dope and inspiring. I met him formally when I was in Japan visiting family a few years ago. I think he set up some shows for me and we totally clicked when we jammed together.

L: He's right. And always love his music. And such a talented guitarist.

What was the process like for you two collabing on music? Were you able to work in the same location while working on the tape or was it a situation where you’d be bouncing stuff back and forth?

G: A lot of it was done in the same place, but one of us would put out an idea and the other would sort of flesh it out. To be honest, a lot of it was done in cafes and music studios around Tokyo.

L: [Go Yama] is right haha. And Chris Hound (on Paxico Records) makes our artwork. Really cool artwork. He is so talented I think.

What tunes are you bumping these days?/ Who are we sleeping on that needs to be heard?

G: Man, so many dope producers these days. Just checked the new Sampha album and thought it was rad. My homie Jeff Cott aka Kansado has an awesome EP coming out soon that he let me peep, excited for people to hear it.

L: My beat homies music all over the world.

What do either of you have planned for the future?

G: I go to Japan every summer, so we are thinking of another one this summer!

L: Our next album gonna be.... Looking forward to it. Peace.

Follow these guys and find more info on their Stereofox artist pages - Lidly / Go Yama. Free download from the mixes here and here.