Article By: Nicholas Callaio

PANTyRAiD is gracing Denver with one of its over-the-top performances at the Fillmore Auditorium tonight (Saturday, November 19).  The collaborative pair of DJs consists of Martin Folb (MartyParty) and Josh Mayer a.k.a Ooah (The Glitch Mob).  These two visionaries in electronic music come together to wow audiences across America with their unique approaches.  MartyParty with storytelling incorporated into his music and Ooah with his signature style of glitch.  They took some time out of their overly busy schedule to answer some of my questions.  PANTyRAiD is a rare musical occurrence, and as such creates a very mysterious atmosphere and always gets the fans on their toes when they do appear live.

You guys use the phrase “Audio Fondling Your Girlfriend” to describe the concept of PANTyRAiD; can you elaborate?

Josh: I think its just a playful way of bringing out the sexy side of music and gearing it more towards women than your typical, heavy brostep mentality.

For Josh- You are taking the vision of The Glitch Mob and channeling a lot of that energy into PANTyRAiD's music, is Martin a big contributor to this or did you just have an overflow of musical ideas that needed to come out?

Josh: PANTyRAiD is just a different channel for myself to make music through. Marty is a huge contributor; we have a nice, equal balance of input and output.

Will the Fillmore be one of the bigger venues that you guys have toured through?

Marty: Yes—definitely for a PANTyRAiD headline show. We are stoked and working on a big show for this one!

It seems like there’s not really too much pressure put on your guys to play as PANTyRAiD often. When it happens, is there some peace that you find in making this unique type of electronic music?

Marty: Yes I love working with Josh and we both have a lot of fun in studio together. It’s not easy to work with other people but with Josh its easy so it’s a pleasure. It’s all time permitting for us now.

Josh: Also because we don’t play shows very often it allows us to be a bit more unique and playful in the live show, trying new things and experimenting with new songs and mixes.

Any New Years Eve plans as of now?

Marty: I’m in Atlanta for New Year - Josh - where u at?
Josh: I’m playing with The Glitch Mob in Lake Tahoe for the Snow Globe Festival

Where did you find the PANTyRAiD sound that fans grew to love?

Marty: We are both from southern upbringing and grew up with hip-hop and electronic music—this cross over in the brain makes the instrumental progressive hip-hop we make.

Josh: Marty said it best, it’s our southern roots, it’s in our blood!

There are a lot of DJs producing music in the scene today, how do you keep yourself from falling off the musical ladder?

Marty: Listen to the people and watch them dance—keep making music that moves you in the process of making it and stay fresh with new sounds and drums always—it’s all about original melodies to me. Good melodies are timeless.

The name PANTyRAiD derives from a college prank that is males entering females’ living space and stealing their panties, the main point of this prank is to cause commotion. Is this how you came about the name, simply to cause commotion on the dance floor?

Marty: (Laughs) Totally—if you have ever been in a PANTyRAiD you know what’s up. It just made sense from the get-go.

For Martin, when playing as a duo, there are many times that people are likely to bump heads when it comes to making big decisions. Is MartyParty a stress release for you or is it just as hard when is comes to important decisions?

Marty: I’m very lucky in that I have a successful solo and collaborative career—I get to experience both disciplines—I just appreciate every show with Josh and try to keep it as real as possible. There is very little stress in our lives because we are being creative all the time. Its all good. No stress.

As I said, PANTyRAiD does not get too many live shows as a result making the duo very mysterious, did you guys plan that or was that the first time you heard that?

Marty: Yes. We approached the project like that from the start—as a special thing—and it really works. We enjoy it as much as the audience as we get to share the time and hear the new music we have both brought to the table.  It’s an awesome formula.

Often music producers come to a wall when making tracks and thinking of fresh new ideas. Does collaboration tear that wall down and help you guys make more music?

Marty: I think so. I think collaboration is just a new way of learning; seeing and sharing new tricks and techniques, and then playing melodies together and creating musical moments in a jam session. It definitely creates a different sound.

How does your different musical backgrounds influence your music making abilities as a duo?

Marty: I have no official musical background other than a couple childhood piano lessons. I learned from hearing and making what I wanted. I then learned music theory from the other direction and realized what I was hearing. Some people say it’s what makes the music different and special. I’m not sure. I’m definitely loving theory and finally getting everything in tune.

Josh: I have a decent musical background, played drums, guitar and piano growing up but I’m not sure how much of that comes to play in writing electronic music, I just honestly play stuff until it sound good to me and go with that. Theory and all that doesn’t really mean too much to me, I appreciate it, but I’m just an artist making noise.

What sets PANTyRAiD aside from the rest is the ability to incorporate “storytelling” into the songs. Why is this important to you and from where did this influence blossom?

Marty: I always liked songs that evolved from a theme through a crescendo—progressive music. From classical to Zeppelin and Floyd; just anything that didn't repeat itself too much. I guess that’s where my storytelling comes from, the journey through the scale and beat. I just like it—no idea why—I get bored if I hear the same loop. I’m a weirdo like that.

Josh: (Laughs) I love what Marty said, I’m going with that too!

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