Producer To Know : Lars Viola
LARS VIOLA
Producer and rapper Lars Viola has been maneuvering around the NYC-scene for 10-plus years. He frequently collaborates and performs with heads like Quelle Chris, TANSU, PENPALS. Most recently, his hard work has landed him a producing gigs Deniro Ferrar’s single, “Gon’ Be" off “Sole Food.”
We got in touch with Lars to chat about his time in NYC, the changes he’s seen in the hip-hop scene over the years, and some projects he’s been working on.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Nowadays, musical trends and trend-cycles are faster than ever. How do you develop your own sound? Do you try and incorporate modern musical trends into your sound?
It depends on what artist I’m working with and the vibe we’re going for!
People like to say my stuff sounds like an old school boom-bap. That’s just because it's what I love. That’s where my heart and soul is. But of course, I like to incorporate modern stuff. I’ll sprinkle in some 808s when I need to.
From your 2018 project, The Wash Up, to your recent project with PenPals, can you tell me what’s changed?
The end product. I think my mindset has changed because I’m trying to make music I want to listen to.
The whole business end has changed too, of course. I’ve done a decent amount of work because the money was on the table and the opportunity was right. But now, if it’s going to be a full project I’m going to work on with someone, I have to make sure I enjoy whoever else I’m working with. From there, I just build.
What was different when you were younger?
Well when I was younger, most of the people I was working with, like my first group, the MAE, it was just the people I was around. Nowadays, because of the internet, I can hit up people whose music I enjoy and not do things so much face to face, but I make it work.
As a producer, collaboration is key. What’s your process?
If I’m making a beat as a one-off for an artist, I’ll make sure to try and push them in a direction that maybe they haven’t explored yet. For example, on the new Deniro Ferrar album, “Gon Be”, I hit him with a soulful sound, because a bit of his popular stuff is the hard, 808-trap-style beat.
I tried to bring out a different side of him.
How have you tried to create the Lars Viola brand?
That comes down to following my formula. If I am going to approach a project, I think people come to me because they want my sound. They aren’t going to come to me and ask me to make something completely different from what I’ve been putting out already.
How do you screen collaborations?
Professionalism. If I see a DMs, “Yo lets collab” - Nah.
They have to have mutual respect and they need to compensate. I need to like their stuff too! It’s not just a check, I want to like their stuff too.
Dream collab?
Damn, tough question. Maybe MF DOOM?
I’ve always wanted to collab with established sound makers like Quincy Jones or something.
You’ve been living in New York your whole life. Do you have a favorite NYC rapper?
I’m from Long Island actually but have been living in Brooklyn for about 8 years now. It’s really hard to pick a favorite, so I’ll throw a few in the ring. Mos Def, Big L, Rakim, Guru, Mf Doom, not sure if he counts though. Isn’t he from England?
I grew up on Illmatic, so Nas is definitely in there too.
So you’ve been doing this awhile. What brought you into the scene?
I went to college in upstate New York. Not a big hip-hop scene. But through a friend of a friend from high school, Jeff Garibaldigot ahold of this tape that I and my boy Indigo Ali had made. Literally, no internet promotion.
We were burning CDs and handing them out to friends. He got his hands on one, in Jersey somehow, and he came up to Oneontaand sat me down and said I want to show you guys off. He started booking us shows in NYC and we took it from there.
You’re working in hip-hop as a producer and a rapper. How do you navigate the culture, with respect to its history and heritage?
I’m a guest in the house of hip-hop. I don’t try to overstep those boundaries or appropriate culture or anything like that. My music is me, genuinely, to my core. Nowadays, hip-hop is very open.
What do you think you are missing when it comes to success?
Money is always a thing. It’s always been more of a hobby because it doesn’t pay all the bills you know what I mean. If we’re being real, maybe a new version of Pro Tools. But, I try not to let my equipment or tech hold me back. I’m a patient person, I don’t expect anything to happen overnight.
How do you deal with the frustration of not being exactly where you want to be?
Oh yeah, of course. Especially when I was younger, when I would make music and really believe in it, and hear the quality of it, I would get disappointed when it didn’t have the same outreach or impact I wanted it to.
I deal with it by trying to better myself the next time around.
Do you have any hard feelings on newcomers blowing up before you?
I feel like so much is happening in hip-hop right now. Even if people think a certain way about an artist, this or that, but music is ever-changing. Being salty about someone’s success is never going to get you anywhere.
How do you manage your expectations now?
I make sure I learn from every move I make and never make any mistakes twice.
For example, in my first group MAE, we released an EP for free. We got great exposure, 50k downloads, etc. And then the LP came around, instead of dropping it for free, we put so much work and money behind it, we wanted to drop it for five bucks.
Those 5 bucks made the difference between people looking into it and listening to it. Putting that number on it and thinking short-term, may have held us back.
What about now, how do you commodify your art?
I think just having a different perspective on what it takes to make something work. I’m still building my social media presence, which is an uphill battle, I just can’t sink my teeth into it. Also, I think commodification stagnates artistic growth so I’m not trying to price tag myself.
My latest project with Blu DeTiger, we had vinyl pressed via HHV Records. But yeah, it’s tough. Obviously I want to make as much money off my music as possible, but I deal with it by just keeping it moving forward, making good connections, and building my foundation.
Thanks for your time Lars. What can we look forward to seeing from you in 2020?
Me and one of the cats from PENPALS, Bobby Noble just put a project together entitled “Good Time Bobby’s Got The Blues”.
That's going to be out in August with vinyl available from Chopped Herring Records. I'm also about 90% done with a solo project, Surface Noise, that’s looking like a late 2020 release.