Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We heard about exposed vocals through twitter, and immediately sent a message with a link to our latest song! We then got a prompt response, and decided to jump at the opportunity.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: Retro Spects grew up in Lafayette, Colorado. With a passion for writing graffiti, he discovered Hip Hop culture, and found his home. Oscar Philly Moved to Boulder, Colorado at the young age of four, and quickly gravitated to Skateboarding and Hip Hop music. We met because of the Boulder Skate Team and became friends instantly. Once we got to high school, we started writing individually, unbeknownst to each other. We were both using hip hop as an outlet, and form of expression. Soon after, we were each recording our own solo projects, when we discovered that we had another mutual interest, real hip hop. We started going to class late, in order to get the opportunity to spit freestyles in the car, and outside of the school with our homies. It didn’t take long for us, to start recording our written tracks and sharing them with our friends!
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: In our early days of rapping, we considered going by the name of “The Retrospective Collective”. After a couple of members dropped out of the race, we decided it was time to rebrand. Shortening our title to Retro Spects & Oscar Philly, the names of the two remaining members.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We think online music sharing is great! It is an awesome way for artists, without a following, to get their name out there. So far we have released two free projects. We want people from every background to hear our music, whether or not they have the ability to pay for it.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: Be persistent. Push yourself, to get your music in front of anyone, and everyone. Finally, Put out a steady stream of content, to keep people engaged.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We have, in fact, made mistakes during performances. Everyone makes mistakes, and thats important to keep in mind when on stage. Just the other day Philly backed into a microphone on stage, and he played it off like the mike was trying to fight him, and pretending like he welcomed the challenge. If we ever forget a lyric on stage, we help get each other back on track, and don’t sweat it. We view every mistake, as an opportunity to progress.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: Unfortunately, we have not toured yet. We are currently playing local gigs around Denver, and soon to be across Colorado. In the near future, we hope to plan a tour around the US to help build a larger following.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We gather inspiration from everyday life. Our music reflects the different aspects of our lives, as well as relatable situations we experience. Songwriting can take us anywhere from an hour, to a few weeks. It consists of us playing back the instrumental endlessly until we write the best lyrics we can, and throwing around ideas for hooks/bridges.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: Currently we do not have a running website, but one is in works. We Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share news, photos, videos, and new music with our fans. As far as music sharing goes, we post new singles to Soundcloud regularly, and downloadable projects on Bandcamp.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Retro Spects: I know Philly has a skrillex song on his phone he don’t want anyone to know about.
Oscar Philly: Spectsy says he’s not embarrassed by any of the music he listens to.. Should I believe him?
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: First we would find a new studio space, and get all new equipment. Then we’d spend the year compiling as much music as we could, while playing shows across the country.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We definitely plan to upgrade our equipment very soon. Currently we are working with a USB microphone, a quiet room with sound absorbing foam, and Logic Pro X. We are planning to upgrade to a more professional microphone soon, and continue upgrades as they become a possibility.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: Up to this point we have promoted our own music. We post constantly to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to inform people of our new releases! We find that we get the most response from posting to Facebook, but we continue to promote our music across different social media platforms.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Oscar Philly: I would have to say Red Rocks with Crown City Rockers, Swollen Members, and Kendrick Lamar. Crown City Rockers(used to be known as Mission) Had an album called “One”, Which was the first hip hop album I bought, at the age of 6. It is still my favorite album today, and Crown City Rockers continue to hold my number one spot! The Swollen Members Inspire me to keep my lyrics diverse, while Kendrick pushes me to pursue a message.
Retro Spects: I would want to perform somewhere in Kansas City, with Tech N9ne and the whole Strange Music Roster. They are the biggest Independent Label in the US, and watching their success gives me the drive to do the same. Not to mention that would be one hell of a show!
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We have a few projects that we have been working on in the past few months. One project we have in the works, is an old school mixtape, with an array of styles and subjects. We are also in the process of making a full length album, that will focus on relating to the people of the world.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Retro Spects: I would be pursuing a career in graphic design. However, I am not a one trick pony, and I am also pursuing graphic design alongside music.
Oscar Philly: I would have to guess I’d be pursuing photography more seriously. I love anything I can do to express myself creatively. Plus I’d be skating a hell of a lot more!
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Oscar Philly: I remember getting my first album at Barts CD Cellar when i was six. It was an album called “One” by a group called Mission, and all I could think was “I wanna do this some day”. I would play the album on repeat(and still do), until I had every line memorized.
Retro Spects: The first album I ever bought was “HD’s Vs The SP-1200” by Homeliss Derilex. I was extremely impressed with their ability to work together on a song, and it gave me the drive to explore hip hop further.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: We prioritize. It is definitely hard to work towards a music career, simultaneously with school and work. But we put our best foot forward, always emphasizing on music, and taking care of matters in our personal lives.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Retro Spects & Oscar Philly: More shows. More Music. More Retro Spects & Oscar Philly!
