The Hundred founder option4 (Ninja Tune, Club Sweat) joins us on the latest edition of Prima Lux. We sat down with the Denver based promotor and Dj ahead of upcoming releases on the likes of Waze & Odyssey’s Street Tracks, Love & Other and Nervous later this year. We touched on innovation in music, mentors and the budding scene in Denver. It’s all accompanied by a groovy new tape too!
WWD: Thanks for joining us Brennen!
For those unfamiliar with the creation of The Hundred, can you give a a brief introduction to the project and how it got started?
Well, basically I just kind of came up with the idea from a fantasy book I was reading (seriously). It was about this wizard and his 100 companions that go fight the bad guy. The thought started forming like – “What If I was able to get 100 like minded people together and we formed a community that wanted to bring new music to the city?”. I just went to every show I could and met people. Put them all on a secret website, and let THEM vote on what DJs / Music THEY wanted to bring. I let them all into the party for free and funded it out of my checking account. The rest is history. The concept really took off because for once everyone felt a part of something. Now the brand is bigger than the group per se but we’re still 100 people strong and the community that we have has formed a lifetime of memories already as well as a strong family bond between one another that exists beyond the parties and the music.
WWD: Innovation can yield some amazing results. Outside of you own projects what’s the most impressive innovation in the music scene to catch your eye of late?
Well it’s a very interesting time music wise right now with the decline in Soundcloud and the rise in corporate major label controlled music services. This music we’ve been making / pushing / believing in for so long is still in its core very community and underground driven. So it’ll be interesting to watch what platforms develop that allow independent artists to share their expressions with people again. There is this really cool video app called WAV right now that I think has a really cool potential to bridge the gap between fan/artist that I feel could take off. It seems like it could be part of the next “WAV” simply because I feel like people are tired of being solicited via social media to appreciate the artist themselves. Apps like this could bridge that because it’s a much more organic way of engaging artists that inspire you, and at the same time encourage real interaction as opposed to marketing teams and social media managers controlling what gets pushed out to fans online.
WWD: You’re connected with the grassroots from crowdsourcing emerging Djs for events. Can you give us three of the standout talents you’ve linked with through this method?
OH MAN, that was WILD! Three acts that I discovered through the experiment though that really blew me away were The Munk Machine (NYC), Dustin Rosata (Boston), and this guy named GATEO from Michigan. Was really neat to get introduced to such talented people from all over the U.S: the internet is a crazy place haha.
WWD: Looking back on your own development as a promoter and artist. Did you have any mentors inspiring you and helping you along the way?
I never really had any mentors. Especially in the promotion game. I just kind of dove head first into the game and prayed that I lived long enough to learn from my mistakes (which is a constantly changing process). As far as artist inspirations, oh man that is limitless. I have met SO many talented people in this industry that I look up to for all different kinds of reasons. Especially once I developed real friendships with them. I mean: we all pretty much face the same challenges all the time so there’s a real sincere bond that forms sometimes because we can relate to one another. This game is crazy and if you don’t look after one another it’s really easy to get lost. As far as close friends that have helped me out a lot. I’d have to toss Shiba San, Moon Boots, Will Clarke, Justin Jay, Bit Funk, Golf Clap, Treasure Fingers, MANIK, and MK all in the same boat. My dream party is to have us all in the same venue just playing a marathon set together!
WWDL Where is your main focus for 2017?
TO GET ALL THIS MUSIC RELEASED. Haha.. touring and throwing shows is all really fun but my true love is the studio, hands down. And it means A LOT to me when people are able to share my music with me.
WWD: What are your hopes for the future of Denver as a music hotspot?
The shows are all great right now. I don’t know how they could even improve too much more. I mean you can go out any night of the week and see some amazing music. It’s a beautiful time to live here. I just hope the groundwork we’re laying right now lays the foundation for artists after us to really hone in and create a house and techno sound that can be exported to the rest of the world. There aren’t a lot of acts breaking out in Denver in that vein of music (we’re primarily a jam band / hippie / glitch hop / bass market) so it’d be really cool to see what happens down the road if our scene stays strong
WWD: Lastly, give us a little rundown of the mix you’ve recorded for the When We Dip family!
WELL FIRST OFF, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME JOIN YOUR MIX SERIES! I’ve been sick from touring and movement etc so this mix came out pretty somber haha. It’s definitely still eclectic though:) It starts off pretty moody then starts jackin’ then gets sad and reflective again. So I hope it takes you on a bit of journey <3
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