By: Matthew Kayser
When it comes to laying down infectious grooves with satirical, and sometimes nonsensical lyrics, look no further than Blast Havers. The name says it all, and this time the electronic dance music group has released a tune called “Everybody” that is aimed at those who make life a party.
“It kind of calls out to characters who I’ve met in the night life, at raves and parties,” says the group’s creator, Ori Kawa. “When I was writing that one, I was just imagining a party and how you get everyone together and get them all hyped.”
Everybody in the front
Throw your arms up.
You’re gonna have a good time no matter what.
Everybody in the back
Don’t be too proud.
Drink your drinks
And come and join the crowd.
Everybody on the side
Don’t try to hide
Ya’ll can come along for the ride.
Everybody here now
Jump up and down
Make some noise If you like this sound
The track has a groove that will get absolutely anyone moving on a dance floor. Just try to keep your head still while listening to “Everybody.” I dare you. It’s just not going to happen. This song encompasses the feel of a party in all aspects.
Blast Havers is an electronic outfit based in the San Francisco Bay Area led by Ori Kawa, who draws on his diverse musical influences to create some funky electronic tracks that are designed for a party. With electronic influences like Daft Punk, Gorillaz, and Pendulum, as well as funk legend James Brown and hip-hop flair of De La Soul, and even a little bit of Incubus, the sound of Blast Havers is something unique yet familiar.
“This is kind of like coming back to electronic music for me,” Ori Kawa explains. “I worked for a club in Chicago, and it was a great experience. I met all my DJ heroes, picking them up at the airports and taking a front row seat at all their sets. I then went more of the band route, but the pandemic hit. That brought me back onto my laptop, and this is how it all got started.
Ori Kawa had ideas marinating for quite some time, but didn’t have the right vehicle to deliver. Now he has a solid direction, and those ideas have become easier to apply and bring to life.
“The first song that got me to go in that direction is ‘Content Schmontent,’” Ori Kawa says. “It started dark and negative, talking about how ‘content is our monument, how long will it last.’ I had this beat going that was dark before I wrote that hook. I was getting frustrated because as a musician, I felt like we were just feeding the beast, just pushing out our content.”
He added, “To me, that one came from a place of frustration in writing and performing. Once I had that hook, and kept repeating it, it was a bit cathartic to work through the frustration. Like, why am I so mad about it? If people didn’t have such an insatiable appetite for content, we’d be out of a job.”
Ori Kawa describes the music of Blast Havers as “musical mischief,” and says it is designed for people to both ponder the absurdities of life and also dance like crazy. He says that “each track is a whimsical journey through a musical maze,” and when you take one listen to “Everybody” you’ll see exactly what he means.
A big part of the inspiration for the new track is from a good friend of his named Morocco Slim, who is featured on “Everybody” in a spoken word section coming in the second verse.
“This is a guy who I partied with back in the day, one of the good homies in my crew,” he says. “He has this gigantic personality and someone you just can’t not have fun around. I was always saying, What would happen if we got him in the studio? And here it is.”
This one’s for everybody
No matter who you are
It’s for those weekend warriors
And those weekday superstars
It’s for those dilated eyes
And those social butterflies
It’s for them wallflowers
And them wall nuts
It’s for shakin’ butts.
So if you’re still sitting down
You better get on up.
“We’re making a song based on a good friendship, as opposed to a good friendship based on the song” he says. “MoroccoSlim was able to jump on the mic for the first time and just be himself, and I knew he would be the perfect person for these vocals.”
Ori Kawa says there are moments of inspiration that happen to everyone in life, and a lot of times, he just has to put a mental pin in it.
When he started making music, he would get serious about writing down ideas, and if he forgot he would get upset thinking it was gone in the ether forever. Ori Kawa would write down everything so he would have a trusty document with ample ideas. This has changed with experience.
“Now it’s a little more of a flow state, which I’ve enjoyed,” Ori Kawa says. “You never know when a certain beat will work for some idea or for something I was inspired by before. Now I just let it happen. I can draw inspiration from everyday things. Like with ‘Everybody,’ this is just observations of a club to join everybody on a dance floor.”
The goal of Blast Havers is to get you dancing, but it is also to take the listener back to the roots of electronic music. Be sure to check out “Everybody” and tracks available on all platforms.
