09.12.2020
This week’s guest feature is by none other than Heddy Frenz Productions. They’ve been laying low lately but got together to record this rare mix for detroit.dance that is sure to get your feet movin’. This week also features a spotlight interview segment with Paul’s business, Paul Roy Cuisine (cannabis infused cuisine) which can be found in the post following this one.
They’re known for their bouncy, danceable style and track selection when it comes to house music, and have slayed the decks at venues including Solar Flux Rooftop, Grasshopper Underground, and Elektricity. Alongside playing shows, they also curate their own events under the Heddy Frenz name, creating an atmosphere of community with repeat attendees.
In their interview, we talk about things like what’s going on in the studio, favorite gigs, how COVID has affected them musically, how Heddy Frenz started, what producers/DJs have been catching their eye lately, the SoundCloud vs. Spotify debate, and more.
Be sure to check out their mix, on SoundCloud now.
detroit.dance: How did Heddy Frenz come to be?
Paul: It was all right place, right time. [Zach] Heddy wanted to represent the term “heddy”, and for us we believe that we bring that environment every time we come to a show. We pride ourselves on the group we have around us, and that was why we were like, “Heddy Frenz man, we are together, and have a heddy atmosphere and attitude”, and that’s the type of music that we want to put out, too.
detroit.dance: How did you guys meet?
Paul: We met at school at Wayne State. We were both in music classes.
detroit.dance: What is the vision that you have with Heddy Frenz? Describe some goals that you already had and goals that you have for the future.
Paul: We had a cool goal last year to play one show every month, and we did end up completing that goal. It was really cool, and it helped get our experience up there and got us to be more associated with the community. As far as goals now, growth and making music. Releasing all of our music on the Heddy Frenz label that we have, being consistent with it and continuing to represent being “heddy”.
Zach: So, in the past when we started it was more of creating a vibe of friends and family just having fun and mostly we spin and mix and a little bit of producing. Recently it has been a little bit more focused. Thane has been doing his own thing, as far as the music he creates and he’s got his own sound going on. And obviously, Paul has found more of a passion in doing the cooking stuff. Now that leaves me… as far as with Heddy Frenz friends we haven’t really set any new goals probably in the last year. We’ve kind of been splitting off a little bit and doing our own thing. Heddy Frenz now is when we get together and have fun. For myself I’d say my goals are really to put out music. Focusing on the studio on my own, and not necessarily honing in on a specific sound but kind of getting some different vibes going…because I still do a lot of house music and that’s one main project. Recently I’ve been doing a lot more chill music. I don’t know how to explain it other than kind of ambient, more relaxed, a little bit low fi. So really the big goal is just getting better every day in the studio.
detroit.dance: For the Heddy Frenz label you have, is it primarily for music that you guys release or will you be accepting demos from other artists as well?
Paul: We definitely will be accepting demos sometime in the future. Zach is the one who handles more of that.
Zach: At this point it’s not super clear. Before it was. We were accepting demos but so far we had only been the ones releasing tracks. Like I said we haven’t really put a ton of energy into label work lately. The label is in the back pocket at the moment.
detroit.dance: In terms of tracks you’re producing now, are there plans to release any soon?
Zach: I’m not sure. I have a number of them in my pocket. I’m not sure exactly how to release them. Like I said, I’ve been doing a lot more of the chill stuff lately and I don’t really have a place to put them, as Heddy Frenz is moreso the house stuff. I haven’t really figured out exactly how I want to release the different vibe. Something’s definitely coming.
detroit.dance: Describe a typical Heddy Frenz set or your vibe. You mentioned “heddy”, but is there anything else you’d like to add?
Paul: It’s the grooves. It’s the fact that you hear our mix our our set at a show and you want to call your friends, send it to them or get together and dance. Not because it’s the hardest song ever, maybe not even right up your alley with the certain song, but it’s the way we find ourselves mixing tracks… we see people who don’t normally get down to a certain vibe, but when we do what we do, people come up after saying, “When you mixed this song with that song, I really liked that”, and so on. That’s really what it is, having a mishmash of sounds that are all cohesive that people enjoy. We don’t normally plan our sets, we play off the top of our heads. People who back to back don’t normally do that, but Zach and I have a good two years of b2b energy going on from when we practiced in his apartment and I started learning on tables. That’s all we did for hours and hours. That’s why him and I have everything so locked down.
detroit.dance: Two part question – what is your favorite show that you’ve curated and favorite show that you’ve played?
Paul: The favorite one I have put together was my birthday show two years ago. It was a great show, Kar Pow, Mushkilla… it was the people who I made first contact with in the music scene outside of Zach. So everyone who I felt actively represented that welcoming energy. Mac Diesel was on there too. All of them are awesome to sync up with. Favorite show I’ve been on has to be between Taki Nulight and the Labor Day Backyard BBQ in 2019 that Ashley Navalta put together. That was a blast. Good people, good community.
Zach: That’s a tough one. I’d have to say my favorite that we put together was probably my birthday one. I can’t remember the year, maybe two or three years ago at the Grasshopper. It was one of our first takeovers there. Lots of good energy and also one of the first takeovers we did so it was really exciting for us. And then, my favorite of all time that we’ve played…. another hard one to say. Probably something on the mainstage at Elektricity just because of the sound system…the show where we opened for Phlegmatic Dogs. Hearing us play on those big speakers was really fun. You only get to hear on the smaller system outside and then when you can feel it through your whole body…that’s fun. So I’ll go with that one.
detroit.dance: Let’s talk about the mix that you made for detroit.dance – are there any special moments in there that you’d like to point out to listeners?
Paul: It’s a strong mix, we had a good time putting it together. The energy of the mix itself is a reflection of Zach and I, and our back to back energy. How easy it is for us to sync up and put that flow in there, so I think that the mix really reflects that, it’s very cohesive.
Zach: I’m more of an overall person. When we make them, you take the whole adventure. There’s not just one specific part to point out, it’s a whole vibe.
detroit.dance: How has the COVID situation affected you musically?
Paul: It has greatly reduced my time on tables and the amount of shows that I go out to. It’s also made me realize the value of things like Twitch, and being able to still get your music out there and how many people will still tune in to listen to an artist that they love. Even local artists. If people love an artist they will watch, and that’s really cool.
Zach: The big thing is not getting out to spend time with people and dance and have fun. I think that’s pretty much the situation for anyone in the music community… that feeling of that distance. The other thing is it’s really allowed me to focus more on the production. The last year, or nine months, there’s literally nothing else to do. I was kind of like, “Well I’m not gonna go out to a show so I’m just gonna stay home and work on music”. It’s definitely pushed that along faster.
detroit.dance: What is it about house music that pulls you to it?
Paul: What’s not to love about it and the community? It was built on adversity first off, and it was built off of minorities… and thrives on the fact that it’s such a mainstream outlet now… but it came from a place of hardship and you see that with the people that work in the house music industry as well. Those are the people that work hard as shit, and I have real respect for that. Being an artist in that scene, we’ve met such great people. I’ve worked in other facets of the music scene and I can say that it’s simply not the same. With house music with whatever background you come from, you can walk into that club and have a great time when you let yourself go. It’s one of the only scenes that I truly see that happening in.
detroit.dance: If you could have one “destination gig”, where would it be?
Paul: Brazil. In the jungle. That latent smoke, you don’t need fog machines in that nature setting. You don’t need bird sounds, because there’s birds there…that is really *chef’s kiss*. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. That would be so dope.
Zach: I don’t have a specific location but I’d really love to play a pool party. An outdoor pool party would be awesome. I think a couple years ago there was a Green Velvet and Claude VonStroke show at a pool party. When I saw that, I was like, “Oh yeah like I can’t wait to do that.”
detroit.dance: Are there any DJs/Producers/Tracks that you have been paying attention to and digging lately?
Paul: Yeah, a lot of Braziilian and Latin American artists. Holt 88, Pirupa, La Pera Records is a label out of Madrid that only ever puts out fire. CourT, Sterium. Those Brazilian dudes have a way about rhythm that goes off every time. In terms of tracks, I’m into the Destiny’s Child “Say My Name” Vanucci Edit. I’m getting really into more funky records. Those dudes that throw those minimal house groove vibes. You can throw any of those soulful hooks in there and it’s hot.
Zach: Well since I haven’t been DJng, I haven’t been researching as much and constantly finding new music. More recently, it’s a lot of my own stuff. Someone I’ve been drawing a lot of inspiration from for my chill stuff is ford. Really ambient.
detroit.dance: What do you do outside of music?
Paul: I just chef it up!
Zach: I have a painting and landscaping company with a partner of mine. And that’s my regular employment. And also kind of dabbling into starting in real estate. I’m looking for a duplex currently, so I eventually want to be doing a lot more of that type of stuff. Definitely want to hone in on passive income instead of trading my time for money all the time.
detroit.dance: What are your hobbies outside of music?
Paul: I enjoy cooking, reading, exercise, meditation, playing with my two cats.
Zach: I’d say pretty much anything outside. Hiking and camping, definitely. Love camping anywhere I can when traveling. I like rock climbing when I can do that. I have some brothers in Colorado so I go out there and we rock climb every time…snowboarding. Pretty much anything outside.
detroit.dance: What’s your opinion on SoundCloud vs. Spotify?
Paul: Spotify. As a user and a consumer. As an artist I guess too, you get more from your Spotify than you do your SoundCloud. At one point, SoundCloud was the one to have for sure, and I think it’s just starting to go out of fashion. The updates and mandates that they’re pushing on artists and labels in order to keep their music on SoundCloud is not really working out. With Spotify, you can learn to work with their formula and get more out of it. Spotify hits like LinkedIn.
Zach: As a user I’m not even on Spotify. I know a lot of people like to use it but for me I’ve always kind of just went the free route. And as for me, especially with research because I’m always looking for new music, there’s a lot more new music that is not necessarily available on Spotify. And one thing that I think if I was really only listening to music as someone that’s just listening to music in general, Spotify would probably be more organized in that sense and it’s easier to find what you’re looking for, I guess. SoundCloud is the underground version of Spotify, but that’s why I like it.
Make sure you check out Paul and Zach’s Destination Detroit (Green Dot Stables and Johnny Noodle King), and their TWO Recipes by Request that will be posted on Friday (Mini Tres Leches Cakes and Grandma’s Apple Pie).
Paul’s segment on Paul Roy Cuisine is on the next post!
Keep up with Heddy Frenz on their socials:
Keep up with Paul Roy Cuisine on his socials: