Dirty Funky Bass Music, but make it pretty: Getting to Know Maddy O'Neal

CREDIT: Stephanie Parsley

With over 90 performances a year, I’m thrilled that Maddy O’Neal took the time out of her busy life to chat with little ol’ me! It was really fascinating learning about the music scene in Colorado, how she prepares for all of her performances, what her experience has been like as a woman in a male-dominated genre, and much more. Check out what Maddy had to say below!

Let’s start from the beginning! What is your story & how did you get into making music?

I've been making music for like 10 years. I grew up in St. Louis, but I moved to Boulder to go to UC Boulder. That was kind of when I really got into producing and was kind of introduced to this whole world of electronic music that I was just like, holy shit. There was an awesome scene going on there. It was Big Gigantic and Griz and Pretty Lights. All those people were like coming up while I was in school there. So I got to see it all grow right in front of my eyes, which was awesome. But my brother was in a bunch of bands in St. Louis growing up, so I kind of learned a lot of music from him, but I never really did it myself. I was always kind of a fan and read what he was doing and kind of followed him around a little bit. It wasn't until I was a sophomore in college that I kind of just dove into the recording software and was like, you know, give it a shot. I know I have it in my blood, but I didn't know how to get into it. And then I just got curious and started diving in and you know, go into record stores, picking up old records and chopping them up and just kind of like figuring it out and watching a fuck ton of music or YouTube videos. It's crazy. I'm surrounded by all these like, phenomenal, classically trained musicians in the jam band scene and whatever. And like, it's crazy, because people envy me for coming in blindly, you know, because I just like had no idea what I was doing. And I just kind of like, figured it out. And that kind of helped me discover my own sound rather than like, having to unlearn something that I was taught, you know, totally. So I mean, it goes both ways. For a while I was like, intimidated because I was like, Oh, I don't know music theory or whatever. I just kind of figured it out.

What is the music scene like in Colorado now?

Bass music is taking over the entire scene. It's like the bass music capital of the US and that just happened over the last couple years. Because it's always been like a hub. In my opinion, it's been like, you know, there's LA, for, you know, kind of more, the more mainstream and like pop and all that. But there's been such an amazing underground electronic scene here for so long. And I think the secret just got out and everyone just started moving here. There's musicians, producers, the art community in general is really amazing. Everyone kind of works together, which I think is something different than other scenes that I've seen. You know what I mean? A lot of times it's like competition. Or you know, people just don't don't think in like the way of “we're stronger together” kind of vibes. People definitely do in Denver, which I think is definitely part of the magnetic thing of the community that is here. People come here to snowboard and hike and everyone is just so lifestyle based. They want to be outdoors and they want to be talking to people and go to see music. It's very laid back. It definitely contributes to the music that comes out of the scene for sure.

Speaking of music out of that scene, let's talk about your latest track “Follow Me”! What inspired this song for you?

I started working on this album, at the beginning of this year, like in January, I was kind of like experimenting with sounds. And this was actually the first time that I took a whole month to just experiment, just like finding sounds that I liked, making a folder of like resources for myself, you know, this is kind of like the vibe that I'm going for, almost like creating like a palette for the record, which really helps me in the long run. I don't know why I've never done that. But yeah, that's a great idea. Just setting myself up for success. This was actually the third or fourth song that I started and it was kind of TroyBoi inspired. That super 808, down low, just kind of vibey baseline was the first thing that I added. And then it was kind of like, what was the beat and the baseline and then I sent it to my buddy Balkan Bump, and so that came next. There was verses two, but we decided to just keep the hook. But it kind of felt like, I was beginning this new chapter of my sound and just kind of like my career. The vocals were very congruent with that, like, you know, kind of inviting people to follow me into this new chapter. So that's kind of like where that inspiration came from.

What was it like working with Balkan Bump?

He's amazing. We've been connected for so long. We're in the same like festival circuit and the same scene. I've always wanted to collaborate with him because part of my style is I love collaborating with live musicians and instrumentalists. It just kind of like brings a little bit of organic newness to the electronic vibe, you know? I was like, “do your thing.” I like to give people full creative freedom when I'm collaborating with them, too. So I was just like, do your thing on it, whatever you're hearing, you know, there could be like this. Because it's like this trappy melody that I was hearing in my mind, but he nailed it in a way that was like, so much more worldly than I even imagined. It was really cool. It was cool to give someone the reins and then be completely stoked with what they do. No feedback. I was just like, “yep, that's it.”

Who else is on your dream list to collaborate with down the road?

So many people! I always say I love Little Dragon. Little Dragon has the most incredible voice. I've always thought that our styles would blend really well. She's been on the list for sure.

You have a slogan that I absolutely love - “Dirty, Funky Bass Music, but make it pretty.” What has your experience been like as a woman in what tends to be a male dominated genre?

Honestly, I've had a pretty chill experience because I've been surrounded by so many of my best friends. Most of my early touring experiences were with you know, my best guy friends, I felt like they were my brothers. I didn't come into the scene feeling super intimidated. Or as intimidated as you know, I know some people probably do. It was just it was very interesting. I think the the weirdest part to me was that I didn't have other women to relate to and I didn’t have a lot of mentors that were females. I did have one she, her name is Alicia. She lives in Spain now. She was kind of like my early on mentor in the scene, which was awesome. But other than her, I was just like, looking around like, well, I'm like the token chick. I definitely have had interesting experiences on the road, walking into a venue and people not acknowledging me as part of the crew, they've just assumed I was somebody's girlfriend or something. There's been sprinkled experiences along the road. My favorite part of that is when someone has low expectations of you walking into a venue, and then they come up to you after you play, and they're just like, “Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.” I realized that people aren't used to seeing females in the space too. I try to give them a little bit of credit, if I can be a part of changing their mind about something, I think that's like the healthiest way to approach it.

Do you have anyone that you feel like you're mentoring now? Has the table turned?

Over the pandemic, I actually was doing one on one Ableton lessons over Zoom. In the beginning of 2020, I went to Costa Rica and taught a women in music retreat in the middle of the jungle. It was like 50 women just learning how to DJ, learning how to produce, singing, there was all these different facets of teaching. That was kind of my first real teaching experience and I loved being able to take on that role. Because, you know, back to what I was saying, I didn't have that. So I'm very grateful to be in a position to pass down knowledge or be like a source of, you know, whatever, like, “Come to me if you need advice about the scene, or you want me to hear a song and give you feedback.” I always, especially to females, I always encourage them, my DMs are open, you know, like now that I don't have time to do lessons anymore. I at least want people to feel comfortable reaching out.

What do you do to prepare for your performances?

I'm constantly evolving my set, and finishing music, and putting new music into my sets, and like digging for other music to kind of like, switch up the vibe. I have to keep it interesting for me, too. You know what I mean? You could play all over the country and play the same set, but that gets boring. I'm constantly trying to keep it interesting and keep pushing myself to make things better and better. Testing out new songs on the road is always the most terrifying and exciting thing at the exact same time. I've been doing that a lot the last couple of weeks because the album is like it's gonna be done in three days. I've been playing a lot of these songs for the first time ever on the road, and it's going well.

You have some really cool performances coming up! Which ones are you looking forward to the most?

My next show actually is Lollapalooza in Chicago. I just found out that they're streaming my set on Hulu too, which is huge. I play Friday, July 29. Currently, that is what I'm most excited about and I'm trying to prep for that and get my outfit together and get all the pieces together.

You casually mentioned your album will be finished in 3 days! What can you tell us about it?

I'm putting out one more single next month. I'll give a little teaser. It's with the singer named MOONZz. She lives in LA and she's a badass. I've been wanting to work with her too, and just kind of like randomly reached out with to her. I just started hitting people up, you know, can't hurt. We made a really badass song that's coming out next month. The album will come out on September 20th. t's gonna be 10 tracks as long as this last one makes a cut. That's what that's what these next three days are is like, is this last one gonna make it on?

Here in the state of Maine, our state motto is “the way life should be,” so I want to know, according to you, what is the way life should be?

On your own terms. Always. You have the reins. If you live your life with that in mind, that you're in control of your own destiny and path, I think it gives you a lot of power and freedom to go for the things that you want to do.

Check out Maddy’s latest song “Follow Me” below & don’t miss her on the Lollapalooza live stream on Hulu Friday 7/29!