OLDGOLD
A man on a mission to make history by leaving his musical and sarcastic mark on the underground bass music community
OldGold, known to his friends as Rolando Ramiro, is known as being a huge personality and character in the U.S. underground bass music scene. He produces, DJs, and co-founded his own label (Silent Motion).
For those that know him, it would be safe to say his favourite past-times include eating tacos, loving bass music, and pissing people off with his trollish internet behaviour (he even pissed me off once, but we resolved it).
Towards the end of 2016, Rolando toured the US. To mark his debut, as well as just to catch up generally, we figured it was time for a chat. He was also kind enough to sort us an absolute fire guest mix too!
Steph: How did you come to choose the name ‘OldGold’?
OG: I was lurking through a couple of forums looking for new music (prior to even thinking about producing) and found an old tune with the posted titled ‘Old but Gold’.
The track was Skream’s ‘Summer Dreams’, a tune from ~’06 or so.
From that moment, I realised that not every track had to be brand new to be considered gold. There are a lot of hidden gems from way back when that are up to par with today’s music.
Ironically, when I play live sets & podcasts, I tend to only play brand new music — as opposed to ‘old gold’.
Steph: How do you feel the Stateside dubstep culture is developing, and what do you feel is the main thriving force behind that development? Is there room for improvement in your eyes?
OG: I, personally, think the scene in America is picking up when it comes to underground bass music. Everyone loves a proper soundsystem, really good tunes, and one hell of a vibe.
I don’t see it dying out anytime soon, especially with the direction technology is going.
New sounds every day!
Steph: What are the top 3 tracks that you’re feeling at the moment?
OG: I’m developing a bit of a weird taste lately but I’m sure some of you can relate.
- Metrist — Petrol Arses [Black Opal 005]
2. Lamont — Kariwah [Swamp81 Freebie]
3. Arkeologist — “i [2PT012]
Steph: How many releases have you put out, and what labels have you worked with?
OG: I don’t think I have more than 10 tunes fully released.
I prefer to keep my music free to share with friends as opposed to having people pay for it, mostly because I was never really in it for the money.
Steph: Speaking of labels, is there any material that you’re currently working on for labels?
OG: I’ve got a couple of things lined up with Sure State and Silent Motion at the moment. There are a few (non-dubstep) labels I’d love to be associated with but until I have something worth listening to, I’ll be fine lurking ’em at a distance.
Steph: Fair enough! How long has Silent Motion been going, and what was the motivation behind starting your own label?
OG: Silent Motion Records has been alive and well for a year now.
Fillippo Paris (Silent Motion’s creator) found me on Soundcloud a while back, and asked if I would be willing to submit some tunes for a vinyl release. I had never been approached about a physical release so naturally I was inclined to participate. A few words were exchanged and I realised the label hadn’t been created yet, he was still in the brainstorming phase of it all. I offered to help — and we became best friends!
Silent Motion came about from the idea of a record spinning without a needle riding the groove.
Steph: In 2016, you set up your own tour which you titled ‘The Blackout Tour’. From that, what were your favourite experiences (and were there any negatives)?
OG: Oh man, The Blackout Tour was something that genuinely changed my life! I never thought I’d get to travel the world for sitting in front of a computer for extended periods of time. There were plenty of moments I loved and, absolutely, there were moments in which I wish I could be home.
I would have to say that my favourite thing about The Blackout Tour was being able to drink/eat every day without having to worry about going to work the next day! Meeting a bunch of new producers & DJs who’ve all had their share of experiences radiating professionalism and knowledge was also a plus. The experience taught me plenty about how to communicate with both new people and established artists around the US.
There weren’t many things I found displeasing about The Blackout Tour. The only thing I can remember that bothered me the most was not being able to shower prior to a show... Especially after you’ve been traveling for 20+ hours. You get used to smelling all sorts of ways and feeling extra GREASY but once you have to encounter others, it’s a different story.
I saw plenty of sketchy shit as well; car crashes, bar fights, promoters puking on people, blackouts, threats and money collections at 5am but overall I found that to be the most exciting part.
Kind of dark but still very interesting to see it all play out.
Steph: I guess you could say it truly was a Black Out Tour for you and most involved! For future reference, Herbal Essence makes a great yet affordable dry shampoo(!) and, honestly, next tour I would just wash up in a rest room if possible — just bring travel size body wash.
OG: Fuck, you’re right. Thanks!
Steph: In addition to your recent tour; what cities/countries do you hope to play out in in the future?
OG: I would really like to do another US tour with a friend, so I can share the experience with someone else. At some point, I hope to travel to California, Florida, Mexico, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Tokyo. I would also like to check out the GetDarker studio but we’ll see how that pans out in the future!
I know quite a few people in most of those locations but haven’t made the final moves to get things rolling. It takes a lot of planning without an agent pulling all the strings — but some would say that’s the fun part!
Steph: How did you end up working with (rather than being a supporter of) the Gritsy Crew?
OG: Wooooo, Gritsy® Crew! These guys are the main reason I do what I do. They live and breath bass music of all sorts.
Before I joined their crew I was obsessed with Kryptic Minds (pre-break up) and found out they were going to be playing on the infamous WallOfBass®.
I decided to go (as I had never been) and figured now would be the best time. When I arrived the parking lot was full and I had just taken a bit of acid.
Inside there was roughly 75/100 people but the room was a lot smaller than I anticipated. By the time Kryptic Minds went on my trip had fully kicked in, I was absolutely not ready for it. When the bass hit my chest I had to leave the room as I was on the verge of puking! I ended up missing out on the show since I couldn’t handle the weight of the sound along with everything else going on… From that moment, I knew I wanted to be a part of the crew, I wanted to get used to the sound and experience everything it had to offer.
Over time, Suraj & Lea decided to adopt me into the Gritsy® fam.
I had always wanted to do something more than just promote, so I decided to offer them the ability to livestream their shows, to show people what we’re all about. I was told I could do anything I wanted as long as it helped the company out as well as if they had approval from the artist headlining.
Fast forward to now, the Gritsy® crew are still the same with an even deeper understanding of bass with a larger appetite to experience more!
They truly are the specialists in music for the chest.
Steph: At this moment in time, what would you say is your biggest achievement in your career?
OG: The biggest achievement in my musical career/hobby is having met so many people with similar influences. I find that to be the hardest part when it comes to making music… Reaching out and communicating.
I’m glad I was able to hone in on what inspires people and have them show me things that ultimately inspires me.
Steph: If there was any advice you could give to new producers and DJs, what would you say?
OG: There are a couple of things I would like to give to new producers that are just getting started.
1. Don’t get a fuckin’ ego. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an artist go from being the most humble person to someone so detached from who they really are over releases and collabs. Keep yourself levelled!
2. Patience and persistence are key! You won’t get good in one day and you most likely never will — but the point is to keep experimenting until you find something you’re content with. Build upon that and enjoy every moment of it!
3. We’re all in the same boat so don’t feel left out just because you aren’t making what’s ‘in’ right now.
I’ve had moments where I wanted to stop making music because all of my friends were making heaters but I had come to the conclusion that if I was just like them, there wouldn’t be any progress. Define yourself!
Steph: Lastly, is there anyone you would like to thank, give props to, or shout out at this moment?
OG: Filippo Paris, Rich Weston (aka Deafblind/Mujek), Justin Cox (aja Rasper) and Grey Burrell (Rubrica).
Jackson Whalen (MediCated), Suraj K., Connor Price (Conrad) and Rodrigo Ramiro (HiveMind:OHM).
Each of these people have helped me numerous times and I can’t thank them enough for all the work they’ve put in.
Mostly I would love to thank everyone who sends me music; regardless of where it’s being released or who it’s with. You guys are the real deal and I couldn’t have gotten to where I am now without you!
Cheers guys 👊
A massive thank you to OLDGOLD for sharing a bit about his life and his recent tour. We wish him all the best for the future and hope to see him continue to grow and succeed in the bass music community!
From the way his productions are sounding it definitely seems like he’s on the right path.
As previously discussed, OldGold was kind enough to put a guest mix together for us. You can stream on Mixcloud and stream/ download from Bandcamp:
Click to DOWNLOAD (390MB)
Track list:
1. Abstrakt Sonance — Ceremony [forthcoming Hatched Records]
2. Clearlight — Illness Point [forthcoming Subaltern Records]
3. Arkwright — Lips [dub]
4. Glume x The Greys — Where We At [dub]
5. Kwizma — Submarine [forthcoming Sub Pressure]
6. xxx — Addicted [dub]
7. Sectra — You Don’t Know What Pain Is [dub]
8. Trisicloplox — Cafe Blank [Encrypted Audio]
9. T.A.R. — Polokus Be Trappin’ (Tosti remix) [dub]
10. Fill Spectre — Ghostly Marinade [forthcoming Silent Motion Records]
11. xxx — Surreal [dub]
12. Clearlight — Black Liquid [forthcoming Subaltern Records]
13. ssisterskull — ________ [forthcoming Silent Motion Records]
14. Samba — Sadist (Fill Sprectre remix) [Encrypted Audio]
15. Ceiva — Catch My Line [forthcoming Silent Motion Records]
16. El-Plate — Say Ten [forthcoming Silent Motion Records]
17. Tosti — Sleur [dub]
18. Requake — Groundless [forthcoming Dank ’N’ Dirty Dubz]
19. DJ Variant — Mothership [dub]
20. Le Lion — Mermaids (OldGold remix) [forthcoming MWM]
21. Kloudmen — Djuro [forthcoming Duploc]
22. Metrist — Petrol Arses [BOP005]
23. xxx — Traq [forthcoming Silent Motion Records]
Here are a few of Rolando’s tunes — as well as links to the record labels the tunes dropped with. Big up all involved!
https://www.facebook.com/Gradientaudio
https://www.facebook.com/bananastandsoundrecords
https://www.facebook.com/silentmotionrec
https://www.facebook.com/surestate
https://www.facebook.com/DankNDirtyDubz
