"The petFood sound is a straightforward, no bullshit sound," says Lazaro Casanova, the DJ/producer and label head of Miami-based label petFood. "The criteria for releasing with petFood is pretty easy. It really comes down to 'is this something I would play?' With Jimmy Maheras, I've known him for years and I really appreciate his hustle. When he had sent me these songs I immediately wrote him back asking if he wanted to put them out with us."
"Live With This," featuring Cari Golden, comes out next week on petFood, accompanied by another track from the LA-based Maheras, "Prince Street." Both records embody the acumen of an artist who understands that the point of dance records is to be played in a club, even if that's a subconscious decision.
"These are definitely more dancefloor-oriented tracks," says Maheras. "I think a lot of my NYC roots came through strong on this release. I have a lot of reference points in my head and there's definitely an influence from my DJ side. I'm in the studio so much now though so the DJ/producer line is blurred."
Golden, known for her work on records by Groove Armada, Audiofly, and Anja Schneider, among others, was an easy choice for a collaborator.
"Some people want tons of input, others want none," Golden explains. "Depending on the proficiency of the producer I'll either leave them to it, or sometimes I'll interject my thoughts for the sake of hearing a better end result. In this case, Jimmy and I have been friends for years, so I was happy to give him a vocal and see what he did with it."
"This track came together really quickly," Maheras adds. "I think it took a day. I woke up, hungover from a night out, and just went into my studio to work. I started with a tribal beat and the bass groove. Cari had sent me a bunch of vocals and this one stood out to me. I chopped it up a bit and it worked in the track."
A trained singer, Golden's performance here might surprise those who are more familiar with her upper octave range and powerhouse delivery. On "Live With This," she's practically growling, something she says she's gotten quite good at over the years. "I think mostly I'm aiming at creating a vibe," she says. "Often, in the type of music I do, singing doesn't really fit the bill, so I'll just sort of create a little poem about something. In this case it was more of just a hook, which can get nice and hypnotic if repeated enough in a song. I love that."
Both Maheras and Golden are fixtures in LA's house and techno community, but if the sound of the record is hard to place, that's by design.
"I strive to make music where you can't pinpoint when it was made," says Maheras. "Music has become so disposable and I think producers aren't helping the matter by trying to latch on to trends. There's not enough self-regulation going on. I have a lot of tracks that I won't release because I don't think they need to be out there."
For DJs and those who hear them play, it's a good thing this one is.
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