Buku talks inspirations behind music, the evolving U.S scene, and future plans in exclusive interview

Buku is back in style. Returning to his heavy bass house roots, “Ready 4” brings his signature sound back to the speakers as a free release.

2016 proved to be an incredibly successful year for the Pittsburgh-based producer and 2017 seems to be continuing right where it left off. Already travelling the United States in great fashion on his current tour, Buku is set to make this year’s festival season a memorable one for everyone who catches him live.

In his latest record, “Ready 4” brings back his heavy bass house sound that emerged with tracks like “Blur” and his “Come Down” remix. The track brings together his bass house and trap influences and melds them into one. The heavy beats make the record a certified festival hit during the upcoming summer.

Buku’s “Ready 4” is available now for a free download. Furthermore, We Rave You had the opportunity to chat with Buku about his brand new track and his goals for 2017. Check out the full interview below.

Congratulations on releasing “Ready 4”! What was the inspiration behind this track and how was the process of creating it?

Thanks! I was experimenting with pushing my sound design to a new place, and the idea just happened to click. Once the initial idea spurred the tune just came together.

How would you describe the Buku sound and how do you want people to view your music?

I think a lot of my sound is very synth and melodically driven, especially in my intros/breakdowns. Also, I grew up playing percussion and went to school for music, so I think there’s a heavy percussive influence in there as well.  But all in all, I just call it bass music.

You released many tracks as collaborations. Why is collaborating important to you as an artist?

I think it’s important to get a fresh perspective on production.  As artists, we all have different ways to get to a finished product.  Any time I’ve worked with someone else, I’ve always learned something new, or have had an “ohhh, ok” moment of clarity.  There’s also a lot of inspiration that can strike when you break out of your normal cycle.

Having a forward thinking role in the trap scene, how do you feel about the current state of the genre?

I think it’s healthy right now.  There’s always so much speculation and folks talking about the “bubble bursting,” but I’m not as pessimistic.  There’s so much amazing music out there for the taking, you just have to dig for it.  Now, that’s not to say that certain flavors of trap have gotten tired, but there’s always great music underneath the surface level.

To us, it seems like you are all about pushing boundaries with your music. Where is the Buku sound going next?

I have a handful of tracks up my sleeve that I plan on putting out this year, and I think they are all the next step in my sound.  I try to evolve with every new track, and I think I’ve done a pretty solid job with this new material.  Also, I’ve been building a modular synth system, so you can expect more raw hardware sounds.

What would you like to accomplish in 2017?

My main goal is to release more music.  As I mentioned, I’m sitting on a bunch of tracks, and it’s time to give them to the people and keep pushing forward!

We’ve heard you been drumming for 19 years already, which is impressive and pretty unique in the scene. Are your drumming skills beneficial during production processes?

Absolutely.  It became such second nature, that I don’t particularly think about it anymore.  Percussion has become such a natural thing to me, and I’m super grateful for that.