Eflorem (Heather Worden and Dewey McManus) is a Bass House production/ DJ duo, based in Los Angeles, CA. They started the duo in Boston, MA where their first fan base was formed. They recently released a new track “With You,” celebrating love through uplifting vibes. We’ve had the chance to chat with them about their latest release, early beginnings and upcoming plans!
Greetings Eflorem! We’d love to hear more about you as a duo and your career in music!
Your latest single “With You” is quite an exciting song. Could you tell us more about it?
“With You” was written as a love song about us and our relationship, but the message rings true for many people in different ways. It’s about being with the ones you love, and celebrating them. It’s a high tempo and high energy song because that’s what excites us. We like to make music that makes us want to dance.
How did you come up with your approach to writing and making music together?
Our process for making music together is a well oiled machine that has been refined through trial and error, over the course of our different musical endeavors and experiences. From the moment we started writing music together in college, we found that the ideas and energy flowed so easily, and it just felt right to us. Actually, a few hours after meeting in the lobby of Berklee, we went straight to Deweys house and began working on our first song! We spent the next three days together recording, writing and mixing that song. After we finished that song we knew there was musical electricity between us, and haven’t stopped writing music or working on audio projects together since! When we start new ideas, we don’t always start the ideas together. Sometimes we will pitch ideas to each other, whether it be a drop idea, intro idea or harmonic/melodic concept, and other times we will start the idea together if we are both in the studio and feel like working on something new. We like to write songs in passes or phases. Meaning, that we like to start with a general skeleton with some basic drums and a basic chord progression,bassline or melody. That way we can start to get a musical map of how long certain sections might be, but the “map” is always subject to change as the song is written. Once we get a general idea of the structure of the song, we then go back through and start to fill in the details, and continue to fill in the song with more details with each pass through the song. The most important part of the process and all aspects of our lives is maintaining respect for each other’s ideas, strong communication between each other and always making Eflorem our number one priority.
Who would be some of your biggest musical and non-musical inspirations?
Some of our biggest musical inspirations would be Virtual Riot, Joyryde, and Ducky. Virtual Riot is the sound design G.O.A.T. and an incredible songwriter and musician. We think of Joyryde not just as a producer but as a composer. He incorporates elements of many different genres, including classical music. His music takes you on a journey. Ducky is so incredibly unique, and innovative. Not only that, but she puts on one hell of a show. She really knows how to craft a set that has insane variety, and takes you for a wild ride. She is epic.
Heather- My biggest non-musical inspiration is my late brother, Travis. He always grabbed life by the balls and lived with no regrets. He never let anybody tell him what he could and couldn’t do. That’s how I aim to live my life.
Dewey: One of my biggest non-musical inspirations would have to be Alexander Shulgin! Not only was he a brilliant mind who expanded science in a way no one ever had before, but he stood by his convictions even when no one else believed in what he was creating. He inspires me to push the boundaries of what is possible, and to never back down from a challenge!
We both are inspired by nature and different forms of art; like fashion, photography, paintings, drawings, and visual mediums in general. We love watching “Off The Air.” We even took an episode, muted it and put all original sounds and music to it, just for fun.
What would be your dream venue to perform at?
We love the Red Rocks Amphitheater. It’s such a beautiful venue, and so many legends have played there. Also, we would absolutely flip our lids if we got asked to headline EDC Vegas, or Electric Forest. Really any Insomniac festival would be a dream to headline.
With strong roots in the EDM genre, would you like to experiment with other genres or just plan on focusing on your style?
We love experimenting with elements of different genres. We currently make, mainly Speedhouse and Dubstep, but we put our own spin on it, that’s for sure!
How do your sound production collaborations help develop your music?
It’s always nice to have a fresh perspective, so collaborating is a great way to learn from somebody else and use what you’ve learned in your own way.
What kind of musical legacy are you planning on leaving?
We want our music to spread love and high vibrational energy, that inspires others to be their best and truest selves. We want people to hear our music or come to our shows and feel safe, included and inspired. The rave scene has brought each of us out of the darkest points of our lives, and we want to pay it forward and help other people. That is what we want to be remembered for!
