Join The Far East Movement

From downtown Los Angeles comes the fresh and upbeat hip-hop group Far East Movement. Made up of Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif and DJ Virman, who collectively represent four Asian cultures, FM blends together hip-hop, pop, electro and dance to create a unique sound that has caught the interest of the music world. I recently got the chance to sit down with the guys before their Vancouver show to talk about their hit single, Like A G6, their new album, Free Wired, and the advice they received while on tour with Lady Gaga.

YT: How did it feel to be the first Asian-American group to make it to the Billboard hot 100 with Like a G6?
FM: We’re really excited that it happened, but at the same time we don’t really look at it that way. We’re just downtown L.A. kids first and foremost and being from L.A., which is super multicultural, you don’t really look at race. We’re thankful for everything and our communities for pushing it to the top but I don’t think we’re really looking at that.

YT: Like a G6 had over one million views on YouTube before it hit radio. Why do you feel that song has been such a success?
FM: It’s weird because we did a radio show back in the day and our friend had a big hit song and told us before we had G6, “Your life’s gonna change when you have the right song.” Like A G6 is one of those songs that I guess just clicks with people to a certain extent. We honestly didn’t think much of it at all. We wrote the song and had a good time writing it. We were trying to recreate the sound from another song we wrote on the album called Girls on the Dance Floor. If anything, it’s been a really cool ride, but we really didn’t expect it at all. Big props to Martin Kierszenbaum [producer] for helping us out because he was the one that identified the song and said, “Oh, that one,” and he’s the same guy that did [Lady] Gaga, BEP [Black Eyed Peas], Eminem...

YT: On your website, you say FM is “the new west coast, respecting the classic west coast.” How does your music and style reflect that?
FM: The kind of music we’re trying to make is alternative pop and it comes from the fact that these days people aren’t really focused on a certain genre anymore – they’re more into playlists, more about mixing your music. We’re definitely influenced by the west coast ’cause we’re downtown L.A. to the fullest, but we also represent the new west coast, which is about new types of sound, pushing the limit, pushing the boundary and fusing that together.

YT: What does your mantra “live free, stay wired” mean?
FM: Staying free is basically about going hard. Basically [being] able to geek out on anything you want or that makes you feel very passionate, whether it’s music or food, movies, running – whatever it is that you want to geek out on. And the whole being wired thing is that you stay connected to your community, Internet. We’re always staying wired and at the same time being up till five, six in the morning, partying, having a good time. But the next day, you get your shades on, tie back on and bam – you keep on going.

YT: Certain songs on your new album are love songs, such as Fighting for Air and White Flag. Are they directed to any special girls in your guys’ life?
FM: Girls are every artist’s muse. They’re probably 90 per cent inspiration on our songs… and not to get the girls but the relationship. People knew us for Girls on the Dance Floor, but we wanted to show that there’s another side to your free-wired lifestyle, and us as artists, and White Flag took us there.

YT: I read that you received some advice while on tour with Lady Gaga. What was the best piece of advice you received?
FM: She told us to keep our ears to the street as far as music. Whatever got you to where you are, stay in tune with the DJs and whatnot. And being with her, you kind of get a sense of fashion advice and we’re working on Slim Jim ties – you know, the beef jerky like her meat dress? So while you’re sitting at the VMAs, if you’re hungry, you can just chow down. (laughs)

YT: Tell us about your affiliation with Youtube’s Wong Fu Productions? I understand they made a cameo in the Like A G6 video.
FM: We met through mutual friends. They’re really cool people and we think the same way. We made a short film with them when we started off and we started talking as friends. We realized we had the same ideals and one thing we wanted to shine light on is just the fact that they are real rock stars. When they step into a place, you gotta shut the place down cause it’s crazy, but people don’t understand that. They think they’re just Youtube stars, but what does that mean? This new media generation is crazy and they’re on the forefront and we want to show people Wong Fu are real stars.

YT: What is the most challenging part of being on the road?
FM: Staying healthy, for sure. As far as everything else, we get into a groove and we like travelling by tour bus because of the normalcy. But everything is fine except for staying healthy. You know why? ’Cause of the weather. One minute you’d be in L.A., the other in Edmonton and it’s like hot-cold, and next thing you know, you’ve got a cold.

YT: How would you like to see the group evolve in the next few years?
FM: We’ve all talked about this. Every time we do a show or community event, we want to see one of the kids that saw us perform end up on the stage where we performed and say it was because of FM ’cause Kanye did that for us at House of Blues. That show for us made us go, “Damn! We’re going to be there.” Doesn’t matter the race, doesn’t matter male or female, but hopefully inspire the next generation.