Maddy O'Neal Talks New Album, the Denver Bass Scene, Touring, & More

Maddy O’Neal is a Denver-based producer and DJ that has been an integral force in the flourishing bass music scene. Growing up surrounded by music, her father’s regular jam sessions in their St. Louis home as well as attending her brother’s rock shows and the eclectic music he was always feeding her were the seeds planted that eventually blossomed O’Neal into a full-blown music career.

After attending Lollapalooza in 2006, her first festival, and witnessing the Daft Punk headlining set, her eyes were truly opened to the world of electronic music. She moved to Colorado in 2008 for school, where she discovered the bustling electronic music scene in Boulder and Denver. After gifting her brother a music software for Christmas and receiving the demo in return, she finally took her stab at producing music. The self-taught artist learned through messing around and digging on YouTube, as well as the supportive and inspiring community around her.

“The first hump of figuring out how to do what you wanna do and learning how to navigate the software takes time. It’s one of the most frustrating and tedious parts because there’s so much to learn, but once you get past that, that’s when it gets really fun. Having other people to learn with is really useful, sharing tips with each other and getting feedback.”

Living in Denver surrounded by some of the greatest bass artists of our time lends O’Neal constant inspiration; and deservingly, as she’s spent the past 14 years indulged in and building up the scene.

“One of the coolest parts about Denver is that people, artists of all types like musicians, painters— everyone kind of works together to collaborate and do cool things as a unit. Everyone’s so welcoming and like-minded. In other places I’ve been, it’s not like that; it’s a little more competitive. There’s a lot to be inspired by, for sure.”

From her original crew and leading names in bass music to the names crawling up the scene right now, O’Neal draws inspiration from the fiery forces around her. Being a part of the Super Best Records family— Michael Menert, Late Night Radio, Mikey Thunder, and Mux Mool— is what jumpstarted her career and still inspires her to this day. While newer collaborators like CloZee and rising names such as kLL sMTH, Mr. Bill, and Of The Trees also influence the constantly evolving sound of Maddy O’Neal.

Her latest album is a reflection of her decade-plus of experimentation and the many inspirations that influence her. Released on September 20th, Ricochet is a 10-track project that is a product of the life-changing recent years we’ve had and ricocheting back as we adapt to our altered selves.

“It was terrifying to go through all the motions. I didn’t know if I had a career anymore. I reflected on my whole journey throughout that and the album came together when I felt like myself again. It’s kind of like this bounce back, returning to myself kind of theme. I really trusted myself creatively. I had a chance to step back from touring, refocus my vision, and really trust what I wanted to do and what I was trying to say.

This album feels like a brand-new chapter for me. I’m finally confident and comfortable in the direction I’m going. I’m not trying to be like anybody else or adapt to be more popular. It feels good to be able to be like, ‘this is me and this is what I’m doing, and I don’t give a fuck.’ It’s a cool feeling to be able to finally feel that way because it took a long time to get there.“

O’Neal explores new musical textures, covering many bases while still keeping her signature sound of electronic blended with organic elements of instrumentation. The project has a range of sounds and tones, yet maintains a cohesive atmosphere and theme.

“I explore a lot of tempos that people might not expect from me, like doing some halftime stuff. There are some chill ones. Some bangers. It’s also a little bit future based; trappy and a little glitchy. I worked with a lot of really awesome singers and instrumentalists.

I tried something different going into this project. I prepared myself before I even started. I made lists of people that I wanted to work with. I was taking a couple of days to mess around with synthesizers and full days of experimenting, lining out this roadmap of what I wanted, like album resources.”

The three singles from Ricochet gave a glimpse into the full-bodied affair. The most recent, released on August 16th, is a collaboration with vocalist MOONZz, titled “Change of Pace.”

“She was on the list of singers I wanted to work with because I had seen her work with DROELOE, Daktyl, CloZee, and recently, Big Gigantic. She just has an incredible voice and is an amazing songwriter. We tossed some ideas back and forth. I gave her some themes to run with and she wrote the lyrics. I helped a little bit by tweaking stuff here and there. Then, we basically just bounced the project back and forth until we nailed it.”

Fully dedicated to her career, new releases are intertwined with consistent live performances, cultivating an impetus path to the heights of bass music. Playing hundreds and hundreds of shows over the past five years, O’Neal has performed at many renowned festivals, including Lollapalooza, Summer Camp, and Groove Cruise, in addition to touring around the country hitting venues like Red Rocks, as well as a stint with frequent collaborator Marvel Years.

“It’s amazing— getting to travel the world and meet people everywhere. What it has taught me is to be adaptable to any scenario. Life really does move fast on the road. You meet a lot of people and then you meet new people the next day, and you’re in a whole new city trying to take it all in. So trying to take those moments in between and be like, ‘okay, that just happened and now we’re here.’ I’ve been trying to practice certain things on the road to be more present and aware of where I’m at and the people that I meet so it doesn’t become a blur because that happens.

There are so many milestones. When I first started, I was like ‘I wanna play Red Rocks. If I could play Red Rocks, I could die happy.’ It has always been a big goal and now I’m lucky to have played like three different times. Those are my fondest memories ever, just being there and my family there. It’s just a special, special place.”

O’Neal’s dedication to her craft drives the momentum of her career on a consistent steady rise. She’s collaborated with noteworthy names like CloZee, Chali 2na, Manic Focus, Dreamers Delight, and more, with other exciting names expected on her upcoming album. Staying on a steady touring schedule, she has plans to hit various events this year, including Same Same But Different, Lost Lands, and Suwannee Hulaween, with more dates to be announced soon for the rest of the year.

“I’m doing Lost Lands which everyone has told me is like the Super Bowl of bass music. I’m excited to see what that’s about. Hulaween is always a favorite. I have a big Denver headline that's announcing around the same time as my record. That’ll be a big one. There’s a lot to look forward to.”

Committed to building up the scene, she’s spent time teaching other producers, including pandemic Zoom lessons and a class at a Costa Rican music retreat. When time allows, she has plans for a bigger production class in Denver.

“It was literally like 50 women in the middle of the jungle in Costa Rica. It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had. I taught a 12-hour production curriculum. There were singing lessons, DJ lessons, sampling lessons, like going out and taking your recorders, sampling stuff in the jungle. It was just wild. I'm not used to being around that much feminine energy either. So that in itself was really powerful.

I was teaching one on one lessons over Zoom over the pandemic and I really enjoyed it. I hope when I have more downtime I could resume that. I always wanted to do a bigger class in Denver where it’s open and whoever can sign up and come. That’s been a goal of mine.”

When asked what she’s been listening to lately, she threw out a few underground, genre-bending names as well as her go-to non-electronic artist.

“I love this artist Jerry Folk. He’s really cool, kind of like indie electro. Rome in Silver is badass. And I found Biicla through him. Oh, this Australian producer Ashez. I just discovered his music and he’s dope as fuck. I’ve been playing some of his songs in my sets recently. Still Woozy is my go-to when I don’t wanna listen to heavy bass music.”

And when asked what animal she would want to be reincarnated into, she stated, “I would wanna be a bird for sure— a bald eagle.”