DJ duo SIDEPIECE and Lee Foss played “1, 2 Step (Supersonic)” for the first time at EDC Vegas just last month. The beat starts, and Ciara’s familiar vocals echo over the speakers. After a 33-second build-up, the beat drops with “AUTOMATIC SUPERSONIC HYPNOTIC FUNKY FRESH” from Ciara and Missy Elliott’s 2004 hit “1,2 Step,” and the crowd erupts. The energy is electric, and the artists are ecstatic that this moment has come to fruition at long last. 

The idea for “1, 2 Step” came about almost a year and a half ago and sat unfinished for so long that they’d lost faith in the power of the song. Ricky Mears, aka Nitti Gritti, explains that after all that time, they worried it might have lost its effect. 

“Now that it’s finally coming out, and Lee added his touch, it made this whole new moment for me where I was like, ‘Whoa this is a hit.’ It actually hit me again. I forgot how much a song can really make a crowd dance.” 

Dylan Ragland, who goes by Party Favor, says, “We played this song out in earlier versions, but EDC was the first time we were able to properly play the final new mastered edition. Lee was there, so it really made it special. When you have a strong vocal, like Ciara and everyone recognizes that lyric from back in the day, it felt like everything kind of came together at the right moment. I was super pumped about it. The energy was great.” 

SIDEPIECE is the brainchild of DJ/producers Nitti Gritti and Party Favor- who came together to formulate a side project that would satisfy their mutual love for all genres of music. According to their bio, SIDEPIECE is “Just two below average guys who got together to make music we love, but don’t tell our significant others. Everybody needs a SIDEPIECE.” For the guys, music and each other are both their sidepieces. 

The first time they met, Mears opened for Ragland in San Francisco on a Party Favor tour years before the duo would embark on their project together. But the formulation of SIDEPIECE came to be via Twitter DMs. In 2019, Nitti Gritti and Party Favor announced their collaboration - SIDEPIECE, with their debut release “Wanna See You.” 

Although they claim to be below average, their recent track record has been stellar. The duo, along with Diplo, were nominated for a Grammy for their hit “On My Mind” (2019), and their recent Kiss and Tell tour completely sold out.

“The tour was incredible. Technically we started this project right before the pandemic, but there were no shows. For us to go to these big rooms and have people show up is awesome. Everyone already knew the words to our songs and we’re already planning the next round of shows,” Ragland reminisces about SIDEPIECE’s first tour. 

Before getting together to form SIDEPIECE, Mears and Ragland were already cross-pollinating the many dance music genres individually. Mears is a Miami-based artist with various musical interests specializing in house, hip hop, and trap, among others. He was originally born in Pennsylvania, but Christian missionary work brought his family to Haiti for most of his childhood. Mears describes that experience as a blessing and remembers discovering hordes of music he’d never heard of through illegal music-sharing websites such as Limewire and Bearshare. This is how Mears got a taste for a wide variety of music that would later inspire his sound. 

Ragland, like Mears, enjoys incorporating many different genres into his music. He can’t stand silence and has music bumping constantly. Once he became invested in house music, he realized he had more space to express himself in all his music.

“House music has an ability to go with anything.” Ragland says. The guys are both signed with Diplo’s label Mad Decent and have each worked with the likes of Pitbull, Bad Bunny, Enrique Iglesias, Dillon Francis, DJ Snake, Gucci Mane, and many more. 

“1, 2 Step (Supersonic)” comes when tech-house is seeing a resurgence in songs from the ’90s and ’00s. Ragland attributes that to a cultural shift re-popularizing ’90s trends. Mears explains how music goes through cycles, “You see trends like these in other styles too. Pop punk is massive in rap right now. People love nostalgia.” It’s fun for the artists to help people experience music they love in a new and fun way. 

Mears’ advice for anyone who wants to begin making music is to keep at it. The more time you spend working on your craft, the better you will become. He believes dedication is the way to grow your skills and get to where you want to be.

“[It was] the amount of time I spent actually focused and committed that made the biggest difference. Second, is building a good team. But if you can say I spent one to two years producing music, you will get good. If you sit there, give your life and try to do something, you’ll get results. It’s the commitment to want to do something.”

If you missed the Kiss and Tell tour, fear not. SIDEPIECE has lots in store. They can’t say who, but a special guest will join SIDEPIECE at Lollapalooza.

Ragland and Mears are excited about the music they’re planning to release soon. Tons of big collabs, lots of big releases, Europe this summer, and Australia in the fall. Ragland says they’re working on spreading the SIDEPIECE sound worldwide, and they’re hoping an album is coming very soon. They’re ready.

Ragland says that for SIDEPIECE, “The future is bright.”

Hailing from sunny Los Angeles, California, Good Society embodies the feelings of warm weather, endless days, and good vibes. The record label and event promoter is renowned for their incredible line-ups, careful curation, and stacked compilations. Their latest project Good Society Volume 3 pushes the future beats sound with standout artists like oshi, capshun, Laxcity, whereisalex, DECAP, Chromonicci, and more. They're a mainstay in LA and have been expanding their shows out of state to Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Austin, for SXSW. 

With Good Society's constant growth we felt it would be the perfect time to connect with Josh Yamini, the brand's founder to get an inside look at what makes them so good. We discuss their origins, the fusion of hip-hop and electronic music, fostering relationships, creating a unique live experience, and much more. 

Starting at the beginning, Josh explains what sparked the birth of his platform saying, "I started Good Society as an expression of my love for the underground and bringing people together. My taste in music was largely influenced by SoundCloud at the time of launch and all of my experiences at Insomniac festivals made me want to put that love of music and people into action." 

One of the core facets of what makes Good Society so special is their ability to bring together the worlds of hip-hop and electronic music. Whether it's future beats, chilled-out lo-fi, or experimental hip-hop and trap, this fusion is central to Good Society's platform.

"My love for these genres initially stemmed from ripping gems off of YouTube and Adult Swim bumps. I listened to lots of Nujabes, Flying Lotus, and Erykah Badu at the time which then evolved into listing to artists like Mr. Carmack, Sam Gellaitry, and Smino. Oftentimes I’ll bring my knowledge of the beat scene together with vocalists that I’m newly discovering to create a blend of genres that’s totally unique. Other times I might just be working with the artists who’ve coined a sound in between the two and are perfectly representing the medium with us," Josh elaborates about bringing together the two sonic worlds. 

In addition to uniting unique sounds, Good Society strives to bring people together. This applies to fans, through the music and events, as well artists. Josh expands on this outlook, "Our goal is to create a space where people can express themselves and find common ground through music. Ultimately we’d like to bring that to scale and create immersive experiences that go beyond traditional club settings while incorporating the songs and artists we’re releasing on our label. We want to create an ecosystem."

The genuine love for connection is what makes the brand so good. While some platforms focus more on numbers, social media following, or ticket sales, Good Society is all about creating an intangible vibe through human connection. Whether it's friendships, business relationships, or something even deeper.

"The good in Good Society stems from all of the constructive relationships this brand has built with artists, fans, and listeners alike. Many of our work relationships extend into personal ones. We’ve seen countless people having become close friends or start dating after having met at Good Society events. One couple is even getting married!"

Relationships are the cornerstone of any great business, but authenticity is what seems to separate Good Society from your typical promoter and label. Their connections are longstanding with many artists and come out of genuine respect and appreciation for their work. The brand is an extension of its founder's life. The friendships and connections along the way aren't just to the benefit of the label but are also about enriching his personal life.

"Much of our early outreach was done through Instagram and led to us doing things like flying out chromonicci for our second show ever, when we were really just learning the ropes and how to refine our events process. I’ve done everything very personally with this brand to the point of hosting artists at my apartment for the week of our shows, such as chromonicci, capshun, zotti, J Kuch, Malik Eliah, and more. Running Good Society is just as much a means to expand on my own life as it is for that of the audience that I curate for. So these relationships I’ve formed with everyone involved are directly tied to my own happiness," Josh tells us.

While Josh is the driving force behind Good Society, he's not doing it alone. Roto and MadBliss serve as the brand's resident DJs. In addition, they have their own videographer, Gavin Banksy, and Arielle Lana LeJarde serves as their publicist and advisor (editors note: Arielle is a writer for Festival Inside but did not take part in writing this feature). Josh handles the majority of the bookings, label releases, promotion, content, and social media while collaborating with different partners on a per-project basis. 

Matching the quality of their label releases, the Good Society events series looks to raise the bar. Josh explains what makes the series special saying, "The vision behind our concerts was initially to throw them in nature. Being that we’re in a big city, it felt natural to build up the foundation of our brand with solidly curated lineups, and uniquely unforgettable nights. More recently we’ve pivoted into renegade shows, different experiences such as the boat party, and are slowly gearing up to diversify the setting of our parties to better fit our initial dream of Good Society. What makes our events special is the fluidity of it all. You might get a live band 420 show with seemingly infinite free cannabis, a massive warehouse party with Alexander Lewis, or cruise on a boat across the ocean with Josh Pan & Luca Lush. We’ve even done insane live shows at a mansion and in a tunnel on the beach. Our diversity of curation and experiences is one of our strongest points."

Good Society has a lot of exciting prospects on the horizon. They will be expanding their events series, working towards an outdoor indie festival, and releasing more thematic compilations pushing the sounds they love. Josh closes our interview fittingly with an invitation to all, "I hope you get to attend one of our shows in the future or are positively charged by the music we release! Moreover, I hope we get to meet someday. Don’t be a stranger!"

Good Society Volume 3

"I curated this project to affirm the belonging of hip-hop & electronic music in a single space. Otherwise known as future beats, this project brings together soulful and jazzy boom bap production riddled with soulful rap vocals and electronic sound design."- Josh Yamini