Posted by Mikey Rodge on January 27 2016

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Aaron Velasquez is a New Jersey native who makes funky hip-hop beats under the moniker Flamingosis. He had a breakout year in 2015, releasing not one but two full length albums of his sample driven productions with 'Newski' and 'Pleasure Palette'. He did a good amount of touring, including a stop at the legendary Low End Theory club in L.A and he isn't slowing down one bit in 2016. Next month, he will be releasing yet another album, and then will be hitting the road with All Good Records favorites The Floozies & Sunsquabi. I recently had a chance to chat with this talented up-and-coming producer, check out the interview below.

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Q: How did the Flamingosis project come to be?

The word “Flamingosis” originates from a freestyle Frisbee move that my dad invented. My father & uncle were both really well known in the Frisbee world. They won 5 world Frisbee Freestyle titles together back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The move is a reverse spinning catch on one leg. The “flamingo” symbolizes the player standing on one leg and the “osis” represents the reverse spinning catch, thus creating the name “Flamingosis. I was always surrounded by good music at an early age. My parents have a bunch of vinyl records from the past and I remember listening to stuff like “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang and other really dope cuts that had a nice pocket groove to it.

In third grade I started playing the saxophone and was a part of jazz and symphonic bands up until senior year in high school. The year 2008 was when I started to become a fan of hip-hop production and discovered people like Flying Lotus, Madlib, J Dilla, MF Doom, Nujabes, Hudson Mohawke etc. I took a music tech course that same year and that’s where I started to make beats and decided to use the “Flamingosis” moniker. The name stuck because it represents my family’s Frisbee history and represents an older generation that experienced a golden age of soulful, groovy music.

How long have you lived in New Jersey? If you weren't born there how did you get there?

I have lived in New Jersey all of my life. Was born & raised in Morristown. For the first 9 years of my childhood, my family moved to Morris Plains and then Randolph, which are all in the same county, but then shortly after we moved back to Morristown. My hometown truly is a great place to grow up for real. Very diverse and welcoming community. People from all different walks of life live there. There are also a lot of bangin’ food places to eat around town too, which is always a plus. If you guys ever come thru, I’ll take you to Cluck-U Chicken or Macho Nacho. Currently I just moved to Brooklyn, but I will always consider myself a Jersey boy.

Whom do you consider a major influence in your life?

My parents are huge influences on me. They raised me right, kept me out of trouble and put me on the right path. My mom and dad both have incredibly strong work ethics, so I think that rubbed off on me too. I remember when I was a kid that every night before bedtime my dad would tell me “you can have everything you want in life, as long as you’re willing to work for it!”. It sounds kind of cheesy I guess, but after a while that quote got planted in my subconscious and now I take it very seriously. I’m able to do what I love right now because I truly believe in myself, my work, and I work really hard. Big ups to my folks for instilling that confidence in me.

Briefly take us into your recording process - How do you go about making a song?

Long story short, I just mess around and experiment with chopping samples and layering drum loops until I come up with a nice pocket groove. Once I’m able to find that pocket groove that instinctively makes you bob your head up and down, the track basically writes itself from that point on. You’re unstoppable once you find that groove.

Are there any artists that you’d like to collaborate with?

Yeah a bunch of people. Hopefully I will collaborate with Mura Masa soon. That dude is crazy talented and can basically create any kind of genre you can think of. Definitely want to work with a lot of vocalists soon as well. This woman named K.Raydio is really dope and she kind of has an Erykah Badu vibe when she sings. This other singer named Vada is really cool too. I also just want to work with a lot of my close homies because they are really talented too.

If you had a favorite show to date, what would it be and why?

My favorite show still has to be opening for RJD2 with my homies ZPLUS a few years back when I was in college. That guy's music has been a big inspiration for me, so it was an honor to get that opportunity. That whole night was kind of transcendent for me in a way. Me and the crowd felt like we were one. Everyone was so happy and grooving out when I was playing. Those shows are pretty special. When everyone is dancing and having a nice time & not thinking about anything else. That's what it's all about to be honest. Another memorable show was playing at Low End Theory. So many of my favorite artists who have influenced me have performed at that venue. It still hasn't hit me to this day that I have played there.

What do you do to unwind?

Taking naps and watching random videos on YouTube.

Any hobbies outside of music?

Running, taking pictures, watching adult swim/anime, riding my bike, eating really good food, shopping for clothing, going to barcades and shootin’ the shit with my friends.

Any favorite memories or horror stories from the road / a show?

Sheesh, yes I do. Last winter I went on a tour with Moon Bounce and we got into an altercation with a dude with the worst road rage that I’ve ever seen. We were in Philadelphia and were parallel parking on a narrow street. All of a sudden a truck came around the corner and the dude was beeping at us because he thought we were blocking his way. It seemed like he was working with a landscaping business, and looked impatient & mad from the start because it looked like he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

Long story short, some physical gestures were exchanged between Moon Bounce and the landscaper, which really pissed the guy off. He then got out of his vehicle in the middle of the street while blocking traffic and threatened us to come out of the car. He even tried to pull Moon Bounce out of the car too, but that didn’t happen because we were already parked in between two cars and there wasn’t enough elbow-room for the guy to get to the driver window. Eventually he just flipped us off, cursed us out, spat on our windshield, got back in his truck and then drove off. That was probably the most ridiculous afternoon of my life. Having a salty, middle-aged man threaten to beat us up haha.

What are your favorite movies or TV shows?

Movies: Boyhood, Enter The Dragon, Star Wars, 400 blows, Enter The Void, Good Burger, Pulp Fiction, Requiem for a Dream , The Holy Mountain, Princess Mononoke, Akira, Do The Right Thing , Napoleon Dynamite

TV Shows: Simpsons, Chappelle’s Show, Spongebob, One Punch Man, DBZ, Samurai Champloo, Eric Andre Show

Anything else you'd like to plug / promote? What's next?

Yeah ! My new album “Great Hair” will be available for download next month on February 12th on this German label called “Uknowy”. A limited physical edition of 300 cassette tapes of the album will be available for purchase as well. I will also be going on tour with The Floozies in March. For any other music/show updates, just head to my website: www.flamingosis.com.

Thanks again!

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