Interview: Different Sleep

Jun 28, 2012 by PORTALS

In celebration of his 1,000th SoundCloud follower, we decided to sit down with Chicago’s Rafa Alvarez (aka Different Sleep) and discuss his new track, “Be My Center”, which was highlighted on PORTALS last Friday, being featured on Jay-Z‘s Blog, and his summer plans.

…

Congrats on hitting 1K followers on SoundCloud! Have you pinched yourself yet?

Thanks man, not yet but I probably should because things have been getting a little crazy lately.

You were recently featured on a mix via Jay Z’s blog, how did that feel?

It was a good feeling for sure. Josh (Troublemaker) told me about the mix a couple weeks beforehand so I had been anticipating it, but actually seeing it up there was pretty surreal (stream the mix below).

You just released a new track called “Be My Center” in honor of your 1,000th SoundCloud fan. Is that track a one-off or will it appear on a future release?

I’d say it’s just a one-off for now. Things tend to happen pretty unexpectedly though so I guess we’ll see. I just happened to finish the track right before I hit 1,000 followers so I figured I why not throw it out there? The response has been pretty crazy so I’m happy with how it all played out.

Why’s the track called “Be My Center”?

I sampled a song by The Dream and he says “be my center” in the vocal sample. I thought that phrase matched the feeling of the song, and I also just like the idea of a song being open to interpretation so it can mean whatever you want really.

What are you up to these days? Can we expect a full-length in the near future?

I have like 3 remixes that are supposed to come out in the next couple of months. I also did a couple of beats for some dope rappers, one of which is a member of the Green Ova collective. Really humbled to be working with these dudes so be sure keep an eye out for that coming out soon. And along the lines of a full-length I really can’t say just yet. Things happen so unexpectedly and I don’t want to limit myself to one project so for now I’m just focusing on the task’s at hand. The guys from Svengali and I are putting the final touches on the ‘Svengali Vol. 2′ tape so be on the lookout for that too. Shit’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever heard!

And lastly, do you have any crazy plans for Summer 2K12?

Nolan (Soleman) are living in an apartment together here in Chicago this summer which has already been pretty crazy. Were both 19 living on our own, and it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. We’re poor and hungry, but it’s satisfying seeing the progress we’re making. We’re starting a side project together with vocals. Last time Nolan and I made a song it went pretty well (“Drive Me Crazy“) so we’ll see how it turns out.

And here’s a visual overview of Chicago, as seen through the eyes of Rafa himself: