Premiere • Provsounds: 'What You Want' EP

His name may be new to some, but Provsounds has been cooking up some of the more interesting production in Chicago's beat kitchen lately. A consistent source of hypnotic loosies, we're relieved to say that These Days has been picking up what he's putting down. Clearly, Provsounds felt it was time for something bigger, and now he's releasing his 'What You Want' EP, which we couldn't be happier to premiere. It's electronic music humanized, a concept album about capital-L love that thumps organically.

Combining his skills as an audio engineer with those as a producer, you'll hear beautiful live instrumentation all over this project, grounding Provsounds' flourishes that take you to a parallel universe of heart and heartbreak. Yes, that's a guitar, and yes, he's playing it. Featuring a larger focus on dance music than any of his past work, his take on the genre is completely unique and one that needs to be heard. Honestly, it's some seriously dope music (with fantastic album art from Daniella DeLuna and Nick Matsas as well). We got to speak with the man behind the 1's+2's to find out a little more about him. Q+A below!

For those who don't know, who is Provsounds?

I'm a musician, music producer, and audio engineer based in Chicago. 

Can you tell us a little about the EP? 

'What You Want' EP is an expression of my feelings over the past 5 months. I wanted to make an instrumental project that encompasses my experience of being in love, discovering who I am, and interacting with world around me. "Body Language" embodies that feeling you get when you know you have to meet someone - your instincts take over and your body temperature rises. "What You Want" is about getting to know that person, perhaps dancing with them for the first time, finding a new perspective through your their eyes, being impressed by what they do and who they are inside. "Lover Dreamboat" represents that point when your life has been turned upside down by this new presence and you realize you cant spend everyday lost in their eyes. It's about finding the balance between your desires in love and the will to move forward with your own dreams and goals. "Wishful Thinking" is the state of wondering what will happen in the future and realizing that you control what happens. By the law of attraction, what you want will happen if it is truly what you're passionate about. 

How would you describe the differences between the 'What You Want' EP and your past work?

'What You Want' EP is much more sonically refined than my previous releases. Going out to nightclubs such as Primary, Smart Bar, and Berlin have definitely influenced my taste in music and the direction I've been taking. I wanted to make energizing music that will make people want to dance. 'Chakra Waves' EP was super experimental and fun to make, but I think much of it is too eerie and hard to follow for many listeners. Though I was still pretty experimental while composing 'What You Want', I feel like it carries more consistent and steady grooves than 'Chakra Waves'. My approach and understanding of making music have grown and developed significantly over the past year. 

Care to fill us in on any other big plans for 2016? What is in the future for Provsounds?

Well, first off, I will be releasing a music video to the track "What You Want" soon. I'll be working on a 5-7 track EP, this time featuring different Chicago artists on every track. Also, I'm practicing and hoping to start DJing soon and just performing in general to get out in front of audiences. Last year, I curated a few shows at venues such as Subterranean, The Abbey Pub, and Township, which were all great experiences that I plan to build on this year. Lastly, I've recently started engineering at LPZ Studios - so I'm planning on building clientele and pushing artists to achieve a sound better than what they hoped for. 

Any final shout-outs?

Shout-out Mariano Sarrate for playing bass on "Body Language" and Inho Park for playing bass on "Lover Dreamboat" and "Wishful Thinking." Shout-out Daniella DeLuna for setting up and directing photo-shoots, as well as for starring in the yet-to-be-released music video. Shout-out Jaime Black from Dynasty Podcasts for having me on the team and always giving me great advice. Shout-out my family and friends for always supporting me and showing love.