Blessing Arizona with bass-heavy beats, married couple Matt Nguyen and Tessa Lizz of ARIUS laid down a headbanger of a set that blew minds and melted faces at Relentless Beats’ BOO Fest! Boo was a smaller, more intimate festival (relative to some hosted at the Chandler, AZ venue Rawhide Western Town) with a heavy hitting lineup for the ragers of Arizona’s EDM scene. ARIUS more than delivered for those headbangers. It was clear as the set began that ARIUS was drawing from the energy of the crowd which really pushed the festival from the sunset into the wild night. That’s why it is such an honor for OneEDM to have the opportunity to pick their brains for a bit and get to know the people behind hits like “Jelly Donut“, “Drink Like a Monsta” and “No Break“.
The first thing that came across at BOO Fest was the high energy level you bring that gets the crowd pumped! Where does that energy come from? How do you grow it/maintain it?
Our energy comes from the crowd. When they get into whatever we’re doing, the more hype they get, the more hype we get 🙂 How to maintain it -I think it’s important to play music that you enjoy playing on stage, then it comes natural. Plus, we’re also a lil bit crazy and like to dance around so it helps.
The next thing that comes to mind after that is who were/are your influences that have helped fuel that fire and vibe you share? How do they help shape you and inspire you to grow and change?
Since day one it’s been artists like Skrillex, Excision, Porter Robinson, Knife Party..the ones that made their own lane and cannot be duplicated. We’re really inspired by people who have done it by being themselves and took things to the next level.
How would you say you have evolved since getting together?
Arius started in the summer of 2015 and our focus was finger-drumming and bass music. After each year we began learning more and started to change things around. It was a lot of trials and error and we finally just discovered ourselves recently this year and what we really want to be known as.
How did you feel about the crowd at BOO? The reception? The turnout? The energy level you felt during your set? Playing Arizona in general?
Arizona is definitely our favorite place to play. Our first festival was Global Fest 2016 and I think after that, people just kept talking about our set and always showed us so much love every time we came back. We definitely have a strong connection with the Arizona crowd. I think the people from Arizona just love to dance and enjoy a lot of different types of bass music more than just womp womp all night, lol.
You both had a background in entertainment before forming ARIUS. How is this different for you, experience wise? Do you both still pursue dance and modeling? Do you miss it or are you thrilled to be focused mostly on music?
I got back into dance last year with Poreotics, and competed on World of Dance Season 2 this year and made it to the division finals. It’s insanely a lot of work. Going to rehearsals. Practice until it’s perfect. It’s both mentally and physically exhausting to be doing music and dance but at the end of the day, it’s what I live and breath so I still enjoy it. -Matt
I was absolutely in love with modeling, but once I found my passion for music that quickly took over. I do miss it sometimes, but there’s nothing I would rather be doing than music full time. We love it so much, and to be able to focus on music is the biggest blessing and I remain grateful for that daily. – Tessa Liz
Who would you love to play a show or fest with? B2B sets or a remix collab?
We like to hold it down on our own. It’s fun doing collabs and b2b and stuff, but one day we want to look back and feel like we really earned it you know. We don’t want to feel like we only made it because of somebody.
What would you love to see in the future if you were going to play Arizona again and even Rawhide as a venue? What would you value if you were to come back in a year and play the same festival?
We’re always looking to give people a good time. We want to see more people dancing for sure. We would value the exact same energy that they always bring because they always kill it with us!
How do you view music as changing from an artist perspective since you began making music? How do you see it changing?
Bass music was still a bit underground from my perspective when we started but now, it’s gotten so big. We used to work in Asia and dubstep would be a NO NO to play in any clubs. Now, we got everyone in Asia headbanging. Bass music is everywhere now! It’s a good thing that more people are starting to enjoy dubstep.
What is your favorite thing about producing music versus performing music?
Producing is like going to practice, sometimes its fun, stressful, repetitive. Performing is all fun along with hella energy and it’s always a party 🙂
What’s the number one piece of advice you would tell your fans?
Appreciate all type of music and listeners. Hating on someone else who has a different taste in music as you is not cool 🙂 We all love music. When we’re on the dance floor we all speak one language.
Halloween related questions: What is your favorite candy? Favorite scary movie?
Reese’s! We dont watch scary movies, we just aren’t down. Lol
Reese’s are good! With any luck maybe ARIUS will return soon to eat some with their fans in Arizona and get them pumped as they did at BOO Fest 2018! Those that were there will not soon forget the high level of party energy and good times unleashed by these two! Of course, a big thanks from OneEDM to ARIUS and Relentless Beat for bringing them to BOO!
Connect with Arius
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