Having formed in 2003, Far East Movement has come a long way in 10 years. Combining hip-hop sounds, dance beats and memorable phrases has paid off in a big way for them.
Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif and DJ Virman first came into the limelight on the soundtrack for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The single "Like a G6" hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making the act the first Asian-American group to attain a chart-topper.
Far East has toured with top acts such as Pitbull, LMFAO, Flo Rida and Robyn.
Far East Movement took a break from its tour schedule to chat with Windy City Times about new music.
Windy City Media Group: Hi, guys. How did Far East Movement come together in the first place?
Kev Nish: Prohgress, J-Splif and myself were all high school friends around L.A. It was just meeting up in random parking lots after school until late night and just freestyling. We would then go in the back of Prohgress' house and record on a computer. We would be uploading music online until 7 a.m. The time would go and we would have to go straight to school. We kept doing that. We would post songs online and try not to get negative comments. Slowly, our music started spreading.
We got an opportunity to be on a soundtrack for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and that inspired us that maybe we had something going on good. Around that time we met DJ Virman. He was a radio DJ for Power 106. We kidnapped him from there.
It was that story of handing your demo to the DJ; finally, he came and watched us get down. He wanted to be part of the group.
We were also interning at Interscope Records so on the back end we were learning the industry and making relationships and figuring out how the whole thing works.
WCT: Is everyone Korean?
Prohgress: No—just me and J-Splif.
DJ Virman: I'm Filipino.
Kev Nish: I am half Chinese and half Japanese.
WCT: Quite a diverse group—and the first Asian-American group to have a number one on Billboard.
Kev Nish: We were shocked when we found that out. We considered Linkin Park kind of Asian or apl.de.ap from The Black Eyed Peas. We are grateful that people like to party!
WCT: Did you guys see the latest Fast and Furious movie?
Kev Nish: The director invited us.
Prohgress: Those guys are really good friends of ours so we wanted to go support them.
J-Splif: It is his last one, too. The next one goes to the director of Saw.
WCT: How was it working with Dev for "Like a G6?" She told me that you guys found her.
Kev Nish: It was very random. We were in the studio with The Cataracs. We had a song called "Girls on the Dance Floor." That song got us our record deal. We decided to make part two because that one had a fair amount of success. We needed a singing hook to take it to the next level. They had a new artist called Dev and were talking about her unique voice. We heard the sample in one of her songs. They were playing us all these songs that were not released yet. One of them was the G6 hook. As DJs we wanted to take that sample since it was not even released yet. They called and asked her if it was okay and it was cool like that so we released it as a first single.
WCT: Let's talk about new music. How was it working with Justin Bieber on "Live My Life" on your new album Dirty Bass?
Kev Nish: That was another random moment. We met him in Vegas through Snoop Dogg. We were backstage and Uncle Snoop introduced us. Anyone we have ever met through Snoop is good people. He wound up being really cool. You don't know what to expect sometimes when you hear things about someone but he was really down to earth.
We got a call from his manager saying Justin wanted to do a song with us. We felt that was a good opportunity to do something outside the box for us. In the clubs we have an audience that loves to pop bottles but we wanted to get an audience that can't get in the club yet that same feeling. A party all night type of feeling. That is what that track set out to do. We had a good time doing it.
WCT: Who do you decide to collaborate with on your albums?
Kev Nish: Either we are fans of them or we meet them sometimes backstage at a show. It is that non Hollywood way to meet people. It is just about liking each other's music and wanting to work together. You end up following up with it and it happens. That is how a lot of our collaborations happen at least for this second album.
The first album it was cold calls and saying we were their fans. Everyone was down with it, from Keri Hilson to Snoop Dogg to Ryan Tedder. Everyone was really accommodating. It was a dream come true. Even the second album was a dream because we are fans of these people.
WCT: Like Pitbull?
Kev Nish: Pitbull, definitely, and Tokio Hotel. It was an eclectic bunch.
WCT: Who is Cover Drive on that Dirty Bass track?
Kev Nish: They are a band. Their biggest influence is No Doubt.
DJ Virman: They are really big in the UK. They are from Barbados.
Kev Nish: They had two number one hits in the UK. We met them at a press junket. We found their bassist's wallet in the sofa and that is how it all got started. Instead of keeping it we gave it back to him!
Prohgress: It might have been missing a credit card or two...
Kev Nish: But we charged up the love, you know? [Everyone laughs.] Amanda is super-hot.
WCT: She has a great voice.
Kev Nish: Amazing voice, yeah.
WCT: "Change Your Life" is a very positive track. I really enjoyed that.
Kev Nish: Thank you.
WCT: How did you connect with Natalia Kills?
Kev Nish: That's our girl. She is the fifth unofficial member of the Far East Movement. We go way back. We were friends the second we got signed. We have seen each other do separate things at Cherrytree. We have always been there for each other. We have done some weird collaborations and that was one of them. We just came from Russia and "Lights Out" was a number one song there. We didn't know that and people went nuts when we played it. They knew every word.
WCT: I don't know why she isn't super-famous yet.
Kev Nish: She has a cool vibe.
Prohgress: She is a great songwriter and very creative. I think she is on her way.
Kev Nish: Her stage presence is incredible. Have you seen her live?
WCT: I have. She opened for Robyn.
Kev Nish: We did too! Were you at that show?
WCT: No, but I saw you perform at Glamorama and with LMFAO.
Kev Nish: That was at Allstate Arena.
WCT: It was very glow-in-the-dark. That was a younger crowd. You have opened for several acts [with gay followings] in the past, like Lady Gaga...
Kev Nish: And Semi Precious Weapons were there, who is a gay-led band. Gaga was amazing. The Robyn tour was our third national tour.
DJ Virman: It was her and Kelis. They were so awesome.
Kev Nish: We learned a lot from Robyn. She's like a veteran in a sense but always redefining herself. I am really curious to see what her next record will sound like.
WCT: You have a big audience from young fans, gay fans, straight fans and party people.
Kev Nish: The door is always open! It is a movement. It is open-mindedness and positivity. I think we try to convey that in our music hopefully it comes out that way.
WCT: Is there someone you want to work with but haven't yet?
Kev Nish: We want to officially get down with Robyn. It was a joke. We did a remix song on her line "don't fucking tell me what to do." We changed it to "don't fucking tell me what to drink." She like it so she jumped on it online and said "don't change my fucking song!" That was the closest we have gotten to work with her. Getting an original vocal from her would be dope. Maybe some R&B throwback song with her would be epic.
WCT: She was on the Basement Jaxx album and I didn't recognize her voice.
Kev Nish: She has done a lot of tracks that people don't know her from.
WCT: Your latest song is "Lovetron?"
Kev Nish: That is a bonus song on the repackaging. We just released a couple of songs, one is called "The Illest" with a really crazy rapper called Riff Raff. He is with Mad Decent. The other song is called "There Will Be No More Rain." It is deep and soulful. It is a sneak preview of the new album we are working on.
WCT: Will this new album be a different sound?
Kev Nish: It will be different than Dirty Bass. We found our sound. We are inspired by the Beastie Boys, even Michael Jackson or Madonna. They would always switch up the sound every album. That is how we want to steer our careers. We want to be unpredictable. We put out a mix tape called Grizzly. We can tell by the Internet feedback that people didn't expect it but it has been really positive.
WCT: Let's play the Nunn's Name Game to close it out. One word about each artist that you have worked with! Flo Rida?
Prohgress: Hits.
WCT: Rihanna?
DJ Virman: [Whistles]
Splif: Fine.
WCT: Jabbawockeez?
Prohgress: Friends.
WCT: Lady Gaga?
Kev Nish: Innovative.
WCT: Describe Far East Movement in one word.
Prohgress: Grizzly!
Keep up with the group at www.fareastmovement.com .
