Bridging the Gap Between Hip-Hop & Electronic: TF Marz [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

Time to recognize and bring your Hawk Eye attention to rising and multitalented artist TF Marz. The Denver-Based producer unleashes a refreshing vision to the dance floor. Bringing his passions of Hip-Hop and R&B and meshing them with electronic elements for everyone to groove to. While already having an impressive history in the electronic scene and culture, TF Marz is also a Co-Founder and Creative Director of all:Lo Collective.

TF Marz is steadily helping bridge the gap for the underground community with Hip-Hop and Electronic music in monumental strides! And Electric Hawk had the chance to chat with TF Marz — diving into his origins, how he became introduced to the all:Lo collective crew, what to expect at his headline Black Box on May 30th, and so much more!

In Conversation With TF Marz

Lauren Jeter: What is your origin story for the Hawkies that aren’t aware of how you started up in production and your artist career?

TF Marz: My roots in music are really deep.

My parents put on music festivals growing up, and they actually put on their first music festival three days before I was born. It’s called the One World Music Festival. They did it in Telluride Town Park, which is where I was born. That’s where my love for music grew.

Then I had my parents get me a drum set. When I was really young, they got me a guitar, they got me a keyboard. So I tried my hand at pretty much all of those instruments. And then when I was pretty young, I got into Hip-Hop, and that’s just what I really connected with. Eventually, I saw Hip-Hop producers using MPCs, and I was like, that’s what I want to do. So I want to say like 13 or 14 years old, I got an AKAI MPD, like a little MIDI controller pad, and started making beats, and haven’t really stopped since. Then I started DJing when I was 17.

I’m 31 now, so I’ve been doing it for a long time.

Lauren Jeter: That’s a cool origin story. It’s really interesting that your parents are like in the festival scene. That’s awesome!

TF Marz: Even beyond that, I also worked in record stores, starting when I was 15. I worked in record stores in my hometown. I worked at Amoeba Music in LA when I was going to music school. And then I also worked at Twist and Shout out here in Denver when I first moved here in 2017!

Lauren Jeter: How would you describe your style and sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

TF Marz: I think, the space where hip hop, R&B, and electronic music kind of all meet in the middle, using a  hip-hop and R&B approach in terms of my rhythms, melodies, and harmonies but also an electronic approach in production.

Dubstep and everything really started blowing up right when I was in high school and getting into this, into producing. Naturally, I started making electronic music. And so I learned about electronic music production styles. So like, bigger bass lines, heavier drums, and stronger electronic sounds. But I would really say,  it’s hip hop and R&B music with an electronic production approach.

seradopa: What were some of your earliest influences and inspirations from artists to curate your sound?

TF Marz: My earliest inspirations were Hip-Hop producers. Unfortunately, not the greatest time for this guy, but Kanye was a huge influence on me. I saw him using the MPC, and he was making these beats using all these super soulful samples. The pitched-up vocals and stuff like that. And I was like, this is the sound that I love. So Kanye, and then people in that same kind of, you know, that same path.

J Dilla, obviously a massive influence. No I.D., DJ Premier, CL Smooth, and just all those legendary Hip-hop producers that were really using a soulful approach in their sample selection. To now, my big influences, I mean, in the Electronic world, I love Ivy Lab. I feel like Ivy Lab has really captured a sound that I can really relate to.

I really am enjoying a lot of club music now as well. So I’ve been into DJ Rashad for a while. Rest in Peace. But his footwork sound is great! I also love Jersey Club music, so UNIIQU3 is a really awesome artist that’s doing a lot of good stuff. Also, my friends, obviously! My friends are such massive influences on me. Oakk, Parkbreezy, pheel, and Thought Process.

You know, there’s a cool, really dope group of DJs out of Portland, they go by Wake the Town, and they’re led by Barisone, PRSN, and Danny Corn. They are legends in the Northwest scene. Honestly, those guys showed me that I could make and play out the music I really love on these dance floors. For so long, I’ve always loved Hip-Hop and R&B, and that’s what I listened to, but in the Electronic world, and it didn’t feel appropriate to play that stuff in those settings.

I thought maybe the music wouldn’t hit or connect. Then these guys, I saw them, play to these crowds, and a light bulb went off. And I was like, I can do exactly what I want to do. I don’t have to shift my taste to like fit into this Electronic crowd. I have to credit them, they are massive influences on me!

Lauren Jeter: We have to ask. What inspired the name TF Marz?

TF Marz: When I was probably 16, I was just going by Mars. I put out my first little mixtape, I literally made like, little CDs that were like paper, had paper labels that I stuck onto the CD and everything, burned them, and then, like, spray painted with a stencil. And it was called Transmissions from Mars: Volume One.

Quickly realized that there are a million artists out there named Mars. So I was like, What did I do? And then it’s like, transmissions from Mars. It’s an interesting, but really long. And so then I was like, TFM, TF, Mars, TF, Mars, sounds pretty good. And so that’s, yeah, that’s where it came from.

seradopa: For you who uses a lot of samples, how do you go about sample searching and crate digging?

TF Marz: Many different ways. One thing that I miss about working at the record stores, that working in the record stores was such an easy way for me to find stuff. You know, always different stuff, playing everyone, like in Twist and Shout, everyone got to pick an album that would play throughout the day, during your shift, and so I would be exposed to so much different stuff that maybe I would never hear. Then, talking to my friends, fellow employees working at the record stores, they would tell me and put me on to stuff.

Talking to the owners of a record store is such a massive resource for anyone who’s into music. They know music like crazy, and put you on to all sorts of different stuff. They really exposed me to a lot of obscure soul collections. Now that I’m not in the record store, you know, sometimes I’ll just search random stuff on YouTube. Or I’m still digging through music that I bought years ago, that sits on my computer.

Also there are amazing resources out there now, like Splice and TrackLib. TrackLib, especially, is really cool because, while Splice is more made of Loop-style resources. TrackLib has real tracks in there, and they put them into collections. You can license stuff super easily from them, which is really cool!

I really just look for anything that makes the lightbulb go off, you know, and I hear it and can connect with it, you know.

Being creative, especially being an artist who uses a lot of sampling, Rick Rubin talks about always having your antenna up, you know? When I’m hearing stuff or whatever, I just try and keep my antenna up and be open to just that moment that opens and launches a new idea. I’m looking for samples, anywhere and everywhere that I can get them!

Lauren Jeter: How did you become acquainted with the all:Lo collective crew and begin this venture with the other members back in 2017?

TF Marz: I moved to Colorado that year. That summer, I had gone to Arise Music Festival, and I met James, who ran Your Mom’s House.

I had been living in LA previously, and it was really hard to get a foothold in the LA scene to do anything. Then, when I moved to Denver, I just felt that there was an opening for this thing that I wanted to do which was Hip-Hop, R&B-based electronic music. The music I was making, I wanted to find a place for it, because it didn’t really fit in anywhere.

So I met James, and I told him about this event I wanted to start called the Curation Series. And the tagline will be cutting-edge Hip-Hop-based music and soul. And James was like, “Okay, cool. Let’s do it!” So they gave me a monthly Wednesday, and that same summer actually two weeks after Arise I was at Shambhala Music Festival, and I met my buddy Hunter Saillen, and he’s an amazing photographer, does tons of work out here in Denver. He was just at Shambhala, and something with his ride fell through, and we were going to Oregon Eclipse, two weeks after. So I was staying up in Oregon, and he had met my friend Henry.

Sorry, this is a long, converging story, but it’s crazy how it all comes together [laughs]

Basically, Hunter needed a ride to the Oregon Eclipse festival, so we’re like, come with us. He came with us, and then once we got back to Denver, we started hanging out. He was like, “Yeah, I’ll help you put on this event. I’m totally down!” And then, I was trying to find CDJs, and so we were looking around. Then Hunter says, “I’ve got my buddy Phil [pheel.], who I know from back out East, who lives out here. He’s got some CDJs! and, Him and his roommate, Parker [Parkbreezy], make similar music, I think, you guys will vibe.”

II connected with them. And they came out and brought the CDJs, and the vibe was so good. The music was so proper. We were all playing music that we all knew about and liked.

So that’s how we met.

We did the event for six months, and maybe January of that year of 2018, Phil and Parker were like, “Yeah, we want to start putting our music on Spotify. Let’s make a label.”

They started putting it under all:Lo and then the following summer, they were, “We want to get it more legit. We want to do the compilation. Do you want to be involved? You want to be a part of it?”

And I’m like, you already know, for sure, this is exactly what I was looking for!

That’s kind of how it all just started going, you know, we’ve just been riding ever since.

Lauren Jeter: How did the artists in the collective support each other? Everyone seems like you’re really good friends. Do you believe that’s kind of what propels you guys to be more successful?

TF Marz: I think so for sure. At least from my perspective, making a living off of music for a long time just seemed like this mystical idea. Then I saw Joe [Thought Process], Parker, and then Phil all start to do it. And I was like, “This is so doable. This is so achievable.”

In that way alone, we’ve been huge supporters of each other. Just motivating and showing each other what’s possible. Then also bounce ideas off of each other. Honestly, more than anything, it’s just a really great group of people. They’re my really good friends. They’re some of the sweetest, kindest, most down-to-earth people that I know. We’re just good friends, you know?

We built an awesome community around this friendship as well. You know, my partner Jenny is amazing, Parker’s partner, Natalie, she’s amazing. Joe’s partner Kat, she’s great. Kelley, Phil’s partner is awesome, and we’re all friends. They’ve got all their friends from the East Coast too, that they’ve introduced me to, that I’m all friends with now. All around, just being a kind and motivated person is what connected all of us beyond just liking hip hop, you know?

[Laughs]

seradopa: I had to ask, being a creative as well. What got you into the Creative Director side of all:Lo? What inspires the art direction and curating it the aesthetic for the collective?

TF Marz: It’s kind of funny, because, like, I’m not super talented, in actual graphic design wise. I’m not good at drawing. I don’t really know much about graphic design, but I think I have an eye for things and for a vibe.

It’s more about vision than it is about the actual execution. I can see how things feel and how it should be relayed visually. I’m really good at working with other people and tapping into the right person to do the right job, you know? We have an amazing visual artist that we work with. OZWVLD is incredible. He’s done all of our compilation artwork. We work with him all the time.

Personally, I work with my buddy Darian, Obscura Creative. He’s been really awesome.

Also, a big thing about being a Creative Director is allowing the artists to guide the vision and then just being a curator of that direction. Pushing people in the right direction when they’re already on their path. But that being said, I’m really trying to learn a bit more about the actual technical side of being a graphic design. Because I don’t only help with the direction on artwork, but I also help with the direction on, merch designs, you know, at least I have the vision for the merch. For our tour shirt, Cole Edwards [Oakk], he’s an amazing graphic designer. I sent him this, crudely drawn sketch on a T shirt. Then he just crushed it, and made an amazing design out of that!

Lauren Jeter: How does the Denver music scene compare to the Northwest where you grew up? Are there any similarities or differences that you notice right off the bat?

TF Marz: Here in Colorado, there’s a lot more of a psychedelic and heavier sort of sound in a lot of places. Then the Northwest, those guys I was talking about, the Wake the Town, they’ve really created this scene in this culture that’s very Hip-Hop, R&B, like Global music, kind of vibe. And I feel the Northwest has that flavor a lot. Less psychedelic, I guess, is what I would say, and maybe a little bit more of a forward-thinking sound.

I especially find that up in Canada, like up in British Columbia, where they’re on to stuff that then three years later, it makes its way to Denver, and people are really excited about it. Maybe that’s their tie also to the UK, that might be a part of why, the electronic scene might be a little bit more forward-thinking there.

There’s also more of an embrace of Club sounds that aren’t like House music. It’s embraced a bit earlier up in the Northwest compared to here in Denver. But, I mean, here in Denver, it’s prevalent now, too. You know, you’re hearing Garage and all that kind of stuff now. Still trying to get people into Jersey Club out here. But it’ll happen! It’ll happen. You know, I’m just gonna keep working at it

[Laughs]

Overall, the Denver music scene is just insane. I don’t have to really tell you guys, or probably anybody reading this article. It’s such a blessing to be in Denver and to have so many awesome artists around, so many great venues, promoters, and great people working in the industry. It’s truly a part of the culture here in Colorado, and I’m just really grateful for that.

I want to live in a place where music is important. And that’s Denver!

Lauren Jeter: Since you have your highly anticipated Black Box headline coming up, what is the intention for the show? What should we expect from this specific show?

TF Marz: My entire career in music, especially the last few years, is the vision for this show is building the bridge between the Hip-Hop and Electronic worlds.

At this point, Electronic music is borrowing so much from Hip-Hop music. Beyond the sounds, the culture, everything, and honestly, I think it’s important that the people that this music comes from both hip-hop and electronic music and that we represent it more!

And one way that we can do that is by including Hip-Hop artists in our scene, you know. It’s also mutually beneficial, there’s so many electronic music fans that could be huge fans of these Hip-Hop artists and music. They just need to hear it.

Also, here in Denver, we have such an amazing, thriving music scene. The electronic scene is thriving, but like the Hip-Hop scene does not get enough love. And the artists in that Hip-Hop scene don’t get enough love. Trayce Chapman is one of the best people in Denver doing Hip-Hop music. He’s been that person for a while, and more people need to know about him.

When I got the opportunity to put together my headline show at the Black Box, I already knew I wanted a hip-hop artist. I want Trayce to be on support, get a chance to shine, and feel the energy of these Electronic crowds. These people are hungry for music and want to dance. Especially crowds that come to my show – they’re there to dance. They’re there to shake their ass and fucking enjoy the music.

I feel in Hip-Hop music and culture, there’s a lot of like, “I’m too cool to dance,” and get super hype. Not to say that there isn’t people at those shows, but I think it’ll be a great experience for Trayce to experience what the crowd that is into all:Lo and is into what I’m doing. And I believe they’ll be really receptive.

Lauren Jeter: I really like that. You’re trying to bridge the gap. That’s a really interesting approach!

TF Marz: That’s something we talked about at all:Lo, too. We want to get into Hip-Hop production and start working with more Rap, Hip-Hop, and R&B artists. Also, we want to start putting out Hip-Hop and R&B artists’ music on all:Lo. We want to be a platform that’s more than Electronic music. Electronic music is all kinds of music. So we need to have the artists that aren’t in electronic music to feel a part of it, because they are and their influence is there, you know.

Some of the biggest artists now, these huge bass music artists, they’re just making Rap beats with some Dubstep bass lines, right? And I think it’s time that these fans and these opportunities start going to the people who are really making the source material for so much of this music. Even especially my music, you know? I use all sorts of Rap vocals all the time. Anyone who knows me knows my music; that’s what I do. So I’m just trying to cultivate a space where we’re not just playing remixes of those people’s music, but these people are actually getting recognition and opportunities for this, for their music.

seradopa: To close it out, what do you believe has been changing for the better in the music scene, or something that needs to be changed or improved in this industry?

TF Marz: One thing that’s changed for the better is the opportunity for artists to have more autonomy and to be able to build things on their own. all:Lo Collective would have never existed in the 90s or maybe even the 2000s. With how the internet is set up, and all the places to put out your music, all the distribution, I think that is creating an amazing opportunity for people who are talented and work really hard to actually get recognition.

The music world in general can be so gate-kept by major labels and industry executives. While that still is an aspect of the industry, there are still ways to break through it. And I think all:Lo is a testament to that. Nobody cared about what we were doing, even six years ago. I remember, in 2019, we were doing this happy hour at the Black Box, a free event. We had nights when literally not one person showed up. Not one person. And we got to a point where we were just like, “this is the music we like. This is who we are. And we’re just going to do this,” you know? We’re just going to keep putting it out there. If no one cares, no one cares, it’s all good.

Being genuine and real is what people are looking for. Now that you don’t have to commodify yourself to fit into some sort of gate-kept box, and you can just be yourself, and you can get through it.

Now, something I think that needs to be improved in the industry.

I think it’s fairly obvious, especially in the electronic music scene, it’s diversity. It’s hard because, from a perspective of all:Lo collective we’re made up of majority white dudes, playing hip hop music, for that matter. But we’re very aware of that. And, you know, I do give some credit to people cause I think maybe it’s a little easier said than done. Electronic music, especially, is such a young genre, and it takes technical skills, knowledge, and expensive gear to get into it. And the reality is that it’s hard for a lot of people to start, and I think that bridging that gap starts with really connecting with and educating kids about electronic music.

Giving kids the opportunity and the exposure to electronic music, how to make beats, figuring out a way to get them a computer, to get them a MIDI keyboard, to get them Ableton or whatever DAW they want to use, and just kind of giving them the knowledge. I think that’s a massive thing that needs to change.

Along with that, people need to be less afraid or defensive about it. Honestly, I think we need to talk about it more! And I appreciate you guys at Electric Hawk. You guys have put out that whole list of Femme artists to book. I think that’s awesome, and I appreciate you guys for doing that.

But I think it’s a conversation that continually needs to be had. It’s something we don’t necessarily need to feel shame about. I don’t feel ashamed of what we do all:Lo because I know where our intentions are at, but I also know that we’re actively working to make it better too. There’s things that we’re working on behind the scenes right now that are going to go directly towards that goal.

Be sure to come out to TF Marz headline show at the Black Box on May 30th and follow him along with the all:Lo Collective crew is up to!

Click here to secure your tickets!

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Looking for new music? Keep up with our weekly Spotify Playlist, Fresh Hunts. Updated every Friday with all the latest releases. Whether it’s the newest drops from TF Marz, all your favorite artists, some old-school, or underground…we just want you to hear it.