The Human Experience, Moontricks, & Gone Gone Beyond Discuss Collaborating [iEDM Exclusive]

The Human Experience aka David Block is a musician known for his soulful and multifaceted style. He has frequented many major festivals globally and has made his mark with his awe-inspiring sound design. Block is also a founding member of Gone Gone Beyond, a collaborative music group known for its enthralling live performances and collaborations.

The Human Experience and Gone Gone Beyond recently remixed Moontricks renowned track "Wood For The Trees." Moontricks is a Canadian electronic duo whose grassroot blues style garnered worldwide recognition and respect. It is no surprise that such standout artists are inspired by each other’s creative energy.

The Human Experience, Gone Gone Beyond, and Moontricks joined iEDM for an exclusive roundtable style interview. We discussed their collaborations and recent remix, the way the pandemic altered their lives as musicians, and much more.

iEDM: How was this past year for you? The pandemic transformed the music industry in countless ways and undoubtedly had a major impact on artists themselves. What is it like for you?

Gone Gone Beyond: It really ended up being a beautiful reset. We refocused a bit. Made a record.

Moontricks, Sean: The silver lining of this down time has been an incredible opportunity to focus on writing and recording. Plenty of great song fodder from hard times ;)

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A post shared by Moontricks (@moontricks_music)

iEDM: What do you intend to portray with your music? Are there any stories or messages you try to share?

Gone Gone Beyond: No specific message. I think we are just trying to be part of the beauty, you know.  Something everyone can see themselves in.

Moontricks, Sean:  We like for people to take any messages they might find in our songs and to run with them.  I think ideally, you can hear and interpret whatever you’re looking for.  For me, "Wood for the Trees" is about struggling with perception and it felt fitting to wrap it up in the simple cathartic experience of chopping firewood and burning it. I feel like it’s easy to get on board with that and find some resonance. And as far as chores go, it must universally be one of the most satisfying...

iEDM: What direction do you imagine your music careers going? Any dreams for the future that you would like to tell us about?

Gone Gone Beyond: We’re looking forward to putting out the new record. Getting back to playing shows. Making some more songs with Moontricks.  

Moontricks, Nate: Hopefully our careers can go back one day to all playing live shows in the same room with big systems like the days of old. A good dream could be performing on the Red Rocks stage with Gone Gone Beyond and some of our other friends and a bunch of smiling faces in the crowd.

Photo Credit: Gone Gone Beyond

In addition to the group questions, we asked each artist individual questions to gain more perspective from them. Here is what they had to share!

iEDM: If you could remix any song from the Human Experience or Gone Gone Beyond, which would you choose and why?

Moontricks, Nate: Definitely one of their unreleased songs which are all incredible from what I’ve been hearing! For something released I would probably say "You Can’t Go Wrong." It’s got that great timeless feel of GGB and I love the whistling and groove.

iEDM: Tell us about what it was like to remix Moontricks "Wood for the Trees." Why did you choose to remix this track?

Gone Gone Beyond & THE, David - I love working with Moontricks. The interesting thing about them is before we went on tour and started working together I had discovered their music and fell in love with it. We ended up going on tour last October and "Wood for the Trees" always made my heart feel warm and fuzzy. It’s interesting that a song can have so many different meanings for different people. This song reminded me of the phrase, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."

iEDM: What does gratitude mean for you and how does it influence your life? It seems to be a common theme throughout your online presence and your music.

The Human Experience, David: I believe that if we could live in gratitude in every moment for the great miracle that is this existence no hatred could exist. It is impossible to be upset and grateful at the same time (try it!).  I choose gratitude as my north star for living life and do my best to encourage everyone else to do the same in every moment. There’s always a silver lining to every challenge. 

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A post shared by David Block (@humanexperiencecreations)

iEDM: What inspired the music project Gone Gone Beyond?

Gone Gone Beyond, Danny: I think it came from a profound respect for what everyone was bringing musically, spiritually, culturally… creatively.  And then a profound curiosity for what it might mean if they were all put in the same stew.

iEDM: What is your creative process like when it comes to music production?

The Human Experience, David: My creative process is different every time. For better or for worse, I have no regularity in my creative process other than doing my best to get out of my own way. I have spent thousands of hours over the years honing my skills or as I like to say sharpening my blades. Now when I go to cut some thing it cuts instead of using a dull blade. I believe my creative process is my divinity being manifest; I invite God or spirit or the universe or whatever you want to call it to work through me. That being said, I do my best to surround myself with inspiring people and have had some of my most fulfilling pieces of music come with the seed of inspiration coming from my collaborators. I believe this song is a perfect example of that.

iEDM: How did you all meet and when did you first collaborate on music together?

Gone Gone Beyond, Danny: We met on tour last Fall and just sort of clicked creatively - all of us were writing a bunch at the time - so it felt natural to write together. I think the first song was "Coast."  I remember us all singing it together on some outside steps in San Francisco, late into the night. 

iEDM: As fans, what is the best way we can show our support to amazing artists like you during this time? Regardless of the state of live music, fans are still passionate about music and are always looking for ways to give back to their favorite artists.

Gone Gone Beyond, Danny: We’ve really experienced our community in a new way since covid.  It feels more like family. Keep sharing the music. Keep listening. Keep caring about it. Send us good vibes. We just finished our record and will be planning some online events in the near future.  If you feel like giving financially there is a donate button on our Spotify some very kind people have been using.

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! We are excited to see what you all have in store for the future.

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