Friday Download: Paper Diamond
2014/12/05

The electronic producer drops unreleased beats, his back catalog, and the chance to win tickets to his upcoming Rain Drops Tour via BitTorrent Bundle.

LA/Colorado producer Paper Diamond calls out his passion for the craft as the factor for his recent success. Since he began releasing music under the Paper Diamond moniker in 2011, he has been committed to “being open to find the next new sound, like that “crazy new shit” that blows your own mind first.” It’s this ethic that has built a steady catalog of versatile, high-energy, heavy bass music where no genre or sample is out of bounds.

Two weeks ago, the beatmaker released his most ambitious plans to date. He’ll kick off the new year with his massive 33-date Rain Drops Tour, the release of his new Rain Drops EP, and the launch of his Rain Gang creative collective. But before Paper Diamond digs into his 2015 plans, there’s still some unfinished business in 2014.



Download the Paper Diamond Essential Bundle to unlock the entire Paper Diamond back catalog and an exclusive collection of unreleased music and artwork. Also included in the Essential Bundle is a chance to win tickets to The Rain Drops Tour. Enter your email to unlock the Essential Bundle for a chance to be one of 33 fans selected to win a pair of tickets to an upcoming Paper Diamond concert in your city.*


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I had a chance to chop it up with Paper Diamond before he caught a flight to Europe to chat about his new record, upcoming tour and what fans can expect from the Paper Diamond Essential Bundle. Check it out below.

You’re about to head out for a long stint on the road. How do you prep for a tour?

I would say the main thing would have to be just being in the studio non stop, planning. The music, the special parts of the show, the lights, the video content, the illustrations, the artwork. For me, it’s more than just a record, it’s about creating an experience. And that’s what this tour is going to be.

When you do get some downtime from being on the road, how do you spend your free time?

Honestly, this whole year has been so crazy…I’ve been living in Los Angeles recently, working and living in the same loft style thing in downtown LA. It’s substantially different from Colorado where I was for the past seven years. And I love Colorado, but I’ve been working with so many different singers, emcees and writers, that I was out in LA so much, it made sense for me to relocate.

I feel like it’s not just about music, it’s about really creating that experience that people can come and see and feel. I’m looking for people to come to the shows and leave feeling something.

When I’m not working, I’m pretty much sleeping. I don’t know, I’m working on music all the time and me and my boy Berk Visual, we’ve been making all of the artwork and videos together. It’s just all of our friends doing it ourselves. Pretty much, if you want something done, you’ve just gotta do it. So really just juggling all that.

What goes into the planning of your live production? How hands on are you throughout that design process?

I’m hands on with every piece of it. It’s a really hands on process for me, because I feel like it’s not just about music, it’s about really creating that experience that people can come and see and feel. I’m looking for people to come to the shows and leave feeling something.


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When you go about starting work on a new record, do you have a specific idea in mind that you’re looking to accomplish? Or are you working collaboratively with the folks around you, finding the vision as you go?

It’s a mixture of both. I write every single day. I’m writing music as much as I can. I have been traveling for the past year, working wherever I can. I was in Europe working for a month, getting to work with a bunch of different singers, writing lyrics and songs about things that are pertinent in my life. When I got home, I had all these different songs with all of these people who I was able to draw inspiration from and got me excited about music. That’s the good part about collaboration. For the last month, I’ve just been mixing everything down and getting everything ready.

Music is about communicating and sharing things with other people. It’s a shared space for people to celebrate life and art.

You have developed a really tight knit fan base. How did you cultivate that community and get them so engaged and how do you keep things fresh to keep them interested?



I think it was just people that were drawn to loving music. Music is about communicating and sharing things with other people. It’s a shared space for people to celebrate life and art. It was just natural. There was no real intention in that.
And to keep it fresh now, I’m listening to new music all the time, writing everyday and being open to find the next new sound, like that “crazy new shit” that blows your own mind first. And then sharing that with people. This EP is going to be a culmination of the favorite stuff that I’ve written over the past year.

Tell us about the Essential Bundle – what’s included?

The Essential Bundle release is going to be a great way for people to grab my my entire back catalog and see the my progression musically; give people a broader taste of what I’m all about. There’s also a folder of unreleased beats/loops/ideas and some unreleased artwork that we’re finishing up right now.


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After the new tour and EP, what do you have planned for 2015?

The Rain Drops EP will be released in early 2015. I’m working on a new mixtape right now that people can expect in the couple of weeks. I’m going to be hitting SXSW and then heading to Europe shortly after the tour. Hopefully, we’ll be doing a second leg of the US tour, looking at some West Coast and Northwest dates, some of the places we’re missing on the first leg of the Rain Drops Tour.

All of the music for Rain Drops is pretty much turned in and we have some great surprises lined up, but I’m going to start working on the next one immediately. I have sketches for the next songs I’m working on. We’re already lining up sessions with different singers and I’m starting to write some melodies, myself. The next EP is already starting to take shape. Maybe it’ll be the first album, I’m not really sure. I’m just going to keep writing.

Music is pretty much just an all the time process for me. It’s how I check out of the monotony that is the “airport lifestyle”.

How do you listen to most of your music these days?

Since I’ve been out in LA, I’m literally living in my workspace. I wake up and my studio speakers are right there. So I pretty much listen all day on that. Sometimes we’ll put on some music on our Sonos’ in the morning. I’m listening to music like Sirius XM and Soundcloud when I’m in the car. When I’m traveling, I’m listening to Soundcloud mixes and music I’ve downloaded to my phone. Music is pretty much just an all the time process for me. It’s how I check out of the monotony that is the “airport lifestyle”.

Any records or artists you’ve been digging this year?

I always love Little Dragon. I’ve been feeling AlunaGeorge’s stuff recently too. That song she just put out with Bauuer is super dope. Let me check my top recently played list on iTunes real quick….to be completely honest, I’ve been listening to the final versions of these mix downs of my tunes for like weeks now. Check out all the stuff from Carmack and Djemba Djemba. This dude Troyboi in Europe is dope, Goldlink…oh yea, Flying Lotus is definitely one of my favorites, for sure. His new record “You’re Dead”, I’ve been listening to that constantly.


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Paper Diamond Essential Bundle

01 Unreleased Folder of Paper Diamond Beats [Audio]
02 Levitate EP (10 Tracks) [Audio]
03 Wavesight EP (3 Tracks) [Audio]
04 Paragon EP (10 Tracks) [Audio]
05 Diplo “Revolution” (Paper Diamond Remix) [Audio]
06 Bassnectar “Voodoo” (Paper Diamond Remix) [Audio]
07 Rain Gang Desktop, Mobile and iPad Wallpapers [Art]
08 Make Your Own Paper Diamond and Puppy Diamond Toy [Art]

*Winners selected by Paper Diamond at random, based on geographic location. Travel not included.

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