text & interviews by Jorge Perezchica
Splash House knows just where to hit the wet and wild, sweet spots in the calendar year. The June edition feels like a long awaited school break to usher in summer season, as attendees bask under the sunny California skies enjoying a chance to cut lose, pull out their swim fit, sip a cold drink poolside and dance to electrifying EDM music over a three-day weekend. The August edition is all that and more. It has become an annual rite of passage for college kids — one last epic festival (but feels more like a humongous college party) before the school cycle begins again — and in Palm Springs, you can never be too cool for pool. Spread across three hotels: Saguaro, The Renaissance and The Riviera, and after-hours at Palm Springs Air Museum, each venue delivers it’s own unique aesthetic and ambience to suit your vibe — and you can easily try them all. Shuttle hoping from one spot to the next is a breeze and only minutes away. Since its inception, Splash House has championed the ever growing EDM music scene from underground to international stars. The August edition featured Louis The Child, Gorgon City, MK, Gryffin, Hannah Wants, Cut Snake, Camelphat, DIRTYBIRD’s golden boys Walker & Royce, Will Clarke, Pham, Yahtzel, Latmun, Detlef and many more. As Splash House celebrated its sixth annual, tickets were sold out in advance. With growing popularity each successive year, Splash House proves to be the premier pool festival ticket (not to mention swimwear fashion extravaganza) in Southern California and beyond.
Throughout the weekend splash madness, Coachella Magazine took a moment to interview J. Worra and Alex Harrington.
CM: Growing up in Chicago, how did you make your way into the music scene?
J. Worra: So growing up in or in the Chicago area, there’s tons of music options, you know, there’s jazz clubs, all that stuff. For me, it was just really immersing myself in different shows, and I got to see Gene Ferris and Green Velvet play, it was like 2011 and that’s when I really started to connect with electronic music.
Spring Awakening Music Festival came around in Chicago, and I remember the first year I went to that, looking up at the different stages and all I saw were guys. I remember turning to my friend and I’m like, “I can do this, and I can do it better than them. This is what I want to do.” I’ve always had that connection with music, but I just, I never knew that this world existed until I started to really experience it.
CM: What has the transition been like so far moving to Los Angeles, California?
J. Worra: It’s interesting because I didn’t move to LA with the sole purpose of doing music. I kind of needed a change of scenery. I had gotten out of a tough relationship, had a bad breakup, and I was like, I want to try something new. LA sounds great. And I got out there and things just started falling into place. So, you know, the music path really took off when I got here.
CM: You had a lot of firsts this year from Coachella (HP tent) to Lightning In A Bottle. Can you tell us about those experiences?
J. Worra: Coachella came up very unexpectedly because the lineup had already been announced and so that opportunity was really just exciting and like I said, unexpected. It kind of makes you hungry too when you play it and and then you walk around, you’ll see the main stages and stuff that makes you really excited to keep grinding. And then Lightening In A Bottle, I’d never been there. I never really knew much about the festival, always heard good things, but that one really was like a, you know — if I can think of different experiences I’ve had that have helped shaped me as an artist in my trajectory, I would say Lightening In A Bottle was definitely one of the biggest.
CM: What inspired you to launch, run and release music through your own label ARROW?
J. Worra: I started to get really frustrated last year, because I was sitting down and I was making music for a label rather than sitting down and making music that I wanted to make. And I’ve never really wanted to own a label or run a label. It’s just, it’s a lot of really hard work. So, I never thought about it, but I kind of look up to Chris Lake a lot and I saw what he was doing with his label and I was asking him about it and he was saying, “You know, Black Book is just something that I’m using right now to release my music.” And that was when he was only releasing his music. So it kind of inspired me to get going with my own label. And it’s funny because this tattoo on my finger right here (points to finger) is an arrow and one time, several years ago, one of my friends was like staring at my hand. I’m like, “Why are you staring at my hands?” So weirding me out. And she was like, “It’s the arrow on your finger, because it’s Worra backwards.” And I was like, mind blown. I was like, “No it’s not.” But I’m going to use that now. And so that’s how the label name came about.
CM: How do you balance the creative and business together to push your career forward?
J. Worra: I think in this day and age it’s just, you have to have more than just good music. You have to kind of show the world who you are and build up a brand around yourself and spread your wings as much as you can, because there’s just so much music out there. There’s a lot of different really talented artists. So, the sooner you can find your path and really start to expand the better I think.
CM: What’s is the main thing you’ve learned since starting your music career?
J. Worra: Probably just staying true to myself and the art that I want to create and having resilience, because there’s always going to be someone that’s going to try and knock you off that path.
CM: What can audiences expect from your set at Splash House.
J. Worra: They can expect that I’m going to make them sweat and if it’s not me, it be the temperature outside. So either way they’re going to sweat. That’s what they can expect.
CM: How would you describe your sound?
J. Worra: I would say my sound or my approach to music is just an unpredictable one. I always want to keep people on their toes, kind of keep them guessing what’s coming next. I like to blend some really pure, groovy tech house tracks and maybe some heavier bass wompy kind of tracks. So, yeah, it’s just like entering the unknown. When you, when you step up in here.
CM: Anything else you would like to add?
J. Worra: I’m really happy to be here. I look at splash houses like a staple to a Southern California, so it means a lot to be coming here and playing and hope to be invited back again.
CM: How did you get your start DJing in the Coachella Valley?
Alex Harrington: I’ve been playing music for 16 years. I moved to the Coachella Valley about 14 years ago from Northern California, San Francisco. I had a band up North, but when I came here (in 2004) I didn’t know anybody, so I got into DJing and production and got into Splash House in 2014. They invited me to come play. So since then, I’ve just been kind of attending and playing in that respect.
CM: Splash House has evolved since 2014, when the lineup was a mix between live bands and DJs, but now it’s much more EDM focused. What’s your take on the changes over the years and the rise of EDM?
Alex: I think it’s good. I think that there’s a culture in the DJ world that is underground where there’s original things being created. A lot of people see just the commercial side, so to have an event that’s DJ focused, but also focused on the music and not necessarily the mainstream — I think it’s great.
CM: You mentioned that your music career started with playing in a band, how did you transition into DJing?
Alex: I sang and I wrote and played guitar and kind of played all the instruments. So when I came down here (to the Coachella Valley) I said, “Hey, I can do it all on my computer. I can do everything piece by piece, bass, guitar, drums.” Even to this day, I still play guitar. I sing on my tracks, I’d do the piano, I just put it over a house beat.
CM: How do you market and brand yourself internationally?
Alex: You know, I’m honest. I am my image, my brand. So internationally it’s cool because people outside of the United States, it seems like in Brazil and France and England, they’re more open to music and unknown artists. Whereas in America it’s kind of like, you know, who do you know, what do you do, that type of thing. But internationally, it’s just more appreciated and accepted. America is a tough nut to crack.
CM: Your new EP is coming out soon, tell us about that.
Alex: Yeah, my debut album is actually coming out in October. It’s called “Stargazer.” So a lot of the songs that I’m playing right now, were off that. And I’m excited to put that out. It’s going to have about 12 or 13 songs. I produce all my music and write myself, unless it’s a remix, which is a re-work of somebody. So I do produce all my stuff. I master, I mix everything. It’s all me.
CM: What fuels your creative impulse?
Alex: One thing I like to do is to go out in nature. I like to go on hikes and especially in the desert. I’ll go out into the top of the cove, and take in the beauty and then go back into the studio. It’s funny because it all kind of just goes in a circle. So I go from the studio, to outdoors and then back in. I like to have the nature, I can’t be inside all the time.
CM: This was your sixth appearance at Splash House, what was your experience like and how does it compare to your first?
Alex: I played primarily a house set. I had a few of my own tracks in there. It was a great vibe. I mean I’ve never played The Renaissance before, it’s a great venue and really enjoyed myself.
It’s been exciting to see the stages grow every year. New decorations, better sound, bigger dance areas. They always go bigger and better, which is something you don’t see with a lot of festivals. They really care about putting on a good show.
CM: What advice do you have for up-and-coming artists?
Alex: You know what, just do it. Don’t listen to anybody else really, you know. Just get into it, try it out and collaborate with people, whether it’s just talking to other people or having fun with the music. I think when you’re young you just want to get as much work as you can in. Stay humble. That’s the biggest thing. Stay humble. You’ll learn and you’ll be hungry. And you know, once you get along in the business, people recognize that because there’s enough. I mean, I have to be candid, there’s so many assholes in the business — so, if you’re humble and you work hard, that’ll get you there.
WEB: splashhouse.com
MUSIC: alexharrington.co
MUSIC: jworramusic.com
VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY