Exclusive Interview with American DJ Producer – Forbes and his Latest Release on UFO Recordz
“Forbes”, born Forbes Ploszaj was born and raised in Arizona and grew up an avid hockey player— continued his career all the way to the collegiate level. While in college, Forbes realized my true calling wasn’t on the ice; it was performing and producing music. In between practices and games, he quickly began learning how to DJ and work Ableton. Forbes utilized the money from DJing to invest into studio equipment and production and quickly learned how to create a unique and diverse sound identity and began producing music for artists across multiple genres. Forbes’s first professional track, “Joe Exotic (Forbes Remix)”, was released by rap artist Ponce De’leioun and it was also featured on Trap City’s YouTube page and currently has over 500k views. Forbes’s debut single as an artist, “Undercover”, released in late September and is currently at about 400k streams. He has also worked with other notable artists such as Uno the Activist, Alok, Apollo XO and David Shane. His most recent single, “Tame Me”, released on January 22, 2021.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Tell us about the first track that put you on the map in the electronic scene and the journey since. How did you get started?
The first track I put into the electronic scene was a remix for one of my friends Ponce De Leioun. He came to me with an opportunity to work on a track remix for Trap City. The song ended up getting placed and hit over half a million streams on YouTube. Since then I’ve transitioned into house and am currently working towards my debut EP at the end of the year.
Tell us about your latest project ‘Numb’ with Jillian Rose and Dean Crow
Numb is a project that really translated well to all of us involved. It began as a collaboration between Jill and myself, and then slowly one by one the pieces starting falling together creating a beautiful collaboration that we could all be very proud of. Numb cuts to the core by expressing a toxic relationship many people deal with and how such a relationship can make someone become numb to the pain.
Listen to ‘Numb’ on Spotify
Tell us something we wouldn’t normally find out about you?
I am actually really into fishing and golf. Believe it or not I’ve had a passion for fishing ever since I was about 3 years old. I think most of my listeners would definitely not know I was on the college golf team as well.
What single night out has been most memorable for you as a DJ and producer?
One of the most memorable nights as an artist was when I was able to open for Borgeous at Sunbar with Relentless Beats. Borgeous has been a staple in the edm community for years and to share the stage with a establish producer of that magnitude was super fun.
Give us the name of one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you listen to it?
Dom dolla San Francisco. The song has a lot of influence from disco music back in the 60′ and 70’s and has influenced a lot of young producers to really strive to grow the scene.
Dream collaboration and why?
Honestly, I would have to say Jauz. He has always been a big influence to my music from the start and I have always had a dream of working with him.
If you could play any festival, which would it be?
Tomorrowland, I was very bummed they are cancelling the 2021 event, hopefully I will be able to make it on the 2022 lineup.
How do you get a track started? tell us about your production process
I will make a set and then once I’m done making a set that I would play live; I use that set as a influence to create a song that fits inside of that set. From there, I like to pick a creative perspective from which the song’s structure, melody, and lyrics will evolve from. From there, I like to collaborate with individuals I feel will help truly encapsulate my artistic vision. The end product is normally never the end for me as I will tweak and edit all my tracks until I feel they are perfected.
Upcoming projects? What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a single with David Shane and another project with Kris Kiss. Extremely excited for both of these tracks and being able to continue to deliver my fans better and better projects as my career progresses.
The relationship between a DJ and the audience is crucial, and yet is seems to be a fragile one – how do you see the balance between giving the crowd what they want and treating them to something new?
Dealing with an audience revolves around a lot of psychology. You have to be able to read the vibes of the audience and react accordingly or you could lose them. With my style, I will usually try to mix the intro of a song people know them flip the drop with something that’s in key so it’s cohesive. Or I will give the crowd exactly what they want with the right energy then I’ll break it down to one of my originals so it has the most impact possible.
Connect with Forbes
Forbes – Numb (Feat. Jillian Rose And Dean Crow) is out now! via UFO Recordz
