Los Angeles Trio Cheat Codes sits down with us to discuss how they formed, their musical style, and future plans. The group made up of Kevin Ford, Matthew Russell, and Trevor Dahl gives us an inside scoop of what its like as rising artists in the Electronic Dance Music scene.
How’s Miami Music Week Been Going For You?
TREVOR: We have been going off and on…Miami Music Week, everyone has way too much to drink. We stayed up last night, started drinking early today. We are ready to go.
What are your plans for Miami Music Week?
TREVOR: Tomorrow we are hanging out with Robin Schulz and doing a set there. Then we are hanging out with Iheart radio, tonight we are going to hang out with Armada, and we are with Spinnin’ Sessions right now. We also are going to go the Sriuis Radio Party.
How was it working with Kris Kross Amsterdam and other artists you have collaborated with?
MATTHEW: It was actually really quick. We wrote ‘Sex’ in like an hour and we sent it to Spinnin’. A week later Kris Kross Amsterdam sent back a track with a vocal that we made. It all came together super quick which is how I like it. It feels more natural.
How did you form?
TREVOR: Matt and I lived together off and on 5 or 6 times in LA. We ended moving into a place in northern California and we shared a room and studio and placed rules on when we had to be quiet and when we could be loud. I moved back to LA for the fifth time after that.
MATTHEW: The first time you lived with me you lived in my laundry room!!!
TREVOR: Yeah I slept on his floor, and made his laundry room a studio. After the fourth and fifth time we started making music together authentically as far as cus we wanted to. The first song we made was with Kevy and they had started making dance music and I was doing my solo thing. Then after that we started making music together and kept releasing tracks and toured a bunch.
MATTHEW: I actually met Kevy through a lawsuit because we got screwed over by a shady producer who stole money from us. We took him to small claims court and won. Then we became best friends. Hahahaa.
Is this you first time at Miami Music Week?
MATTHEW: Yeah first time! We played in Miami at LIV before but never at Miami Music Week. KEVIN:We actually play a lot on the East Coast but not Miami.
I heard there’s a rumor that you have a collaboration with a popular artist coming out? Is this true?
TREVOR: We have a lot of new music coming out….I don’t know yet about collaboration. We might? There could be…hahah. Things to look forward to and that’s coming out pretty soon.
MATTHEW: We have a new single with our homie Cade because he’s with Spinnin’ Records as well. It is called ‘Stay with You’. We played today at Spinnin’ Sessions today.
TREVOR: We are going to be releasing a lot of new music this year maybe one or more song a month.
Tell me about your style? How would you describe it?
MATTHEW: It’s kinda like a pop group and an edm group got into a knife fight and the edm group spared the pop groups life. Like if the pop group was at the very edge of being gone. But the main idea is that we want to have a “Cheat Code” to your party where I feel like everyone likes a little bit of every genre so we want to be able to play everything and not be put into a box.
TREVOR: In the past people have said you have to have your own sound, but to us the song just needs to be good. And in the future we want to be able to do all sorts of different genres and we want people to be like “Oh this is a good song. Who is this? Cheat Codes? Sick”. We don’t want to be tied up. We want to be inventive and make new styles and not do the same thing a hundred times.
Where did you get your name?
MATTHEW: The name is a mission statement of if you expect things to be easy to you and expect yourself to become successful than you have a way higher chance of actually becoming successful. A lot of people say “Wow how did they do that? That is so hard”. You just have to simplify stuff.
TREVOR: People over complicate things naturally, they just do it. They fill their heads up with preconceived notions of “oh I can’t do this because of this”. If you let go of all that and come into a situation with open expectations and ability to change to make It happen then you are able to accomplish more.