Why did you choose to hide your identity initially?

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The message behind it is something I firmly believe in. The artists I admired growing up, many had faces but some didn’t. Gorillaz, for example — I wasn’t focused on the men behind the music. I think as an artist you have to capture what the music represents.

What is the message behind anonymity?

Back in 2013, dance music was making big headlines and I felt like half the people had ghostwriters, others didn’t know how to perform, and some couldn’t even play music or were tone deaf. I felt everybody was using their face to capitalize off the music, grabbing fans instead of perfecting music. I was confident in delivering the type of music I had, I felt it would be a statement if people didn’t know who I was.

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It’s about trying to connect to the music first?

There’s too much information today. You lose the feeling of curiosity, the mystique, and I think that’s important. It is an experience for people to discover music that might become their favorite. If you give them all the information, the experience becomes watered down.

What does anonymity mean to you in today’s world?

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Anonymity was just part of a movement, counter to what was happening when I started. We’re always looking for something different and for ways to identify with our own. 10, 15 years ago, you wore clothes that represented the music you listened to. Or you might have drove certain cars, or went to certain places. Today everyone listens to a lot of stuff but I don’t know if the sub-culture elements are as strong as they used to be. And I think those elements are important for music outside of the pop realm.

I remember as a kid, during high school, I worked at a little indie label and distro house in San Francisco, IDC, during the summers. They had records, they pressed vinyl, and it was the first time I listened to jungle, original rave stuff. It was a mix by AK1200. It was really interesting, what is this stuff? I couldn’t find out anything about it so I had to dig and try to find venues where some of the DJs played. I looked at how people dressed. It was a certain culture they latched on to that I was curious about.

Are you hoping that your music might help something like that to happen again?

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That’s the goal. I want people to listen and embrace and take it into their lifestyle, what they wear, the way they talk about music. I think there’s something powerful about that.