Cody Farwell is just as friendly, warm, and approachable on stage at the Echoplex as he is sitting across from me sipping his milk tea slush at Boba Time in Koreatown. A lover of all things K-pop and Nintendo-related (he was interrupted midway through our chat by a friend texting him to play Mario Kart), I quickly learned that Cody has more layers than an onion on growth hormones.
An OG member of Team Supreme, the Los Angeles-based label dedicated to keeping intelligent beat music alive, as well as the bassist for The Adicts, Authentic Sounds of Silverlake (A.S.S.), and AK and Her Kalashnikovs, Cody can pretty much do it all — which explains why under his Snorlax moniker, he’s always trying something new, something that’s never been done before. Dubbed “one of the most eccentric members of Team Supreme”, Snorlax has explored toybeat, jungle, and genres that didn’t exist until he dreamt them up.
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At the latest Team Supreme showcase at the Echoplex, Cody made his debut under a new alias Goodnight Cody. Accompanied by a live string quartet, his set was a beautifully constructed sweet lullaby with classical orchestration. Cody jumped between his MPC, bass guitar, and vocals, all while leading the quartet. “I was definitely stressing on stage trying to mix the strings while performing the songs. Usually there’s even more silliness,” he explains.
The idea for performing with a string quartet came about while Cody was working on his forthcoming debut album, to be released on Daedelus‘ Magical Properties imprint later this year. A few tracks off the album have string arrangements that he wrote specifically for them. Yes, Goodnight Cody is the Ludovico Einaudi of the electronic music world.
The new concept album is based off a children’s book written inside Cody’s brain. “When I write a song, I start with an image in my head of a cartoon-based environment,” Cody describes, “I love putting music to a setting.” If we’re lucky, Cody will have the picture book physically or digitally manufactured with the release of the album.
Check out a video of the performance:As for Team Supreme, he has high hopes for his crew’s plans for world domination. Most of the members met through taking a class taught by Steve Nalepa at Chapman University a few years back. Cody got acquainted by playing a show with Virtual Boy, Preston (of Penthouse Penthouse) and (King) Henry’s joint venture. “I went to a BBQ and met all the other guys. It was love at first BBQ,” jokes Cody. Now on their 119th volume of their weekly beat cyphers, they’re an irrepressible force in the underground beat scene.
With sold-out gigs, Penthouse Penthouse touring all of North America, Djemba Djemba and Awe killing it, and their steadily flowing beat cyphers continuing to take over Soundcloud, Team Supreme just refuses to stop. The collective have been discussing opening a music school to not only expand their brand, but at the same time give back to the music community. Mike P, Preston, Elos, and Colta are all already teaching music in LA, so it’s totally feasible that the rest of the crew follow suit.
“I want to start workshops for kids and anybody else that wants to attend. I think we can expand Team Supreme into a much bigger platform than just shows and releases. Something that gets everyone more involved.”
We dig beat music:
Team Supreme is an Equal Opportunity Mixtape Provider
Crate Expectations: Daedelus Reveals His Daily Soundtrack
Next Hype: Awe
Kim does not hate everything — @keemhatesyou
