Giraffage and Slow Magic @ Union Transfer with Daktyl.
Text and images by Holli Stephens.
The reverberation from the music of the “So Cute!” tour’s performers could be heard within a block radius of Union Transfer last Thursday night. Giraffage teamed up with the masked Slow Magic for a night of wild live drum beats and more intimate, slowed down remixes.
Daktyl started off the night, setting an upbeat tone, trying to get the crowd moving around with a series of remixes.
Slow Magic appeared on stage sporting his box-like LED animal mask and a set of drum sticks. The crowd did not seemed prepared for the event that followed. Slow Magic picked up one of the two drums he was playing and placed it directly into the crowd. He hopped down from the stage and segued into his next song amongst his screaming fans.
San Jose native Charlie Yin, otherwise known as Giraffage, played hits off his first EP, No Reason, and a remix of “Ignition.” He even remixed Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dog’s Out?” and Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA.”
As an encore, Slow Magic and Giraffage collaborated on a couple more songs including “So Cute!”
Prior to his set, we caught up with Giraffage backstage to talk about his journey as a musician, Philadelphia and his Thanksgiving plans.
How has touring been with Slow Magic and Daktyl? What are you most excited for on the So Cute! tour?
It has been great. I’ve toured with Slow Magic a bunch in the past so I already know he’s a really good dude. He gives a super good live show. It’s my first time touring with Daktyl and he’s honestly one of my favorite people ever. He’s such a nice dude. I’m really excited to go to San Fransisco because I’m from there. It’s going to be the biggest show I’ve ever done in San Fransisco and I think we’ve already sold most of the tickets. It’s almost sold out and it’s still like a month and a half away. My parents are gonna be there, which will be cool. It’s gonna be fun to go to my hometown and play a show. The venue is the Regency Ballroom.
You started out as a political economics major and then switched over to making music. Had you been making music prior to this?
I was making music all through out high school and college and was originally going to go into marketing when I graduated. But my music started picking up steam midway through college, so I was able to segue straight into music as opposed to a marketing gig. It was really good timing.
What moment for you really made you realize that you wanted to be a musician?
I’m not sure. I’d been doing music for a while and always considered myself to be a musician. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine doing shows and tours and stuff. I guess, after I wrote my first song, I kinda considered myself more a musician.
Being a California native, what is it like coming to Philadelphia for you?
We literally got in at 2 pm or 3 pm. Every time I’m in Philly, it’s for a show and I’m here for less than 24 hours, so I never get the chance to explore too much. I honestly don’t know too much about Philly even though I’ve been here four or five times. I had Philly cheesesteaks the first couple of times I’ve been to Philly. To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed but I think I just went to the wrong spots. I didn’t ask any locals where the best cheesesteaks are.
What about comparing East Coast to West Coast music scenes?
It’s a little different. I feel like Philly is more into indie rock more than electronic stuff. There’s a lot of crossover though these days and a lot of pop music definitely is leaning towards electronic music. I come from a very indie rock background and started playing guitar and drums at a very young age, so I definitely try to draw a lot of influence from that type of scene. My major markets are definitely on the West Coast because there is more of an electronic focus but there are a lot of crossovers, especially in places like Philly.
What was festival season like for you and how does it compare to doing more traditional touring?
I’ve done a bunch of festivals this year. It was crazy. Festival season just ended and I was literally doing two or three festivals every single week, all the way from March to August. It was hectic. After this tour, I’m done for a while. I finally get to just rest and work on new music.
I definitely try to switch it up. People come to see us because they know our music already, versus at a festival, where they might of heard my name in passing and wanted to check me out. So, I have to be a little more assessable than I usually am. And there are bigger crowds too, especially these days. Festivals are more for the experience of going and getting fucked up with friends. I cater to it with that in mind.
Is winter usually a slow time for you?
Usually, yeah. I think it holds true for the entire industry. Winter is a shitty time to tour because Christmas and all of that stuff and Thanksgiving. Most people just take the winter to write and do festivals.
So what are your plans for Thanksgiving?
I’m gonna be on tour. The thing is, we have a few off days during Thanksgiving, so we’re actually going to someone on tour’s house and just having this giant Thanksgiving dinner there with her family. It’s gonna be cool. We’re gonna have a traditional, nice Thanksgiving. Like turkeys and shit.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 
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