Featured Photo by Cadee Havard
Story by Cadee Havard
It is no secret that Middle Tennessee State University’s Recording Industry Department is bursting at the seams with talented musicians and songwriters. In this gathering of talent, there is a thriving culture of electronic music that spreads outside the Bragg Building and even on campus in general. Whether you’re an artist, a friend of an artist or a general enjoyer of live music, there is something for everyone’s music taste happening in Murfreesboro’s weekend music scene.
Graveyard Gallery is a local venue in Murfreesboro that hosts a variety of music genres. September, they welcomed a group of four DJs to the floor including Spincycle, FVNGVS, Devoid and Gray J. While Gray J is from Knoxville, the rest of these DJs are located primarily in Murfreesboro and are current or former MTSU students.
While it might not be common knowledge to the casual music listener, there are several sub-genres of electronic dance music, or EDM. Industrial bass, dubstep and D&B were featured in this show. Even within these categories are other sub-genres like riddim, which is a sub-genre of dubstep that incorporates repetitive sub-bass and percussion motifs. Evan Morton, also known as DJ FVNGVS (pronounced fungus), is an MTSU student DJ who writes and performs riddim dubstep music.
In the following Q&A, Morton talks all things shows, Graveyard Gallery and the Murfreesboro EDM scene.
What did you enjoy most about your set at Graveyard Gallery?
“Graveyard Gallery is an insanely cool venue, and I’m so happy to have finally played my own set there. It’s a perfect venue for electronic artists to play a show at. I loved the hazers at the venue because it removed a lot of the pre-show nerves since I couldn’t see the crowd. The venue has a scummy, gritty charm to it, and I do really mean that as a compliment. The adrenaline made it so much easier to play and perform compared to when I am just messing around with my board at home. Overall my set at Graveyard made me genuinely feel like a DJ for the first time.”
What goes into preparing to perform a set?
“You could theoretically throw songs together willy-nilly, but it’s better to have a general idea of what you’re playing. You don’t wanna give the crowd tonal whiplash. For the same reason, it is important to have good transitions. If you’re playing some more melodic music like future bass or color bass, you may need to pay attention to the keys of the songs when you’re selecting them. I try to keep a good mix of some modern and old-school riddim, which doesn’t require much key planning. You can always cut the low-end on most songs for riddim transitions to make it smooth, and it also makes for really fun double drops. Last thing: You can’t be afraid to be yourself during a set. I go up and do all the silly hand motions and dances that I do when I listen to stuff alone in my car or my room. Once you start just saying “screw it,” you can have so much more fun when you’re playing in front of a crowd.”
How did this show happen?
“This show was booked and planned by my friend, whose stage name is Gray J. It was his birthday at midnight, so he wanted to close the show by celebrating. He’s actually from the East TN tri-cities area like me. I met him through my friend Casey when he took me to a house party where Gray J DJ’d as well as Spincycle. I met Devoid on campus because we had a class and are in Society of Electronic Music together. I’ve seen a few of her sets as Pseudosodomy before, and honestly, she has so much energy for this stuff I don’t even know where it comes from, but it’s really cool. I recommend seeing Pseudosodomy at Graveyard Gallery if you see a flyer for it soon.”
Describe the atmosphere of an EDM show.
“EDM shows are really cool, and it’s easy for the right song in a set to bring a bunch of random people together. Even if you’re strangers, if you and some other guy are both hype about a song you can like grab his arm and headbang with him. It’s an insane feeling. It’s kind of scary as a performer to go up on stage, I kinda don’t know what to say sometimes. I always go up and try to say something hype but it just comes out like ‘Yeah, I’m FVNGVS and I’m going to play some dubstep tonight, so yeah let’s just do it.’ Then I press play and do my best to keep up the energy, even if that means being silly. I don’t think it’s a fun set unless it’s a little silly. The energy from artists also really depends on the genre that they’re DJing; Spincycle played some deep-dub with a good mix-in of riddim that was good to start with because it was more laid back than my set, and it was a good transition. However, my set might have been a little awkward going into Devoid’s because Devoid does some really neat industrial mid-tempo stuff. Her stuff is more dancy and mine is a little more for stomping around violently. Then there’s Gray J, who’s just an insanely talented artist. He can really play any genre; I remember hearing some stuff that would be headlining at festivals, like Illenium and Subtronics.”
Do you have any additional comments on the Murfreesboro/MTSU EDM scene?
“I’ve lived here in Murf for about a year now, and so far I’ve made a good amount of friends that are into EDM. It far surpasses the amount of like-minded people back home in Bristol, for sure. If I didn’t move here I can almost guarantee I wouldn’t DJ. I’m really thankful for our scene, yet I believe there’s still much to improve on in terms of EDM in Murfreesboro. We have a ton of insanely talented producers who I know outside and inside of the university, and while some gatekeeping is really essential, I believe many of our underground artists are far too underrated. Also, this set would not have gone as well as it did if it weren’t for my best friend, Jake (Quarkee), for helping me find some really cool tracks for my set. I’m thankful to have as good a friend as him.”
To keep up with FVNGVS and his upcoming shows, check out his Instagram.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
