2SOON: From Texas Roots to Phoenix Festivals and Beyond on the On Locations Sessions at Decadence 12/30/22

In this high-energy Virtual Session, The DJ Sessions host Darran Bruce sits down with Phoenix-based DJ and producer 2SOON during Decadence Festival to talk about his journey, creative process, and vision for the future. Originally from Texas and now a staple of the Relentless Beats roster, 2SOON has built his reputation on delivering sets filled with energy, madness, and emotion. With over a decade of experience behind the decks, he continues to evolve his sound while staying connected to the roots of house and bass music.

2SOON reflects on his rebranding from Chromatic to his current moniker, explaining the playful pun that also allows him to experiment with aliases like “Too Early” for house and “Too Late” for techno. He shares how industry feedback and support from heavyweights like Excision – who has played his originals and remixes over the past two years – has fueled his confidence and opened doors toward potential label releases.

The discussion covers the balance between intimate club nights and massive festival stages, his philosophy on defining success through fan connection, and his approach to navigating the business side of music through contracts, riders, and merchandise. He also speaks about creating community anthems like “Sparta,” which has resonated with the fitness world as a motivational soundtrack.

Looking ahead, 2SOON teases multiple releases, showcase projects, and expanded edit packs, all designed to keep his fans moving. This episode captures the mindset of an artist who blends humor, humility, and hustle while carving out his unique path in the electronic music scene.

Show Notes 

Host: Darran Bruce
Guest: 2SOON
Location: VIP Platinum Tent, Decadence Festival – Phoenix, AZ

Overview:
Darran Bruce speaks with DJ and producer 2SOON about his journey from Texas roots to Phoenix nightlife, his evolution as an artist, and his growing presence in the bass and house music scenes.

Topics Covered:

• Moving from Texas to Phoenix and over 12 years DJing
• Style in three words: Energy, madness, and emotion
• Rebranding from Chromatic to 2SOON and the pun behind the name
• Industry support from Excision and recognition for his originals and remixes
• Balancing intimate club sets with large-scale festival shows
• Defining success as inspiring and connecting with even one fan
• Dream event setup: LED walls, liquor, carnival rides, food, and cold water
• Inspirations from meeting artists backstage and online networking
• “Sparta” with District 13 as a motivational track in the fitness world
• Balancing a day job in IT with long-term music ambitions
• Importance of merchandise as a key artist revenue stream
• Upcoming label releases, edit packs, and showcases planned for 2023

Call to Action:
Follow 2SOON on Instagram @2soonmusic and explore his latest tracks, edits, and merch.
Discover more exclusive interviews and live sessions at thedjsessions.com.

[Darran]
Welcome back to another episode of the DJ sessions presents the on-location sessions where we feature the best DJs, producers, and industry professionals from around the world. I’m your host Darran and right now we’re sitting in the VIP Platinum tent media section with none other than 2SOON at Decadence. How’s it going tonight 2SOON?

[2SOON]
What’s going on man?

[Darran]
Yeah, how’s it been so far?

[2SOON]
Great.

[Darran]
Yeah, we’ve been able to catch a couple of the sets with a couple of featured interviews, interviewees that we had on the show, Moon Boots, and oh come on Darran. I sometimes forget there’s so many DJs, so many names.

[2SOON]
Yeah, I know.

[Darran]
But who was one of the first DJs that opened? Now I can’t remember who it was. Pauly D.

Over in that tent. Black V-neck? No.

Chewy? Chewy! Yeah, Chewy.

That was an awesome set too. But you are a relentless beats like resident DJ.

[2SOON]
Yeah, I mean I’ve been playing with them for five, six years now.

[Darran]
Yeah, yeah. And you’re not originally from the Phoenix area. No, I’m originally from Texas.

From Texas.

[2SOON]
Yeah.

[Darran]
How long ago did you move out here to Phoenix? I moved out here in 06. Okay, 06.

You were DJing for 12 years. Yeah. How would you describe your style of music in three words?

[2SOON]
Energy, madness, and emotion.

[Darran]
And I want to know a little bit more about this Twitter post that came out the other day. Merry Christmas you filthy animals.

[2SOON]
No, so I did a remix or I made a flip of Excision and Willie’s track Name Drop and you know I was just like a promo I decided to release it on Christmas. Mm-hmm. So and that’s where the whole like you know that post came from just you know saying hey here you go here’s a Christmas present.

[Darran]
When I saw that it reminded me of a discord message I put out to my resident DJs saying you know filthy DJs so I had to like ask you what inspired that. And that you you actually have kind of a would you say a working relationship with Excision or have been well received promoting your tracks? I saw something else about that.

Can you tell us about that?

[2SOON]
So it’s not a working relationship you know yeah hopefully soon you know not 2SOON but no so I’ve sent him a couple of my tracks you know and he’s he supported me you know the last year and a half almost two years now. Played a couple of my remixes. He’s played out some of my original stuff as well you know so that’s kind of like where our relationship is.

Hopefully some label releases in the future you know we’ll see. And when you play events do you get a writer for the events you play? For some of the local events yeah.

For RB I’m still a local so like you know I’ll get a contract and stuff like that but like for outside stuff yeah I have a writer.

[Darran]
What’s something we could find on your writer that would be kind of one of those far-out things like the brown M&Ms?

[2SOON]
I mean I really don’t have anything like crazy on my writer at least not yet you know it’s pretty simple you know some Red Bull some water some fruit nothing too crazy. It’s a hot prize but that’s about it.

[Darran]
Awesome. Do you prefer DJing larger-scale events or do you perform more of the intimate clubs? I saw there’s something come up here soon called is it Boom?

[2SOON]
That was last night that was last night yeah. Where was that at? It’s a club in on Mill called Takasa and me and my buddy District 13 and a couple other homies we played that.

We did a house set actually. Okay. So super like left field for us.

I mean I started with house so like it’s going back to my roots just playing so like a little pre-party you know get the crowd ready for tonight for the weekend and so it was a lot of fun.

[Darran]
I’m still learning the Phoenix landscape of the nightclubs in the different districts and everything. We kind of work a little bit with Aura nightclub. Okay.

So it’s pretty close to Aura.

[2SOON]
Pretty close around that area? Yeah.

[Darran]
Okay cool. Have you ever seen the big yellow truck that drives around with the LED walls on it yet?

[2SOON]
I really don’t go down to Mill too often or to Tempe.

[Darran]
That’s all good. We drive it all over town. Okay.

We’ll have to get you in at some time but if you can host an event without any limitations and you can have five things at that event what would it be?

[2SOON]
Oh I mean LED walls for sure. You know you got to showcase the logos. You know the art that like some of these artists put behind their projects.

Mm-hmm. Liquor of course you got to have you got to you got to get the blood flowing. You got to get people moving.

I think some carnival rides would be fun. Food for sure. I mean I’m a big guy you know I get hungry.

I know everybody else does too at some point. And cold water.

[Darran]
Cold water.

[2SOON]
Yeah. All right.

[Darran]
Cold water. See in Seattle where we’re from we don’t have a problem with cold water. You know we did have the corndog bites though.

Okay. We walked around the whole park and the one food truck we found was the corndog bites. Okay.

I really like those. Dip it in cheese, dip it in mustard. I’m a foodie myself so that had to be one I would have to be one of my main things if I hosted an event as well.

Being part of the RB crew and I’ve been doing this for over 12 years. Who’s the most inspiring person you’ve ever met backstage and tell us why that person inspired you.

[2SOON]
Oh that’s a tough one. Put me on the spot here man. Most inspiring probably see because I really don’t come backstage too often.

You know I like being out in the crowd so like it honestly hasn’t really been like here like with an RB event. I’ve met people like outside of RB shows. You know I’ve met so there’s a little funny story so like I rebranded to 2SOON.

I used to go by Chromatic. Okay. And I rebranded because there was another guy that goes by Chromatic and he got signed to Never Say Die a couple years back and so I was like you know if I really want to be taken seriously I have to have like a different name.

So and I actually met him a couple weeks ago you know and got to like talking to him and he gave me some words of advice and things like that. Some of the smaller not smaller but like see be great artists that I’ve met through just like other connections have just given me a lot of like words of wisdom on how to like navigate through the music industry and stuff like that. So there hasn’t been like a specific person.

It’s just been a lot of different artists.

[Darran]
I’m glad you brought up the name changing thing because I was gonna ask you what is the meaning behind the name 2SOON.

[2SOON]
Okay so when I was going through the name change I tried finding a whole bunch of different or like I was going through a whole bunch of different names in my head and I didn’t want to make the same mistake again so I would like look up different spellings with like different numbers different like characters just to make sure everything was taken and finally I was like you know what okay maybe something funny something that can like there’s like a callback to it like a pun or something so that’s where the 2SOON came from. You know and then because I also like playing house and like my guilty pleasure is techno so like if I play a house set you know like a tech house set I’ll like brand it as a too early set right.

If I play a techno set a little bit more darker more ominous a too late set you know so that’s kind of where like the 2SOON moniker came into play you know and then like just the the pun behind it you know it’s really kind of taken off and that’s kind of like why I decided to go with that name.

[Darran]
And you mentioned you don’t go backstage very often. You do your research you’ve been doing this for a while. Have you ever gotten do you still get shy in the presence of some bigger name DJs or like kind of a little intimidated like wanting to go up and shake their hand when you know they’re probably gonna be one of the coolest people you can ever meet in the entire world and they’re really awesome I mean and just like I don’t know if I want to go say something to them or maybe I’ll say something.

[2SOON]
Has that ever does that still happen to you? Not so much because like over the last couple years I’ve slowly started to like reach out to like other artists not necessarily like some of the bigger names like Odessa or Zedd or anybody like that but I’ve reached out to like other artists like over social media and just like follow them started conversations like over Twitter Instagram whatever and slowly but surely they started to recall my name and you know be like oh hey man you know and I send them private messages send them music for feedback they send me unreleased stuff so kind of like building that relationship never more with them so like meeting them in person I’m like oh hey you know I’m 2SOON oh hey man how you been you know so hasn’t really been that like shock value yet but again I also don’t really go backstage too often so.

[Darran]
Awesome yeah it’s I remember Paul Oakenfold I think was one of my first DJs I ever interviewed this is before we started doing the DJ sessions and I was kind of sitting there going I’ve listened to his CD the Global Underground CD so many times I’m now finally sitting on the couch getting to interview him and it was it was just crazy but you know sometimes I can be like I can’t believe I’m here we’re sitting next to somebody you know but it comes in with the turf you know like you said you kind of build up a working relationship with them you get to know them you find out they’re really awesome cool people approachable willing to give advice yeah you know and help out you know they were the same same position you were in when you started you know how do you define success as a DJ is a or a producer is it a beat for top 10 hit going on a tour or what are

[2SOON]
your thoughts on that for me success is that one person in the crowd that gets inspired by you or that listens to your stuff and is like yo this is good you know that will send you that message you know just saying hey man I love your set that to me is success you know because that was the whole reason of doing this was like it’s love for music you know reaching out to people giving them an escape giving them you know something to do outside of their day to day so like I’ve had like plenty of people come up to me and say you know great set and stuff like that that to me I feel like okay I’ve done my job you know what I mean yeah so that to me is success absolutely I can relate to that

[Darran]
when I get some feedback on an interview or something like you asked that question whoa you know even the guests I might have on the show dang that was a good interview and I’m like it was okay you know you never know but you know success doesn’t always last forever for an artist what do you do to save up for the future what do you invest your earnings or your time in do you work in a day job you have a career and this is a side or are you full in

[2SOON]
100% of this right now yeah I do have a day job mm-hmm I mean the goal is you know full-time right now I’m working in IT so that’s my day job you know my nine-to-five type thing but music’s always been my passion so I get something that I want to do like full-time with with my music like part of it is like creating something that people can listen to on a regular basis like over time mm-hmm one of my like most recognized songs right now it’s Sparta with my buddy district 13 okay and it’s really big in the workout community mm-hmm so that alone like I know that’ll like carry over over the years because it’s just like a motivational track mm-hmm you know yeah

[Darran]
we just interviewed district at district 13 at a gold rush yeah that was a fun show that was a really fun show my first actual relentless beat show okay coming down here and seeing the production value and everything that goes in yeah so what relentless beats does down here you know we’re super excited to be here on site you know we’ll let you get back going now to the show is there anything else you want to let our DJ sessions fans know about before we let

[2SOON]
you go I mean you can I mean I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff planned for next year I got a couple releases some label releases coming out soon so keep an eye out for that I’m gonna put out a showcase here pretty soon I’ve done some edit packs in the past and I haven’t done one in like two years so and I’ve had a yeah just grinding and putting out more music man lots of stuff coming in 2023

[Darran]
and beyond where can people find out more information about it 2SOON music

[2SOON]
on all my socials every literally everything I’ve got links to all my stuff on my IG I got a merch store if you guys want to buy some stuff support the artists you know how important is merch for a DJ to have you absolutely huge that’s one of their main moneymakers like you I mean you play shows yeah whatever you guys your team that you got to pay you have to pay for the flights and whatnot but the money comes in from the merch yep so if you want to support the artists you want them to like actually make their money make their music by the merch by the merch all right absolutely good piece of

[Darran]
advice there and we got that we got the drops of where people can go 2SOON that’s the number two yep s o n correct yeah all right cool well it’s a pleasure having you on the show we know we’re gonna see you play tomorrow night yeah out there for the RB show at decadence in Phoenix Arizona and thank you so much for coming on the DJ man thanks for having me absolutely on that note don’t forget to go to our website the DJ sessions calm find us on insta Twitter meta Facebook or wherever you want to call that one and tick tock and but everything’s on our website the DJ sessions calm also check out our virtual reality nightclubs download our app on our website we do 600 news stories every month exclusive mixes exclusive interviews on-site interviews we’re around but you can only find out if you go to our website the DJ sessions calm this is 2SOON I’m Darran coming from decadence in Phoenix Arizona and we’re ready to have him drop the ball tomorrow on the beatbox busting the beatbox bus stage yes sir and remember on the DJ sessions the music never stops