LINVILLAIN. New Mexico’s Virtual Vigilante of Graphic Arts

Andrew Linville, goes by the moniker Linvillain. This virtual vigilante of computer graphics is breaking out of his cell and is escaping the normality of art. New Mexico as his technological easel and the world as his interconnected canvas, this man is ready to create stunning works of art.
As the world evolves along with its born creatures, so does culture and art in direct subsequent effect. Look closely, but don’t blink… This is the evolution of art in the making.
Please welcome LINVILLAIN to the storm!

Q1: Welcome to our downpour! For the unknowing readers and soon-to-be fans, where can we trace the origin of your journey back to? Walk us through the beginning days of LINVILLAIN!

A1: I’ve always had the desire to DJ and make art for the longest time. I remember in high school I had asked the local service DJ in my hometown, DJ Kirk (Rest In Peace) to take me along and learn from him. He took me along on a few shows and taught me the basic etiquette for being a DJ. Learning about the effort that goes into being a DJ, and as a performer, always stuck with me, as well as gave me respect for the craft.
A few years later, I worked as a wedding DJ out in Albuquerque New Mexico, where I learned how to handle being on the mic, as well as teaching the late family members of the wedding party how to do the ‘cha-cha slide’. Although I respect the work, it just didn’t feel fulfilling to me.
I would DJ house parties here and there, trying to meet people and network with new peers. As a way to say hello and build up my graphic design career, I made logos for the entire artist crew called Sub Culture. Doing so helped me begin my freelance work of event flyers and artist logos, which is my favorite art to make.
I went through a few years of being in a reclusive relationship. Following that, I went through a journey of trying to get back out there and follow my passions again.
Music is such an amazing aspect to life because it can be a vessel to express so many emotions, as well as to feel validation by the energy the music inspires. In some way, I always enjoyed neurofunk DnB as it is such a high energy genre, that it was a sort of therapy for me, to let out all the feelings in a productive and creative way.
I understood that there wasn’t much demand for my kind of music in the local Albuquerque scene, at least playing in clubs, was unlikely because of my music tastes. I honestly saw the underground and outdoor events as a more limit-free platform for playing a wider range of music, so I chose to be more active in those environments at first.
I became good friends with a group of people that formed into Unify MTN Soundz, out of Durango Colorado. I love these guys because they truly inspire an environment of expression and positivity, and would never ask you to limit yourself in your mediums of expression. Around that time I began making custom DJ sets on my APC40 using a DJ template that ill.gates had made and shared online. The Unify Guys would have me play sets out in southern Colorado nature. Being such a nervous DJ starting out, their support helped me become more comfortable at performing. They also brought me on as their graphic artist, which is always my favorite festival to help market and brand every year.
The Linvillain name was born at their first festival, One Vibration, inspired by a trying to embody the evil and nefarious nature of the style of music I enjoy mixing. My last name is Linville, so it was honestly super easy to formulate, although I honestly considered Flynn Villain but it just didn’t seem right at the time.
The very next summer I made some wonderful new friends, which culminated into forming the collective GrimeApple alongside my good friend Dustin Smithson, a.k.a. Papa Beats, which was inspired by wholesome goobers and a fanatic but playful obsession with pineapples. From there we have been organizing and holding events with a positive, energetic, and supportive atmosphere. Doing so allowed me to meet even more wonderful people who aligned and enjoyed the music I loved to put out there, all the while picking up new skills and refining both my visual art and my DJ sets.
To be honest and to summarize, my growth was because of my decision to be as authentic as possible when I express myself through the DJ and visual art mediums. This was followed by so many people, promoters, and collectives to take a chance on me and gave me that platform to do so early on, and then to be surrounded by truly authentic and supportive people. I couldn’t appreciate those people enough, as I’m in a place in my life where I feel so fulfilled to be involved with such amazing things thanks to them. A goal of mine with GrimeApple is to provide a platform for talented artists and DJs, as well as promote an atmosphere of growth and true creativity.
I feel blessed to be a part of a very positive and supportive community, because I wouldn’t have been able to flourish without their kindness. Mad love to the New Mexico and Colorado scenes

Q2: What sort of attributes and or skill-sets would someone need to be in your shoes today? What tricks and tips can you give to a new, yet, aspiring artist?

A2: This applies to both visual artists and music artists:
Honesty to self and knowing your worth!
Know who you are and what inspires you! Your values and principles are important. Work with those you respect, and don’t sacrifice things to get ahead. So many talented producers and artists just starting out will come across people that will try to convince them that they need to team up with them to get ahead. It simply is not true, but I would take the offers as a sign that they are on the right track.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, either! It’s definitely okay to want to do your best and put out the best form of your art, but I can’t tell you enough how I’ve seen people hold themselves back because they were being too self-critical. Many artists and musicians feel this way sometimes. It’s understandable to want to improve, but don’t ever doubt yourself, or think that you’re not good enough.
Also, DJs: if you love a song by an artist but can’t find it, simply message and ask! I can’t tell you how many of my favorite tracks I got just by asking. Music is meant to be heard, so of course artists want their music played out!
Lastly, have fun and enjoy yourself!

Q3: Inside and outside the realms of dance-music and its tributaries, who is it that inspires you the most?

A3: Getter for sure. The dude developed a distinct musical style and is extremely talented. From that he was able to evolve his musical, which has been really cool to witness across the years.
Hearing what happened to him during his Visceral Tour in Houston was really upsetting. He never deserved that at all. He had evolved into a new musical style and put his heart out there. I truly feel it was some sort of marketing oversight, or a lack of fans who have been following his music closely, to cause that kind of misunderstanding. But he played out what felt right to him, and that earned so much of my admiration and respect.
To me, it seems like many artists, even bigger touring artists, are sometimes challenged to find this balance of expressing themselves fully but also wanting to please the crowd when it comes to producing their music or building a set. It’s normal and totally understandable. Getter went straight for his musical shift in a purely artistic way to put it, and himself, out there. I couldn’t respect a human being enough. In any form of artistry, those who really put their entire soul into their work takes an incredible amount of courage. That’s a quality about him that I really look up to.
And I just have to say, His track “Something New” is in my personal opinion one of the greatest EDM tracks of my lifetime. To me, it feels like a thematic ode to watching the sunrise after a night out. Sometimes, a great song can feel like a gift.
ill.gates is someone I also admire because he is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and is someone who just loves to share knowledge and the craft. Thanks to his publicly-shared APC40 Ableton DJ Template, I was able to really explore DJing as a craft, and gave me the tools I needed as well.
One of my proudest moments in my DJ career was to start out on his template, only to 4 years later be opening for him and Mr. Bill at Meow Wolf as Mr Bill.Gates! Those kind of “circular” life moments are just so fulfilling to experience.
Oh! Also, during that show, ill.gates happily allowed me to record him doing a shout out for my yearly charity event, Noise For Toys. Thanks to him, we had a very successful event and raised over $1500 and gathered a ton of toys for the holidays, so I just wanted to publicly thank him for the help.

Q4: What is one fun, surprising or outright interesting fact that you want your fans to know about you?

A4: I used to be like, really, really good at Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). I even played tournaments back in the day! Its’ been a goal of mine to get an DDR arcade cabinet and load it up with custom songs and patterns. If anyone knows where I can find one, please hit me up!

Q5: Is there anyone or anything in your scope that you want to experiment and or collaborate with?

A5: Although I make a variety of still images and graphics, one of my current goals is to develop I typically like to create abstract or glitch-based artwork,
I feel like I definitely need to develop stronger skill sets in 3D modeling and animation to do so, but I would absolutely love to collaborate with Beeple or Android Jones on something!

Q6: What has been your favorite piece you have completed and or started?

A6: It would have to be this flyer for Ethereal Music Festival! It was my first time working with this team. It led up to so many opportunities and new connections, as well as being my first camping festival to attend and play at! The homies will be able to spot my old moniker on the lineup as well.

Q7: Who do you see putting in the work and effort that deserves some extra credit and recognition? Give them a healthy shout-out!

A7: xBylssid has been someone I’ve definitely seen put in the hard work. She’s been constantly surprising me with her bass music and bass house. She was recently signed onto G-MAFIA Records out of Brazil as well!
Enmity is one of my favorite local producers here in New Mexico! I love his tracks and I’d love to see him play out more. His track “Don’t Stop” just has this wild mid tempo flow to it that I really enjoy.
Big shout out to Zach Prince for recently assembling and launching Drama Records going out of Albuquerque as well! Makes me happy to hear more heavy DnB being put out there.
Wyatt Lawson has been keeping things fresh with awesome trap music production as well!
Rorshac is one of my favorite experimental producers. He tends to make more halftime-styled tracks, but they draw me in every time!
Liquid Pizza is one of the more passionate and persistent producers here in New Mexico, and has successfully built up her own loyal and enthusiastic following. She has a very unique style too which I enjoy!
Teknique is someone with a similar passion for the gnarliest of tunes, and is constantly improving his production and DJ sets! Dude slays it live with his midi-fighter as well. For a proper neural assault, check out his Transmission Overload track!
Lastly, I’m super proud of the producers on my GrimeApple team, especially Arkeus, Ejecht, and N30N! All of them have made great progress in their bass music production and have been putting out some really fantastic music lately. N30N just dropped his EP that I highly recommend people scope out.