Social House discuss their single “Magic In The Hamptons”, working with Lil Yachty and what’s next for them

LA based producers and artists Michael “Mikey” Foster and Charles “Scootie” Anderson, the duo that makes up Social House, are blowing up the charts with their debut single “Magic In The Hamptons” featuring Lil Yachty.    Although they both grew up in Pittsburgh, they recently made the move to LA to jump start their career, a move that has proved fruitful for them.  Before making the transition into musicians themselves, they produced tracks for such high-profile artists such as Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lopez.  Soon after moving to LA, while working on tracks for other artists, they decided to write a song for themselves.  They knew they had something special with “Magic In The Hamptons (featuring Lil Yachty)”, and Social House was born.  Mikey and Scootie have hit the ground running ever since, with the track reaching over 32 million streams to date.  Staff writer Emily May spoke by phone recently with Mikey and Scootie and discussed the formation of Social House, the success of “Magic In The Hamptons”, collaborating with Lil Yachty and what’s next for them.  You can stay up-to-date with Social House and all upcoming tour dates, videos and new music via their website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.  You can stream and purchase “Magic In The Hamptons” from the following links: SoundCloud, iTunes, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and Tidal.  You can purchase and stream their latest single “Higher” from the following links: SoundCloud, Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Tidal.  Check out the video for “Magic In The Hamptons” below.  The video was directed by Cole Bennett.

You have produced tracks for artists such as Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lopez. What led you guys to transition from producing for others to writing and recording for yourselves and forming Social House?

Scootie- I feel like we had always wanted to be artists. We always felt like we were artists. We just had some down time and a good opportunity to make some music that we really connected with.

Mikey- Yeah, it was interesting because everyone in the rest of the house and all of the other people we had worked with for the day had all gone bowling, or something like that, so me and Scootie were just at the house working and we started a song that we didn’t want to show anybody. We were just like, “Let’s just keep this and make something right now that nobody else can hear, that we can’t sell and that nobody else wants to buy.” So we made it, and we loved it and decided we had to be a group! It is, for sure, something we always wanted to do, though.

Do you feel that your experience so far in the industry has helped you transition into artists yourself, into the other side of the industry, so to speak?

Mikey- Yeah! I think just jumping in the pool helps you to get wet a little bit. With all of the people we’ve been working with, we’ve learned so much during that process. We’ve learned so much about the industry and so much about people and about songs and how to write them and make them better. We’ve had a lot of good advice from so many different people.

Scootie- Yeah, it definitely prepared us!

How do you feel that writing music for yourselves compares with doing music for other artists? Now that you have your own project, how often are you still producing for other artists?

Scootie- Yeah, we’re still producing for other people, as well…producing and writing. I feel like the main difference between creating for other people and creating for yourself is the amount of freedom in what you talk about. If you are working on a song for another artist, you kind-of have to pick their brain and get into their mindset and figure out what story they want to tell. When you are making a song for yourself, it’s free reign because it’s you!

You both grew up in Pittsburgh but recently moved to LA. What prompted you both to move to LA and what do you feel the scene is like in LA compared to Pittsburgh?

Mikey- For me, I kind-of just believe that it was the next stage of my life. I believe God was leading me here so I just literally moved, having never been to LA or smelled the air here and not knowing anybody. I just moved out here and just kind-of risked it all and knew that this was something I wanted and that I had to go where the fire was. I truly believed that my only shot at making it was to go jump in the water.

Scootie- For me it was…pretty spontaneous (laughs). I was only supposed to be in LA for a week to work on another artist’s project. In that week, we made, like, a bunch of really, really cool songs. At the end of the week, I was about to leave and had all of my stuff packed up and was ready to go to the airport and they told me, well Tommy Brown (producer with 4TL Management) told me, “You should stay”. He said this decision right here could potentially change your life. So now we’re here!

Mikey- Scootie had nothing but a book bag that week and we kidnapped him! That’s kind-of really how it went down (laughs)!

You guys have produced songs ranging from a darker, urban feel to a more rhythmic pop sound. What would you say is the inspiration behind your production style?

Scootie- I mean, really, we find inspiration in a lot of different things…damn near anything (laughs).

Mikey- I think, even for “Magic In The Hamptons” and some of the other songs that we are putting out soon, I think that the main inspiration behind it, the driving force, is just having fun with our friends and enjoying the moment a bit more and having songs that reflect that a little bit more outlandish textures and things that people don’t normally hear. Also things that are a bit more celebratory in nature, sounds that sound a bit more wild and bit more eccentric. So that’s kind-of how these one’s are, inspired by our friends and stuff like that…life things.

Your debut single “Magic In The Hamptons” was released recently and has been wildly successful. I read that it’s over 28 million streams so far! Have you guys been surprised at all by how quickly it took off or did you know when you wrote the song that you had something special? What was it like collaborating with Lil Yachty?

Mikey- We are super surprised and extraordinarily grateful. Being totally honest, it’s amazing to think that people have responded the way they have and have added the song to their playlists and seeing their covers online and post pictures with the lyrics. It’s been unbelievable to see that support and to see people enjoying the song like that.

Scootie- The fact that it’s our first song is kind-of crazy (laughs)!

Mikey- It’s unbelievable to think that people have grabbed onto the song like that. It’s just truly humbling. And working with somebody as big as Yachty is, of course, such a blessing. It’s really cool because the song was sent to Coach K who showed it to Yachty.  Yachty loved it and sent a verse back immediately. We actually first met him on the video shoot. It’s kind-of unbelievable how it all happened. It all happened so fast! We are so grateful.

Having collaborating with Lil Yachty, do have any dream collaborations going forward?

Scootie- Yes (laughs)! As far a dream collaborations, I would say Drake, Ari..

Mikey- Chris Martin. I mean, there’s a lot! Travis Scott would be dope to collaborate with.

Scootie- Childish Gambino!

Mikey- Andre 300! Those would be great collaborators. The one’s in the works, though…I don’t know, we can’t tell you that! You’ll just have to be on the lookout for some collaborations (laughs)!

I read that when you two started working together that you just clicked really well. What do you think it is about each other that makes you such compatible writing and producing partners? Why do you feel that you work so well together?

Mikey- I think it’s easy to work with Scootie because he doesn’t have a huge ego that steps in front of him when he talks or presents ideas. We have a cohesion, I think, because…

Scootie- We’ve worked on so many other artists songs together that I feel it kind-of translated over.

Mikey- I think it helps, too, because I know that Scootie is super dope, so I trust him in his decisions and choices. It’s easier when you kind-of, like, have a respect for somebody else work and you don’t want to be rude, as well.

You guys are very positive people and spread positive vibes wherever you go! It’s kind-of your MO. Have you always had such an optimistic approach to music and life? How do you stay grounded and keep perspective and stay positive in such a tough industry and just with the trying times in the world right now?

Scootie- I mean, I feel like it’s such an amazing blessing in itself to be where we are and doing what we are doing and having fun with our friends and just making music that we like, that we love and feel. That’s one of the biggest blessings in itself. I don’t really see how we could not be optimistic (laughs)!

Mikey- It’s very difficult to achieve something you’ve dreamed of your whole life, so sometimes if you lose sight of that, you can not feel positive. If you always remember that this is what you have dreamed about, that this is the magic, then it’s easier to stay positive. People are magic. Even meeting you-thank you for taking your time to talk to us. It’s a blessing even to be having a conversation with you!

You both have a really unique way of finding inspiration, such as doing other activities other then music if you have a creative block and then coming back to your music. How did that process come about? Have you always approached things that way or did that process develop over time?

Mikey- I think our creative process is so weird because everything inspires us. If we don’t feel very musically inclined at the moment, we will take a break and work on something else. We’ll create a t-shirt design or paint something or go out for a jog…really trying to pull life out of ourselves! I think life really makes your music, not really your talent.

You mentioned creating t-shirt designs. Do you make much of your own merch?

Scootie- Well, we’ve been designing some stuff. We just recently started making t-shirts and actually, like, sewing t-shirts.

Mikey- We recently started collaborating with some really dope designers on our merch, because we want to have a heavy role in a lot of the things we do. We also want to take advice from the greats. We have been designing stuff and drawing up ideas and are just ironing out the details with the rest of the team.

I read that the two of you are vegan, which is awesome! I’m vegan, too, and always enjoy meeting fellow vegans! How long have you both been vegan and what led you to make that decision for yourselves?

Scootie– I had decided to become vegan because of some family issues. My dad actually has ALS, so my whole family decided we were going to do the vegan thing with him just to see if it improved at all and found that I actually like being vegan.

Mikey- Ironically, Scootie and I decided to go vegan at the same time. Scootie was out of town, but I happened to just want to become healthier. Over the past year and a half I dedicated myself to becoming more healthy. I lost 70 pounds and changed my diet and worked intensely towards becoming a better and longer living human! I just wanted to feel healthy and live longer. I felt that during the first couple of weeks I had become more energetic and healthy and just got addicted to it. I don’t think I could go back-vegan life forever (laughs)!

You live in a pretty big vegan mecca! LA has so many great vegan places. Do you have a favorite restaurant or bakery or clothing shop?

Scootie- We do!

Mikey- We have a list! Come out with us!

Scootie- If you’re ever here, you can trust us! We know the spots (laughs)!

Mikey- All the spots!

I do make it out there from time to time and have certain spots I always hit up!

Mikey- Don’t hesitate-we’re your lunch dates (laughs)!

You guys are working on some new music! What can you tell me about it? What can people expect from you guys going forward?

Scootie- Expect the unexpected!

Mikey- Expect some interesting drums that you’ve never heard, some choruses you wouldn’t expect and some concepts you aren’t used to.

Scootie- And some vibes that make you just groove!

Mikey- And hopefully all good vibes-all positivity! That’s something people can for sure expect!

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to talk to me! I appreciate it!

Scootie and Mikey- Thank you!

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