Two buddies, Justin Escalona and Gianni Taylor, got together to make music. And thus, Buddiez was born.

With hooks like “we’re not the Chainsmokers but we should still get closer,” the friendly duo has been producing some witty bangers since day one.

On this week’s episode of the L.A. Weekly weekly podcast, host and fellow buddy Brian Calle chats with Justin and Gianni about their musical vibe and hopes for the future.

“The vibe started off as a joke of trying to become the next Chainsmokers, so it’s all pop/EDM-sounding music. So it started as a joke, but then we got going and it started sounding good,” answers Buddiez. “So we have an electronic album coming out that kind of has its own little tone now. It similar to the Chainsmokers, that was the inspiration, but now we’ve spun it into our own thing.”

Their goal as they begin to pick up speed? “Hopefully people start saying: ‘I hope to become the next Buddiez.’”

Buddiez is eyeing collaborations with other top artists of today, including one super talented singer/songwriter.

“Have you ever heard of uh … Olivia O’Brien,” asks Justin. “Olivia, if you’re listening to this podcast right now, don’t be afraid to reply to my DM.”

“As well as I know you [Justin] I actually believe this is the whole reason for the album,” laughs Brian. “I appreciate the ambition.”

“I know I joke around a lot, but the real reason why I made this album is because I wanted to make a project that was very transparent – I documented the whole process on my YouTube channel while we were making it – and I wanted to show people that you can do whatever the fuck you want to do in life,” says Justin sincerely. “Because I literally didn’t know how to sing when we started this project, and now we have a full album.”

Made in two weeks in their apartment closet, Buddiez eponymous album drops today, March 17th. Find them on Spotify and check out their website buddiezmusic.com.

To learn more about the artists listen to the podcast here: Spotify, Apple Podcasts or at Cumulus Los Angeles.

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