Getter (musician)

Early life

Petulla began producing music while in high school, uploading original songs as well as remixes of Far East Movement and Timbaland to his SoundCloud page. He gained recognition when he released songs on labels such as Ultragore Recordings and Tuff Love Dubs. In an interview, he said "I basically started when I was 16. I was in a few bands before that; I was a drummer and a guitar player. I was a huge metal head and I loved rap like Mac Dre and Andre Nickatina. You could make electronic music by yourself, so that really attracted me towards it and made me want to do my own thing". He said "As soon as I picked up a guitar I knew I wanted to do music. I have always done art, whether it’s music or drawing, so it all came pretty natural".

Background

Regarded as 'the unsung hero of underground bass culture', Petulla has been DJing across the US since the age of 17. He performed across the US and received support from genre pioneers DATSIK and Downlink. He has, ever since, become known for ignoring trends and cutting his own path with ripping, guttural synths and a sprinkling of melody. He has been in the bass scene since 2010. A regular performer at EDC, Petulla has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the scene such as Skrillex, Datsik, and Borgore. He regularly uses heavy bass and “gnarly” synths in his music. Petulla's style of producing/DJing has evolved through the years from 'massive dubstep tracks to a diverse assortment of genres which culminate to an ethereal, trap-light sound that still contains hard-hitting dubstep roots'. Recently, he’s been dabbing into more of an experimental style of reverb and bass while assimilating a variety of beats.

2012–13: Beginnings

Petulla said in an interview that on his 19th birthday, he saved up money to move to Los Angeles before staying at a friend's room for a few months. He expanded from there and began to develop musically before getting his own apartment and studio.

Petulla signed to Firepower Records run by Datsik in 2012 before signing with OWSLA, a record label founded by dubstep pioneer Skrillex. He gained popularity when he began making “SUH Dude” vines with Nick Colletti and Dillon Francis. He also said that after touring, he plans to work on 'getting something like a TV show or a movie going' with Colletti.

Petulla first joined Skrillex's OWSLA when he sent his demo before Skrillex heard and told him that he liked it. Petulla then sent another track which is now titled "Head Splitter" and Skrillex said 'he wanted it for OWSLA'. Petulla said "We just became friends from there; he introduced me to his team. Now we all work together, and they see what I’m trying to do, which is really cool, because they support it and have the resources to make it happen. Me and Skrillex have a super-similar taste in heavy bass music, so I’ll send him new tracks and new artists”.

2014–15: Trenchlords project and Planet Neutral

Petulla released his "Trenchlords Vol. 1" EP; the first installment from his new music project called, “Trench”. Four songs from the EP, includes a collaborations with Algo and Deemed. When asked about his opinion on genres, Petulla said "I feel like genres are necessary to classify what you like, same with certain sub genres. I’m just not a fan of sub genres that not only sound stupid, but can be put on anything that has the smallest element of that class". Speaking about the project, the name "Trench" and its significance, Petulla said "I just think the name sounds tight, and is short and sweet. A Trenchlord is someone who I think makes fuckin’ dope music that I collaborate with and recruit to the trench project." The idea "Trench" came into the scene when Petulla and his close friends realized they represent the 'heavier/underground' side of dubstep music, which was then he started the Trench project, with fellow artists being labeled Trenchlords. On giving it away for free, he said that he wants his fans to enjoy his music, which was his main priority.

On 23 October 2015, Petulla released a nine-second tease of a new collaborative track with Skrillex. On 28 November 2015, Petulla returned to Vancouver, BC at Red Room Ultra Bar to perform. In 2015, Petulla released an EP under the alias “Planet Neutral” that showed a reserved, mellow, more relaxed side to himself.

2016: Radical Dude! and Wat The Frick

On 29 January 2016, a compilation album titled "Worldwide Broadcast" by OWSLA was released, featuring Petulla's collaboration with Ghastly titled "666!".

On 11 March 2016, Petulla released an EP titled "Radical Dude!" with heavy dub, bass-driven, and grimy songs. The first song on the EP, entitled “Back” is bass-heavy, 'fun and laid-back piece'. The fifth and sixth songs on the EP, "In The Cuts" featuring Sneak and "Blood" with Adair featuring Georgia Ku, consist of 'extraterrestrial synths, dreamy vocals, and atmospheric swells'.

In May 2016, Petulla starred in Dillon Francis' seven-episode reality TV-esque web series titled "DJ World" about the worst DJ stereotypes. The first episode was shared on 24 May 2016 which stars Francis, Nick Colletti and Petulla as obnoxious characters who epitomize the dance music stereotypes and every terrible festival fashion.

On 25 August 2016, a remix by Getter of Marshmello's single "Alone" was released via Monstercat.

On 2 September 2016, Petulla released his new seven-track EP titled "What The Frick" via OWSLA. Speaking in an interview about the EP, Petulla said "My main goal for everything is that I want to put out something that everyone will like. Not just a basshead, or a trap dude, or whatever, but I want to have different worlds for each kind of music, so each EP will probably be pretty mixed up". When asked about the difference of the EP and his other EPs, Petulla said "I think the biggest thing is that they’re all solo tracks. No collaborations". On the same day, OWSLA released an official music video directed by Liam Underwood for Petulla's song "Head Splitter" which also appeared on OWSLA's Spring Compilation 2015 album in March. The video starts ominously at a burger joint named Grim Jim’s, and as soon as the main character finishes his meal, his face dissolves into a cartoon smear of greens and purples. As he makes his way through Los Angeles, he finds the same goo popping up all around him.

In November 2016, he shared some unreleased tracks, that failed to be included on "Wat The Frick" EP, to Soundcloud. The songs include “Phantom of tha Opera”, “Love Me No More” and “Tourettes Squad”. The first of the three is a "chilled-out and with a decided hip hop vibe"-trap song similar to the second one. The third song has more of an electro influence but chopped up and is more to dubstep than the trap genre.

2017–present: Shred Collective

It was announced that Petulla will appear at Canada’s Snowbombing music festival alongside several other notable musicians and artists, in 2017. Petulla launched Shred Collective – his own record label, clothing brand, and artist collective. "Inhalant Abuse" was released as the label's first track on 10 March 2017.

Controversy

Petulla's collaboration song titled "Stop Calling Us Horrorcore" was built entirely around a single sample found in the ‘808 Mood’ sample pack by Trap Veterans on Producer Loops. Petulla said he did not know anything about it, after he was sent the almost-completed track.

On 16 September 2016, Petulla used Twitter to voice his strongly worded opinions on the cost of touring and why having local acts open shows is "potentially ruining the full tour experience". He went on to explain why he said "f--- local openers" and laid out how the lack of experience they bring often derails the performances to follow and overall downgrades the show as a whole. After the controversy effectively circulated all throughout the DJing community and beyond, Petulla has apologised. In a series of new tweets sent out later on, Petulla acknowledged his own come-up as an opening DJ, mentioning how he understands the routine.

Personal life

Petulla's previous girlfriend was also involved with his clothing line "Trippy Burger" in which she was managing the women's clothing. Petulla said if he wasn't a musician, he'd probably be a pornographic actor because he would get to make money and have sex with models.

Trippy Burger

Petulla and Colletti started a clothing brand which sells "Suh Dude" shirts, 'Getter and Nick Colletti' merchandise, "Trippy Burger stuff" and other official 'Suh Dude' items. He said "It’s me and my friend Nick Colletti’s clothing brand. We’ve got a nice thing going right now".