Timeflies

Timeflies is an American music duo formed in October 2010 consisting of producer Rob Resnick (b. May 26, 1989) and vocalist Cal Shapiro (b. October 3, 1988). The duo is known for their popular YouTube covers and original music, and previously performed together in the Tufts University funk band The Ride.^[2][3]

History

Shapiro and Resnick are originally from New York and New Jersey, respectively, but began to perform for the first time in Boston in 2007. The two currently reside in New York City. Timeflies includes elements of hip-hop, pop, electro, R&B, and rap in their music.

Attending Tufts University, the pair met in fall 2007 at a college party where Shapiro freestyled over Resnick's beat boxing. Resnick later invited Shapiro to be the singer for The Ride, a funk band he was part of. The Ride dissolved after some members graduated but Resnick and Shapiro started recording together in the spring semester of their senior year. Eventually calling themselves Timeflies, the duo posted songs to an increasingly popular YouTube account in which Shapiro did vocals over beats Resnick produced. The group's exposure increased when Shapiro's housemate - now the general manager of Timeflies - Jared Glick sent their song "Fade" to various music blogs.^[4][5][6][7]

In late September 2011, Timeflies released their debut album, The Scotch Tape, which rose to #8 on the iTunes overall chart and #2 on the iTunes Pop chart within 24 hours of its release. Shapiro and Resnick were dubbed “musical masterminds” by Vanity Fair. That same year, they began to perform college campuses and music festivals across the United States.

On August 14, 2012, Timeflies released their official application to the Apple App Store produced by the development team of Matthew Hamilton and Graham Tomlinson.

On November 27, 2012, they released their first EP, One Night. Within 24 hours of its release, One Night reached #2 on the overall iTunes chart and was #1 on the iTunes Pop chart. The EP debuted on the Billboard 200 at #29.^[8] The title track from the EP climbed to #84 on the iTunes Pop charts and "Swoon" debuted and peaked on the Billboard Rap Digital Songs at #45. Billboard named them one of their 13 artists to watch for in 2013.^[9]

On February 22, 2013, they announced that they had created their own label, Forty8Fifty. The label is partnered with Island Def Jam Music Group. Their next full-length album will be out later in 2013 and will be released on the label.^[10]

Their debut single, "I Choose U", was released on April 1, 2013 to digital retailers^[11] and was released to American radio under Island Def Jam Music Group.^[12] The single was remixed by Fedde Le Grand and on June 3 released on his official Soundcloud page. The song received as many listens in three days as Le Grand's most recent single Rockin' N' Rollin' acquired in one month.

On August 2, 2013, they performed at Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago.^[13]

Their second EP, "Warning Signs", featuring the hit single, "I Choose U", was released on October 13, 2013.^[14]

Timeflies released their debut album, "After Hours", on April 29, 2014 under their own label Forty8Fifty and Island Def Jam Music Group. The album includes features from Fabolous, T-Pain, and Katie Sky, as well as collaborations with Mike Posner and Martin Johnson, the lead vocalist of Boys Like Girls. The duo spent well over a year recording the album in a studio home in Los Angeles.^[15] The album reached #3 on the overall iTunes charts and #1 on the iTunes pop chart. They released a music video for "Monsters" on April 15, 2014 which has over 1.6 million views on YouTube.^[16] The duo released a new single, "NSFW" featuring Angel Haze in February 2015. The lead single from their third album, called "Worse Things than Love" featuring Natalie La Rose was released on June 23, 2015. Their third studio album, Just for Fun is scheduled to be released on September 18, 2015 along with the Just for Fun Tour.

Timeflies Tuesdays

Almost every other Tuesday, Timeflies posts new music to their YouTube channel.^{[3][17][18][19]} Timeflies connects to their fans through Timeflies Tuesdays, which is a series of videos of remixes, performing live covers, and freestyling over original beats.^[20] Some Timeflies Tuesday videos include covers and remixes of Let It Go, Cruise, Say Something, Paranoid, Pompeii, Timber, Alcohol, We Can't Stop, Roar, Call Me Maybe, Royals, Under The Sea, Wagon Wheel, Sugar and many more. Timeflies also posts their original songs and new releases like Monsters, All The Way, Swoon, I Choose U, Ride, etc.^[21]

Musical style and influences

Rob Resnick had an early start in production after building a Pro Tools studio in his basement for his high school bands, Inevitable and After Tonight. At Tufts, Rob majored in music and philosophy. During sophomore year, Rez began using audio production software such as Reason, Digital Performer and Ableton Live. During this time, Resnick was a DJ regularly, and played drums for The Ride, a blues/funk/hip-hop band noted for their ability to cross musical genres. Rob also worked at Cedar Lake Camp as music director which gave him a good amount of music production experience. He cites Porter Robinson, Benny Blanco, Pretty Lights, and JR Rotem as major influences.^[3]

Cal has been singing and freestyling since he was a teenager, earning his first public "stripes" beating defending champion Puge in a freestyle battle at Hampshire. He later earned his college degree at Tufts University, majoring in music and entrepreneurship. In his sophomore year, upon joining The Ride, Cal fell in love with performing. Cal later teamed up with The Ride’s drummer, Rob Resnick, to form Timeflies. Cal’s musical influences include Robert Johnson, Janis Joplin, Muddy Waters, and his favorite, Big L. He has become well known for his love for scotch, hence their first album name, The Scotch Tape.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Mixtapes

• Under The Influence (2012)

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Timeflies discography at MusicBrainz