It seems like A.M. Breakups has been making beats since the time I first met him. Fast forward 7 or 8 years and he’s still making music, on his own and with 11:00A.M. On Monday we’ll hit you with a new mixtape he gave us, so stay tuned. Here’s A.M. Breakups.

“…MTV tried to sell us some crappy deals for using our songs in the backgrounds of reality shows or whatever. I don’t really think I want my beats on MTV though, I might get sued.”

Razor Apple: What’s the story behind 11:00 AM? Who is the group and what do you do?

A.M. Breakups: 11:00A.M. is the name of a collaboration between myself, a.m. breakups, and my extremely talented buddy Eleven. I make the beats and edit all sorts of sounds together and he writes lyrics and raps over it all.

RA: What were you listening to growing up? What got you into making music?

A.M. Breakups: My parents’ friends would make me tapes, so even real young i had tapes of all the Beatles’ albums, Art of Noise, all sorts of stuff. Kids i used to go to summer camp with would mail me hip-hop too. I remember one kid used to dub his older brother’s A Tribe Called Quest and Roots tapes and send me copies.

The first cds i remember ever going out and buying, and it was pivotal part of my life, i got Propellerheads’ “decksanddrumsandrockandroll” and “Further Down the Spiral” by Nine Inch Nails. Different moods, but both very heavy electronic records. I especially dug the Aphex Twin remixes on the Nails cd, that shit was so different. I’ve always had a soft spot for electronic sounds in music.

When i was around 14 my parents bought me a version of Sonic Foundry ACID, the looping program, and i started messing with that. It was so cool because i was putting all these crazy sounds together and recording my casios and shit. My dad was very supportive of me making music, even if it wasn’t any shit he’d heard before.

RA: Did you go to school for it?

A.M. Breakups: I went to college at SUNY Purchase, as a New Media student, but i wanted to be in the music conservatory, so i went and played some of the stuff i’d made for the music professors and one of them offered me a spot, so i took it. I was really proud to be in that program, and i think i learned a ton of really valuable stuff. Unfortunately i got expelled right about a year ago, but i plan on going back to school somewhere at some point. whether it be for music or something else.

RA: 11:00AM took part in MTV’s Best Music on Campus competition. How did that finish up? Any words of wisdom about the experience?

A.M. Breakups: We ended up a lot farther into it than i expected, honestly. We just kind of posted up the EP we had recorded and told people to vote for us. We ended up in the top 5 finalists or something like that. I think the fact that it was a contest aimed at fans of Def Jux probably had something to do with that. All that electronic type rap type stuff.

It got us a bit of attention, MTV tried to sell us some crappy deals for using our songs in the backgrounds of reality shows or whatever. I don’t really think i want my beats on MTV though, i might get sued.

In terms of advice about that sort of thing, i would recommend you not invest too much hope on contests. It didn’t really seem like the type of thing that you win based on the merit of your art, it seemed more like how many times you could click on the “vote” button (but believe me, i did some clickin’).

RA: What are you listening to lately?

A.M. Breakups: Sadat X’s latest album “Black October”. Boards of Canada, Sandro Perri, and a lot of 70s stuff…Also a lot of fresh shit that cats around New York are making. Despot, Zesto, Nonspecific, Team Shadetek.

RA: Besides music, what else are you into?

A.M. Breakups: I pretend to be a visual artist, haha. I like taking pictures a lot. Some digital, but i also have about 8 polaroid cameras. Lots of stencils, too. I do a lot of stencils on shirts, whenever i’m motivated. I think i’m gonna start selling them on myspace and stuff.

I ride my bike a lot and like exploring abandoned buildings. There are a lot of empty buildings where i live, Utica. We pop in to check them out once in a while, it’s sort of a rush. I personally make sure not to mess with anything, i’m not looking for any B&E charges. I recently found out that there’s an actual term for that, with like meetings and websites dedicated to it. “Urban Exploration”

RA: What’s the plan for 2008?

A.M. Breakups: Big Plans! Lots of shows with the Uncommon crew, maybe a little tour as far as i’m concerned. Nasa’s putting out 11:00A.M.’s ep, “Free*” on Uncommon in 08. I’ll also be done with my second album, “The Cant Resurrection”. It’s gonna have some Eleven, some Billy Woods, The Presence, and hopefully Zesto too. And a lot of instrumental tracks that i’m really proud of.

I’m also hoping to get back down to New York. There’s some stuff that i really like about living in Utica, but it’s also sort of a really tired city. I think as far as what’s good for my music and my sanity, i need to be somewhere with a larger audience…

RA: Anything else we should know?

A.M. Breakups: Yeah. Everyone needs to be prepared for some crazy shit with the new year. I’ve just got a feeling it’s gonna be really good. I know Uncommon’s going to have some amazing releases, and i’m pretty excited to hear what everyone else comes up with too.

RA: You’ve got a show coming up in December. What can people expect to see?

A.M. Breakups: December 20th. Galapagos in Williamsburg. People can expect Eleven to be on the mic, and me to be hammering on my mpc. That’s how we do it. It’s a good show! And probably like 9 other dope acts from Uncommon and affiliates.

RA: Thanks for chatting!

Listen and download more A.M. Breakups and 11:00A.M. on Myspace. We’ll be dropping a mixtape from A.M. Breakups on Monday.