Artist Q/A (December 2024)

What was the first piece of electronic music that profoundly impacted you, and how did it shape your musical direction?

My first exposure to electronic music started from my passion in a dance style known as "animation". Animation is a form of the pop - locking (aka popping) dance style. This was popularized by a dance group from Atlanta called "Dragon House" early 2010s. They would dance to Electronic music moving their bodies in an animated fashion mimicking stop motion effects like slow motion, fast forwarding and rewinding. I was watching one of thier videos and was really captivated by a specific remix of a song called "You got to go" by the music artist "Seven Lions". It was the first time I heard dubstep that actually had such a deep emotional contrast. Heavy gritty elements that make you want to dance but also large majestic, and smooth cinematic breaks that felt like you were being sent to another universe.
This heavily inspired me to be able to also create music that could immerse listeners in the same way.

In what ways does technology enhance your creativity, and conversely, where do you find it limits you?

It's a wonderful time to be a producer in these times in terms of technology. There are so many tools and software to help make ideas come to life. This makes coming up with ideas easy for me since there are so many options. Where it can feel limiting for me personally is in the mixing process. Electronic music specifically is very difficult to mix and getting the complex sound elements to sit and blend together is definitely not for the faint of heart haha!

Do you experiment with unconventional sound sources like field recordings, found objects, or even digitally manipulated samples?

Yes I love sound design so I spend alot of time building patches in digital synths. Taking audio recordings and doing cool post processing tricks, resampling, granulizing you name it.

How do you conceptualize an album or track, from inspiration to final product?

The way I conceptualize tracks/albums is through themes or philosophical concepts. With themes The goal of my music is to create worlds for the listener to explore. Alot of times I will release a series of tracks that follow a specific theme and explore that theme through different songs. For example right now I am experimenting with a sci - fi theme so alot of my recent tracks incorporate a more modern sci fi feeling. For concepts I like to build a track that expresses a certain psychological/philosophical idea. An example of this would be my EP "Shadow Work" where I explore the different phases of that process through songs.

What do you believe sets your music apart in the crowded field of electronic music?

I think my openess puts me in a unique position where I have a very wide range of musical genres that I enjoy, and so I blend alot of elements from my favorite styles. Although I have specially been trying to fine tune a specific blend to create my unique contribution to the electronic world. My goal is to create a style of Electronic music that incorporates R&B through the lense of Melodic Dubstep. I have spent a ton of time studying the styles and think I have found a way to make them work together.

How do audience reactions influence your evolution as an artist?

I think I've noticed something that makes an artist influential or a pioneer. It is that these artists have the quality of being able to bring something niche into the mainstream market. So my philosophy is mainly driven by this. I believe mixing in the R&B elements with my style will achieve this as the genre is more popular so it gives an anchor to something that's common and down to earth. So then the listener is more comfortable and able to digest the more unique electronic elements that I will blend and incorporate with it. This is how the audience influences my evolution as an artist by inspiring me to try and construct this unique blend as an anchor to my style.

If you were to compose a Christmas carol for modern times, what contemporary elements, samples, or themes would you incorporate into the music to make it resonate with today's audience?

For a modern day Christmas carol I would study to see if there are any current common Christmas video clips and use samples of the audio of it in the song.
I would also check to see what Is the most popular electronic genre for the current year and be sure to utilize a few of the elements of that style blended with my own.