Page 30 - DemoZone Magazine Summer Issue 2020

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At what point did you think; "this is the music I would like to create"?
From the age of 9, I had a massive urge to create & perform music. By this time, I was playing guitar, mostly teaching myself, and my parents seen I had the ear for music. I remember seeing a few videos of a dj playing to a crowd and the way they had the crowd moving in the palm of their hands. I really wanted to do that and found it fascinating! The energy and excitement I could give if I got the chance!
From here, I swapped out my guitar for my first mixer and started making little beats on Splice online using the old internet explorer. It wasn't ideal but it opened my eyes for the first time to the world of production! I knew this was what I wanted to do immediately and I can't explain it any other way than it just felt right on a whole other level!
The idea of producing house and tech house seemed to just flow that way, it wasn't a conscious choice but rather just the way my edits kept coming out and I loved it!
List some of the most influential albums.
These days most releases seem to be shorter. EP'S and Singles are a majority, which, in my opinion, has stopped artists creating fluid releases that take you on a journey. This is a pity because albums with 5 or more tracks used to give space for the artist to both experiment with new music and sounds, as well as allowing them to captivate and influence the listener.
For me, albums that I still love & inspire me to this day are the likes of:
Above & beyond - We are all we Need, Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release, Prodigy - Invaders Must Die, Gessafelstien - Aleph, and Moby - Play.
Melodies, rhythms, experimental elements & chops, amazing vocals, and mesmerizing energies from each... These albums always feed me with ideas when creating new things in the studio and I'm pretty sure a huge number of other artists listen and are inspired by these albums also, in different ways.
What inspires you outside of music?
When the creative well runs a little
low?
I'm very humbled to have done a lot of traveling and exploring while growing up as a child. Our parents were always bringing us to new places and landmarks. It was amazing as you can really connect to nature, as well as the creative force that guides it. I think I carried that inspiration across as an adult, because to this day, if I ever hit "the wall" or am not inspired, I know I just have to drop what I'm doing, and go for a walk or drive somewhere. You can relax in this way, nothing is forced, it just is what it is... And I think that gives space for old energy to be replaced by new creative juices!
What's your opinion on the ever-
growing sub-genre vines / is there
one that deserves more attention?
Personally, It's a love / hate relationship in my opinion. Having too much sub genres can cause a music lover to have a massive disconnect over time with the original genre they followed. For example, the "EDM" genre bubble got so big a few years ago, that you could just call something anything you wanted within that genre! You could have had someone saying, "My track is Bass-Techno- Afro-Trance Style"! People generalized the electronic styles of music too much and anyone could make a new sub- genre, even though the track would still be classified overall as a single genre under "EDM".
On the other hand, it is now extremely easy to find and build a database of your favourite style of tracks in a very specific manor. For example: You can subscribe to sub-genre channels on YouTube, Spotify, etc. And as new tracks come out, in your preferred style, you can get the best ones right away.
Labels can also target certain styles of music a lot more specifically. Which also links in to djs & performing artists being able to get access to the styles they love A lot quicker. This is a major help all around.
Studio Work / Music Creation or Live
performance / crowd interacting:
which do you prefer?
I live for both!! I think most, if not all, artists will say the same thing: they work hand in hand. Creating music is a very technical and challenging process in which your constantly learning new techniques and ways of improving your music, mix downs, and masters. It is also an extremely fun process where you can express yourself, your style, and your emotions in any way you want. Being able to sit down and conjure up something from nothing is amazing. And it's really cool when you create something that affects other’s emotions and moves them on a different level.
This ties directly into my love of performing live and testing my tracks in front of live audience every week! Being able to make the crowd move faster or slower as the night progresses or sing and shout on certain drops is an amazing experience and to be able to make that happen using my own tracks is just a dream come through!
Any new / upcoming artists on your
radar? Who shouldn't we be
sleeping on?
Oof... There is so much talent coming up in the scene right now it's absolutely amazing to see! Myself and the SNKY Team included!
A small few artists we've really noticed jump onto our radar & have done amazing things for the scene over the last year are: Mark Greene, Nancy (Live), Cash x Mack, Reboot Events DJ's, Marcus O' Laoire (Hijinks), Kaycee, and Black Traffic Techno (LTGTR).