Interview with “Closure”

published on Mar 5 by Fursteh in Interview

We could talk with the sweet Kerri, who is now one half of the duo Project Closure and about to start another big project.


Let’s start with a small introduction, who are you and what kind of music do you make?
I write music under Project Closure with my friend Cole (who’s also a member of Glass Face) & recently started a side project under my name, Kerri.

 

Why Project Closure?
well as the name ‘Project Closure’ suggests, it was always a project of expression. I kinda wanted to keep it conceptual, and separate my personal life from the project.

 

Did you start the project together with Cole (if yes, who had the idea?), or did one of you start and the other joined as time passed?
Cole actually joined over the last month. Everything before then was written by me.

 

When and why did you start making music?
I’ve kinda always been doing art stuff, not just music. But I started taking music seriously when I was about 12. As I get older I keep gaining interest in other mediums, though. My goal is sort of to do everything once. This other project, Kerri, is hopefully going to be a place for photography and film stuff as well as all of the music I’m writing. The music under that name will be a lot more personal, and open – I feel like that’s only necessary since Project Closure is intentionally so disconnected.

 

Last year you released a 6 tracks EP, Second Thoughts, which gained a lot of attention. How did this EP start?
I wrote Second Thoughts after a really long period of self-doubt, it was basically just trying to push out all of the feelings of confusion I was drowning in at the time.

With the help of some friends you made a music video for the song ‘Hopes up’ from this EP, how was it and how did it happen?
It was a humbling experience, definitely. Getting the chance to the see somebody else’s interpretation of a song you wrote in your bedroom at 3am is so crazy. It turned out to be excellent as well.
Well actually, the small team that produced the video is led by Bree, a girl who’s dating my violinist, Sam. Bree heard the EP before its release and wanted to direct a video.

 

“I just love seeing cool people doing cool stuff.”

Who are your big inspirations?
I think artistically I’m a product of a lot of different people – to name a few, Asa, Ta-ku, Dpat, Atu, even people like Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the Creator inspire me to an extent. Not even just musically – I just love seeing cool people doing cool stuff.

 

What advice would you give to a starting producer?
My best piece of advice would probably be to make sure you’re willing to give up free time & a social life to dedicate yourself. Instead of spending a Friday night out with friends, maybe stay back home & work on your basslines. It’s never a bad idea.
I think another good piece of advice I could give is that it’s important to realize that the marketing/business side and how you present yourself is just as important as the music itself.

 

I believe you have some new releases planned, could you tell us more?
Yeah, I’m working on a small EP for my ‘Kerri’ project and also Cole & I have been busy writing the next Closure record.

 

Any release dates or is it still too early?
We’re still in the writing stages, so I don’t think I can say just yet. We’ve been writing since December. Reaching out to artists we like, collaborating and writing out our own vocal parts for the first time. Exciting stuff!

 

And last question, what is your favourite movie?
Ohh man that’s a tough one. I really love films. I think ‘Good Will Hunting’ is my favorite movie of all time. The emotional performances by absolutely everyone in the cast are so perfect. And since I’m a nerd at heart I think a close second is the old ‘Spiderman 2’ from the Toby McGuire trilogy. Lately I’ve been super into this series, ‘Westworld’. It’s so incredible.

 

Check out Closure on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and listen to their stuff on YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify or buy their music on Bandcamp!


Interview with “Resonata”

published on Feb 6 by easy_emu in Interview

We were able to interview Seth -the owner of Sekai Collective aka. Resonata just before he will be going on tour with SIDEWALKS AND SKELETONS and many more.


JACR: Hi Seth, could you give us a short introduction of who you are and what you do?

Resonata: I’m Resonata and I produce mostly sad music as well as run my own music collective.

 

What is it that got you started in producing music?

I started going to a lot of shows near the end of 2010 and I was really into the growing Dubstep scene at the time. A friend who would always go with me explained there were a few programs I could install on my computer if I wanted to try making my own.
So I tracked down a DAW that I liked. The first that I tried to write. Honestly I was never good at trying to produce Dubstep and always found myself slipping into either more chill compositions or something that seemed inspired by my industrial metal roots.

 

Already answering parts of the next question! Where does your inspiration come from?

I grew up mostly listening to variations of metal and alt-rock with a dash of electronic music. My dad played a huge part in influencing my musical tastes. Bands like Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, and Tool reigned supreme on my stereo from a very early age. Around my 11th birthday, I was given Prodigy’s ‘The Fat of the Land’ album and I wore that album out.

 

Reading this I have a spontaneous question. As metal and rock is where my musical interest started to grow – do you have a theory why people with roots in this kind of music are dragged to genres like Dubstep, Future Garage and Drum and Bass for example?

I like to use the phrase “Dance Music for Sad People.”

Dubstep and DnB, in a way, are very aggressive so that makes sense that some would transition from one to the other.
I do find a lot of old metal heads buried deep inside the chiller genres though and I think it’s something else. Maybe we see beyond the aggression and into the emotional complexity of what we used to listen to. Genres like Future Garage can still be aggressive but it comes from a darker, less marketable kind of place.

I like to use the phrase “Dance Music for Sad People”.

 

Do you have any “rituals” when producing?

Coffee is usually within arm’s reach (laughs).

 

Very soon you’ll start a tour through America with other great artists – can you tell us more about it?

I saw an opportunity while planning a move I’ll be making next month and put the word out to a few of my artist friends, from there it birthed into this tour. I Spent the past 5 months grinding and contacting venues and promoters with pretty much every spare second I had to get shows lined up.

We will also be documenting everything with a photographer/videographer with hopes to crunch everything into a documentary once it’s over. Since it’s the first tour of its kind, I am particularly excited [about the documentary] as I cannot join in-person.

 

As you mentioned earlier you are also the owner of Sekai, what does Sekai stand for and what do you guys do?

I believe it’s Japanese for “world”. I inherited Sekai from someone else so I didn’t come up with the name but I’m largely responsible for its overall growth.
The “World” part was intended to encompass our love for all artists and music internationally.
We started as a regular online collective, but have since expanded into hosting shows and events near Seattle.

 

Did running Sekai affect your own production in any way?

A little bit. I’d say problematic people in my personal life took a bigger toll on my production though. Sekai takes some time, but the connections I’ve made to artists through the Collective is rewarding in itself. I just want to do more to get underrated artists heard and seen.

The “World” part was intended to encompass our love for all artists and music internationally.
We started as a regular online collective, but have since expanded into hosting shows and events near Seattle.

What’s your perfect Sunday?

Sunny morning by some harbor by the ocean working on music and just being lazy all day in general.

 

Between eating the most delicious food that blows your clothes off or having your body injected into your favorite MMORPG, which would you choose and why?

Delicious foods because food is life!

 

Follow Resonata on Soundcloud, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and/or Bandcamp.

Follow Sekai Collective SoundcloudFacebook and/or Bandcamp.

The Dissolution Tour


Interview with “Flite”

published on Feb 1 by Petroll in Interview

2016 has been an exciting year for JACR, lots of events, stickers(!) and lots more. But not only for JACR, but also for the american producer Flite, we looked back with him on the past year and we looked at the coming year.

 


JACR: Let’s start off with a small introduction, who are you and what do you do?

Flite: My name is Justin, and I am a 22 year old music producer from the United States; I’ve been producing music for about 6 years now and I am currently pursuing it professionally. I write mainly Drum & Bass music, but also delve into compositions with more classical instruments and am severely interested in Video Game music.

 

So you have been making music for quite a long time now, if I remember correctly Flite isn’t your first alias. What or who influenced you to start making music?

I’ve been writing music for somewhere around 11 years now, as I started writing music with Midi on a program called Anvil Studio, as well as on a Yamaha Motif ES8 my parents had bought for the family a long time ago. This got me interested in writing music in a more convenient way, but much of the reason I began writing music in the first place was related to my love for the works of Koji Kondo and Joe Hisaishi. Eventually when I stumbled upon the sounds of Pendulum, Netsky, Fred V & Grafix, Logistics, Noisia, Hospital Records and Liquicity as a whole, my love for the styles of Joe Hisaishi and Koji Kondo converged on Drum & Bass, as these producers were releasing hugely influential records around the time I started.

 

I suppose your music did sound a lot different when you just started, was your music any similar to your music nowadays and how did your sound evolve?

I think that stylistically I could have written something I would write today in the past, however my biggest limitation was my technical production skill. As my production skills evolved, this opened up new techniques to create more complex sounds, more intricate drum work, lusher sounds as a whole, and over all improve the quality of my music as I combined my new skills with refined writing! As for how my sound has evolved, recently I have become much more comfortable with creating dancefloor tracks, instead of just music that you might listen to on your own. I really want to expand my sound into something that I can hear playing at festivals and club nights, and still keeping every bit of Flite’s style to it.

 

“Good luck has certain prerequisites!”

If you had one tip for every starting producer, what would it be?

You are responsible for creating your own luck; when I say that, I don’t mean that luck isn’t real…however, good luck has certain prerequisites! If you are ever in the position where you are presented an opportunity, make sure that you have preceded this situation with lots of hard work and quality music. If you are caught by a potential opportunity, make sure that you have prepared for it in the best way possible! Spend the time on your mixes, spend the time creating compelling music, spend the time networking with other musicians to better yourself, spend the time getting to know those who might help your career succeed, and spend the time getting to know your fans! You never know what lies around the corner, but you must always be prepared to the best of your ability for it.

 

A few years back your songs were uploaded on the youtube channel of Liquicity, this was the first time I personally heard of you, and I guess the same counts for many others. How important has this been for your career?

Hugely important for me! Liquicity’s support for my music launched my career with an awesome community to push my music to, as well as a first group of fans that still follow my music to this day. Liquicity has featured 8 pieces of my music on their channel in the past, which led to me being featured and releasing music on UKF and MrSuicidesheep. Arguably, Liquicity’s support during one of its best years, 2012-2013, was instrumental in motivating me and connecting me to much of my current music network! At this moment I have 1.5 million hits across Liquicity, which is huge for me! I definitely would not have the audience I do if it were not for them.

 

It is around a year ago since you started streaming music production on Twitch, I can imagine the influence this had on your career. But for the people that have no clue what you do on Twitch, could you explain it in short?

I began broadcasting my production time on Twitch.Tv in late January of 2016, right after I had left school for the final time to pursue music professionally. Right now I broadcast two days of live music production, and one day for music feedback for my viewers! We have an amazing community full of very talented producers, and many people express that they come strictly to watch me write music and chill out. To me, it’s awesome to have the additional motivation for writing music, because it makes me insanely productive usually. In 2016 alone I wrote over 35 different pieces of music, where the year previous to that I had written only about 5 songs. I also have some incredibly kind viewers who send me donations on stream, and it has made an immense difference in my life; in my current state, my viewers and contributors actually keep me able to sustain my lifestyle of writing and producing music, and this has 100% been the sole reason I’ve written so much music this year. HUGE thank you to you guys who watch my streams, and any donors out there, you all are such an amazing community and I couldn’t be prouder to celebrate a year on Twitch!

 

So what does your workflow looks like? Do you already have something in mind when you start on a new project or is it much different than that?

Generally when I come into a new project, I have something in mind for the overall vibe of the music, however that can change at any moment! I have a template that I’ve created over the years that allows me to quickly get into the mixing attributes of the project and avoid needless time wasting setting the same things up over and over again, so I can maximize my creative energy actually writing and doing sound design. Often I will write something that I enjoy for a little bit, but I might lose my inspiration from what I was doing or stop feeling the project as a whole. I have learned to value any creative output that I make because one day I might see something different or better for the project, so sometimes I will come back to a project after several years of ignoring it. Otherwise, when I begin a project, I might have an idea for what I want, but usually the piece of music develops on its own. I’m just a facilitator, as I like to let the music write itself.

“I’m just a facilitator, as I like to let the music write itself.”

2016 has been a great year for you but with the release of ‘Awakening’ on Hospital Records, 2017 might even be crazier. What do you think 2017 will be like for you?

2016 was an incredible year for me, as I’ve always wanted to prove that I can do music production full time. I proved to myself and many of my relatives that it was possible, and to begin 2017, I’ve just signed Awakening and released it on Hospital Records, one of the labels I’ve always dreamed of releasing music on. So…this year will be something legendary for me, I feel as motivated as I possibly can be, and ultimately I intend to release plenty of music (possibly an EP), DJ more in the United States and hopefully Europe, and possibly work on a few secret side projects of mine. Perhaps a great change of pace would be to write a film or video game score. We’ll see! But I can tell you will strict confidence that I am going full force from here on out, as this is my life’s passion. Make sure you’re always doing what you love.

 

Follow Flite on SoundcloudTwitchTwitterBandcampYouTube


Interview with “Black Visor”

published on Apr 6 by Neveragain_Gc in Interview

Our beloved host Lukas (known as Neveragain_Gc) had the opportunity to talk with the artist “Black Visor”. Read about his motivation behind making his music, his interests and overall gain an inside look of the person behind the name Black Visor!


black_visor_profileOkay, first of all can you give a little summary of yourself as artist and person for an introduction?
My name is Chase, I am 22 years old and I’m a Canadian born music producer who writes and releases electronic music under the alias Black Visor.

 

You released an LP on Harrow Recordings about 2 weeks ago. Most of the songs have an ambient / future garage sound, what got you interested in making this type of music?

I began the Black Visor project because my taste in sounds and style started to change, At the time, I was listening to loads of Burial and I felt so addicted to his sound. It was all I listened to. His music has a deep impact on my life in a way, and his music really aided myself through rough times. I started writing these tunes so I could help myself get through it all.

 

I can definitely understand the addiction to Burial! A good person to be inspired of, do you have a favourite track?

Probably Fostercare. It always changes haha

Near Dark is brilliant as well

 

For how long have you been creating music and how did you start? Are there any suggestions you have for aspiring musicians?

Music in general, I’ve been writing since I was in middle school when I began playing the guitar. As I grew older, I started listening to heavier styles of music and went to local hardcore shows. I eventually grew out of that kind of music and really got into downtempo productions from producers such as bonobo, and that’s when everything changed. I started writing electronic music and have been committing myself to it for the last 3 years.

For aspiring musicians, don’t give up on yourself. Don’t give yourself too hard of a time. I’m someone who still learns new things all the time, and I never give myself enough credit. Believe in yourself if you think you can do better.

 

Do you have any hobbies besides creating music?

For a long while, all I was doing was producing music, and as soon as the album was released, I finally felt like I had some free time again. I’ve always been really into graphic design and photoshop, and just recently I’ve started making these collages on canvas using pieces and scraps from old magazines. I always try and find new ways to express myself creatively. I also really enjoy bike riding and spending time with friends.

 

What 3 things would you take with you on an abandoned Island?

Ableton, Food, and marijuana, that’s all I need!

 

What else is there to come from you in 2016?

At the moment, I’m looking into playing local shows, and I was previously booked for one for march, but unfortunately it got cancelled. I have a load of new music being written lately, really different from the last tracks I’ve released. Still assembling and figuring out how I should release them.

I’ve just recently started learning how to create mixes, and actually put my traktor to use haha it’s been fun.

 

Getting us all excited with announcing lots of new music, I hope we hear it rather soon than late.

Yeah, I’ve been generally in a decent mood as of late, so I’ve been writing some pretty dancy, yet still weird productions with a more uplifting vibe.

It still has these almost depressing overtones over them, but they’re alot more groovy. My skill in production I felt has also improved so they’ve been sounding great.

 

That’s great!
We’ll make sure to check them out once you share them with us

Yeah absolutely, very excited to share these tracks, like for real lol

 

Are there any shoutouts you want to make?

Shoutout to Harrow for being very supportive, and believing in the music I create. To everyone who’s checked out my music, I appreciate it a lot.

I’ve met a lot of new people through this project, so it’s been a great experience.

 

Thats what music gives to us all.

Thank you very much for taking time of your day for this interview!

Yeah no problem man its been a pleasure.


Sekai Sessions 001: Aerocity – “Love Lost”

published on Dec 12 by Fursteh in Interview

Introduction:

Hello, and welcome to Sekai Sessions. This is your host Resonata, and this is the first in a new series from the Sekai family where we interview your favourite electronic music artists and indie artists, discussing their tracks and breaking down everything from the emotions behind the songs to the production technique.

I’m very excited to bring this new series in and introduce you to our first guest: Aerocity.

 

Aerocity: Hey, this is Reece, I go by Aerocity. I like blending real world instruments with, sort of a heavy electronic music influence. I grew up playing piano, guitar and violin mostly so I’m trying to find a place for those wherever I can.

 

As far as the piano goes I actually stumbled across this sampling company called Spitfire a while back, and they’ve got this really cool section with a bunch of really, very unique instruments called Labs, and, they’re like 3 bucks a piece and it all goes to UNICEF I believe. But they’ve got a particular Kontakt library for piano called “The Spitfire Soft Piano”, and I thought $3 for a library on Kontakt it’s, an absolute steal, and, I think that was the only piano sound I actually used on Escapism.

 

It was played live though MIDI and I recorded on Ableton but I was trigerring thos Spitfire samples, and it’s got just this gorgeous, really detailed real world sound. And that’s something that I struggled for a long time to find with sampled pianos, was, a really organic, real…honest sound to it. And that’s something I love about Spitfire, they kept all that noise in, and it’s a very full-bodied, full of character piano instrument.

 

I think the drums were all hand-placed from the Native Instruments Battery Glitch Kit. It’s got a really unique sound to it, lot of really cool micro-samples, and, I’d spent a couple of months trying to figure out how I could place these in songs and I really enjoyed it. It’s really sporadic and random and, it kind of provides a cool, like, emotional contrast to the soft undertones of the rest of the instrumental.

I’ve got to mention I did use a snare from the Steelan sample pack that is just a gorgeous snare sound, hugely tense, and you know like I mentioned, the emotional contrast, I felt like the tension with that snare along with the sporadic, sort of randomly placed glitch samples from Battery really enhanced that because by itself, the “Love Lost” instrumental, the drums, is a very calm, slow, just kind of boring song, and what I was feeling at the time was that heavy emotional contrast and I wanted to kinda empathyze that, and the drums were where I found that.

 

As far as the outro goes, I innitialy layed down a piano line with a heavy delay, and it was just kind of improvised like most of the rest of the song, that’s pretty much how everything I write comes together, just pure improvisation and fitting little bits and pieces together one at a time. And then from that I took little bits of the guitar and some of the ambient sense and just chopped them up and you know, reversed them and re-arranged them into little bit and pieces,  and tried from there to piece together a new melody that would kind of bring the song to a close.


Sekai – Sekai Selects – Resonata – Aerocity

Interview with “Aether”

published on Jan 15 by iLikeMeSumChicken in Interview

Recently our bouncer iLikeMeSumChicken had the privilege of interviewing the wonderful producer Aether, straight out of Glenrothes, Scotland. Enjoy this brief glance into his world!

 

JACR: Hello Aether! How are you doing today?

AETHER: I’m doing good thanks, and yourself?

 

Glad to hear it! I’m doing pretty well myself, thank you! My first question to you is simply, what did you have for breakfast this morning?

Aha, I had nothing more than a glass of milk

 

Ahaha, getting the protein in there I see! 1%, 2%, or skim…

Semi skimmed, I think, haha.

 

Sounds delicious. So how has 2015 been treating you so far? What do you have in store?

2015 has been great so far, I finally got ‘round to upgrading the “studio”.

 

Sounds awesome! The quotation marks around “studio” has me wondering what it looks like.

Well, it’s only a home setup although I’ve upgraded a lot of components. I purchased Komplete 10 Ultimate as well as the Kontrol S49 keyboard. I also purchased a Rode NT2-A condenser microphone and Zoom H5 field recorder. So in my head, I like to think it’s a studio, haha.

 

Ahaha, that sounds like a studio to me too! It helps when you can get everything you need in one place. Then you can keep putting out sweet, luscious tunes for our ears to hear. I know many, including myself, really saw you spring onto the scene when your track Silhouette was uploaded onto Sheepy’s channel last February. What were you thinking when you started to receive all this attention? How did this change things for you professionally and personally? Furthermore, how exciting was it to recently be promoted on Inspector?

When I received the message from Sheepy saying he was interested in uploading “Silhouette,” It took me a while to comprehend haha. He pretty much put me on the radar, then to receive not only another upload on MrSuicideSheep later that year with my track “Stargazer” but to have Inspector Dubplate upload one of my tracks, it’s still so surreal when I think about it. Receiving all the positive feedback really motivated me to write a lot more, but to also continue to improve and evolve my sound over time, which is why from my “Prologue EP” you get a taste of what’s to come this year.

 

I can only imagine, yeah! I was just about to ask you about the EP actually, but I think you may have already answered my question! I was going to ask if the word “prologue” indicated that we were going to hear lots more from you this year, and I have a feeling we will!

Prologue is exactly as the title suggests; it’s an introduction to my next release, which will be my first album!

 

Can’t wait! How far into the creation of this album are you at this point? Do you have a release date in mind yet, or is it too early to be thinking about that?

Well I started writing yesterday, so I only have a few melodies at the moment. With regards to the release date I’d estimate sometime in March if things run smoothly.

 

We shall definitely have our eyes peeled for it! So if you had the chance to collaborate with any musician on the planet, who would it be and why?

Hmm, that’s a tricky question as there are soo many haha! Sorrow & ZES I think would be outstanding. Both are unbelievable producers and the music they make I just naturally connect with.

 

Ahaha, those would both be awesome collaborations! I embarrassingly only first heard ZES when he released his “Hindsight” EP late last year! Glad to hear you’re a fan too! So what have you found yourself listening to lately? Any specific artists or track you’d like to open our eyes too?

As of lately, ZES’s “Hindsight” EP” is something I’ve been listening to a lot of. Emancipator, Eskmo & Phaeleh‘s albums have also been on repeat, as well as a few tracks I stumble upon on Soundcloud. One in particular, “I’ve Been Secretly Falling Apart” by Owsey, Jernalism & Resotone.

 

I’ll have to check those out! Awesome! So, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I would travel all over the world! I’d love to meet all the musicians I speak to online in person. I’d also love to see all of the beautiful places on our planet, as there are so many amazing landscapes out there. Even here in Scotland, up north there are fantastic and inspiring sites, so that gets me really excited to see what lies over the ocean!

 

Just wait. Soon you’ll get a chance to tour, and then you’ll be able to travel to all of the places you are wanting to go to! I was wondering actually, what would you recommend people check out if they found themselves in Scotland?

The Isle of Skye. Probably my favorite place in Scotland. The Fairy Pools in particular which I am still yet to see, I’ve been there before but the weather was too bad see anything. So many beautiful landscapes too so I’d absolutely recommend the Isle of Skye to anyone and everyone.

 

Sounds like an awesome spot! If I ever find myself down there I’ll definitely check it out! So what do you find yourself doing in your free time? Do you watch any television shows or play any video games or things of the sort?

When I’m not writing music, working or at college, I do tend to play video games with friends. Right now it’s GTA Online, as it’s just a sandbox where we can all just mess around. Though I’m super excited for the release of Halo 5. I’ve been a huge Halo gamer since I first discovered Halo 2 on the original Xbox.

 

Have you had a chance to play the beta?

I have actually, it’s a shame I’m so bad at it hahaha. When matchmaking I tend to favor the SWAT game type as it’s the only one I’m close to being good at. From what I’ve played though, Halo 5 is going to be epic!

 

I’ve unfortunately only had the chance to play the beta for like ten minutes at a friend’s house, but I agree. It’s pretty fun! So who would you say has been your biggest influence when it comes to your music?

Musically, Asa, Culprate and Sorrow have been the most influential over time but as of recently, it would have to be ZES.

 

Those are excellent artists to be influenced by. So, I don’t want to put you on the spot, but I myself am a big advocate of excellent puns and so I was just wondering: what is the best pun that you’ve ever heard?

Interesting, there are lots of funny puns I’ve heard but I just cannot remember them as of right now; though I do remember this one: “I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.” I thought that one was simply amazing.

 

Ahaha, puns are just one of those things that the worse they are, the better they actually are. It’s wonderful! So where do you see yourself in say, 5 years from now? Or better yet, where do you hope to see yourself?

In 5 years from now, I would like to be living off of my musical work. Be it from my personal creations, or even commissioned projects for games and animation. Any job that allows me to write music.

 

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but you are going to school for a program relating to music?

Correct. I’m currently studying my third and final year of Sound Engineering at Fife College.

 

That must help you when it comes to writing music I would imagine. Being able to properly manipulate the sound is a skill that is important when it comes to creating a beautiful piece of music, which is exactly what you do!

Thank You! It is actually the reason I started recording my own instruments and samples.

 

Oh! So it was you playing the keys and other instruments on tracks like Stargazer? I always find it impressive when an artist can truly create these days. When you record real instruments, it’s a different kind of sound than one that is simply computerized. I like that I’m hearing that realness in the sounds you’re creating!

I think Stargazer was the last track I never recorded real instruments on haha. But all of the tracks from the “Prologue EP” have either guitar or percussion recorded by myself.

 

Ahaha, awesome man. I can’t wait to hear what’s next! So I have one last question for you… I go by the name, “iLikeMeSumChicken” on plug.dj, and I was just wondering: do you like chicken too..?

Chicken is awesome! I can’t recall having any chicken that I have not enjoyed!

 

I feel you on that man… I feel you. On behalf of the Just a Chill Room staff and all of our plug.dj room members, I’d like to thank you for taking the time out of your day today for this interview! It was truly a pleasure, and I wish you the best of luck in 2015. We hope to see you soon on plug.dj!

Thank you! It’s been great chatting! I’ll be sure to visit the room as often as I can! Cheers!


Follow Aether here:

Soundcloud – Facebook – Twitter – YouTube


 

Interview with “The Eden Project”

published on Jan 12 by Saysay in Interview

Info: “The Eden Project” now simply goes by the name “Eden” and continues to make music.

Note: This interview takes place a few days before The Eden Project’s event date

 

JACR: How long have you been making music? What do you think is the best song or most popular song you’ve ever made?

EDEN: I’ve been making music for about 10 years at this stage, in various forms and ways; maybe more maybe less… my whole life basically.

My most popular song would probably be “Chasing Ghosts“, although “Iris” by Friendzone which I did vocals for has been the most played song by far.

 

What inspired you to make your Entrance EP?

Well all of the songs have their own inspirations… I had originally planned to release “Better Together” as a single with remixes by people, but then I wrote the song “Entrance” and it just clicked that it had to be an EP and I knew what I wanted to have on it.

 

How long did it take for you to complete it?

I started writing “Better Together” in May I think, just on the piano because I had a lot of exams then and no time to produce. I started production of it at the start of June. So June till like late September. A long time haha.

 

Do you feel like you have improved a lot while making this EP? Did it change anything for you?

I definitely think I came out a lot better at production; although I’d attribute that mostly to the break days from EP work where I made hip hop, deep house a load of other stuff. The diversity really helped me out I think.

And that EP changed everything for me. Especially “Circles“. That song has the worst production on the EP, and was something I didn’t think any of my followers at the time would like (808’s, hip hop influence, weird no drop structure, etc) so I made it a semi hidden bonus track. But so many people said they loved it that I uploaded it to Soundcloud eventually and it is actually the most popular track off of the EP I think, given that Lost was uploaded to NCS.

So as a result I’ve taken that a bit further and am currently working on two songs more in that kind of vein. Not really because people liked it, but because I’ve gotten so out of EDM culture I guess and really really into R&B/hip hop and all things Lido/Flume.

I don’t know if this is a permanent thing or just a phase though, haha.

The Eden Project

I’m a bit shocked you feel that way towards your own song. I’m assuming you’re open to any kind of music you hear, right? Are there other genres you like to explore or perhaps experiment with?

Don’t get me wrong on that, “Circles” is probably my favorite song from the EP, haha. Yeah I like pretty much everything, and an announcement I’m going to make later this week actually concerns genres and stuff. But right now I’m pretty infatuated with certain people in hip hop, R&B and even a pop act so that is without a doubt going to shine through in the next few songs.

 

Can you tell us the reason behind the LSD-sample you used in Entrance?

The main reason behind it is that she says some really really interesting things, almost in an enlightened way.

Also it’s kind of about just experiencing things and being in wonder of everything which is kind of the underlying theme of the EP and a lot of the stuff I make. Just love for experience, and life… in all its aspects.

Kinda corny I guess haha.

 

Our final question and then we’ll get out of your hair. If you could collaborate with anyone who would you choose?

That’s a really tough question haha.

I think either Logic or Jon Bellion would be really cool. Or make something really weird with Kanye. Or I’d love to work with Lido, Kasbo, Grant Bowtie or someone like that at some point. There are too many to choose from really.

Thing is though I don’t really like collaborations over the internet; I have never enjoyed one. So I guess no one unless I’m in the same room as them haha.

 

Thank you for your time and attention. We are absolutely stoked to have you in our room and everyone is looking forward to your event 🙂 


Interview with Elliot Berger

published on Sep 12 by Neveragain_Gc in Interview

Recently our co-host and Brand Ambassador Neveragain_Gc interviewed the producer Elliot Berger, based in UK. Enjoy this quick glance into his world!

 

Hi Elliot, would you mind telling us a litle bit about yourself and what you do?

Hi, I’m a producer/DJ and would describe my sound as ‘Heavy Chillout’. I live in London and I am 21 years old. Right now I’m studying Creative Music Technology, aiming to finish with a Bachelor’s Degree next summer.

 

You mainly produce Melodic Dubstep, what was the first Dubstep track you heard and how has it inspired you?

The first Dubstep song I heard was “Tek One – Broken String”. I can actually remember this because it really has inspired me to start producing Dubstep. I got addicted to it and started to listen to more Dubstep, Skrillex for example, who has been an inspiration too. Once I started trying it out, it happened to be quite melodic. I didn’t plan it to be melodic, in fact, if anything, I aimed for the opposite, but having a background in more ‘classical’ music likely influenced it.

 

You are interacting with plug.dj quite a lot, you have played at several events and casually hang out on the site too. What do you like the most about plug.dj and in which communities can we find you?

There are multiple things I like, first of all the interactive way of sharing music, it’s very different from other sites like Soundcloud and YouTube. If you want feedback you can just play a song and ask the crowd for their opinion and get instant answers.

You can also discover a lot of new music that you would have never listened to otherwise. I also think that the anonymity is really nice for shy people, it makes it easier for them to chat.

The communities I visit are Just a chill room…, Radiant, and occasionally, Tastycat. Sometimes I am in my own community and just listen to music with some friends and fans.

 

A bit off topic, what is your favourite color and what is your favourite dish?

My favourite color is blue I think, my favourite dish……

It has to be pizza!

 

What kind of pizza?

Just get as much meat as possible onto it. When my manager and I meet we have our special pizza, the “Artery Smasher”.

We order any meat possible and have the crust filled with sausages!

 

When you compose a song on your own, with another producer, or with a vocalist, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

When you produce on your own you can and have to rely on yourself. That can be both positive and negative. You don’t have to wait for others, which sometimes can be frustrating (not excluding myself from this).

A problem of producing on your own is running out of ideas. In that case, producing with someone else is definitely helpful.

Then again, working with another producer includes a lot of messages and file transfer before both sides are happy with the outcome. When I work with vocalists, I basically send them a rough finished instrumental and let them do their magic. If things go smoothly, you only need 2-3 file transfers until the song is being finalized.Elliot Berger

 

Which do you like the most?

Working with vocalists! I used to make instrumentals too, but now days the vast majority of my releases end up being vocal.

 

What kind of music do you listen to? Does it depend on your mood?

Yes, it heavily depends on my mood!

In general I listen to pretty much all the genres that are played in the Chillroom. I used to listen to a lot of Punk and Metal, which if I am in the mood I still do. Once I started to listen to Dubstep I listened to a lot of Gemini, Flux Pavillon and Netsky, I can still enjoy their old tracks, I prefer them over the newer releases actually.

 

Where was your first gig?

My first gig was in Antwerpen (Belgium) about 18 months ago.

The organizer sent me an e-mail, and it just went from there! Other artist that played at this event were Fox Stevenson (back when he was Stan SB), Feint and Boy Kid Cloud. The crowd was about 1500 people and it has really been an awesome experience! Not long after this I played at another event in Belgium together with Matrix & Futurebound and Hucci. We all met before and had dinner together which really was a surreal experience for me, since I have never expected to meet them.

 

What is there to come this coming year?

A lot of music and also a music video! I’ll be playing at more shows and I thought about uploading some tutorials to YouTube too, that depends on me finding the time for it though.

 

Great to hear! Thank you very much for this interview!

Thank you!

_

Follow Elliot Berger here:

SoundcloudYouTubetoneden.ioFacebookTwitter