How did you first get into EDM? What drew you into music production?
I went to an EDM show in 2011 and just fell in love with the sound. I’ve always enjoyed fiddling around with instruments, and once I got my hands on software that enabled me to create the music I was listening to, I just couldn’t put it down.
You’re from Texas—where do you go out when you’re back home?
I honestly don’t go out really when I’m home, I normally go to bed around 10 every night and wake up early in the morning and start writing. Between working on music and school, I don’t really have the energy to go out very often.
You produce bass heavy EDM do you also dj?
I’ve been producing for about 2 ½ years and played my first gig in February of this year. I have been playing live off and on since then, there’s no better feeling than seeing a crowd go wild to a track I made!
You’re latest EP “Movin’ out” together with SWANBEATS is one of the best ep’s we have heard in a while and it seems you have put a lot of work into it, when did you start working on it and when did you know it was ready to be released?
Thank you I really appreciate that! The EP wasn’t written with the idea that the tracks were going to be apart of an ep, Swan and I both each have one original in the EP, and the other two tracks are tracks we collaborated on. We wrote the two tracks “Game Time” and “Yah Pull Up!” in about three weeks, we sent demos out to a lot of artists to get feedback before sending the demos to labels. After we got the feedback we knew it was ready to release, so I sent the EP to Electrostep and they were on board to release it.
How did you meet SWANBEATS?
I played a show that he also played in February of this year; we immediately clicked and started helping each other with music. We moved in together and literally do nothing but work on music all day everyday, so it’s been great to be around someone that has the same goals and mentality that I do. He’s also really helped me understand how important marketing and branding is to make it in the industry.
What is your creative processes like, where do you start when creating a new track?
Lots of times I’ll get inspiration from a non-edm track, and I’ll immediately start writing a hook or topline and build the rest of the track around that. If I’m not near my laptop, I’ll sing a little melody into the voice memo app on my phone, then when I get to the laptop I’ll write it out in Ableton.
How is the creative processes different when collaborating with other artists?
I really enjoy working with other artists, every artist has their own ways and methods they use to write music, so I always get to learn new tricks and such though collaborating with other artists. Now days with the technology we have, the possibilities are endless when it comes to collaborating. I’ve collaborated with lots of artists from Australia, the time difference is pretty extreme, so it’s normally just a matter of patience. I’ll work on a track for two weeks, then the other artist will work on it for two weeks, etc…
What do you have planned for the rest of 2016? What are you working on right now? Any upcoming releases we can get excited about?
I have a couple tracks that will release before the end of the year that I’m super stoked about. SWANBEATS and I have a record we just wrapped up that, I’m confident, will change the game for us. I cant wait to get all this new MAD CHEDDAR music out that I’ve been sitting on for so long, I’m really excited for people to hear this new sound I have!
Tell us more about what went into you changing your stage name to MAD CHEDDAR, Where did that idea come from? And what made you decide to switch?
Well the main thing was, no one could pronounce my last name “Meador” correctly, so it made it difficult from a marketing standpoint. Also the name MAD CHEDDAR, has given me more options and freedom as far as branding is concerned. I’m writing a lot different music now, genre wise, so we felt that it was a perfect time to change my name before all these tracks release.
What are you long term goals? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Long term, I’d obviously like to tour and play the biggest festivals and shows in the world for awhile, however; I’m not 100% sure I would enjoy doing that for years and years to come. In 5 years I would love to be at a place in my career that I could go to the studio everyday and produce records for other artists. My dream career is film scoring, Hans Zimmer is my biggest inspiration for learning production and composition; he’s just an absolute genius. I’ve always been obsessed with film and music, and I’ve always been attracted to film scores and soundtracks. Ever since I started producing, I’ve always written film scores. I’ll turn on The Dark Night or Interstellar and find a little 10 minute scene and write a piece to it. Seeing film and music mesh together is so fascinating to me, that is definitely my dream profession!
Connect with MAD CHEDDAR:
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/madcheddarmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madcheddarmusic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chadmeador
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mad.cheddar/
