Exclusive Interview: Meet AFTRLFE

What first drew you into music production and Dubstep in particular?

I grew up playing different instruments, such as the piano and trumpet; and listening to various genres of music, especially classic rock. I was actually first drawn to filmmaking and thought I would pursue that over music, professionally. However, I did a complete 180 the first festival I went to and saw Porter Robinson and Benny Benassi play. From that moment, I began learning everything I possibly could about music production and DJ’ing. I originally began making Big Room House and then started to make Trap, but when I moved to L.A. after I got out of the Marine Corps, Dubstep was one of the reigning genres. I was really influenced by the culture and the sounds coming out of L.A so I started to DJ at a lot Dubstep shows throughout SoCal. Finally, in 2016 I saw Funtcase b2b Cookie Monsta b2b Doctor P, and that set in particular really inspired me to learn how to sound design. It’s funny though because I never really considered myself a one genre artist. I’m still pushing to find a sound that’s unique and my own. Right now I’ve been making a ton of Future Bass/Hybird Trap stuff and I’m really loving that.

All of your drops are very powerful and mixed to perfection, could you tell us more about your Drop creation processes?

It’s different with every track. For Dubstep tracks, I usually make a bunch of different versions of the same patch in Serum and bounce those down to audio. Once it’s in audio, I add different effects and resample the same audio over and over. From there, it’s all about cutting out different “motifs” and making cool little riffs with all the different sounds you’ve created. Then, when mixing I usually have a “dry” layer and a “wet” layer with some reverb and delay.

I make Future Bass much the same way I make Dubstep. Instead of making different bass patches, I make different chords. From there, I just rearrange the chords until I have a progression I’m happy with. I repeat the process to add a vocal chop. When it comes down to the mixing, I usually try to make sure my layers have complimentary timbres in the sound. I think that’s really important when creating an epic wall of sound.

Dubstep is known as one of the most complex genres to produce, how did you manage to develop such great mixing skills in such a short time? Also, what is your studio setup like?

I went to the Los Angeles Recording School in 2015 and got a degree in Music Production. That definitely helped out a lot. After I finished there, I went to a production school in downtown Los Angeles called Matrix Sessions. So having that educational background has helped out a lot, but I think consistent practice is crucial, as well.

My studio set up isn’t anything special. I have Yamaha HS7 monitors, a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface, and Beyerdynamic DT 770 headphones with the 250 ohm.

Your latest track “Hypnosis” is your best track in our opinion! From its artwork to the Incredibly powerful sound we absolutely love it. Could you tell us more about the story behind this track? Also, what is your creative processes like?

“Hypnosis” is really about an instance that I’m sure everyone can relate to. It’s about having someone in our lives that is seemingly trustworthy and friendly on the outside, but really has rather malicious intentions.

For my creative process, I usually like to write music after I’ve gone and exercised for a couple hours. There’s something about the therapeutic nature of physical activity that really opens things up for me, creatively.

What are your musical goals for the future?

Well, recently I was fortunate enough to play the KROQ tent at Coachella this past April and that was really huge for me. So moving forward, I would really like to play some more festivals and be able to get out there and tour and bring my music to people all across the world.

What are your general goals for the coming months? Any upcoming projects we can get excited about?

I’m going to be dropping a new track at the beginning of October so be on the look out for that!

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