I’ve always loved music, but it was back in my late teens when I’d discovered my passion for electronic music. Back then, dubstep (and heavier electronic music) was becoming pretty popular in my small, midwest town and it was Skrillex’s ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ album that had sparked my curiosity. I remember listening to that album and thinking, how did he make this music and how could I do this too?
A few years later, in my early twenties, some local DJ friends had invited me to a New Years party in Arizona called ‘Decadence,’ which was my very first EDM festival. I remember seeing all of these famous, superstar producers up on this massive stage and thinking how much fun it would be to lead the party rather than just attend it.
After that, I was hooked. I returned home from Decadence with a new goal in mind. One day those guys are going to be my peers, not my idols. Someday, I will be one of the acts alongside them, up on that stage leading the party.
I’ve been working towards that goal ever since.
You are one of the best up and coming musicians we have encountered on the internet! And your track “Better” is probably your best track yet! Could you tell us more about the story behind this track?
Awww shucks, thanks Amber!
“Better” is one of the tracks you’ll find on my second album, “Sincerely Yours,” which will be released sometime before April 2020. Similar to my first album, “Feel The Love,” this project follows the Future Bass meets Pop sound that I’ve grown to love so much. (Thanks, Illenium!)
“Sincerely Yours” is an album about the trials, tribulations and overall rollercoaster-ride that we’ve all experienced with young love. The album is pretty evenly split between the feelings of heartache and heartbreak, like “Better,” that stem from one of my chapters in young love coming to an end.
Other tracks on this album, like “Real Thing,” were written about exactly the opposite feeling, a renewed sense of optimism that comes with new beginnings and turning a fresh page to start writing the next chapter.
Going over your Soundcloud we can tell you love experimenting with new sounds. Can you tell us more about your studio setup and some of your favorite plugins/instruments?
Honestly my studio isn’t anything to brag about. It’s a pretty minimalistic setup that I can pack up into a couple large suitcases and take on the road with me.
For sound, I’ll either bring a pair of KRK Rokit 5’s / 8’s or my M-Audio’s BX6’s and when I’m traveling by car I’ll toss in my KRK’s 10” sub as well. And for those late-night sessions when my monitors are pissing off the neighbors I use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 880’s (600 OHM).
I’ve also got a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (audio interface) with me in addition to an Akai Professional MPK mini MKII (MIDI keyboard). At home I also use a bit larger M-Audio keyboard.
On the software side of things I’m running FL Studio.
One of the things I have the most fun producing is vocal chops. If you listen to my “Remix The Love” album you’ll hear those in pretty much every drop. I also had a ton of fun, and spent way more time than I’d like to admit, with the vocal chops for my remix of Flume’s “Never Be Like You.” >> https://soundcloud.com/elloxo/never-be-like-you-remix
My favorite plugins to help create these effects are ‘Slicex’ ($79) and ‘GrossBeat’ ($99).
As for VST’s you can’t go wrong with Kontact, Massive or Sylenth.
Your signature sound is already very professional and amazing to listen to! How did you manage to achieve such a professional sound in such a short me? Can you tell us more about your musical background?
Thanks Amber, but I’ve got to give credit where credit is due here. I will be the first to admit that I’m not an expert at mastering, so long as you’re open to sharing some of the creative control then having another set of fresh ears listening to, tweaking and perfecting your mix can really help take your track to the next level.
My first album, “Feel The Love,” was mastered by Dave Kalberg and my second album, “Sincerely Yours,” is currently being mixed and mastered by Brad LaBarbera (DJ Unwind). Both of these guys are nothing short of magic in the studio and they’ve helped tremendously in making my music sound its best.
If there was one piece of advice I could share with greener-producers it would be to stop running all of your tunes through Ozone, and instead hire a professional to master your music.
All of your tracks are very melodic. Do you play any real-life instruments?
I do, but not very well. Growing up I played the trumpet and when it wasn’t cool to be in the school band any longer I started playing the guitar in a very short-lived emo band. I still strum on an acoustic guitar every now and again but that’s not something I’d feel comfortable doing on stage (yet).
What are your goals for the coming months? Any upcoming projects we can get excited about?
I know I’ve already mentioned my next album, “Sincerely Yours” here so I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but that’s what I’m most excited about releasing. I’ve produced 26 tracks for that album, which are currently with Brad for mixing and mastering. Once he’s got all the new tunes polished we’ll cut it down and package 12-16 of them for release as “Sincerely Yours.”
