What first drew you into music production?
Before I started producing music, I was a DJ. I joined a fraternity shortly into my college career and became fascinated with DJing when I witnessed a fraternity brother mixing on a software program called Virtual DJ. I began playing at parties we hosted that ended up being very successful since I went to a small state school in Connecticut that didn’t have a lot of Greek life. Electronic dance music became huge during my time in college and I started to fall in love with it the more I played it in my sets.
However, I didn’t begin producing music until 2013 when I was just getting out of school and going through a rough transitional period in my life. I had been depressed for months and had a moment of clarity one day that I needed to make some changes, let some things go and really pursue something that would make me happy, which for me, was becoming a music producer. I chose the ancient Greek word ‘Kairos’ as my alias because it means “a propitious moment for decision or action.” It was rough at first and took several years to accomplish but I set up a studio, started learning music production, and never looked back.
You are one of the best up and coming remixers/producers we have encountered on the internet! And your latest remix of “Miracle” is one of our all-time favorites. How do you know if a song is a good candidate for a remix? Also, what is your creative process like when making a remix?
I’m personally drawn to remixing a song from the vocals. I’m a sucker for very melodic, raw and catchy melodies from a singer. I remixed Miracle because there was an online contest for it a couple years back so it was easy to get the individual stem tracks for it. Other times, I have to find the acapella on the internet which is not always possible but there are some decent sites out there that are good resources. Once I have the acapella track, I’ll build the remix from there by figuring out the original song’s key and then writing my own melodies/chords and experimenting with different sounds to give it my own style.
Your latest track “Letdown” is another great example of how capable you are as a producer! The mixing is on point and the melodies/ideas are out of this world! Could you tell us more about your studio setup and some of the plugins used to create this track?
My studio setup has changed a lot over the years. I started out with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface, a pair of Tannoy Reveal 508a monitors, and a copy of Logic Pro 9 on my laptop. I slowly upgraded over the years, eventually moving to an iMac, a pair of Yamaha S8 monitors and a Universal Audio Apollo 8 interface which are all really awesome to work with. For keyboards, I mostly play on a Roland Juno-Gi but I also have a Korg and an Alesis from playing in bands over the years.
I use a lot of Native Instruments plugins because I bought Komplete 9 which is well worth the money for what you get. I enjoy Slate Audio’s products as well; the virtual mix rack has amazing sounding plugins in it. I also highly recommend Nicky Romero’s plugin called Kickstart which makes side chain compression super easy. I use it all the time on my tracks.
Truthfully though, it doesn’t matter what gear you use. Anyone can make a decent sounding song with minimal equipment which took me a long time to realize. It’s more about your skill level. However, there is a correlation to the price and quality of gear. More expensive equipment can have increased capabilities, better build, and smarter technology which in turn, makes it easier and quicker through the production process. But perfecting your skills is really the secret sauce to making a quality song.
Your signature sound reminds us of some of the greatest EDM producers in the world (Two Friends, Don Diablo etc.). How did you manage to achieve such a professional sound in such a short time? Can you tell us more about your musical background?
I’ve only been serious about producing for around three to four years but my musical background goes way back. I started playing music at a young age. My parents signed me up for piano lessons which I didn’t enjoy and I wanted to pursue other instruments that I thought were “cooler” (which is very ironic now considering I write all my music on keyboards). I played saxophone in school band from fourth grade all the way till the end of high school. During that time, I also started playing drums and performing live with a band. In college, I became interested in synthesizers since so much of the music I was listening to involved them. I played synths and keyboards in several different bands through college that did fairly well in the local music scene but I eventually wanted to write my own music independently which was another reason why I started producing. However, I owe all my songwriting, rhythm, and music theory skills to years of playing in bands, music lessons, and practicing in my spare time.
You started putting up music on SoundCloud three years ago and you’re already getting thousands of views! How does it feel to receive such a warm welcome from the community?
It’s awesome! I wasn’t terribly confident in my production abilities in the beginning and to see that people actually like it really means a lot. You’re your own worst enemy when producing your own music and more often than not, people won’t notice things that you may be super critical of. You really never know until you put it out there. People may enjoy it!
What are your goals for the future? Any upcoming projects we should get excited about?
I just recently announced a new live show series I’ll be hosting called Kronology that I’m very excited about. The first show will be on October 17th at ZuZu Restaurant and Nightclub in Cambridge, Massachusetts with two other DJ’s, Foz and ArDao. I’m planning on doing these shows fairly regularly in the Boston area, maybe expanding to other cities if possible. I’ll also be continuing my radio show, KAIROKAST, that launched earlier this year. You can listen to it on my MixCloud (https://www.mixcloud.com/kairo5_edm).
As far as new music goes, I’ll be releasing a new remix next month that I’ve been sitting on for a while. I’ve also been working on an EP since I started producing that I’d really like to finish but it’s so much work, I keep pushing it back for other things. I think I’m going to make that my priority this winter and release it next year which would be really exciting considering how long I’ve been working on it. We shall see…
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