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Catching Up With Krayt
What first drew you into music production and dubstep production in particular?
Music is something that I’ve always loved. I got into production around my junior year of college when I was a pre-med major and DJing for fun at the time. Eventually, I got this desire to create my own music, so I picked up Ableton 9 and immediately got obsessed. At the same time I was going through a really rough point in my life and making music was the only thing that made me happy. To me, music is the thing that gave me hope when things were at there absolute worst so I decided I wanted to make a career out of something I loved and that made me happy. I want to be able to give that hope to the world through my music and project. I got into making dubstep and bass music in general about halfway through production school at Icon Collective. I started having a lot of fun with sound design and it all just kind of came naturally for me. I grew up listening to a lot of heavy metal, rock and punk-rock bands. I’ve also always been a big fan of guys like Kill the Noise, Excision, Skrillex, Nero, Virtual Riot etc. a lot of those guys and many more are huge inspirations of mine. “Doomsday” by Nero will forever be one of my favorite songs.
Krayt is a very unique producer name, how did you choose that name? Any special meaning behind it?
So I’m a HUGE Star Wars fan and the name Krayt is a really lowkey Star Wars reference relating to these powerful dragons that live on Tattoine. I also have a love for dragons and what they can be used to represent. They have always been something I’ve resonated with, so that’s what drew me to the name Krayt from the start. The special meaning comes with how I relate it to my beliefs; I believe that no matter where you are in your life you can stop what’s making you unhappy and pursue whatever it is you love to do in this life. To me, the dragon represents two things. On one hand, it is all the obstacles and challenges standing between me and my goals, and on the other, it is this powerful being that can conquer anything. Not only do I want to conquer my dragon, I want to become it as well.
Dubstep is known to be 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?
Mixing is something I’ve gotten better and better at through repeated trial and error. Not only is it something that I genuinely enjoy as a creative and technical process but it’s also something I put A LOT of time and focus into. I also had an amazing mentor in production school who I gained a ton of mixing knowledge and techniques from. Plus I have a huge desire and drive for improvement that never goes away. In my home studio, I have a pair of Samson Resolv RXA6’s with a Scarlett 2i4 that I’m very used too. I also use two other studio spaces that each have a pair of KRKs and Genelec’s. One being Icon’s graduate studio which is fully treated with an apogee and the other being a rented studio space that is fully treated with an Apollo. A common misconception people have with mixing is that if they have all the best equipment their mixes will be fire. Don’t get me wrong working with an amazing studio set up is definitely helpful but I think knowing your setup and tools inside and out is way more important.
Your latest remix of “one life” is one of the best tracks we have heard this year! Could you tell us more about the story behind this track? Also, what is your creative processes like?
The story behind this record is pretty simple, I absolutely loved the original by Slander & YOOKiE, I really felt like I resonated with the song. A few weeks after the original was released I felt super inspired to make my remix so I started an idea and just ran with it. I knew from the beginning I wanted to keep it melodic while still adding some heavier dubstep elements as well so I sat down got in the zone and started working. My creative process varies from song to song. A lot of times I start working and things just happen. Depending on the idea in my head, I usually start from either the beginning of the song with the intro and melodic content or I start from the drop with my drums then go into sound design, arrangement etc. but that’s not always the case. Sometimes I’ll work on a drop for 6 hours, then go work on the verse for an hour, then I might processes all the sounds and do some mixing, who knows I just go with it. However once the creative idea is done, everything is processed and everything sounds the way I want it to, I do a rough mix then I will stem it out and do a full stem mix-down… and probably save 17 different versions in the process.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years I see myself working just as hard as I am now, always trying to improve, putting out quality content and hopefully touring the world.
What are your goals for the new year. Any upcoming projects we can get excited about?
I have a lot of goals for the new year. I’m definitely looking to release on some major record labels this year such as Monstercat, Never Say Die and Deadbeats to name a few. However my main goal is to continue putting out quality content. I have quite a few upcoming projects that I’m super excited to finally be putting out! One of which is an original I’ve been sitting on that just so happens to be the next release coming out in April!
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