First off, give us a little background, what started you into the wonderful world of dee-jay-ing and creating mashups?
For me it all started junior year of High School. I made my first mash-up “Show Me Boom,” and it spread around my school a little bit and people seemed to like it. So, I kept on just listening to song and experimenting with free audio editing software like Audacity. Very shortly after I went to my first rave, and that pretty much made me fall in love with Dj’ing and the marvelous world of EDM. I’ve been obsessed with pretty much every aspect of electronic music and DJ’ing ever since.
What was your biggest struggle when getting your career off the ground?
Time management. I’m a full time student so it was very hard for me to just find the time to sit down and work on my music. It took quite a while for me to have enough time to create a decent amount of tracks, learn more about production, get my name out there, and carve out time for live shows.
What has been your biggest success so far in your career?
The recent notice I’ve been getting within the blogosphere has been incredible. Until very recently, my music was really only known around my hometown and the college I attend, but getting mentioned by a few blogs has really helped me get my name out there. Mashing and producing tracks gives me so much happiness, and just knowing that someone else out there is enjoying it as well is an incredible feeling.
When you produce your music, do you have a particular genre that you like to work with?
Recently I’ve really gotten into Electro/ Electro-House. I love producing “bangers,” so to speak. But I also listen to literally all genres of music (besides Country) and try to incorporate a bit of everything into my work. I really like to mix it all up.
When you finish your music, who is the first person you let listen? Is it the world or a close friend?
I have a few close friends who are very passionate about the EDM scene and electronic music production, so I usually throw them a preview of my music first, get their feedback, and then edit the track based on their suggestions before uploading it for all to hear.
With your music, where do you see it taking you in the future? Do you hope to be a world famous DJ or do you just want to do it as a hobby?
Currently, I’m just having so much fun with it. It would be a dream come true if I was able to tour and DJ at music festivals, but as of right now, I’m just going with the flow and seeing where my music takes me.
Do you have any idols? Why do they inspire you?
There are so many people who inspire me. One of my favorite aspects of DJ’ing is that there are so many talented people making music out there. But at the moment, I would say Dada Life and Nero inspire me the most. I’ve seen Dada Life perform three times now, and every time I’ve seen they have thrown down so hard. The way they inject so much energy into their sets and get the crowd going is truly amazing. Nero, in my opinion, has some of the best production skills out there, and I straight up just love all of the original tracks they produce.
Do you ever do live shows? And if so, what is your favorite atmosphere to perform in?
I perform live quite frequently, usually in a frat party/rager type setting, but I have also recently DJ’ed in a few clubs. My favorite type of setting is to be smack dab in the middle of a raging crowd. I love to be able to really connect with the crowd and put on a good show for them. In my opinion, the grimier the atmosphere, the better.
Now, I gotta ask, what programs do you use to make your music?
I use Ableton Live to make most of my tracks, and I use Traktor when I’m performing live sets.
Any advice for the new DJ’s out there? Any words of wisdom that you could say to inspire them to keep on making music?
Never give up, and never stop making music. Even if I make a track that I don’t think is that fantastic, I usually will upload it to my soundcloud page anyway because I learn so much from the feedback people give me. Secondly, listen to as much music as you can, and don’t simply listen to what DJ’s are putting out. It’s amazing what blending a classic rock track with an electro banger can do to get a crowd ready to rage.
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