Instagram | Spotify | Beatport
Can you tell us about your background and how you first got started in music? How did you first become interested in electronic music and what drew you to it as a medium for mself-expression?
I’ve always loved electronic music since I was 17, there is just something about the feeling and energy that it brings you. Music itself has always been a very important art form, it touches your soul, helps you through a bad day and enhances the best parts of life. It adds
that little bit of spice that keeps the corners of your mouth continuously stretching. It’s through this love for music that brought me to the realisation that I needed to create this feeling for myself and others. I wanted to bring people happiness when they heard my track at home, on their morning commute or raging on a dancefloor. When I see someone in the crowd moving their body to the beat with that smile I recognise on their face, I know I’ve done my job. I started making tracks about four years ago. I studied it part time for a year and then when
the 2020 health epidemic hit, my girlfriend at the time and I isolated in a house in the Australian countryside and I dedicated the rest of the year to learning and creating music. Best decision I ever made! Before this I was working as a film editor and director for TV commercials. Being a creative job, I’ve been able to use a lot of these learnt skills in promoting my music by creating videos to enhance the release of the tracks.
Who are some of your biggest musical influences, both within electronic music and outside of it? How have these influences shaped your sound and approach to creating music?
My biggest music influences at the moment would have to be all the artists who are releasing on Oliver Huntemann’s label Senso Sounds, absolutely love everything that comes mout of there. So, through this I guess Oliver has inspired not only my productions but, also my dj style. His sets like his tracks are fire!! Some others would be Maksim Dark, he’s got such a unique style that you can always tell it’s his music being played in somebodies dj set. Before I knew him, I really loved Boho’s music mand now after sending him my own productions, he has really taken me under his wing by mbelieving in my music and now putting it out on his label Jannowitz. Also, a big fan of Carlo Ruetz, to me he is one of the best producers in the game at the moment. Another influence mis Richie Hawtin, the GOAT, in all of his interviews he comes across so humble and kind. His mmusic also blows my mind, especially his earlier Plastikman releases. mI try to listen to these artists above a lot outside of the studio, during which I’m taking in certain ideas and figuring out how or why they made certain musical decisions. This helps to enhance the creativity in my own productions.
Can you walk us through your creative process for writing and recording a new song? How do you typically begin a new track, and what are some of the key elements or techniques you focus on as you develop it?
When creating a new track, I usually start off with some basic drums and then spend a lot of time getting the right bassline. I feel once you have this element right, you can build the track around it. I’ll then experiment adding and taking away harmonic elements, going more in depth with the groove of the drums. I also really love incorporating vocals whether it is just one word or a whole acapella, this one element can help you to tell the story and further express the musical idea. After I’ve got something I like, I’ll then arrange the track out into a full song and finish it as fast as I can before I want to move onto something new.
Your latest project is really gaining traction, can you tell us about it? How did this project come about and what inspired you to create it? What was your approach to making it and what do you think sets it apart from your previous work?
It’s kind of a funny story of how the idea of Phantom came about, I was at a music festival in the middle of last year called Dragon Dreaming. Myself and my girlfriend at the time were looking for one of our friends who was supposedly at the festival, every time we would see someone else we knew they would say “aww you just missed him, he was right here a second ago”. This happened way too many times and I began calling him the Phantom. Through this experience the inception was born and kept growing into the three tracks you hear today. Each with their own story and personality. There was no real unique approach to making them, I wanted to make music that I could play out and get people excited during the night. I always knew that once I had ‘Phantom’ the track finished, it would be a great club track to play out in my sets. So far, it’s been a crowd favourite. ‘Mild Madness’ has also got some great attention, I feel mainly due to it being a bit of an unexpected climax with the synth stabs that are first heard on the second drop. ‘It is what it Is’ the last track off the EP has this pulsating bassline that I really love, complemented by the intense main stabs that yell and scream throughout.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? Can you talk about a specific moment or accomplishment that stands out as particularly meaningful to you?
Well quite early on getting one of my first finished tracks signed to Stil vor Talent was a mreally exciting moment for me, having a big label interested in your early work really helped instil confidence in my music and helped me going forward. After this I would say this moment right now, with Phantom being released and having a lot of unreleased music coming out next month and my first album dropping in May.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or collaborations you have in the works? Are mthere any new directions or sounds you’re exploring in your music right now?
The most exciting collaboration I have coming out with the album is with Boho, a really dark mand driving track that has been fun to play out in both our dj sets. There’s also my ‘Twisted’ EP being released with Music4Aliens in February. Sonically I’ve been moving more towards the world of progressive techno, with lots of experimentation and influence from the other styles of melodic and heavier techno. Also have fallen in love with all things acid.
As a musician, what message do you hope to convey through your music? What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to again and again in your work?
My main goal with my tracks is to create a story that takes the listener on a journey that sort of mimes the structure of film. The set-up, the climax, and the resolution. Before I was producing I was always looking for music that surprised me, that would blind side you on the 2 nd drop. It’s this unexpected peak in the song that gets me dancing in the studio and keeps me motivated to keep making tracks that resonate with my audience. I have a few unreleased tracks coming out this year that to me tell a story through speaking about current issues in the world and how when we unite we are able to overcome anything the world throws at us.
Can you tell us about any challenges you have faced in your career and how you overcame them? Have there been any specific obstacles or difficulties you’ve had to navigate as an electronic musician?
In 2021 I went through a year of writing a lot of music ideas but not finishing many of them. I wrote and finished an album realising at the end of it all it wasn’t my best work and I really didn’t like it all that much. So I decided not to release it. This whole experience was the
toughest challenge I’ve ever faced, one that really tested me as an artist. I knew as soon as I hit the new year that something needed to change, so I focused on finishing as much of my music as possible. Even the ones I wasn’t really that into became a goal to complete, this mindset switched something in my brain and now looking back I had the most productive year of my life.
How do you see the music industry evolving in the next 5 years? What changes do you think we’ll see in terms of technology, distribution, and audience engagement?
The music industry as a whole is super strong and is only growing which is amazing to see. mWith the younger generations growing up with electronic music it’s becoming more and more popular at venues and festival all around the world. With technology becoming more
accessible and affordable, it’s great to see so many new and up and coming artist’s putting music out that a few years ago would have only been a dream for them. So, as we progress there’s more opportunities that continue to arise.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians trying to make it in the industry? Are there any particular tips or strategies you’ve found to be particularly effective in building ma career as an electronic musician?
Finish your music haha! That’s number one for me, it will progress you like nothing else. Also learning new skills through doing courses will do you better than watching a thousand Youtube videos ever will. Production Music Live have some amazing courses and they are very affordable. Another tip would be to breakdown in detail your favourite artist’s tracks in a DAW project, rebuilding every element so you can get closer to that professional sound that we all strive for. Also, I feel these days it’s not enough to just make music, it’s also important to be able to perform it out to a live audience and see how they react to certain parts of the tracks. This will tell you what the song needs or doesn’t need. There’s also the incredible sensation you get from the crowd and energy that inspires the music.
What’s next for you?
Coming up would be to keep the ball rolling and continuing to create high quality music, with the aim to get my tracks signed with my favourite labels that have been inspiring me for the last few years. I am very excited to be moving to Berlin in June, so looking forward to a new chapter in the electronic music mecca of the world! Also, while having a base in Germany I’ll aim to start playing in other areas of Europe, enjoying the adventure while mperforming my music to a new audience with fresh ears.
