Describe your sound in 3 words
futuristic, unpredictable, rare
You blend guitar with chill beats in a very cool way. Tell us a few things about your creative process.
My styles vary so much as I switch from ambient to trap to instrumental jazzy hip hop, but I always start with two things – the BPM and the key signature. I’ve focused heavily on BPMs between 70 and 90 recently but have consistently let the melodic elements guide me throughout. If I find a killer chord progression in Bb major for instance, I riff off that til I find good vocal melodies, often in natural minor scales. I always pitch shift my drum elements to support the key of the song. I’m classically trained in jazz music so I know there are infinite possibilities with chord progressions. I often stick to sixths and major 7ths, throwing in pitch shifted delays and vocal samples. The creative process for each concept is like raising a baby from the day it’s born. You just gotta nurture it and give it all the necessities and attention for the baby to grow into a high functioning adult with swag.
Who is your favorite beatmaker?
It’s between Knxwledge and Pi’erre Bourne for me.
How do you relate to the Los Angeles music scene?
Born and raised in LA, the music scene in the city has functioned as a third parent of mine throughout my life. I started going to hip hop festivals at the age of 9, then raves at the age of 11, so my musical taste was always directly evolving with the acts I’d see at these festivals. Los Angeles has such a rich rap history so I’ve been listening to 2pac, Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Dre, and NWA since I was a young boy. As I grew older, electronic music exploded in LA when I approached my teen years, so I got a perfect blend of urban vibes with dance/experimental music to influence me as a future artist. Also with a strong guitar heavy surf rock scene in the city, I’ve related religiously to the variety of the Los Angeles music scenes over the years, going to several shows a week for long periods of time.
How do you think having such an easy access to samples affects the quality of produced music?
I think having easy access to samples improves the quality of produced music as it gives producers an infinite well to source concepts from. In theory this easy access may seem to water down the quality of the music (if you hear the same samples over and over), but I believe that having more resources expands producers’ creative options for the better.
Best music related film?
This one’s outta left field but – Irreversible (2002) – the French film that was scored by Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter. best soundtrack IMO.
When not writing music, how do you spend your time?
I’m an avid trail runner, so when I’m not writing music I’m running in the mountains at high elevation all over California. Also, I’m huge into daily meditation.
Thank you!
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