We Once Had An Empire

As always Matt has been putting the team on his back, but this week I have for you an interview with up and coming EDM artist Audien from Connecticut. As a member of Solarity here at Oberlin College, I am happy to welcome Audien to our campus on April 27, 2013 to headline our event “Awaken the Wild”. The promotional video is attached here and tickets are on sale to the public. Be sure to check out his interview and keep an eye out for Audien in the future. After all he is playing at Tomorrowland Mainstage this summer…

If you are in the Ohio area and are interested in coming you can buy your tickets online HERE for only $15! Students may purchase their tickets at Wilder Desk or at the door. Here is the facebook event page for Awaken the Wild. The event starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 12:00 am.

Audien Interview

Name: Nate Rathbun

Age: 21

Where you are from: Connecticut

Software/ Operating System: Mac OSX

Questions:

Who are your favorite producers right now?

- John Dahlback, Moguai, so many!

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

- Melodic, Emotional, Pumping

Have any artists in particular inspired you?

- So many, and from so many different genres too! Hard to pinpoint.

You have about 22,000 likes on Facebook– where do you think most of your fan base comes from?

- All over the world. The greatest thing about Electronic Music, is it’s accepted worldwide, so my first fans on my page were most likely from the UK, Australia, and Mexico.

What is your favorite track that you have produced thus far?

- Leaving You, with Michael S. It’s a toss up between that and Wayfarer but leaving you was more of a collective project.

Do you have any new songs or remixes in the works and any hint to when they will be released?

- Tons of originals, and a few collaborations! No remixes of right now, but that will change soon I bet.

What was your reaction when you found out that you were on the Tomorrowland lineup for this summer?

- My face melted. I’ve always wanted to play that event, seeing as it’s one of the biggest in the world! The fact that I’ll be playing on the MainStage is like icing on the cake for me.

Fun Questions

Who would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with?

- Louie C.K for sure!

Who would you want to play you in a movie?

- Jim Carrey

Are you single?

- Yes

If you were an animal, what would you be?

- I’d be a plankton

Some of Audien’s Music posted below:

Check out his sound cloud at https://soundcloud.com/audien

Email [email protected] with questions

I had a chance to ask up and coming artist “No Pets Allowed” some questions, here is what he had to say.

Check out Previously Posted Tracks by No Pets Allowed

Moves Like Taylor (Taylor Swift x Drake x Maroon 5 & More)

 Download

Heartbeat (No Pets Allowed Remix)

Download 

Name: No Pets Allowed

Where you are from: NYC

Software/ Operating System: Logic Pro

Favorite Artists: Fall Out Boy, Kanye West, Two Door Cinema Club, Childish Gambino

How did you come up with the name “No Pets Allowed”?

“In high school, I would write down potential band names in my BlackBerry.  They’d usually be inside jokes or observations .  I went to see Slumdog Millionaire in the city and afterwards I went to get some halal food from a cart.  We passed a shop with a sign that said “No Pets Allowed” on the way there and so I wrote it down.  When I started this project, I needed a name so I went through that list and picked No Pets Allowed.   I don’t know how to DJ and most DJ names are cheesy so I was trying to avoid a name like DJ Ca$hMoney you know?”

How long have you been producing and making remixes and mashups?

“I’ made my first remix and my first mashup almost 3 years ago.  I started making them because before, I would write songs and make music.  I had major writer’s block so without any lyrics I had no original music to make.  Remixing was a way for me to produce music with pre-written lyrics.  Mashing was just an experiment that I slowly grew into.”

How much time does it usually take you to create a remix/mashup and how do you determine what songs you are going to use for them?

“It really depends.  The fastest I’ve made a mashup was under 3 hours.  Sometimes I’ll spend weeks tinkering with a track to get it right.”

How do you feel about music sites like WeOnceHadAnEmpire.com and other sites that spread the word about upcoming artists?

 ”They’re awesome.  It’s one of the best ways to get small artists heard and it’s great to have support.”

What is your favorite song that you have produced?

“Definitely the dubstep remix to Heartbeat.  When I first made it, I was fucking around and I wasn’t trying to, you know, be like Skrillex or anything.  You see so many amateur dubstep artists who have incredible production prowess…but all they do with it is imitate Skrillex.  Listen to any Top 40 dubstep remix and it’ll be kids trying to get that Skrillex’ sound.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Skrillex.  It’s just annoying to see people hop on his style.  When I made the track, I wanted to have an original and melodic drop.  A lot of people have commented saying that it’s like 8-bit or “video game-y” which it definitely is.  Dubstep is a genre that has potential to diversity and I’m glad that I was able to throw my own twist on it.”

Some of the software and remixing tools tend to be difficult to learn, do you have any advice to aspiring artists looking to get into making remixes?

“Patience.  You’ll see results once you put the effort in.  Using programs like Pro Tools, Ableton, or Logic can be intimidating at first.  It takes a lot of tinkering though until you understand new concepts.  By spending 2 to 3 hours of my day on Logic,  I learn something new every day.”

Do you have any new remixes or mashups in the works any hint to when they will be released?

“I have this Fall Out Boy/Lil Wayne mashup mixtape nearly ready to go.  I plan to release it once I get 1000 fans on Facebook.  It’s called “Nobody Puts Weezy In The Corner” (you can find the album art/announcement here Link)”

Check Out No Pets Allowed….

Facebook

Soundcloud

Posted By: Matt