Alson spoke to us about Trap Nation picking up his music and being a producer in lockdown

Jacca-RouteNotein
Artist / Label News
·
Interview

Making music since childhood and honing his talents, Alson is now being picked up by some of the biggest electronic music channels on YouTube.

Alson recently spoke to me about how life is going for the producer in a changed world with festivals and gigs off the billing for a year. Whilst there are drawbacks, the Netherlands native is staying positive at his current home in Spain with the backing of some of the world’s biggest EDM lovers behind him and the chance to work on new material.

Alson has been making music from a young age, bonding with his dad over Magix music maker “I think it was… haha”. Then at age 10, with the download of FL Studio, what would became a lifelong passion began in making music.

“Around 16 years ago I downloaded FL Studio and was playing around with my friends in the neighbourhood. We changed from playing games to making beats. It was basically just sampling kicks and distorting them. In the Netherlands, harder genres of electronic music were popular and inspired us to make rough sounds.”

Since then the creativity has been flowing through Alson’s veins, through his teens and into adulthood, honing his skills with each production and year that passed. Today he’s already accomplished a lot with his music, playing at Ibiza multiple times with a discography of music available online.

About a year ago he decided to hang up his House music hat for a while and has been experimenting with ‘Future Bass’ish music’. He says: “Future Bass inspires me a lot, because I feel there’s more freedom – more tempo possibilities and room to experiment as a producer.”

That’s not all that’s changed for Alson in the last year. He released his first track with Trap Nation last year and has forged a strong connection with the music channel renowned around the world for finding and promoting brilliant electronic music.

“I am greatly appreciative to Trap Nation, they’re the first big channel that promoted my music. It’s important to make a first big step as an artist, it’s not easy but that makes it feel even better.

“You have to work hard and, of course, have a little luck at the same time, because you are always a little dependent as a smaller artist. They kept signing more music after which resulted in releasing my 4-track EP ‘Enemies‘.”

With the support and love of Trap Nation and Lowly Palace behind him it seems like things are just getting started for the already experienced music producer. This year would have seen Alson return to Ibiza for live shows but of course the world has changed recently with Coronavirus. Whilst disappointed with his gig cancellations, Alson is staying positive and using the time to create and take a step back.

“I think for the environment and the nature maybe the COVID-19 period was necessary and I hope that we can learn from this in whichever way possible. Appreciate what we have and enjoy the things around you.

“Travelling is fun but it’s more important to be healthy and sometimes just do basic stuff. I have been reading things that I’d never thought I would read before in my life and the whole period made a positive impact/change in my life I think in the end.”

Hopefully we’ll see even more golden tracks coming from producers, as a positive result of the global situation at the moment. We certainly can’t wait to hear more from Alson.

We’ll leave you with some words of advice from the man himself on creating and finding the inspiration to write music:

I think the best way of starting is being in a replaced mode but at the same time work in a chaotic way – try different concepts of songs and pick the best idea. When you like it the next day (and your producer friends confirm it) you know it could have potential.”

Check out Alson:

Spotify

SoundCloud

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Mathew Daniel Interview – Talking Chinese Music Market, Distribution, Promotion and Netease Cloud Music (Video)

RouteBotin
Digital Music News
·
Interview

Mathew Daniel is the current VP of International at Netease Cloud Music. Mathew has had a very strong music background, especially in China. Mathew was recently interviewed at Midem about the Chinese Music Market and his role within Netease Cloud Music.


Jordan Jane talks taking his Cornwall inspired folk to the world

Jacca-RouteNotein
Interview

Jordan Jane has been crafting his talents in Cornwall since childhood and in the past year his music has propelled to a position as one of Cornwall’s most promising up-and-comers. We spoke to Jordan about his music, inspirations and what’s coming next as his music gets picked up nationwide.

Lets start at the beginning, what was it that made you want to be a musician?

From the moment I saw my primary school teacher playing the guitar in class, I knew I wanted to learn music. I started learning many instruments at primary school such as guitar, drums, piano and carried this on at a secondary school for performing arts. I started writing music at around 15, just jotting lyrics down on notepads and trying to get melodies to them. I go to a folk night down in my local village which always inspired me to write music of my own.

What is it about music that you enjoy and inspires you to keep creating and playing?

I love writing melody lines and lyrics, I am inspired by musicians around me which really drives me to work on new songs. I also love playing my music live and getting good feedback from audiences. I like to think I inspire young musicians into taking up a career in music.

In your blossoming musical career, what has been your favourite moment so far?

My proudest moment so far has to be performing live for BBC Introducing. I had a great time recording with them and interviewing at Radio Devon and Cornwall. Things like these I would love to do much more of and always look to play my music in unique and interesting places.

Jordan Jane music guitar folk cornwall cornish independent music artist distro distributor
Jordan at BBC Radio Cornwall for his live session. You can catch it here.

You’ve released some great new music in the past year and have been writing and recording for years. Do you have a track that is your proudest achievement?

My personal favourite has to be “Follow the Cliff Face North”. I like how this track has a sad but moving story line behind it. I love writing songs with a message or a strong story, I think writing a song someone can relate to is really important. The track is about a ship sinking at sea, which down at Cornwall has happened a lot. The story tells of how the family’s feel and the sadness of someone lost at sea.

If you could collaborate with anyone in music, dead or alive, who would you want to work with?

There is only one answer to this for me – John Martyn. His music has been the biggest inspiration to me. Albums such as Solid Air and Bless The Weather have been my favourites since i started playing guitar. The man was a genius musician and the king of story telling within acoustic music.

As your music is really starting to kick off with plays on various BBC radio stations, lots of gigs, and festival bookings, what does the next year hold for you?

In the next year I plan to release two new singles and 2 EP’s. My new single ‘Sleep’ will be coming out in November. Followed by ‘Jessie the Girl’ in the new year. I’m planning a tour next year, mostly venues in the South West of England with a few festivals here and there. I also have a few European dates which I’m very excited to announce. I’ve also been endorsed by KMA Pedals and Dr Scientist this year and next year I will be looking to create more successful brand partnerships which would be amazing.

If you were stuck on a desert island and you could only take 1 track to listen to and 1 item, what would they be?

I would take ‘Tapestry’ by ‘Carole King’ because I’m not sure there’s a better album out there than that. And item wise I would take my Martin Acoustic, just so i could carry on playing on my lovely desert island.

What advice would you give to other aspiring musicians from the things you have learnt so far?

My advice to any musician, old or young, would be to just go for it, write music, record it, and just send it to everyone that you think might want to hear it. Don’t be shy, and never think your sound is wrong because there’s a sound for everyone. Be yourself and unique and play music you love. If you can connect with the words you write then its a good chance others can.

Jordan Jane

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How this artist went from thousands to hundreds-of-thousands of streams in one month

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Interview
2

Borrtex thought there was a mistake in his stats but one Spotify playlist shot his streams up to near a million with one track.

As streaming services become the one place we go to for music, playlists are becoming the new albums in their power and influence. 18 year old producer and composer Borrtex (Daniel Bordovský) from Prague, who uses RouteNote to get his music on the top music stores and services, has experienced what a playlist can do first hand after being selected for Spotify’s massive Sleep playlist with 2.2 million followers, one of Spotify’s own hand-curated playlists.

In that moment his music was suddenly put in front of an audience of 2.2 million new potential listeners. Borrtex said: “I first thought it was some kind of mistake! I didn’t get any notification until the second day, so I thought there was something wrong with the numbers in the Spotify for Artists app. But the next day, when I got an official email from Spotify saying my track was added to one of the biggest playlists out there, I realised it’s real!”

Borrtex artist streaming success Spotify playlist growth new listeners streams

When we asked what it was like seeing his track in one of Spotify’s biggest playlists, Borrtex said: “I remember being super happy about the news! It’s like you are working on something for a year and then the moment of exposure is here and you know that the hard work finally does payoff!”

Before his recent track We Are Saved was added to Sleep Borrtex was steadily building an audience with consistent releases of amazing production that have been featured in over 1000 projects including documentaries and short films. But being put in front of millions of new listeners is an exciting new step, earning hundreds of thousands of streams every week since being added. You can see below just how impressive the track’s growth was after joining the playlist.

Borrtex artist streaming success Spotify playlist growth new listeners streams

We spoke to Borrtex a bit more about his music and the journey to where he is today as things look to start rocketing forward for his music.

How did you start making music?

I started early in May of 2017 when I arrived from Los Angeles. Me and my friend had an amazing opportunity to speak to a few of the best worldwide known film composers there. We visited the studio of Danny Elfman and James Newton Howard. Later on we also were invited to have lunch with James, so it was truly inspiring to see how these great film composers work on a professional basis.

Borrtex composer film soundtrack artist producer spotify playlist streaming success sleep
Borrtex with James Netwon Howard at his home

At that time, I was a film maker. I was focused more on doing documentaries, and we were invited to LA to shoot a short documentary about working in Hollywood. But when I got back home I thought more about doing music as I have a musical background from my childhood; I used to play the piano as a kid. And one day I simply decided I want to try to write my own melody and things went quite well, so later that month, I ended up releasing my first EP with 3 tracks.

What are the inspirations that have shaped you and your music?

As I mentioned, my biggest inspiration to start writing my own music was James Newton Howard. Without his generosity and kindness to show us his studio, I’m not sure if I was here now as a composer. I remember being very fascinated not so much by the music but more by his personality and by the way he can express part of himself in the music he composes.

When it comes to other artists who inspire me, it’s definitely Hans Zimmer who I got to meet in June 2017. It was like a dream coming true. Me meeting the most popular film composer in the world? I couldn’t believe it! I also think the big part that brought me to film music is also my deep interest in movies themselves. Since I was 15 years old, I just loved watching films and TV series.

Borrtex composer film soundtrack artist producer spotify playlist streaming success sleep
Borrtex with Hans Zimmer

What is it that you love about music and making it?

The best thing about making music is the freedom I get as an artist. My creative process is just the way I want it to be, I can go out and get some inspiration from nature, or I can stay at home and just improvise. I can adjust it by my own needs and I can fully express myself along with my feelings and ideas. And that’s what I really love about it! Also, playing the piano is simply the one activity when I get completely lost in the moment and forget what time it is.

I can do it for hours a day and I’m still having fun while writing new tunes. The goal I have with my instrumental music is to help people bring the emotion to their lives. Sometimes you don’t feel like singing, so there is my music to support you, it’s here to make the perfect emotional background for your situation. I heard from some of my fans that my music helps them to stay calm and relaxed or that it just helps them focus better while studying. And reading all those messages gives me a reason to never stop composing.

What are your plans for the future?

After the graduation, I hope to finally have more time to compose. I’m not sure what exactly will happen, but you definitely can expect me to release a new album along with a few singles and maybe also EP by the end of this year. I also have some film scoring projects coming, so I will be working on my first feature film where it will be me who takes care about the music!

What advice would you give to other up-and-coming artists?

This is a great question! I think the biggest and most important piece of advice is to work hard and be patient. If you work on yourself every day, you get better with every track you release, and if you are patient enough to not stop producing, then I can promise you, good things are on its way.

At the beginning the problem is, you don’t get the exposure you deserve; nobody knows you. But as you are developing your skills and you have a decent social media presence then things change. Yes you do start with small numbers but if you persist, then it starts raising and in a moment, before you realise it, you have hundreds of thousands of streams!

So, believe in yourself, be good in communication (with fans but also with people who inspire you) and be patient, don’t give up.

Find more Borrtex

Website – borrtex.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/BorrtexOfficial

YouTube – www.youtube.com/borrtex

SoundCloud – soundcloud.com/user-910809074

EDM’s hot new duo Diviners talk inspirations, what they’d take to a desert island and escaping Poland’s music scene

Jacca-RouteNotein
Interview

With their tasty new single out today I spoke to Diviners, one of electronic music’s hottest up-and-comers shooting on to the scene.

The ingredient’s making up Diviners include half a shot of Kamil Pankowski and Kamil Relikowski. Both Kamil’s were born and raised in Poland where they met each other and began making music together as well as in their own ambitious endeavours.

Over the years the pair have been honing their craft, building their name and dropping killer tune after killer tune. They’ve just dropped their new track, How featuring Chris Severe and whilst we’re still soaking in the glory of it lets talk Diviners.

What inspired you both to start producing and creating music and how did you start?

Kamil R – I started 7 years ago together with Ason ID, Alan Walker, DJ Ness, Steerner, Jakob Liedholm, Zaxx, DJ Pygme. My main inspiration was Avicii’s & Otto Knows piano sound and Alesso’s melodic tracks, it was fresh in that times.

Kamil P – My adventure started 8 or 9 years ago. At the beginning I was active on a lot of music forums. My curiosity led me to start using FL Studio and learn how to produce own tracks. The nature inspires me the most – I really like snowboarding and beautiful views – trying to express it in all our songs.

We’ve met each other 4 years ago. Then decided to make songs (mainly Progressive House) together. On 6th of December 2014 – we went for one of Kygo’s show in Poland. It really motivated us – that’s how Diviners were created.

What are your biggest influences and who would you work with if you could?

It would be good to make a track with Aviicii, Kygo or Axwell. Ingrosso in the future!

How does it feel having the support and respect of peers like Alan Walker and the Chainsmokers?

We are good friends with Alan so it feels really nice that he is still with us – we also supported him on his show in Poland earlier this year. The Chainsmokers were really unexpected for us for sure and we’re so happy that they have heard and liked our track ‘Savannah’.

What is the music scene like in Poland and how has that influenced your music careers?

It’s not that good at all. We can’t play our own music at clubs or festivals because its ‘too soft stuff’ so we have to fit our music to the theme. We think we’re better known abroad.

If you were stranded on a desert island with 1 song and 1 item, what would they be?

Silhouettes’ by Avicii. An item? Definitely piano!

We can’t wait for your new track ‘How’ when it releases next week, what sort of vibe can we expect from it?

It’s one of these chill tracks with guitars we really enjoy to do.

What was your favourite part of creating ‘How’?

Our favourite part was changing main piano lead to the electric guitar steam recorded for this one by our friend. It gave a green light to the track.

You guys have had an incredible 4 years since coming together to start Diviners, topped off with a 2017 full of amazing music, shows, and more for you. With such an awesome 2017, what can we expect from Diviners in 2018?

We have a lot of new music. We’ve updated our hardware in the studio so work will go much easier and faster than before. Can’t wait to show you more of Diviners.

Diviners

Diviner’s wicked new tune, How:

SoundCloud – soundcloud.com/divinersmusic

Facebook – facebook.com/divinersmusic

Twitter – twitter.com/divinersmusic

YouTube – youtube.com/channel/UCgyvbgyRw1pVKOcOIxvB6qA

Bristol psych-rockers Insomnichord go acoustic with us + interview

Jacca-RouteNotein
Interview

Insomnichord are a brilliant up-and-coming progressive/psychedelic rock band from Bristol, UK and here’s how they sound unplugged.

One of the many fantastic artists on RouteNote, Insomnichord are a rising band from Bristol. Always keen to see how the artists using us are doing we met up with band in-between playing and studying to record an acoustic set and chat to the boys about the band.

They describe themselves saying:

Insomnichord are a psychedelic rock band birthed from the glittering depths of Ganesha’s cosmic echo chamber. They fuse fuzzy choruses with mind-warping synths and take influences from the classic psych sound of the 60s and 70s along with modern artists such as Tame Impala, Miley Cyrus, and The Simpsons. Insomnichord will take you to another dimension and back again so buckle up and hold onto your panties.

Below is the band’s gorgeous acoustic versions of two of their songs; Ambrosia and Sick. Watch the video for some acoustic vibes set to the luscious backdrop of the band’s garden.

After performing their set for us the guys spoke to us about the band including their adventures recording their upcoming album and Matti’s fecal bonding with Chris Martin from Coldplay. Check out their interview below and get to know the band on another level.

We can’t wait to hear Insomnichord’s new music later this year and look forward to catching up with them again soon!

Insomnichord

Facebook – facebook.com/INSOMNICHORDBAND

SoundCloud – soundcloud.com/insomnichord

An interview with ModeAudio’s Niall McCallum on the fantastic samples, loops and presets site for musicians

Jacca-RouteNotein
Interview

ModeAudio offers a massive collection of eclectic sample packs and sounds for producers and musicians, and we talked to co-founder Niall McCallum on running such a vast and brilliant music resource.

What inspires you to create sample packs, loops, kits and more for electronic producers?

Primarily, everything stems from my love for music, plain and simple! For me, it’s one of the most important things in life and can offer so much to people in so many different situations, from humble entertainment to respite during a hard time – it’s modern-day magic if you ask me!

I want to help and inspire people to make music for this reason above all others, from the relatively small group of musicians who are lucky enough to be able to make money from their own productions, right up to the hundreds of thousands of bedroom producers out there just doing it for the love of it.

How do you go about sourcing and creating the awesome sounds that you offer in your packs, especially with such variety between each one?

Naturally, this is particular to the release in question but we’re mainly drawing on our selection of acoustic instruments, synths, field recordings, custom DSP patches and digital plugins, as well as anything and everything that might happen to be laying around in the studio, from cans of juice to cutlery and I even sampled a metal radiator for our latest release, Outlook!

Has music always played a big part in your life or was it something you discovered later in life?

It has been part of things for a long time, since I first started piano lessons when I was a kid. It wasn’t till I started playing guitar and drums at secondary school that music became an all-consuming passion, though, as well as the discovery of the first DAW I ever learned to use, Reason.

I’ve moved from my earlier Pop and Rock phases at school, through to Indie, Experimental, Ambient and Classical at university and since on to House, Hip Hop and everything in between – it’s pretty handy being into most styles of music in this line of work.

What do you think of the way that the music industry is transforming with the focus moving towards digital platforms and, in particular, the boom of music streaming?

Well, I think this trend comes with a lot of inherent problems – in fact I was just listening to Gerry Read being interviewed on Gilles Peterson’s [BBC Radio] 6 Music show a few weekends ago, where he talked about how he’s actually a butcher by day! I think it’s alarming that someone as talented as he is isn’t able to find a way to make a living solely from his music and I do believe that the low pay-out rates on streaming services is part of the problem.

At the same time though, for the listener, these services are nothing short of a revelation – access to unparalleled quantities of every conceivable type and flavour of music for free, or at most, a pretty modest sum would be a pretty unbelievable proposition to a kid growing up even 20 years ago. I think there’s more work to be done to make the deal fairer for artists but I think most would agree that it’s better than when P2P ruled all!

Whilst I’m sure you’re proud of every pack you have to offer, are there any in particular that you personally think really brings something unique and powerful to the table?

I think our found percussion packs offer something really interesting and unusual, such as Klang, Raw Material and Undercover, which can be used either as they come in the pack or warped and twisted into a beautiful new shapes with relative ease. Our ambient and textural packs are something I’m very proud of too, from Hover and Distant Echo to Pour, Remnant, Disintegrate and beyond, as again I think producers can get so much out of them either as they come or with a little extra processing.

As you say though, really I’m extremely proud of everything we release and think our packs offer consistent quality, flexibility and value. We leave it to our users to make the final call though!

What is your favourite music coming out at the moment, and does the music you listen to inspire some of the packs you create?

Absolutely – it’s the number one thing that inspires our packs in fact. There’s too much to mention here to be totally honest, though I’ll give a shout out to Bonobo’s latest album Migration and Kaytranada’s 99.9%, plus recent tunes from Knxwledge, Anderson .Paak, Thundercat, Radiohead, Tycho, Clap! Clap! and Leon Vynehall as particular favourites.

Finally, what would you say to all the aspiring musicians and artists out there using sites like yours to create great new music?

Keep doing what you’re doing! The only way to improve at anything is to practise, practise, then practise some more – use our loops if you’re starting out and build around them, or some of our samples into a sampler or apply some whacky processing to our synth drones and textures if you’re more advanced – there’s inspiration of some kind to be found in every millisecond!

ModeAudio samples packs sounds sample music production producer DJ

Head over to www.modeaudio.com now to claim a massive free pack and experiment with some entirely new sounds using a 10% discount code on the massive variety of samples and packs ModeAudio have to offer.

Discount Code: ROUTE10

“ModeAudio aims to deliver audio tools that sound incredible, are available instantly and that will integrate seamlessly with your favourite music software. To cut swiftly to the chase, as music producers and sound designers ourselves we really only care about sound quality and ease of use. To this end, we’ve packed as much of our musical and technical knowledge into each and every one of our packs as humanly possible – we hope our passion and dedication will be plain to hear and see. If a sound or preset of ours helps to inspire your music, then we’ll consider our job done.”

RouteNote Interviews: Catching up with No Hot Ashes

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Interview
RouteNote Interviews

Back in 2015 we spoke to four talented lads from Manchester about their quickly rising band No Hot Ashes. Fusing funk, rock and pop the band have shown no sign of stopping since and with a hot new single releasing later this month we caught up with where they guys have been and where they’re heading next.

First of all let’s catch up from the last time we spoke back in 2015. You guys had just released your single Easy Peeler and looked set to take over Manchester with your gritty funk. What have you been up to since as a band?

Hello! – well “Easy Peeler” went down really well and was a good stepping stone for us, it is now a firm favourite in our live set and we always get the fans singing back the words. Since then we have played the likes of Kendal Calling, YNot Festival, Tramlines Festival and supported some great bands like Spring King, Walking on Cars, Prides and The Amazons. We also released another single “Cool Cat” in early 2016 and that has had such a great reception too.

Last time I spoke to you, your aim for 2016 was to expand outside of Manchester and start playing further afield. Were you able to fulfil your ambitions last year?

We definitely have. 2016 took us all around the country, we gigged in so different parts of the UK and it was great to get out of Manchester and meet new people who now love our music. Cardiff was a particular highlight (Hoyfest 2016) and it was also the furthest we had travelled. We are continuing that into 2017 and one of our first gigs of the year is in Dublin so we are aiming to carry on travelling around the country to spread our music.

Your upcoming single “Bellyaches” is great and I can hear some new sounds for you lads in the music. What inspired your new single and was the creative process for this track any different to creating your other tracks?

The writing process for “Bellyaches” didn’t change at all, like with all our songs it usually starts with Isaac & Lui coming up with a guitar based melody or chords and then bringing it to the practice room for the full band to come together and structure the song. Once we get into the studio we let Gavin Monaghan (Editors, The Twang, Ocean Colour Scene) our producer work his magic and he really pushes each of us to play the best we can and also suggesting ideas to build the song and really beef up the mix.

No Hot Ashes manchester band music funk rock pop interview digital music distribution routenote
The cover for upcoming single ‘Bellyaches’ featuring art by Florence Burns

We owe a lot to him for making us better musicians and songwriters. Each time we come out of the studio we have developed and took away something to make the next song we write even better.

With your popularity continuously rising, how has that affected the chemistry between you all as a band?

In terms of friendship, nothing has changed. We all bounce of each other and there is a special bond we all have from being in a band together and we always have a good time when we are travelling and staying over in different cities. In terms of professionalism we have all got a lot more clued up and have had to make the sacrifices that come with being in a band.

It isn’t a nice job at times and a lot of the time there is very little reward behind the scenes but gigging and recording is really what makes us buzz, being creative and getting that rush on stage.

You’ve always emphasised as a band your enjoyment in playing live. Is playing gigs still your favourite part of being in the band and how has that changed as the audiences get bigger?

Performing is still the best part of being in the band for us. Especially hometown gigs where we can sell out 200cap venues and have a load of mental 14+ year olds jumping at the front, you can’t help but smile at times like cos` that is the biggest reward you can get. Each time we gig in Manchester the crowds seem to get bigger and more rowdy and that is just the way we like it. Hopefully we are now starting to mirror that in other cities.

Alongside that we really enjoy the studio, more specifically our Producer Gavin and his Magic Garden Studio. The place is our second home and we try to get back and record with him as soon as our band fund allows us to. Being able to drop your Job/University normal life and spend days in the studio concentrating on your music and being in a totally creative and experimental atmosphere is just a great feeling and Gavin & Joe (Engineer/Mixing) really understand us as musicians and since day one we have all got on incredibly well as people as well as musicians.

No Hot Ashes manchester band music funk rock pop interview digital music distribution routenote

2017 has only just begun and is looking to start off as a big one with “Bellyaches” releasing soon. What are your plans for the rest of the year?

We get really stir crazy once we have just released so in true NHA fashion we are going straight back into the Magic Garden to work on new material. We can’t wait to release “Bellyaches” and we all agree that musically and commercially it is the best song we have written to date (although we say that after every release) but all jokes aside we are really excited to show people what we have been working on and a big shout out to Florence Burns who does all of our artwork/branding for making the whole release so complete.

We love to create a real concept and feel to each release and Florence is just as important as the music we play in terms of completing that creative process.

Finally, what would you want to say to all your fans out there?

Big love to you all, you are the reason we do what we do and please keep buying our merch otherwise we can’t afford to eat and dress ourselves.

Much Love

NHA

Isaac, Luigi, Jack & Matthew

No Hot Ashes manchester band music funk rock pop interview digital music distribution routenote

No Hot Ashes new single ‘Bellyaches’ releases on the 20th February. Be sure to catch it for even more funky goodness!

No Hot Ashes

Website – http://nohotashes.bigcartel.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/No.Hot.Ashes.Band

Twitter – https://twitter.com/nohotashesband

SoundCloud – https://soundcloud.com/no-hot-ashes-2

RouteNote Interviews: Panski

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Interview
RouteNote Interviews

Panski is a music producer from Atlanta that has shaped himself through his unique blends of house and electronic music with Southern and country influences, creating a unique sound that has captured the ears of hundreds-of-thousands of fans.

As we enter a new year full of opportunities we talked with Panski about how he was inspired to create his own trademark style and the inspirations that have gotten him this far.

How did you first discover that you enjoyed creating music?

When I was in 6th grade i joined orchestra and played the cello. I played it for 4 years.

What was it about electronic music that inspired you to create your own tracks with Southern influences?

Well Avicii’s Levels is what made me want to learn how to produce. So once I got into the whole EDM scene I knew it would take some time to find MY sound.

I started make generic electronic like progressive house and trap and stuff. But when I first heard the Little Talks remix by Thomas Jack, I knew I wanted to make tropical house. So after dwelling into that for a bit, and exploring deep house as well, I wanted to do something nobody had ever done before. I have always liked BUNT and I love folk house, but I wanted to take it a step further and do country house.

EDM and Country music are very different crowds, so I knew I couldn’t just out right call it “country house” otherwise it might prevent people from clicking play. It started out as “hoedown house” but I think “southern house” sounds a little classier.

 

What has been the favourite part of your music career so far?

Opening for Sam Feldt at the Buckhead Ball in Atlanta, GA.

Who have been your biggest influences along the way and how have they impacted your music?

Influences include Kygo, Thomas Jack, Robin Schulz, Hot Since 82, Avicii, Kaskade, Sam Feldt. For the tropical guys, that’s where most of my sonic inspiration comes from, but for Kaskade it’s the manner in which he handles himself. Never met him but I can tell he’s an outstanding dude.

If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take 2 tracks and one possession what would they be?

Come Sail Away With Me, and my Wave On Wave cover.

The one possession would be a boat so I don’t have to stay there forever

Which artist/producer would you collaborate with if you could choose anyone, past and present?

Honestly, I would love to do a track with Gucci Mane. I’m from Atlanta, he’s like the father of the city. But for my specific style of sound, I’d love to collaborate with Sam Hunt. He has a great sound that’s country, but not country at the same time, like me.

What is your favourite piece of hardware/software or instrument that you use to create your uniquely inspired tracks?

I wouldn’t be able to do anything without Ableton.

What are your plans for 2017?

Just trying to get out there and make cool tunes. Hopefully play some shows, find a manager and an agent that believes in the southern house sound.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and producers?

Network like hell. go to shows and meet people. Be in the scene as much as you can.

Panski

Facebook – facebook.com/panskimusic

Twitter – twitter.com/panskimusic

RouteNote Interviews: Alex Doan

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Interview

Alex Doan is a 20 year old German composer who has built himself a massive audience from his fantastic, orchestral compositions that take inspiration from Soundtrack legends like Hans Zimmer.

With tens-of-thousands of fans and hundreds-of-thousands of plays across SoundCloud and streaming services Alex Doan is a name to watch out for in the future. As his popularity continues to grow with no signs of slowing we wanted to talk to Alex about finding his passion in music, how he’s made it this far and what’s next for the talented composer.

How did you first discover that you enjoyed creating music?

Uhm, let me think about it. It was like 6-7 years ago. I started playing piano when I was 6 years old and when i was 13, I composed a few piano songs and played them live in school.

My teacher at this time thought that I will have success in the future and he believed all the time in me and helped me a lot with writing down my stuff in DAWs (digital audio workstation) and on paper.

Where do you find inspiration for the sprawling soundscapes you create in your tracks?

Most of my inspirations comes from watching movies, listening to other composers or writing some pieces in a totally new genre. But the nature has also a big impact on my creations. I love to visit new places, I prefer places where are not that much people, places where I can enjoy the silence itself.

I’m also a huge fan of the universe. I’m reading through different articles, watching documentaries about space and thinking a lot about it.

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Alex Doan in the studio at Tonstudio-Mannheim Schraubfabrik

Who have been your biggest influences along the way and how have they impacted your music?

My biggest influences are definitely Hans Zimmer and James Horner. They changed my life massively. The first time I got deeper into composition and analyzing stuff was when the movie ‘Avatar’ was released back in 2009. I was completely blown away.

The music matched perfectly with the movie and I immediately bought the piano notes because I wanted to learn how to create those beautiful chord progression and melodies. I think that was the hidden start of Alex Doan! But also don’t forget Hans Zimmer, his music is godlike!

When the movie ‘Interstellar’ was released and I heard the music, it was clear for me that my goal is to become someone to be recognized in the soundtrack scene. I can’t describe the OST of Interstellar in words, it just changed my life 100%!

But my goal is not to copy any of those composers, each composer should have their own style, you can use it as an inspiration but never copy them. My goal is to get inspired by them and try to create a new world of music, my music 🙂

If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take 2 tracks and one possession what would they be?

Hm, that’s a hard question.

I think the first track would be Cornfield Chase by Hans Zimmer

The second one: The Destruction of Hometree by James Horner

I got plenty more songs I would like to take with me, but sadly it’s limited to two. My possession would be my studio, haha.

Who would you collaborate with if you could choose anyone, past and present?

James Horner, that was my dream. Too sad it’s never going to happen, due to his death in June 2015. But there are so many other great composers out there, just to name a few: Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky, Thomas Bergersen, Audiomachine, Ivan Torrent, Blakus and many more.

What is your favourite piece of hardware/software or instrument that you use?

My hardware setup i’m using is not that big. I’m using two Focal Alpha 65, NI Komplete Audio 6, Nektar LX49, Rode NT1-A, NI Maschine Mikro MK2 and some AKG Headphones. It’s not that much but it’s enough for me at the moment.

But to be honest a bigger Keyboard would be nice, which has a direct control with Kontakt 5. This is my favorite software instrument overall. My favorite library is Albion One & Cinebrass Core + Pro. I’m using them in every project!

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Last year was an incredible year for Alex Doan, proven by his popularity on Spotify alone

What are your plans moving forward into 2017?

For 2017, I have huge plans. I want to build up a professional website, with a site for licensing and stuff. Also going deeper in the Trailer Music scene and trying to achieve my first placement in a movie this year. Also meeting up with my friends all over the world, making new connections and releasing more music than before and develop my skills.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians and producers?

Never give up!

Also if the situation may be extremely hard. If you give up, you will lose. If you fight for your dreams you will achieve them at some point.

But it takes time.

I’m started with producing seriously 4 years ago and I haven’t achieved my dreams yet, but I’m closer than before to them and I’m ready to give anything.

Alex Doan

SoundCloud – soundcloud.com/alexdoanofficial
YouTube – youtube.com/channel/UCiOs6W2vXxhvhqePBvV5C9A
Facebook – facebook.com/alexdoanofficial
Twitter – twitter.com/alexdoanmusic