meet: Brandon Smith

What are you doing at this very moment [besides this interview]?

Well I would like to start off by thanking Phuture Collective for the feature ! Currently I’m resting my ears from a new track that’s almost finished. Taking a break here and there is very important for the mixing and polishing process.

Who do you look up-to in the SoundCloud community? What about the music community as a whole?

Lapalux is someone I really look up to. His sound design is out of the world and he is signed to an awesome label, Brainfeeder. Also Shigeto, a musician out of Detroit, has been making some really amazing electronic music for quite a few years now. The Soulection collective is a huge influence on me currently and I’m loving everything they are putting out.

Apples or Oranges?

Oranges! So damn refreshing

What DAW do you use? Favorite plugins?

I use Ableton Live. I really like the structure of it and think it also encourages a more “live” aspect to your music. Favorite plugins are probably FM8 and Sausage Fattener. Sausage Fattener is hilarious but a serious help when it comes to beefing up drums.

Why do you produce and what keeps you going?

I produce because it’s the most musically stimulating thing I can do. Thanks to modern technology I can work with the greatest musicians both past and present anywhere I go. Whether it’s sampling an old Sam Cooke track or collaborating with a fellow soundclouder DAWS make creating so accessible .

What is helping the music scene right now? What’s hurting it?

Music collectives are really the driving force behind indie electronic music right now. It really save you time from digging though the millions of artist out there. I hate to say it but soundcloud is hurting the music scene right now. I’ve seen a significant dip in activity every since the stripping of their app’s features and changes to the site. I love that they are paying royalties to some but no one likes those shitty forced audio ads. They could generate revenue in many other ways to stimulate that fund.

Thoughts on the law of attraction?

It’s complicated. I do believe that positive outlooks will help manifesting positive experiences but that is not the only deciding force. We’re all playing the same game with different hands.

Where do you see yourself 1 year from now? 2 years? 5 years?

I see myself better at my craft . I’ve really been putting the hours in consistently and I can hear and feel myself progressing. I don’t really want to put a year limit on my goals but short term I would really like to have a release on a respected label . Long term I would like to find a singer songwriter to produce for. I’ve always wanted to make an R&B record. Ultimately I would like to make music my career . Whether that means helping others make their music better or releasing my own creations it would truly be a dream come true.

Who are some up and coming producers that we should check out?

Sam Gelliatry is my favorite right now. Do yourself a favor if you haven’t already check this kid out.

What four songs have been the most influential to where you’ve gotten to today?

Not sure it’s very reflective of what I make but these are very important tracks to me.
1. Ray Charles & Milt Jackson – How Long Blues
2. Sam Cooke – Blowin’ in the Wind
3. Franz Liszt – liebestraum no. 3
4. Etta James – At Last

What upcoming work is in store for us to look forward to? An album perhaps?

I have a number of demo tracks ready to be heard that I will be uploading to various online profiles. I don’t plan on releasing an full album until I spark the interest of a label.When I do get the opportunity to have an official release I want it to be right and distinguished.

Check out Brandon Smith here:
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