I have been producing for just over three years. I believe that if you are a fan of an art form, it's your duty to give back to the community. I love music and I wanted to give back by making music. I have taught myself music production from trial and error. I just clicked buttons and turned knobs until I understood what was happening. I also read a few books about music production. The Art of Mixing by David Gibson was very influential in my self taught approach.
I started with Magix Music Maker because it was cheap and I had no idea what I was doing. I just wanted a DAW to play around with for a while until I figured out exactly what I needed. A year after starting, I switched to FL Studio and I have been using it ever since. I saw that Metro Boomin was using FL Studio and I thought if it's good enough for him, it's more than enough for me.
My favourite piece of gear would definitely be my ears. Technically not gear, but I could trade out my laptop, DAW, speakers, and audio interface and still be able to make quality music. Without my ears, there is no production.
I am a big fan of XLN Audio’s Retro Color 20. The effects are amazing and the interface is easy and intuitive. It adds such a beautiful warmth to the sonics.
Do not overthink the process. The track should come together emotionally, not technically. Music connects with the audience through emotion. They don't care if your 808 is side-chained.
I listen to a lot of records/CDs and then try to reverse engineer it. All the answers are right in front of you when you listen to a studio-grade album. It's like having the destination of a road trip and you have to figure out how to get there. I do not think there is a more powerful learning tool.
It's a video from the channel Internet Money explaining gain staging. It finally clicked for me when I watched this video and changed my music. This is the difference between amateur versus professional sounding tracks.
That 80% of mixing is in the levels. I cannot stress that enough. Levels. It's everything in music.
I don't think you can force creativity. Allow it to come and allow it to go. If I am feeling blocked, then I do not make any music. I should want to make music not feel like I have to.
If the mix sounds great in mono, it's going to sound amazing in stereo. If the mix sounds good on cheap headphones, it's going to sound amazing on studio monitors.
Splice is a game-changer. You have access to an unlimited supply of samples. There is not much more that I need than that.
I always compare my music to what's being played on the radio. I try and figure out why it doesn't sound the same. This is solely in the production side of music.
I am most proud of my upcoming album, DANSEUR. It's scheduled to release on the 21st of June, 2020 on all major streaming platforms. DANSEUR is my 11th independent album and talks about my experiences as a professional ballet dancer. I am really proud of how the lyrics and production came together to tell an honest story.
RepostExchange has really helped in the promotion side of things. For an independent artist, there are not many options for promotion that actually see results.
Connect with Xander on SoundCloud and Instagram.
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This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
