In The Studio

In the studio with TWSTD ZOO

This week, we catch up with LA-based duo Jose and Austin, aka TWSTD ZOO!

Jaz from the RepostExchange Team

How long have you been producing music and how did you learn?

We both have around seven to eight years producing individually, and together we've produced now for two years. We both are self-taught producers learning mostly from YouTube and various articles online. Many of our techniques are self-taught through trial and error and what we call happy accidents when you do something and a sound happens to just sound awesome.

What DAW(s) do you use and why?

Ableton because we believe its the industry standard. The sampling function is incredible, and being able to collaborate with other producers easily through the third party app Splice.

What are your favourite pieces of gear and why?

MacBook Pro - This is where the magic happens and has incredible specs perfect for a producer or content creator. However, they can be costly for those who are on a budget.
Pioneer CDJ-2000NXS2 - Industry-standard, practice mixing on professional equipment, always ready to spin at clubs/festivals since they'll be having the same setup, all we need to bring is a small USB instead of a whole laptop and controller.

What are your favourite software plugins and why?

Serum - Best all-round synthesizer for sound design.
Omnisphere - Has a lot of different kinds of high-quality instruments.
Nexus - Delivers high-quality sounds and amazing presets that you can tweak.

How would you summarise your approach/workflow when creating a track?

It's interesting because of our dynamic we're both two different types of producers, so whenever we want to do something crazy like dubstep or psytrance, Austin will usually start those tracks. When it's pop or future bass, Jose will usually start the tracks but when we are together we like to just randomly mess around with instruments till we get inspired and we just start working.

What resources do you use to improve your craft?

Definitely YouTube videos and collaborating with each other. We each have our strengths and weakness which complement each other and creates our sound and music.

What is the last YouTube tutorial you watched that you would recommend to other Re-Ex Members?

'Making A Song Entirely Out Of Virtual Riot Samples' by Eliminate. Shout out to him because he does funny videos and he has a unique approach to making songs while being very informative with the way he makes songs.

What knowledge or advice do you wish you'd learned earlier?

We both wish we learned more attention to details to our weaknesses like mixing and mastering or harmony and song structure in the beginning. We're fortunate enough that we each help each other out and teach each other the things we lack and we've honestly grown together because of it.

What challenges related to making music do you face and how do you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for Austin in making music is trying not to over complicate things within a track. He listens to most songs these days and it sounds so simple to his ears that he subconsciously over-complicates things to make it sounds more interesting and ear-catching within a track. Sometimes simple is more. He's been overcoming this solely because Jose lends his ears and feedback to each track. It's a collaborative effort so the thing we are always making sure is that we're on the same page for each track to make sure it sounds its best. At first, it was finding our sound but now we have a style and it's much easier to start things and finish a song.

Can you share any killer tips or techniques?

Learn how to produce and DJ at the same time rather than DJing first, then producing - or vice versa. Kill two birds with one stone. It'll get you a lot further down your career path within the music industry and helps you stand out better out of all the other DJs.

Do you use any online tools to assist with the production process?

Splice for collaboration and samples is the biggest thing we use.

Do you try and get feedback or suggestions to improve your music? If so, how?

Yes, we do. We get feedback from other artists' point of view who know what they're doing and are more successful than we are. Then we also get feedback from the general listener's point of view. Just remember to take everything with a grain of salt. Everyone has different tastes!

Which track are you most proud of and why?

We're proud of every track we made within our two unreleased albums that we have in store for you guys. Each track is a piece of us and we're both just excited to share them in the coming year.

Has RepostExchange affected the way you make music? If so, how?

RepostExchange has allowed us to meet other folks which we are grateful for because we have some collabs coming and we get to listen to other genres which producers are making and it helps to inspire us.