Artist Showcase: Arres

Hi friends! Today we have another interview, this time with a fellow portuguese producer, Arres!

I am deeply proud. Seriously, I am. I'm proud because there's good electronic made in Portugal. I'm not talking about bangers, although there are many Portuguese producers who know how to do them. I'm talking about tasteful, smooth music that you can present to anyone and they'll surely love it. You don't have to be a producer to appreciate it, but as one, I know how hard it is to find this kind of harmony between sounds. Arres makes it sound like all his instruments are samples are soul mates. They just belong together. It takes talent to do that. Real talent.  

Brix'd - How did you come up with your name?

Arres - My name is simply the reverse of my last name (Serra).

When did you start producing and how bad was your first song?

I started producing in 2003, and my first song was some very bad techno.

What’s the weirdest song you have ever done?

Oh, I think that is a hard question to answer, i have a lot of tracks where i try to mix different genres but maybe im gonna go with this one "divisão do prazer. 

Have you ever been high while producing? Were you enlightened?

Yes, and yes.

What do you seriously hate the most on the production process?

Maybe its the finalization (equalize, compressing, rendering), when you get stuck in that part you may feel something around hate, but its the best part too if everything went well, so its a love/ hate process.

What’s your record for hours spent producing in a row?

I don´t know for sure, but i think its something around 6 or 7 hours, but that happens rarely, usually i try to make pauses of hours or even days, so i don´t get "hypnotized" with the repetitions and start to feel the song annoying.

What song makes you climb walls and scream like Tarzan?

That depends on the spirit of the moment, it would be unfair to choose one, when i have so many influences, but suddenly im going to choose Radiohead´s idioteque has one of those many influences

What’s your favorite sample ever?

I really dont know, i used a lot of samples, i think it depends of the harmony i wanna put in the track, each track asks for the favourite sample.

What do you use to create music? What is your favorite tool?

Ableton Live, the tool i use the most is Simpler.

Do you drink, eat, smoke or inhale something to inspire you? What gets you going?

No i dont do any of those to get inspired, but it happens sometimes without the intention.

What new artists do you recommend to our readers?

There is good things going on, but im gonna say this one "simple / easysimple ".

Now for the songs. Let the tunes flow, kick back and relax.

I've only put 3 here, but Arres has many more. Be sure to visit his soundcloud page and listen to his other songs, they're worth it.

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Like I said before, I'm proud, proud that producers at this level exist in Portugal. Congratulations Arres. You deserve it.

SoulBrix out

Artist Showcase: Lucky One

What's up, how ya'll doing? In today's Artist Showcase, we have Lucky One!

Are you feeling mellow? Do you want to chill out to some laid back, exquisite beats? You should listen to lucky one's songs. The production value of this man is seriously outstanding! So many nice textures that flow perfectly along some nice, old school beats. I challenge you to put one of his tracks on, especially "Time", and just kick back, close your eyes, and enjoy the ride. It's like food for your ears. The dishes your mom cooks. It makes you feel warm inside. But who is lucky one? Let's hear it:

Brix'd - How did you come up with your name?

Lucky One - My forename is Luc. Some friends used to call me Lucky Luke. Luck is a fascinating word to me and lucky one a fascinating concept ;-)

When did you start producing and how bad was your first song?

I cannot remember when I did my first track, it was on a 486 PC using a lame demo version of a product called Musik Maker. The track was certainly really bad, but as it was my first track I was finding it fantastic.

What’s the weirdest song you have ever done?

One evening with a friend, we sampled Spring from Vivaldi. I murdered the loop with delays and distortions, and my friend added awesome drum loops. I still love the result, check by yourself :)

Have you ever been high while producing? Were you enlightened?

Sure, I cannot say this never happened ;-) Hopefully, I found long ago that this is not necessary for me to find inspiration. I work a lot better and faster when I am clean!

What do you seriously hate the most on the production process?

I simply love everything. I love the creative process and I also dig the technical aspects. It’s a very long process with many steps, but each one pleases me its own way. The only frustration is when I don’t have enough time to progress as much as I would like on a new track.

What’s your record for hours spent producing in a row?

More than 6, less than 12, I don’t especially count.

What song makes you climb walls and scream like Tarzan?

Stigma from Noisia. This track is quite extreme and very far from what I produce, but it just makes me crazy :p

What’s your favorite sample ever?

The Arab female vocal on Prodigy –Smack my bitch up. That was some kind of revelation for me when I first heard this track (live!) and this is what made me start learning electronic music. I still believe that track is a genius sampling work.

What do you use to create music? What is your favorite tool?

I always start with my guitar or my Moog synth. My DAW is Ableton Live and my favorite plugins providers are fabfilter and PSP. I use NI Massive and Razor a lot too. I have some midi gear and a pair of KRK Rockit RP6 G2.

Do you drink, eat, smoke or inhale something to inspire you? What gets you going?

I sometimes go for a good belgian trappist beer, but as I said earlier I don’t need anything to find inspiration. It comes automatically whenever I pick my instruments.

What new artists do you recommend to our readers?

These are maybe not new artists, but some I discovered recently are Phon.o from Monketytowns, Royalston from Hospital Records, and J.Views. My “gods” are Modeselektor, Noisia, Trentemoller, kollektiv turmstrasse, Extrawelt and many more.

Cool fellow, right? Now, for the songs! All of them are free downloads, so no excuses here - just download them all.

Feast on those textures, they're reaaaaally great :D.

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Thanks for the interview Lucky One, I really do hope you're lucky and achieve all your goals, whatever they may be. Never stop producing good music!

For more Lucky One music, check out his soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/lucky-one and facebook page http://www.facebook.com/luckyoneMusic.

SoulBrix out

Artist Showcase: Fred McLovin

Hey guys, SoulBrix here with another Artist Showcase. Tonight, we have Fred McLovin!

I've been following this guy for some time now. He improved a LOT. He really controls his basses and beats, and surely knows how to create a beat that keeps people going and going and going - all the waaaaaay. I wish I was at this guys level. But let's get to know this fella a bit more, shall we?

Brix'd - How did you come up with your name?

Fred McLovin - My real name is Frédéric Rabouin Milot and my all-time favorite comedy is Superbad. In Superbad there’s one of the funniest character ever who is called Fogell played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse. One of the scene is Fogell showing his fake ID to his friend with the name of McLovin. No first name, only McLovin… So that’s how I came up with the name. I was inspired by the movie so it’s Fred McLovin

When did you start producing and how bad was your first song?

I started producing about 3 or 4 years ago but got serious about only a year ago. My first song was dope, well… in my opinion… at the time haha. It was pretty bad, no structure, no energy, just a daft punk sample (technologic) with an odd bassline…

What’s the weirdest song you have ever done?

I would say my first song haha. I mean it’s not even fun to listen to, it is just annoying.

Have you ever been high while producing? Were you enlightened?

Never been high and never will be. I hate the fact that EDM is associated with drugs. To me, taking drugs to enjoy the music is a total disrecpect to the artist and the culture itself. Actually, my drug is the music. My drug is the rush I get when I produce and find a sick drop that I love.

What do you seriously hate the most on the production process?

I don’t hate but I don’t like doing percussions. I’m really lazy when it comes down to percussion patterns. And you will notice it in my music, there’s no fancy percussion work in it. This is one point I’m trying to improve tho cause I think good percussions can give life to a project.

What’s your record for hours spent producing in a row?

I’d say 10 hours, but I don’t like doing long sessions cause you ears get tired.

What song makes you climb walls and scream like Tarzan?

Way too many to name only one. But at the moment I’d say anything from Sick Individuals, Torro Torro and Congorock. Also one track I really love to play and hear in a set is Alvaro – Make The Crowd Go.

What’s your favorite sample ever?

Bass shot #153, Vengeance Electroshock Vol.2 ! You hear it in a LOT of production lately… ;)

What do you use to create music? What is your favorite tool?

I use Ableton, my favorite synths would be Massive and Sylenth. As for effect I could not live without Izotope Trash 2 and Sugarbytes WOW

Do you drink, eat, smoke or inhale something to inspire you? What gets you going?

I eat, I love eating ! My favorite food is poutine. Google it, we only eat it here in Quebec.

What new artists do you recommend to our readers?

Jason Risk… This guy is special. He’s constantly charting on beatport lately, at some point he had 4 tracks in the top100 electro house. He’s getting a lot of support from big names like TJR and J-Trick. Give him a year and you will see him everywhere.

Got something else you'd like to say?

2013 started off pretty good for me. My 2 tracks EP Shakedown got released on Peak Hour Music at the end of January and quickly got massive support. The EP itself reached the #31 spot in the elctro house release chart. The single Like This reached the #52 spot in the electro house singles chart. Like This was featured on the secret weapon chart of January and the EP was on the front page in the staff pick section. The single Shakedown was podcasted by Jordy Dazz and played live by Marcel Woods. Showtek also supported Shakedown. Now it’s time for a follow up and I got some nice collabs and remix incoming along some original too. Just got to find the time to finish them all!

Alright, as you can see, this guy is climbing the electronic stairs! Keep him on your sight, and bang your head to his monster drops, you won't regret it!

Want to hear the man himself mixing some tunes for a full hour? Check out this podcast WHOAH!

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Alright Fred, thanks for your time and keeep those beats bangin' heads and those drops melting faces!

SoulBrix out

New Daft Punk stuff on the way!

Apparently, this was aired during the 3/3 Saturday Night Live show. Even though it is so short, it’s amaaazing. RAPE THAT REPLAY BUTTON!

Artist Showcase: Rystar

Today, in the first Artist Showcase, we have Rystar!

Rystar is a friend of mine, I met him in the IDMforums a while back. Although young, he surely knows how to produce wicked tracks. He doesn't stick to just one genre too, producing tracks that range from Progressive House, Glitch Hop, Dubstep, Drum'n'Bass, Electro, and others. I really do believe this guy has a bright future in the music scene, he just needs a push! Anyway, let's hear it from the man himself:

Brix'd - How did you come up with your name?

Rystar - Back in 2006 I was very active inside forums. I used to go by multiple names before, but one day I discovered Ristar for the Genesis and the name just stuck with me. It was a really pleasant game to play and Ristar didn't shine enough (no pun intended) because Sega already had the blue hedgehog as a mascot. I have used that name for everything since then: forums, games and now, my producer alias.

What was your first song? Can we hear it?

I always had a lot of experiments on Fruity Loops, but my first track ever "completed" was Per Example, back in 2010. I'm sure I have more interesting stuff to listen to, but I can hook you up with it just for the trivia.

How long have you been producing music?

Like I said before, my first completed track dates back to 2010. I could say I started during the first months of 2010, but just discovering the basics of a program shouldn't count as producing.

What’s the weirdest song you have ever done?

I don't remember doing anything that I could consider weird, just the usual experiments with pads and filters, but nothing that I would call a "song".

Have you ever been high while producing? Were you enlightened?

Excited, yes. High, never. To quote NeoGeo: "Winners don't use drugs!"

What do you seriously hate the most on the production process?

A constant DAW crashing, a stressed out CPU and not being able to work at a high enough volume.

What’s your record for hours spent producing in a row?

It's not something I'm used to keep track of, but I believe my max was a full day with very short brakes. Once I'm pumped and the track is coming out nicely, I don't stop.

What song makes you climb walls and scream like Tarzan?

Right now the track that really gets my hyped up is Carl Cox's remix of Dominator by Human Resource.

What’s your favorite sample ever?

The Amen Break. I know it sounds super-cliche, but it's a sample that doesn't stop surprising me. Entire genres originated from this sample. There's no other way to look at it: it's on of EDM's most iconic symbols.

What do you use to create music? What is your favorite tool?

My ears! They're the essence of any production. As for software I dont' deviate too far from the standard set: Ableton, Native Instruments softsynths, the usual.

Do you drink, eat, smoke or inhale something to inspire you? What gets you going?

Some of my tracks were born with a can of energy drink on the side, but it's not a norm for me. You just need to have a clear head for producing.

What new artists do you recommend to our readers?

Just one right now: Kill Paris! Amazing stuff from this artist that insists in keeping his tracks free.

Alright, I hope you got to know Rystar a little better. And to get to know to his music, check out these tracks he made. If you like them, download them!




Wanna check out more of his sounds and follow him? Go to Rystar's Soundcloud.

Sample of the Week #1

This is the first "Sample of the Week", a place where I post samples that electronic artists use on their songs. Sampling is a big part of the electronic genre, and the art of grabbing bits of existing songs to create something new is very tricky to learn, but really amazing when it works.

This week, let's listen to this Fat Boy Slim's great song, "Don't let the man out you down"

Notice the voice sample used right at the beggining. That sample was extracted from the Joe Cocker's song "Something", release on 1969 in the album "Cocker!". The sample starts at 1:01.




Cool, isn't it?

First post and Artist Showcase: SoulBrix

Hi guys! I'm SoulBrix, and welcome to Brix'd, a blog to showcase new artists from the electronic music genre, provide the latest news, and present some cool and random stuff!

For the first post, and as a sort of introduction, what better way than answering the same 11 questions I'll be asking artists in the Artist Showcases?

Let's go then!

I'm SoulBrix, a portuguese electronic music producer. I started producing in 2010, influenced by the fresh sound of the french duo Justice. They are still my main inspiration today.
I don't have a specific genre, it kinda depends on where the song takes me. I'm in no way a professional producer, but I like what I do, and I do what I like. Unfortunaly, I cannot spend as much time as I'd like doing it, but that's life. The intro is done, so let's get to the questions:

Brix'd - How did you come up with your name?

SoulBrix - Well, one day I was talking to a great friend of mine about a possible artist name for me. We weren't being serious at all but, among many other strange and stupid names, one came up that was somewhat cool. It was a mix between a word play with my real name and the expression "Bricks will be sh@t". SoulBrix. I thought to myself, why not? AND BAM. SoulBrix was born.

What was your first song? Can we hear it?

I had to go to my vault for this one. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a song, but the first...thing I made using PC software was this (audio volume alert):

Ahum...not that good, right?


How long have you been producing music?

2010, but I started messing around with music software like 6 months before that.

What’s the weirdest song you have ever done?

I once did a kind of Hip Hop instrumental that involved Rianna's Under my Umbrella acapella dropped a few octaves and really reverbed. It had a weird feeling, and I haven't finished it yet. Here's the song:

Have you ever been high while producing? Were you enlightened?

High on enthusiasm, with many many many ideas rushing in at the same time. I get so "stoned" that I can't sleep because of the new ideas I keep having. It's like a curse xD.

What do you seriously hate the most on the production process?

Knowing that you're gonna have time to produce, hyping that up all day long, coming home to do it and nothing good comes out of it. It's so frustrating.

What’s your record for hours spent producing in a row?

Like 6 hours straight, with no stops. Coke and chocolates make you go a long way xD.

What song makes you climb walls and scream like Tarzan?

Justice's Phantom Part II. It still gives me goosebumps, It's just so boss.

What’s your favorite sample ever?

Honestly, anything Daft Punk used to created their songs xD.

What do you use to create music? What is your favorite tool?

Ableton is a very good friend of mine, taught me everything I know. And I LOVE everything that makes distortion. Distortion is my drug, and I live for it, and I can't have enough of it xD.

Do you drink, eat, smoke or inhale something to inspire you? What gets you going?

I drink coke to get the ideas coming, but what really gets me going is hearing something that I can sample. I love when that happens!

What new artists do you recommend to our readers?

Avalanche. He's gonna be the next king of french electro. Trust me.

Now that you have an idea of who I am, here's a few songs that I made. Check them out and if you like them, download them!




Did you like this? Check out more freebies on my Soundcloud page and like my Facebook page!

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There we go, introduction made. Stick around to hear new music and know new artists!