Where were you born and where are you living now?
I’ve lived here in Tucson, Arizona my entire life. It’s not the most entertaining place to live, but it’s cozy, I guess. One of my favorite places in town is our local arthouse theater, The Loft. They’re always showing really great films, and they serve great beer. In addition, there’s a really great chain of stores called Bookmans, They have a great selection of retro games, used books, and pretty much everything else. Including pornography.
Can you describe the pros and cons of living in Arizona?
Despite the fact that it’s usually pretty boring, Tucson is a pretty chill place to live.
Although, Tucson—and as far as I’ve heard, much of Arizona—really doesn’t have much of a scene/market for electronic music, which makes it pretty hard to book shows and support like-minded musicians in town. Tucson’s got a big soft spot for Americana acts, and really, really bad metalcore (much of the 2006-2009 boom in deathcore came out of the greater Phoenix area), but unless you’re an in-house DJ for a club, there isn’t much of a community to get involved with. There’s also the thing about how it’s really hot here.
How do you come up with a song and a general concept for a project?
That’s somewhat difficult to answer because I don’t exactly have a consistent formula. Ideas can stem from a word, image, or feeling, and I’ll try to capture that musically. Or I’ll just come up with an interesting melodic figure or beat, and just build off of that. The creative process is something that’s always really interesting to hear about, but it’s really hard when you try to put it into words yourself.
What cultures have influenced you and your music?
When I first started getting into electronic music, I was really into the early 90’s wave of IDM out of the UK. Stuff out on Warp, even some of the really clubby stuff out of the British rave scene. Early on into my production days I moved onto the big rush of UK Funky and Garage, stuff from the Night Slugs and L25 crews. I’ve been really into a lot of different online subcultures over the past year. Like, I was a huge fan of vaporwave since back before Dummy reported on it and it became this huge thing, but only just last year I decided to reach out to a few producers I know and I kind of got involved in the then-growing future funk scene for a while. Despite that I’m really over that whole scene now, getting involved led me to meet a lot of really great internet personalities, like Saint Pepsi and Luxury Elite. I connected with Yung Bae, while he was still going by Stereo Component. He really was the main person who inspired me to get more involved in online music communities, and introduced me to so many incredible people. Soon after I got really involved with the people behind URL venues, like Ecchiparty, and joined up with Peachboiz.
From there I met countless great artists like Maxo, RunFoxRun!, Noah Hafford/Synchronicity, Goliad, astroskeleton, Ivy Hollivana, and countless other wonderful individuals. So many people I’ve met online over the last year have been super supportive, and many of the scenes I’ve been a part of have been bustling hotspots of positivity and musical creativity. Another group that really inspires me is everyone affiliated with Zoom Lens. I love what all of them do in regards to DIY spirit, and really pushing the boundaries of what you can do both as an artist and to get involved your listener community.
Favorite anime series?
This is gonna sound really cliché, but Neon Genesis Evangelion, easily. I could talk for hours about how the series was an integral part of my teenage experience, one that has influenced me more as an individual than any other creative work in existence. I’m also a big fan of the Monogatari series (or really anything Shaft makes, to be honest), and I’ve recently been really getting into the works of Masaaki Yuasa. I’m also a huge fan of Hiroyuki Imaishi. As far as manga goes, I’m really into JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and the works of Inio Asano and Hajime Ueda.
What do you miss most from your childhood?
This is kind of a copout answer, but just being a kid. While there’s really not a specific thing I miss most, being completely void of responsibilities and most heavy consequences was a pretty great benefit of being a kid. Also, the biggest thing is just that everything about the world was new and exciting, wondrous and beautiful, and while you can still hold those views about the world at any age, there’s just something special about discovering the world around you for the first time.
Would you say video games have inspired the sounds of your music?
Definitely! I got my first game console, a Super Nintendo, when I was five. I played it constantly, and was completely blown away by the playful melodies of Jun Ishikawa, the orchestral brilliance of Nobuo Uematsu, and the chilling ambience of David Wise and Kenji Yamamoto. Video game OSTs were probably my first big musical influence. Later on, I was introduced to the works of Tim Follin, Austin Wintory, Ko Otani, and Shoji Meguro. I also often use 16-bit sounds in my music, especially those from the SNES.
Which producers have had the biggest impact on you?
I’ve always been incredibly inspired by everything Flying Lotus has done. The way he blends textures and styles together into a seamless package is awe-inspiring. When I first started producing, I really took a lot of cues from acts like Boards of Canada and Massive Attack, as well as newer producers like Nosaj Thing and Nicolas Jaar. Some of my older material was rooted in the chillwave/witch house boom in 2011. I was especially captivated by the haunting soundscapes of producers like Balam Acab and Holy Other. Lately though, I’ve been really, really into doujin music, which is this vibrant Japanese scene of video game and pop inspired dance music primarily made by bedroom producers. Some prominent examples include Kagerou Project, Livetune, and early Supercell. I’m also really interested in doing some stuff with Vocaloids, kind of inspired by that whole scene, in the future.
How old were you when you created your first track?
While I’ve been writing music since I was about twelve, I don’t quite recall when I put out my first electronic production. In high school, when I first got into electronic music, I played around a lot with really introductory programs like GarageBand and Mixcraft, but that was before I really started to think about it seriously. I think I first tried out Ableton Live my senior year of high school. I know I didn’t really start digging into learning sound design/synthesis until the summer after I graduated.
How many projects have you released?
While I’ve played and recorded in countless bands over the years, I haven’t put out too many solo releases out. Aside from a few EPs I’ve put out under other names that probably don’t exist anymore, all of my solo material has been released as bansheebeat.
When did you first perform for a live audience?
When I was in elementary school I joined the “band program” in fourth and fifth grade, where I played the bells. I think my first ever performance was a duet bell piece I played with a lifelong friend of mine, where we played a beginner’s transcription of “On Top of Old Smokey.” Don’t ask me how I remember that.
Do you live off your music career or do you have a job supporting you?
I currently live with my family, including my parents, my thirty-four year old brother, his dog, and my two really young cousins. I work for my dad at my family’s formal wear rental shop, but I also take odd jobs playing percussion for theater and musical productions at my university, giving drum lessons, and the occasional piano accompanist gig.
Lastly, where do you hope your career in music will take you?
That is a really huge question. I’d love to continue to push my abilities as an electronic producer as much as I can, and I’d really like to travel and tour around in the near future. I’d also like to eventually work as a composer, writing and arranging various pieces, and possibly work as the conductor for an orchestra. I’m also really interested in scoring incidental music for various media, like video games or film, where I can really combine my more traditional influences—like Shostakovich, Mahler, and Beethoven—with my modern electronic ones.
Bandcamp: http://bansheebeat.bandcamp.com/album/galactics
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bansheebeatmusic
Twitter:https://twitter.com/sailor_banshee
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