Electronic music seems to always have an incredible influx of exciting new talent and works of musical art that listeners get to experience each and every day. Adding his own musical flair to the EDM world, bass producer Smokestax has released the title track off his highly anticipated new EP coming in January. “The Phoenix” exemplifies the concept of starting anew with Smokestax’s new deep dive into curating different sound design and learning new production skills. This track is an absolute heater with its moving bass lines, vibrant melodies and bouncy synths. This is definitely a whole new side to the Smokestax project we have yet to see, making the wait for the rest of this 2 track EP unbearable! Let’s take a deeper dive into why we are calling “The Phoenix”, a certified bop.
“This EP really showcases growth and reflection for me. I really took the time away during covid to think about the sound I want to push with my project and spent a lot of time focusing on new production and sound techniques to best express myself.”
Diving Deep w/ Smokestax
1. How did you decide to get into music? Was there a certain event in your childhood/life that made you stop and realize that you wanted to pursue a career in music?
I grew up surrounded by music. My Dad is a huge lover of all music. My earliest memories growing up are dancing around my house with my brother to Grateful Dead or Black Sabbath playing in the back. When I was around 6 I started playing classical piano. Then in 5th grade I began playing drums and that took over my life for the next few years. I’ve always been fascinated by rhythm and grooves. Throughout middle school and high school I played in punk bands, jazz band and marching band. At the time I was really only listening to punk, metal and some old hip hop stuff. Once I went to college I was introduced to electronic music and that’s really when everything clicked for me. I was blown away that one person was able to create all these sounds and arrange them on their own. I started Djing and then within only a few weeks I was hooked and dove into production. Once I got into Ableton it all made sense what I was trying to do with my vision of music.
2. You definitely have a very unique name for your project. Does the name have a specific meaning or derived from something in your life? Is there a story fans might not know about how you came to this name for your project?
The Smokestax name actually has a pretty unique meaning to me. Everyone just assumes its just like some weeds tight thing haha but there is a story behind it. When I first started making beats I was really focusing more on hip hop instrumentals. My friend in college at the time was a dope rapper. After class everyday we would sit in his car writing music because it was the only speakers we had. We recorded our first song together in the parking lot of a smoke shop called Smoke Stacks. I was signing up for a Soundcloud account so I could post the song we just made and decided to go with that and switch it to the x.
3. As an artist, you can experience a number of road blocks along the way to achieving your goals. What motivates you to continue to be creative and make music even when times get tough?
I don’t want to get too personal but growing up I experienced a lot of loss of loved ones and people close to me. As hard as it is I’ve always tried to use that energy to create. When my brother passed away I used that as my motivation to really put everything I have into music. He was my number one fan and supporter. He didn’t listen to electronic music but he loved anything I made. He would go out of his way to show others and tell me what sounds were interesting to him. Without him I would have never dove as deep as a did into music in my teen years. I really owe everything to him musically.
4. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned since you started making music? Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring producers hoping to follow in your footsteps?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to just have fun. Music can get so competitive and weird if you let it. To me, music has brought me so much joy and connections. I feel so lucky. I’ve met so many people I consider family on this journey so far. To sum it up, as you grow with your project and career always remember why we all began creating to just have fun
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