Despite sounding quite intimate, this song doesn’t have much of a story other than “I want to write a really pretty song!” I found the acoustic guitars on a free sample site, sang some pretty vocals, and added a shiny high-energy synth drop for maximum beauty factor. I love the chord switch up at 1:20, my favorite part!! Not sure why this one never came out, I really like it.

Looking back at all my tracks I've made over the years, VERY few would be categorized as "bass music" despite feeling that I was categorized as a "bass music artist" for some amount of time. This one stuck out to me as a pretty nice example though - I really like some of the melodies in this track, and the second drop is a cool change up. Although, the production leaves a lot to be desired... the compression is ridiculous and I have no idea what I was thinking with the random moans in the drop. I guess that was just a thing to do at the time?

I remember making this song as a "joke" when my manager said all my productions were too complex, I snapped back saying "fine, want me to make a song with literally just one note?" and he was like "yes, please." So I did, and after the original 1-note concept (which was basically the first breakdown and drop), I thought it was pretty cool and decided to add some more notes. Despite its passive aggressive origin, it taught me a lesson that stuck with me: it's much easier to start from something almost comically simple and expand from there than it is to go into a project with grand idea. Still try and practice that to this day!

a fun tech house edit I made of a classic hip hop song

I wanted to share this one because it’s a perfect example of something I made in an afternoon that’s silly and fun but makes no sense in the context of my project (or any other), so I have no real reason to finish it. I had been watching some ASMR videos and noticed how weirdly intimate they were (as ASMR videos tend to be), so decided to sample them and create this kind of faux romantic conversation between two people. The beat is good moods, dinky sounds and rough around the edges. There's a lot that I would have done with this demo, but I kinda like it as it is!

Ah 2014, one of the most fun years for dance music. Big room had finally started getting old, and Tchami had graced us with his first “future house” releases, finally giving DJs something fresh to blast at the main stage crowds. “Bass house” hasn’t quite taken off yet, though Jauz would release “Feel the Volume” later that year which would really start the trend. This demo sat somewhere in between, riffing off the awesome vibes that Tchami had been introducing but still unique for the time (dare I say it might still hold up even today). I named it “Gallop” because the drop reminds me of a horse galloping. I find the tune interesting because the drop is actually a different key (5th down with a resonant major 3rd), so it gives it a jarring energy. Giving it a 4 for completeness just because there was more I wanted to do with the mix and the sounds in the breakdowns.

This was a tune that I had fully intended on releasing, but for some reason A&R people didn’t really vibe with it. I guess I get it, this was one of the first times I ever sang on a song and it’s probably a little corny. At the time, people were looking for those big wavy future bass tracks that sounded good on the main stage, but this definitely was not that. It’s still fun and catchy and worth a listen IMO! The hook has a nice flow, the beat has some big sounds, and I like the textures.

My buddy Pierce passed in 2021, and it sucks for so many reasons. One of these reasons is that he was such an amazing producer and musician that I've always admired, and despite a few attempts that fell through, we never had a good chance to make a tune together. The weeks that followed his passing, I listened through his whole catalog several times, and I'm not sure if it was just pure osmosis from listening to his music or my brain simulating the collaboration that never happened, but I wrote this tune where I really channeled my inner Pierce. He taught me a lot about dance music and what it means to pay attention to details, both directly and indirectly, and some of the melodies in this tune feel like ones that he would have written (to me anyway). I stumbled across the vocal sample while digging through some obscure African music, and it stuck out to me as something I wish I could have said to him. It's also a little homage to Kuaga, his biggest tune who's namesake means "farewell" in Swahili. Miss ya dude, hope you can hear this wherever you are.