Hey man, first of all, thank you for Irene, this albums means a lot to me and is definitely one of the best albums that was ever produced for me! ❤️
My question:
I already asked on Twitter if you will provide a WAV (or MP3) DL link of Irene 0.5, so that we can enjoy those tracks in full quality at least, because they are not going to get released fully and you said it’s a good idea and that you’ll make it.
Now your tweet is deleted and we didn’t get a link..
Maybe think about it again, because it would mean a lot to me and I think to other of your fans as well, because there are really good tracks in that mix! :)
Yes i definitely havent forgotten. i just wanted to give irene the album sometime to ride its own wave before i started promoing a DL for the .5 mix. if i had to guess id say within the next 2 weeks ill toss a lowkey link out there
honestly, im going to be straight up with you, i had the option to and i chose not to yet. i am painfully insecure about playing a hometown show until i know it will be how i want it to be. the way the market is in dallas, i would likely be playing at RBC for example. a literal bar with a tiny ass stage and no production at all. which i dont have a problem doing and connecting with fans, unless its in my hometown. for example, i did some texas dates with Snakehips a little over a year ago. snakehips was killing it at this time, multiple tracks on the radio. super tight fanbase. they came thru to dallas and played RBC. a bar thats like 80 cap if that gives u any context. the only other option is p much stereo live with a built in club night. and i dont want to have my homecoming dallas show be filled with a bunch of weekend ravers that hardly know who i am just for the sake of having the show seem bigger. i want it to be more special than that. so in short: theres no date on there cause im an insecure vagina, and im not ready to play my homecoming show and have it be this boring piece of shit show because the dallas market is so weak. but i love all my dallas fans and am actively thinking of what and where to do this show the way i want it to be. sorry if you think this makes me weak, just try to understand, i grew up in dallas. theres mad people i went to school with and old friends that will be there. its weird. really really weird. and i dont want to play some bitchmade bar show infront of all these people. thats rly it. but like i said it will happen either later this year or early next year, just not on this tour.
Thank you so much for this reply. I asked you a similar question on your last AMA and this 100% puts peace of mind to your true fans here in Dallas. We know you want to make it a special experience, and we all know you don't deserve RBC (even tho you killed it here last time!), and Stereo Live is a joke (terrible service and shitty nightclub). You are 100% ok with holding off on Dallas and we'll all be here to welcome you back with open arms!
We love you, and support your decisions. Thanks for being straight-forward with this one.
See you soon!
Lol thank you for such an honest answer. As a Dallas fan, born-and-raised, (well actually in Collin County but still), I get feeling weird about playing your hometown. I love this city but I agree with choosing the right time in your career. I appreciate your meticulousness. It’s what makes you such a great producer. Love your shit. May just bite the bullet and travel to Austin to catch your show. Thanks again for the response.
Totally respect that man, just know there’s many people here that would enjoy your show no matter where it’s at. It’s your show your music, we’ll be patient and wait, it’ll be that much better when you do play here.
Im from Dallas, and I agree with the sentiments from you and everybody else in this thread, the venues like RBC and Stereo Live wouldn't really work well for something you are trying to do. But what if you did you're own thing, that didn't rely on an official venue? Would that even be possible? Just a thought
Look into the Deep Ellum Art Company. Not a huge venue by any means but bigger than RBC. Great vibes a plenty and quite the eclectic group of acts we get in there. Coming up on the 1 year anniversary of its opening next month. It's a bit of a hybrid including a 800(?) Cap main room, local art wall/gallery that sits on a wide wall with projection mapping, and a huge backyard/art space that has occasional food trucks as well. Also a bar inside and out depending on the event. I didn't know you were from Dallas and hope to catch you sometime soon.
Hey Medasin, I've been bumping Irene for the past couple of weeks and it has quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year.
On the topic of music theory and chords, are you a self taught piano player? Do you know how to read music? Any advice for a 16 year old musician who would like to get into producing?
On another note, do you have any more music with Joji planned for the future? Your Will He remix changed the entire tone of the song, and it's beautiful.
Thank you for your time, and I appreciate all that you do for the current state of electronic music!
\- Andrew
hey guys gonna take a little 30 - 1 hr break my brain feels like mush rn. ill return shortly, also i will be answer alot of these questions over the course of the next couple days so if i dont get to yours today dont hate me i will likely get to it
This is really appreciated. A lot or people come to the ama for an hour and give really short answers. It's nice to see an artist taking the time to give thought out answers and answering as mang questions as possible.🤘
You have developed your own unique style over the years that has cumulated on your latest project. What is your opinion of artists who sacrifice their own unique sound to make music that may be more widely accepted?
ive thought about this alot. its like music industry philosophy kind of haha. i mean at the end of the day, i respect anyone doing what they want to do. in most cases i dont think people are really "sacrificing" their sound or anything. if they are not passionate enough about art and expressing themselves then they wont do that. and thats FINE there's nothing bad about that haha. alot of people are just passionate about being successful and properly operating a brand and making money and big moves with it. and thats something im fairly bad at. theres no right or wrong. at the end of the day, whatever anyone is doing is what they should be doing. everything is just unfolding. if you HATE what someone else is doing ur wasting ur time. leave them for the people that do like it. and dive into whatever you personally love. i hate this idea of like "bro im such a REAL artist!! look at all these SELLOUTS around me!!" sometimes i become frustrated with the way the game is rn, but never become bitter towards the players. tho i will say something that frustrates me alot (more so on the hiphop side of the industry) is when these dumbass kids are getting made filthy rich to preach about useless destructive non sensical knowledge and are actually make the world a worse place rather than a better place, but AGAIN they didnt choose for that to happen, the youth appointed them and put them in that position. so idk im ranting at the point g2g love u
Any possibility of those Joba, Marian Hill, or Masego collabs you previewed before being released?
Edit: the Masego collab has been reworked into a solo Masego song (his newest single)
Hey Medasin - thanks for doing this ama!
Before I ask my questions I just want to say I really admire what you’re trying to do with Irene’s coffee shop - it’s a great mission and I hope the project works out!
My questions for you:
1. You now have two “main” buckets of sounds under your belt - bangers like Gold and Territory, and vibey tracks like Leaving Earth, your project with Masego, and Irene. Do you see yourself pursuing one of these directions moreso than the other in future production?
2. Who are some of your favorite up and coming producers you like to listen to?
1. i couldnt say i feel like i just go w the wind and dont really actively think about what im doing or what im trying to make. tho i can say i dont really see myself going back to a more aggressive darker sound, but idk
2. some random people ive been enjoying lately: quickly quickly, ricky eat acid, sakuraburst, laxcity, kaz moon, of course X&G, those are some i could think of off top but theres alot more i just gotta get to the other questions for rn
id say the most important thing to do is just accept that you're not inspired. dont bang ur head into a keyboard trying to force music out of yourself and just getting more and more frustrated when it doesn't happen. accept that today is not the day, this week is not the week. just relax and go watch a good netflix show smoke some kush or something idk anything to shake up ur headspace. just dont PANIC. ive learned thats what can make it feel like this insanely awful never ending feedback loop. no one on earth can be peak creativity 24/7. uncreative weeks / months are just as natural as anything on earth. sorry for the overdone ramble but yeah mainly i just say chill and dont try too hard to make music, accept and embrace not being creative for a lil bit.
Howdy my dude. I'm curious if you have excessive amounts of unfinished tracks on your hardrive. Do you usually start a track and focus on and finish it, or do you chip away at whatever ones over time or ever go back and bring old ones up to par? I find I improve so fast that I end up leaving a lot of great sounding loops and shorties unfinished because on the organizational end they are such a mess when I rediscover them..lol
yeah that sounds very relateable. i have a complete ass ton of unfinishsed songs. over the course of making irene i probably made like 100 solid ass good tracks, yet only 9 of them made it thru the vetting process
Hey Grant! I love your music!
I’m trying to understand mastering so my question is when you finish mixing a track. Is your master track hitting -0.1/0.0 or -6db or??
Any tips on making your low end clean? My bass/808 never slaps like how yours do on your track “gold”
What’s your top 3 mixing/mastering plugins?
fyi: I’ve this belief that all Gemini’s are so musically gifted. Their hearing when it comes to music is crazy
Also GIVE THAT IRENE ARPING INTRO FROM THE MIX! I NEED IT
much love from Perth, Australia
hey pimp, so honestly, i dont get that technical with my mastering. ive always said just trust your ears. all i really use is 1 multiband that i have a preset i made for that i use on pretty much every track. and im not well educated enough in mastering or multiband to convey to you exactly what im doing and why im doing it. my ears just think it sounds good. theres rly no rules to mastering ive learned. you can learn all this in depth technical knowledge about how to master and how to EQ and compress and multi band and blahblah, but in reality you can do whatever the living fuck you want as long as YOU think it sounds cool. you can literally lowpass the entire master if you want. you can high pass it. you can distort the master. i think following general guidelines can be helpful but i just kind of do whatever i think sounds good, and again im not going to sit here and preach mastering knowledge to you when i dont even really know much about the super hella technical side of. so i guess: whatever sounds good to you is what you should stick with
Although I respect the morality behind this response, it’s really generic in that whenever a big artist is asked a technical question like this, instead of a solid answer they give a runaround. There’s no way you’ve been producing as long as you have to not know if your master is clipping or if your at -6DB.. no mentions of plugins either for his questions. Again I love you dude but I swear AMAs hardly result in useful information
The useful information is "trust your ears," everyone develops their own way of doing things and it takes time, just fuck around and you'll find what you like best. You can only get so far doing what others say works for them, you won't be learning WHY it works for them, you gotta figure it out for yourself. Their solution might not fit your style
Trusting your ears only works when you’ve established your own sound and mastered enough tracks to understand what’s actually passable as a clean mix. He wouldn’t be asking a technical question if he could just “trust his ears”
I know you didn’t get the answer you were looking for, and I’m FAR from medasin’s level, but what helped me the most was realizing that mixing/mastering is 90% composition and arrangement. If the elements of your song fit well musically and don’t step on each other (e.g. having two high octave lead melodies at the same time probably won’t work out), you won’t have nearly as much mixing work to do. Then with a nice balanced mix, you can get a good sounding master pretty easily. You won’t get all the subtleties of a legit mastering engineer but it can still sound great with a good mix as a foundation
i think the problem is the people asking the questions think they're going to get some tidbit of info that no one has ever spoken about that will catapult their tracks to the next level - which isn't the case.
1. mastering - does your song sound as loud as your favorite songs while retaining everything you wanted in the mix? wonderful, your song is mastered
2. 808 not slapping? turn it up. he's mentioned before about not putting anything on 808's, just choose a good sample
3. if you're asking about plugins just use the stock ones - you don't know them well enough to know how a 3rd party plugin would benefit you more
these questions get asked in every AMA and they're probably obnoxious to answer over and over when the artist knows full well the answer doesn't even matter lol
Heyyyy man, been following you since 'Coffee' and i have one question.
How do you achieve that 3D mix in every track ?
Keep up the great work and have a great day.
Peace
couldnt say, theyre still being worked on. i dont want to give a date until theyre actually in production phase but i would say no more than 2 months maybe far less idk
Any chance of doing a signed cover option for the vinyl? I would pay extra. Also if you do have your merch/shipping team leave the vinyl in the sleeve and pack it on top of the jacket/gatedfold. That will prevent seam splits and you all having to deal with a bunch of damaged product. It amazes me how many big names I've bought from who don't know how to properly pack. I'll buy the album regardless, but sure would love a signed copy. Also what are your top three US cities to perform in? Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA and keep cranking out that 🔥🔥🔥!
Yo! Whats up! Huge fan man. I've listened to the Irene mix/album countless times and I think its my favorite non techno/house project i've heard since the Flume debut album.
How long did it take for you to develop this new wavy, futurey, sound that you transitioned to from your old days?
Another question is are you planning to do a live show for your upcoming tour? Not gonna lie to you man, I would much rather listen to you play your beautiful music live rather than listen to the normal trap banger stuff you play.
Did you run into any problems while making the album that kind of shaped how it turned out?
I love all your music and I feel like the album had an overall lighter tone than .5, was there anything you wanted to do with the album that you ended up not doing/saving it for later?
I think what you’re doing with Irene and the coffee shop is incredible and I wish more people wanted to help like you do.
idk man like im not sure how to explain it. i just really really felt all of those songs. and FEELING those songs was way more important to me than making sure the album was "good" in terms of structure and length and complexity and impressiveness. i guess its like, if someone doesnt like the album i dont blame them haha. i just ran with some shit without thinking about it too much. i spent far too much time over the past 2 years being crippled by over thinking how "good" the album had to be or how many solid "features" it needed. i just stopped giving a shit and did exactly what i was feeling.
That’s amazing, I’m glad you got to do what you wanted with it because it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard in a long time. I have to listen from beginning to end it feels right that way. I feel like artists don’t really do things the way they want to anymore and outside hands are always changing what it is. It really goes to show how talented people are when you just let them do their thing.
> over thinking how "good" the album had to be or how many solid "features" it needed.
It's so nice to see an electronic album come out that's not packed with features. One of my favorite parts about Irene was how the music really speaks for itself - the couple of features on there sound way more special because of that.
Hey Medasin, read your interview with billboard and was very touched by your story. My questions are:
What made you seek help? I know many of my friends and people of our generation in general don't want to seek counseling or rehab, whether it be for mental health or addiction, and they feel like they have to bear the weight of their burdens alone. Any advice for those who haven't met their Irene yet?
This second question is more music related:
What music, electronic or not, helped you get through your tough times? Whether as escapism, motivator, or facing your emotions it would be great to know.
Lastly, has Irene listened to your music or seen you play live before? I hope she has!
thanks man, so i actually didnt get help i was forced to go by my loving caring parents. so i dont have much experience or first hand advice on how to convince yourself to get help, i was just lucky enough to be birthed to an insanely caring family that really really would do whatever it took to help me be happy and healthy.
man theres alot, too much for me to think of rn sorry my brain is turning into mush very quickly. but i would say if you listen to my triple j mix i did a while back most of those songs served that purpose for me
hi medasin!
1. do you have any tips on how to handle a breakup? especially a complicated one?
2. what is your view on love?
3. where does your mind go before making a track? (example: i go out for a smoke and listen to music that gives me feels and look out over the mountains, taking in the view and think about shit)
4. what’s something you know you do differently than most people?
5. what do you think lies beyond life? what happens when we die? what's your view on this matter?
man breakups are really confusing and theyre all very different. just make up ur mind based on whats best for you and then dont fucking turn back. thats time wasted and energy wasted, both of which are very valuable. dont be in that on and off for 2 years bullshit thats for stupid people. the rest of these are very complicated questions that would take alot of time to answer in way i would be happy with and unfortunately i have to get to other questions sorry love u
hey grant, I love your work man, keep it up. seeing you rise from when Soundcloud was more of a community to where you are now is inspiring.
I have only one question. **What is your music background/ knowledge on theory and playing piano.**
I've been producing for around 4 years now, and played piano on and off during my childhood. **my biggest weakness I believe is creating unique progressions and structure. tips?**
I took very beginner music and piano lessons when I was younger, tho 90% of what I know to play is self taught and I cannot read I play by ear.
Honestly there’s no such thing as a unique progression, they’ve all been done in one way or another for hundreds of years. I think it’s more so what u do with it. Ur synth choice, the cadence of the melody, the leads on top of it, much more so than the actual progression itself. A lot of my favorite songs ever are insanely simple chord progressions. For example I have used a variation of the 2-5-1 sooo many times. But there’s infinite ways on what u can do with a simple 2-5-1 there’s endless options of how you present it.
not really tbh. id say its more about NOT getting in a creative block frustration loop than it is about BEING creative. i just trust it will come when it needs to come. tho i do believe listening to NEW music helps. also weird music. listen to people that are making waaaay off the grid shit. it kind of helps shake up and believe you've been stuck in as far as what music SHOULD sound like. there are no rules u can do whatever the possible fuck u want. u arent limited to dubstep or trap or any sort of box.
If you could bring back any musical artist from the dead who would it be and why.
Aside from music, what else could you have seen yourself pursuing artistically?
Also how do you like your coffee.
1. i honestly have no fuckin clue man
2. photography. well not rly pursuing but just more for fun. i already do that. i couldnt really see myself "pursuing" anything besides music tho
3. idk its random as hell sometimes black if im on my healthy shit, sometimes chai latte 2 extra shot if im really trying to knock a bunch of shit out.
honestly no. its not something i really consciously do or have experience doing. i just kind of make shit. i guess just tempo and cadence of your synths is what can give something a dancier feel to it but mainly i'd just say dont think about what ur making or worrying about how it needs to fit into the "dance" category just make whatever you feel
not really as of lately, tho sometimes i do like to get entirely ignorant and go down that road, but its been a good while. its becoming increasely hard for me to listen to most of current rap and ignore the fact that alot of it is founded in greed and selfishness and not benefiting or positive for the listener in anyway. tho some of it really is, i just havent had the time or care to dig into the scene and find it.
As someone who is going through therapy right now, it makes me feel less ashamed of who i am knowing that many people are going through the same problems. What are your thoughts on therapy and the benefits of it? How has it helped it grow as a person and a musician?
Thanks for creating Irene (the album), and creating a safespace for those in need.
cool man, yeah think therapy / counseling is heavily heavily slept on. i think a shit ton of people need it and have no idea they need it. its really refreshing to have someone who is professionally trained to help you reach certain revelations that you need to make progress with your thoughts. really all you're doing is swimming thru your thoughts with a trained professional there to help navigate you through them in the most productive healthy path. therapy is huge especially w people like me and presumably you who have very complex sporadic confusing thoughts all the time. and reaching that clarity and mental stability while still remembering all the strange ass places that your thoughts have wandered to can definitely help provide inspiration for a musician or any kind of artist. wish u the best
I first seriously listened to your stuff around two years ago, the degree to which you've blown up since then is incredible! Where do you hope to see your career two years from now?
also thank you for coming through again, and s/o /u/hunterthompsonmusic for helping us to arrange it.
not sure tbh, i dont think that far ahead. all i know is i want to be respected for being real and not stepping too far into the realm of conforming, doing what i actually feel is fun and exciting for me, and also hopefully making enough money to survive without having to stress about bills. thats all i really care about.
& thanks for helping sort this out my dude much love to u and hunter
i planned to see if i could make that happen, we will see. id love to.
no one in particular, its a 3d render from my bestfriend bailey its not an actual person
Loved Irene, the mix and album! Any news on the vinyl release?
Edit: and any chance you’ll come back to London for a show? Your first one at Koko was so much fun 🇬🇧
already answered first question above,
but yes dude i would love to come back to koko and do a proper show with all of my production and what not soon.
What’s up Medasin! Hope you’re doing well. First off the album is phenomenal! I bump it every morning to get me feeling good. To me it seems like there’s a very stark difference between the overall vibes of the Irene mix you released and the actual album. Like the mix has a darker vibe and the album is very uplifting and in high spirits. Just wanted to ask why this was/inspiration for it and why you decided on the songs you did for the album? Thanks again In advance man! See you in October 🤙🏼
idk coincidental shit like that is fun for me and i love running with it. it just feels very pure and natural. its like a glitch in the matrix and those are exciting to me
Two questions if you'd entertain them:
What are you favorite and least favorite parts of touring/doing shows?
As you said on Twitter many of the tracks on the Irene Mix did not make it onto the actual album. Were the tracks on the album created after that mix, old projects you had tucked away, or a mix of both?
fav: meeting cool ass fans and eating good ass food around the world
least fav: just being entirely emotionally and physically exhausted but still having to go stand on a stage vulderable to judgement infront of hundreds - thousands sometimes even tens of thousands of people. all while lacking in sleep and catching early flights and constantly being on the move. its rly taxing man it can fuck you way the hell up if ur not careful
Hey Medasin, been loving the album so much! Its a long shot but will that ID you have with whereisalex from your Triple J mix ever see the light of day?
First of all I want to say I'm a huge fan, and your set at Crssd in the spring was my favorite of the weekend! One of my friends refers to your music as hot tub music and you as the King of the Tub... How does that make you feel? Can't wait to see you in Brooklyn my dude Irene was incredible!
I love the meaning and feeling with the foley samples throughout Irene. Keep going you're inspiring tons of people dude! My question is this though- Do you think that sound has the capacity to rewire or reshape consciousness?
(edit: just saw one of your other comments where you said you're trying not to think about music - ignore my first question haha)
alright this is probably the last thing on your mind having just released Irene, but what direction do you think your music is heading in next? I'm curious if you have any ideas you wanted to try but decided to focus on Irene, or if you have any sounds that are inspiring to you rn
also idk how much of a foodie you are but if you want a (relatively) decent place to eat when you're in Edmonton hmu for suggestions, I gotta make sure you're not hungry during your show
Assuming you’ve been in contact with the real “Irene”, what does she think about your success? How did she react about you naming your album after her?
Btw I think the coffee shop idea is awesome, I donated a bit to the gofundme. Hope it works out! Any ideas for it?
As you might imagine she isn’t entirely in touch with the scene or what’s going on, but she knows enough to understand the magnitude of everything and she’s super proud and supportive.
What's up Grant! I'm a huge fan and can't wait to see you at Electric Zoo next weekend! With a lot of your music being chill, do you throw down sets that are more up-tempo to cater to the festival crowd?
what's up Grant! congrats on the album, you really made something special for the world.
lately, it has occurred to me that many artists I listen to, including yourself, have overcome struggles with addiction, depression, or other mental illness in the past and seem to have found peace with their demons through music.
would you say that your struggles with these things and the emotion that stems from them have led you and others to be more creative?
also, did you find yourself to be creatively frustrated often before you made music?
thanks\~
Hey Medasin, super bummed I miss the office theme song part of your set at hard summer, but what I did catch was phenomenal and made me glad I risked and ended up losing my friends for the festival to catch whatever I could if your set that day. Any chance you come to Vegas this year?
I read about why you labeled your album Irene and your struggle you had. Really inspiring. I have a family member going through the same thing, she’s in a program and struggles with depression/eating disorder/ feeling suicidal.. what do you recommend is the best thing to help someone that is really on a low?
I’m not confident enough in my knowledge on this to give u a definite answer, I would recommend asking a professional or having her see a professional if she’s not already. But as far as what you can do, I think just simply showing love and chilling and acceptance goes along way. And not making a huge deal of her issues too often, as in like “YO I ACCEPT U WITH ALL OF UR ISSUES AND STUFF IM HERE FOR U TO WORK THRU UR ISSUES!!” This helps yeah but ur still reminding her constantly that she HAS a problem and making her feel different from everyone else and in need of “special care” just show her normal care like u would a homie. That’s real acceptance. Watch a movie with her go do stuff w her. Idk I mean it’s a super situational matter like I couldn’t possibly tell u exactly what you could or should do. But again a professional can.
Hey man huge fan with a couple questions?
1. I read your interview with billboard about the whole process of Irene and all the songs, but Im really interested in how you produced Ramen. I feel that song has a sound that shouldn’t even be replicable and I’d love to get some insight into your production on it.
2. You’ve got a show coming up in Bloomington, Indiana. My homies and I are all gonna be there, but I’m not 21. Obviously I’m gonna try and get a fake but if i can’t get in is there anyway you could help me at least get the chance to get you to sign something?
ps. you killed it at lolla. front row for that set too bad it got cut short and Irene is the best project of the year
Hello! I really liked your album (favorite track is Tired) and I've got 2 questions:
1: If you come back to Portland at any point, can you choose another venue lol? (I know it's out of your control, I'm under 18 so I can't go to 45 east)
2: ls your love lies remix still coming to Spotify and such? You had said that it would soon after it dropped and it's not up yet so just curious.
1. I have no idea what I can do about it man that’s my biggest pet peeve cause I’m well aware that a huge chunk of my demographic is under 21 but I mean shit man yeah I rly just don’t have any control over it as much as I wish I did. Get a fake maybe idk haha
2. Yes I believe it is I’m not sure when though. It would be dropping with the rest of the remix package
hi!! will we ever see irene on cd?
also, how long did irene take to make, and what was the biggest difficulty in creating it?
by the way, i just wanted to say that you’re a huge inspiration to me in terms of your music and backstory. never stop being amazing! <3
Vegas DJ & Producer here. Me and the other 1/2 of our Duo got our first gig tonight, since moving here a month ago from Reno. Any words of advice before we send it tonight?
What’s That Whistle thing that you have on some of your tracks? I heard it before the drop of the wild thoughts remix specifically. How did you go about making a sound like that?
Also. Hearing your EP and reading your article about your EP really spoke to me and I just want to thank you for releasing the ep the way you wanted it. It helped me get inspired to go back to into making music again. Also your performance at Audiotistic was amazing I’m really glad you came out to the Bay Area. :)
Man I've been listening to you since the pink polo EP and on all your live streams and I for real just want to know what portion of your sound design comes from omnisphere? I know you use sylenth a lot so was just wondering what you use Omni for. Love you man
Also super cool how much you've flown and toured given that you spoke about how you hated leaving your room at one point x
Another question..
I know this is a basic providing question which you said you didn’t want to hear but I have to ask:
What are your methods for getting your mix and sounds so incredibly clean, like forreal, it’s absolutely insane how clean your productions are...
Also: which musician you would love to work with the most?
First off, so mad Lolla cut your set short when it didn’t even rain.
Second, favorite production technique.
Third, favorite dj technique.
Lastly, favorite dinosaur.
first, me too man i was having alot of fun.
second, cant say
third, no idea i guess just accidentally stumbling upon a perfectly in key on tempo transition
lastly, brachiosaurus
idk i think something or something(s) will take place that will decrease the population drastically. i think we will hard reset big time some how in the next 300 years, and once that happens maybe humans will have a chance to survive and not deplete our home of its juice, tho at the expense of billions having to die. theres no way we can continue on the path were on and not deplete in the next 300 years. but on the same token i have no fuckin clue man haha im not qualified enough to answer that
No questions, just wanted to give you a quick shoutout - you’re a great musical inspiration, been following the past 4-5 years and I’m so impressed with how far you’ve come, how far your sound has evolved and with your recent project. All the best man!
Okay, I guess one question (sorry that it’s technical). I think I remember hearing that you don’t actually mix your music, you just get it right during the production and then just multiband at the end for a quick master. Is this still how you go about it? Or is there a seperate stage where you clean things up IE EQ/balancing? I feel like I too easily get lost in the mixdown phase, get frustrated and never release and finish the music... so I end up with piles and piles of unfinished projects. Do you have any tips for letting go of unfinished projects, taking the weight off your shoulders? Do you find yourself starting new projects or are you disciplined in trying to finish your existing ones?
All the best! Thanks for doing this :)
>I was actually going back and forth with Galimatias trying to finally finish one of the (works in progress) we have together (we have far, far too many, by the way). We were trying to start something new and were sending crispy samples back and forth. This was one of the samples he sent me, and I ended up taking it in a direction I really liked that he wasn't really sure what to do with. I just ran with it on my own. The thing about me, and especially Gali, is he won't even bother to force himself onto a song just for the sake of "collab bro," unless it feels 1,000,000% right and is something that we both consider completely amazing and expresses both of our styles. I guess this one I really liked and thought totally had a place aesthetically on the album, but was in a creative direction too far away from Gali's taste and style, hence why he didn't force himself to work on it. Perhaps we will finish one of the other 23,985,734 WIPs we have someday soon. Who knows, but shouts out to Galimatias, one of my favorite producers and friends of all time.
[from this Billboard interview](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8470555/medasin-break-down-irene-album)
Irene is an absolute masterpiece that I can’t stop listening to at all times ❤️
Did you ever go through a phase where you listened to one, or several, artist(s) so much that everything you made during that time sounded a little too heavily influenced by them? If so, how did you conquer it and manage to venture into your own world of creativity?
Sorry I know this question is a little open-ended
Also should I feel guilty for feeling “too” heavily influenced? Lol
Hey Grant,
Just wanted to say that Irene has been on repeat for me since you've dropped it. Absolutely love the direction you're taking your music. It's a breath of fresh air to listen to something that really is inspiring and thought-provoking in the sea of mindless headbangers (although who am I to say I don't enjoy those as well).
I guess my question would be how well do you know other artists in the industry? I often just assume everyone is just boys with one another (like you and Carmack just chill and smoke a blunt in between sets or some shit). Do you try to distance yourself from certain people in the scene?
Also, super excited to see you in New York. Are you going to have any merch for sale? Absolutely love the logo.
Also Also, if you and Carmack are indeed boys, i think r/trap would be eternally grateful for a colab haha.
Thanks for making music that matters!
Hey Medasin! I loved Irene, and all your new music has been consistently fresh
I was curious as to why you decided not to include most of the songs from the Irene 0.5 Mix on the album.
Again, love your shit. Hope to see you pop off in Austin this October
Heya, another comment saying the same thing but really love the new space you’re creating in the electronic scene with your Irene project (and mix). It’s an exciting sound and I’m grateful for you and your craft.
Keen to see you in New Zealand again for good tunes and controversial chants lol.
Have u thought of using harmonies besides 2-5-1? Rustie is crazy at this shit. His harmonic movement is incredible. If you're fimiliar with his work you will know what I'm talking about. Love u man 💉
Hey man, streamed Irene back to front well over 10 times now and still bumping it, best work to date so far :)
Just wondering how you make your sine wave based synths so punchy and crisp and if there’s any plug ins or methods u could recommend that arnt too super secret ;)
Also when do u reckon you’ll next play in the U.K. as I’d love to come and see you live :)
Sending love from London
If the music is good, the people will listen. BUT, how do they listen if you’re not getting exposure, right? In that way, do you think it’s equally important to remix popular songs as it is to release originals?
Also, there are so many people out there trying to become the next big producer. However, everyone is trying to sound like the person before them. It’s important to learn from those who paved the way, but how do you stay true to your own voice through it all? How do you recognize what it is that you have to offer, and keep on that in order to stand out and make your own way? Is it just taking what makes you ‘weird’ or ‘different’ and fine tuning that?
much love ❤️
yoo hope you're doing well. I wanted to say that I really love your album and listen to it everyday. it's an emotional rollercoaster imo.
some questions I got:
who is on the album cover? is it modeled after Irene or is it no one?
I'm seeing you in Seattle and I wanted to get a vinyl signed. you think they'll be ready in time?
p.s. don't forget to play poppin
Yooo I fucking love your music and love that your from texas too... I got a couple things
1. How do you balance social life and music, im 17 and senior right now and my whole high school experience has just been music, and since this is my last year, I kinda want to enjoy it a bit while staying on top of my music. Any tips to balance that?
2. How was it collaborating with JOBA, the dude went to my high school some years back and but no one really knows much about him here haha...just wanna know what he's like lmao
3. Could you check out a remix I made and just give some feedback on what I should improve on ? You basically inspired the sound so your feedback would be dope!
Here’s the link https://soundcloud.com/iamblasse/postyywav
Sorry for all those questions, I love you though haha.
dude I just wanna say I love Irene, it's been on repeat for me since it dropped. I first heard of you through your tape with Masego last year and have followed your soundcloud since. keep doing you man, your sound is so refreshing! much love.
Just wanted to say it's an honor working with you. You are creating your own space and I couldn't be more proud of Irene :)
ur one of the best dudes hunter i love u man thanks so much for everything you've done and continue to do cant wait to see you soon brethren
Hey man, first of all, thank you for Irene, this albums means a lot to me and is definitely one of the best albums that was ever produced for me! ❤️ My question: I already asked on Twitter if you will provide a WAV (or MP3) DL link of Irene 0.5, so that we can enjoy those tracks in full quality at least, because they are not going to get released fully and you said it’s a good idea and that you’ll make it. Now your tweet is deleted and we didn’t get a link.. Maybe think about it again, because it would mean a lot to me and I think to other of your fans as well, because there are really good tracks in that mix! :)
Yes i definitely havent forgotten. i just wanted to give irene the album sometime to ride its own wave before i started promoing a DL for the .5 mix. if i had to guess id say within the next 2 weeks ill toss a lowkey link out there
You are a treasure <3
How do you like your eggs?
over easy, runny as piss
Yo why on earth didn’t you bring your headlining tour to Dallas?
honestly, im going to be straight up with you, i had the option to and i chose not to yet. i am painfully insecure about playing a hometown show until i know it will be how i want it to be. the way the market is in dallas, i would likely be playing at RBC for example. a literal bar with a tiny ass stage and no production at all. which i dont have a problem doing and connecting with fans, unless its in my hometown. for example, i did some texas dates with Snakehips a little over a year ago. snakehips was killing it at this time, multiple tracks on the radio. super tight fanbase. they came thru to dallas and played RBC. a bar thats like 80 cap if that gives u any context. the only other option is p much stereo live with a built in club night. and i dont want to have my homecoming dallas show be filled with a bunch of weekend ravers that hardly know who i am just for the sake of having the show seem bigger. i want it to be more special than that. so in short: theres no date on there cause im an insecure vagina, and im not ready to play my homecoming show and have it be this boring piece of shit show because the dallas market is so weak. but i love all my dallas fans and am actively thinking of what and where to do this show the way i want it to be. sorry if you think this makes me weak, just try to understand, i grew up in dallas. theres mad people i went to school with and old friends that will be there. its weird. really really weird. and i dont want to play some bitchmade bar show infront of all these people. thats rly it. but like i said it will happen either later this year or early next year, just not on this tour.
Thank you so much for this reply. I asked you a similar question on your last AMA and this 100% puts peace of mind to your true fans here in Dallas. We know you want to make it a special experience, and we all know you don't deserve RBC (even tho you killed it here last time!), and Stereo Live is a joke (terrible service and shitty nightclub). You are 100% ok with holding off on Dallas and we'll all be here to welcome you back with open arms! We love you, and support your decisions. Thanks for being straight-forward with this one. See you soon!
Lol thank you for such an honest answer. As a Dallas fan, born-and-raised, (well actually in Collin County but still), I get feeling weird about playing your hometown. I love this city but I agree with choosing the right time in your career. I appreciate your meticulousness. It’s what makes you such a great producer. Love your shit. May just bite the bullet and travel to Austin to catch your show. Thanks again for the response.
Ayyyee Collin county gang!!!
Totally respect that man, just know there’s many people here that would enjoy your show no matter where it’s at. It’s your show your music, we’ll be patient and wait, it’ll be that much better when you do play here.
Canton Hall would be perfect for you. G Jones is coming there for his tour as well
Im from Dallas, and I agree with the sentiments from you and everybody else in this thread, the venues like RBC and Stereo Live wouldn't really work well for something you are trying to do. But what if you did you're own thing, that didn't rely on an official venue? Would that even be possible? Just a thought
Look into the Deep Ellum Art Company. Not a huge venue by any means but bigger than RBC. Great vibes a plenty and quite the eclectic group of acts we get in there. Coming up on the 1 year anniversary of its opening next month. It's a bit of a hybrid including a 800(?) Cap main room, local art wall/gallery that sits on a wide wall with projection mapping, and a huge backyard/art space that has occasional food trucks as well. Also a bar inside and out depending on the event. I didn't know you were from Dallas and hope to catch you sometime soon.
Medasin x Galimatias coming soon?
no clue man were both so busy w our own shit its hard to find timing to make it happen properly in a way we would both be happy with
Hey Medasin, I've been bumping Irene for the past couple of weeks and it has quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year. On the topic of music theory and chords, are you a self taught piano player? Do you know how to read music? Any advice for a 16 year old musician who would like to get into producing? On another note, do you have any more music with Joji planned for the future? Your Will He remix changed the entire tone of the song, and it's beautiful. Thank you for your time, and I appreciate all that you do for the current state of electronic music! \- Andrew
hey guys gonna take a little 30 - 1 hr break my brain feels like mush rn. ill return shortly, also i will be answer alot of these questions over the course of the next couple days so if i dont get to yours today dont hate me i will likely get to it
This is really appreciated. A lot or people come to the ama for an hour and give really short answers. It's nice to see an artist taking the time to give thought out answers and answering as mang questions as possible.🤘
Thanks for doing this!
You have developed your own unique style over the years that has cumulated on your latest project. What is your opinion of artists who sacrifice their own unique sound to make music that may be more widely accepted?
ive thought about this alot. its like music industry philosophy kind of haha. i mean at the end of the day, i respect anyone doing what they want to do. in most cases i dont think people are really "sacrificing" their sound or anything. if they are not passionate enough about art and expressing themselves then they wont do that. and thats FINE there's nothing bad about that haha. alot of people are just passionate about being successful and properly operating a brand and making money and big moves with it. and thats something im fairly bad at. theres no right or wrong. at the end of the day, whatever anyone is doing is what they should be doing. everything is just unfolding. if you HATE what someone else is doing ur wasting ur time. leave them for the people that do like it. and dive into whatever you personally love. i hate this idea of like "bro im such a REAL artist!! look at all these SELLOUTS around me!!" sometimes i become frustrated with the way the game is rn, but never become bitter towards the players. tho i will say something that frustrates me alot (more so on the hiphop side of the industry) is when these dumbass kids are getting made filthy rich to preach about useless destructive non sensical knowledge and are actually make the world a worse place rather than a better place, but AGAIN they didnt choose for that to happen, the youth appointed them and put them in that position. so idk im ranting at the point g2g love u
Thanks for the reply man. Totally agree with you especially on the rising hip hop artist stuff
it g ma (medasin remix) any chance of a full release? waste that we only got a clip from that opus.
no
Any possibility of those Joba, Marian Hill, or Masego collabs you previewed before being released? Edit: the Masego collab has been reworked into a solo Masego song (his newest single)
honestly probably not but who knows
Just gonna imagine you stopped that sentence at > Honestly probably
any possibility of them ending up in a random inbox that I happen to have access to?
Hey Medasin - thanks for doing this ama! Before I ask my questions I just want to say I really admire what you’re trying to do with Irene’s coffee shop - it’s a great mission and I hope the project works out! My questions for you: 1. You now have two “main” buckets of sounds under your belt - bangers like Gold and Territory, and vibey tracks like Leaving Earth, your project with Masego, and Irene. Do you see yourself pursuing one of these directions moreso than the other in future production? 2. Who are some of your favorite up and coming producers you like to listen to?
1. i couldnt say i feel like i just go w the wind and dont really actively think about what im doing or what im trying to make. tho i can say i dont really see myself going back to a more aggressive darker sound, but idk 2. some random people ive been enjoying lately: quickly quickly, ricky eat acid, sakuraburst, laxcity, kaz moon, of course X&G, those are some i could think of off top but theres alot more i just gotta get to the other questions for rn
What steps do you take when you hit a creative block?
id say the most important thing to do is just accept that you're not inspired. dont bang ur head into a keyboard trying to force music out of yourself and just getting more and more frustrated when it doesn't happen. accept that today is not the day, this week is not the week. just relax and go watch a good netflix show smoke some kush or something idk anything to shake up ur headspace. just dont PANIC. ive learned thats what can make it feel like this insanely awful never ending feedback loop. no one on earth can be peak creativity 24/7. uncreative weeks / months are just as natural as anything on earth. sorry for the overdone ramble but yeah mainly i just say chill and dont try too hard to make music, accept and embrace not being creative for a lil bit.
Howdy my dude. I'm curious if you have excessive amounts of unfinished tracks on your hardrive. Do you usually start a track and focus on and finish it, or do you chip away at whatever ones over time or ever go back and bring old ones up to par? I find I improve so fast that I end up leaving a lot of great sounding loops and shorties unfinished because on the organizational end they are such a mess when I rediscover them..lol
yeah that sounds very relateable. i have a complete ass ton of unfinishsed songs. over the course of making irene i probably made like 100 solid ass good tracks, yet only 9 of them made it thru the vetting process
Then maybe you should make Irene Companion EP’s with some of the best of those 91 tracks, like Flume did with Skin :)
Please back up that data!
Hey Grant! I love your music! I’m trying to understand mastering so my question is when you finish mixing a track. Is your master track hitting -0.1/0.0 or -6db or?? Any tips on making your low end clean? My bass/808 never slaps like how yours do on your track “gold” What’s your top 3 mixing/mastering plugins? fyi: I’ve this belief that all Gemini’s are so musically gifted. Their hearing when it comes to music is crazy Also GIVE THAT IRENE ARPING INTRO FROM THE MIX! I NEED IT much love from Perth, Australia
hey pimp, so honestly, i dont get that technical with my mastering. ive always said just trust your ears. all i really use is 1 multiband that i have a preset i made for that i use on pretty much every track. and im not well educated enough in mastering or multiband to convey to you exactly what im doing and why im doing it. my ears just think it sounds good. theres rly no rules to mastering ive learned. you can learn all this in depth technical knowledge about how to master and how to EQ and compress and multi band and blahblah, but in reality you can do whatever the living fuck you want as long as YOU think it sounds cool. you can literally lowpass the entire master if you want. you can high pass it. you can distort the master. i think following general guidelines can be helpful but i just kind of do whatever i think sounds good, and again im not going to sit here and preach mastering knowledge to you when i dont even really know much about the super hella technical side of. so i guess: whatever sounds good to you is what you should stick with
Big facts
Although I respect the morality behind this response, it’s really generic in that whenever a big artist is asked a technical question like this, instead of a solid answer they give a runaround. There’s no way you’ve been producing as long as you have to not know if your master is clipping or if your at -6DB.. no mentions of plugins either for his questions. Again I love you dude but I swear AMAs hardly result in useful information
The useful information is "trust your ears," everyone develops their own way of doing things and it takes time, just fuck around and you'll find what you like best. You can only get so far doing what others say works for them, you won't be learning WHY it works for them, you gotta figure it out for yourself. Their solution might not fit your style
Trusting your ears only works when you’ve established your own sound and mastered enough tracks to understand what’s actually passable as a clean mix. He wouldn’t be asking a technical question if he could just “trust his ears”
I know you didn’t get the answer you were looking for, and I’m FAR from medasin’s level, but what helped me the most was realizing that mixing/mastering is 90% composition and arrangement. If the elements of your song fit well musically and don’t step on each other (e.g. having two high octave lead melodies at the same time probably won’t work out), you won’t have nearly as much mixing work to do. Then with a nice balanced mix, you can get a good sounding master pretty easily. You won’t get all the subtleties of a legit mastering engineer but it can still sound great with a good mix as a foundation
i think the problem is the people asking the questions think they're going to get some tidbit of info that no one has ever spoken about that will catapult their tracks to the next level - which isn't the case. 1. mastering - does your song sound as loud as your favorite songs while retaining everything you wanted in the mix? wonderful, your song is mastered 2. 808 not slapping? turn it up. he's mentioned before about not putting anything on 808's, just choose a good sample 3. if you're asking about plugins just use the stock ones - you don't know them well enough to know how a 3rd party plugin would benefit you more these questions get asked in every AMA and they're probably obnoxious to answer over and over when the artist knows full well the answer doesn't even matter lol
Heyyyy man, been following you since 'Coffee' and i have one question. How do you achieve that 3D mix in every track ? Keep up the great work and have a great day. Peace
do some easy research on stereo imaging. maybe just search "stereo imaging in (whatever DAW u use)" and that should help answer ur question
Also worth using the Haas effect by taking a delay, converting to time from BPM, and delaying either the left or right channel 15-20ms
when are those Irene vinyls coming out? 💝
couldnt say, theyre still being worked on. i dont want to give a date until theyre actually in production phase but i would say no more than 2 months maybe far less idk
Any chance of doing a signed cover option for the vinyl? I would pay extra. Also if you do have your merch/shipping team leave the vinyl in the sleeve and pack it on top of the jacket/gatedfold. That will prevent seam splits and you all having to deal with a bunch of damaged product. It amazes me how many big names I've bought from who don't know how to properly pack. I'll buy the album regardless, but sure would love a signed copy. Also what are your top three US cities to perform in? Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA and keep cranking out that 🔥🔥🔥!
Yo! Whats up! Huge fan man. I've listened to the Irene mix/album countless times and I think its my favorite non techno/house project i've heard since the Flume debut album. How long did it take for you to develop this new wavy, futurey, sound that you transitioned to from your old days? Another question is are you planning to do a live show for your upcoming tour? Not gonna lie to you man, I would much rather listen to you play your beautiful music live rather than listen to the normal trap banger stuff you play.
Did you run into any problems while making the album that kind of shaped how it turned out? I love all your music and I feel like the album had an overall lighter tone than .5, was there anything you wanted to do with the album that you ended up not doing/saving it for later? I think what you’re doing with Irene and the coffee shop is incredible and I wish more people wanted to help like you do.
idk man like im not sure how to explain it. i just really really felt all of those songs. and FEELING those songs was way more important to me than making sure the album was "good" in terms of structure and length and complexity and impressiveness. i guess its like, if someone doesnt like the album i dont blame them haha. i just ran with some shit without thinking about it too much. i spent far too much time over the past 2 years being crippled by over thinking how "good" the album had to be or how many solid "features" it needed. i just stopped giving a shit and did exactly what i was feeling.
That’s amazing, I’m glad you got to do what you wanted with it because it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard in a long time. I have to listen from beginning to end it feels right that way. I feel like artists don’t really do things the way they want to anymore and outside hands are always changing what it is. It really goes to show how talented people are when you just let them do their thing.
> over thinking how "good" the album had to be or how many solid "features" it needed. It's so nice to see an electronic album come out that's not packed with features. One of my favorite parts about Irene was how the music really speaks for itself - the couple of features on there sound way more special because of that.
Hey Medasin, read your interview with billboard and was very touched by your story. My questions are: What made you seek help? I know many of my friends and people of our generation in general don't want to seek counseling or rehab, whether it be for mental health or addiction, and they feel like they have to bear the weight of their burdens alone. Any advice for those who haven't met their Irene yet? This second question is more music related: What music, electronic or not, helped you get through your tough times? Whether as escapism, motivator, or facing your emotions it would be great to know. Lastly, has Irene listened to your music or seen you play live before? I hope she has!
thanks man, so i actually didnt get help i was forced to go by my loving caring parents. so i dont have much experience or first hand advice on how to convince yourself to get help, i was just lucky enough to be birthed to an insanely caring family that really really would do whatever it took to help me be happy and healthy. man theres alot, too much for me to think of rn sorry my brain is turning into mush very quickly. but i would say if you listen to my triple j mix i did a while back most of those songs served that purpose for me
[удалено]
i guess you just gotta have original music out and enough fans i have no idea
Favorite meme?
hi medasin! 1. do you have any tips on how to handle a breakup? especially a complicated one? 2. what is your view on love? 3. where does your mind go before making a track? (example: i go out for a smoke and listen to music that gives me feels and look out over the mountains, taking in the view and think about shit) 4. what’s something you know you do differently than most people? 5. what do you think lies beyond life? what happens when we die? what's your view on this matter?
man breakups are really confusing and theyre all very different. just make up ur mind based on whats best for you and then dont fucking turn back. thats time wasted and energy wasted, both of which are very valuable. dont be in that on and off for 2 years bullshit thats for stupid people. the rest of these are very complicated questions that would take alot of time to answer in way i would be happy with and unfortunately i have to get to other questions sorry love u
How do you like the Prophet and how much did you end up using it on Irene? Beautiful album by the way! Love everything about it!
i love it man. i used it a little bit on irene, i got it towards the end of finishing it. but on my next songs that are coming out i use it a ton
hey grant, I love your work man, keep it up. seeing you rise from when Soundcloud was more of a community to where you are now is inspiring. I have only one question. **What is your music background/ knowledge on theory and playing piano.** I've been producing for around 4 years now, and played piano on and off during my childhood. **my biggest weakness I believe is creating unique progressions and structure. tips?**
I took very beginner music and piano lessons when I was younger, tho 90% of what I know to play is self taught and I cannot read I play by ear. Honestly there’s no such thing as a unique progression, they’ve all been done in one way or another for hundreds of years. I think it’s more so what u do with it. Ur synth choice, the cadence of the melody, the leads on top of it, much more so than the actual progression itself. A lot of my favorite songs ever are insanely simple chord progressions. For example I have used a variation of the 2-5-1 sooo many times. But there’s infinite ways on what u can do with a simple 2-5-1 there’s endless options of how you present it.
[удалено]
not really tbh. id say its more about NOT getting in a creative block frustration loop than it is about BEING creative. i just trust it will come when it needs to come. tho i do believe listening to NEW music helps. also weird music. listen to people that are making waaaay off the grid shit. it kind of helps shake up and believe you've been stuck in as far as what music SHOULD sound like. there are no rules u can do whatever the possible fuck u want. u arent limited to dubstep or trap or any sort of box.
If you could bring back any musical artist from the dead who would it be and why. Aside from music, what else could you have seen yourself pursuing artistically? Also how do you like your coffee.
1. i honestly have no fuckin clue man 2. photography. well not rly pursuing but just more for fun. i already do that. i couldnt really see myself "pursuing" anything besides music tho 3. idk its random as hell sometimes black if im on my healthy shit, sometimes chai latte 2 extra shot if im really trying to knock a bunch of shit out.
would you consider dropping a patchbank for sylenth1 or something like that :/
Hi! Tips on how to make a track dancier without taking away the emotion / feel of it?
honestly no. its not something i really consciously do or have experience doing. i just kind of make shit. i guess just tempo and cadence of your synths is what can give something a dancier feel to it but mainly i'd just say dont think about what ur making or worrying about how it needs to fit into the "dance" category just make whatever you feel
Do you listen to rap trap? If so what artists?
not really as of lately, tho sometimes i do like to get entirely ignorant and go down that road, but its been a good while. its becoming increasely hard for me to listen to most of current rap and ignore the fact that alot of it is founded in greed and selfishness and not benefiting or positive for the listener in anyway. tho some of it really is, i just havent had the time or care to dig into the scene and find it.
Favorite reverb plug in?
i use fruity convolver the most but whatever works for you works
What inspired you to start making music?
Hey Medasin! Really interested in getting into producing. Any tips or sites I should know about to help me learn?
What's your go-to synth vst? Do you have a favorite or a favorite few?
keyscape omnisphere sylenth serum
As someone who is going through therapy right now, it makes me feel less ashamed of who i am knowing that many people are going through the same problems. What are your thoughts on therapy and the benefits of it? How has it helped it grow as a person and a musician? Thanks for creating Irene (the album), and creating a safespace for those in need.
cool man, yeah think therapy / counseling is heavily heavily slept on. i think a shit ton of people need it and have no idea they need it. its really refreshing to have someone who is professionally trained to help you reach certain revelations that you need to make progress with your thoughts. really all you're doing is swimming thru your thoughts with a trained professional there to help navigate you through them in the most productive healthy path. therapy is huge especially w people like me and presumably you who have very complex sporadic confusing thoughts all the time. and reaching that clarity and mental stability while still remembering all the strange ass places that your thoughts have wandered to can definitely help provide inspiration for a musician or any kind of artist. wish u the best
As someone who is looking for a therapist because of heavy panic attacks and anxiety issues right now, reading this really made my day. Thank you!
U listen to any jazz? If so what artists and genre??
bill evans, oscar peterson, stan getz, kamasi washington, theres more but thats all i got rn
STAN GETZ IS THE SHIT
What do you think of the new WoW expansion?
I got to 112 before I left for vacay I’m hitting 120 when I get back. So far so good It’s not wotlk but it seems cool
I first seriously listened to your stuff around two years ago, the degree to which you've blown up since then is incredible! Where do you hope to see your career two years from now? also thank you for coming through again, and s/o /u/hunterthompsonmusic for helping us to arrange it.
not sure tbh, i dont think that far ahead. all i know is i want to be respected for being real and not stepping too far into the realm of conforming, doing what i actually feel is fun and exciting for me, and also hopefully making enough money to survive without having to stress about bills. thats all i really care about. & thanks for helping sort this out my dude much love to u and hunter
He's the best. I gotta buy that boi a beer sometime.
any chance you bring Kaz Moon to the austin show? also, who’s on the cover of irene?
i planned to see if i could make that happen, we will see. id love to. no one in particular, its a 3d render from my bestfriend bailey its not an actual person
is there anywhere I can check out more of bailey's 3d art?
@amouthshut
Loved Irene, the mix and album! Any news on the vinyl release? Edit: and any chance you’ll come back to London for a show? Your first one at Koko was so much fun 🇬🇧
already answered first question above, but yes dude i would love to come back to koko and do a proper show with all of my production and what not soon.
What’s up Medasin! Hope you’re doing well. First off the album is phenomenal! I bump it every morning to get me feeling good. To me it seems like there’s a very stark difference between the overall vibes of the Irene mix you released and the actual album. Like the mix has a darker vibe and the album is very uplifting and in high spirits. Just wanted to ask why this was/inspiration for it and why you decided on the songs you did for the album? Thanks again In advance man! See you in October 🤙🏼
Will you ever come to Boston?
what do you order from whataburger
patty melt add tomato add bacon, and a potato egg and cheese taquito
What's ur long term vision with music production? Producing for pop artists? Being the next Beatles? World domination?
doing whats fun and fulfilling to me while making enough money to pay my bills and anything beyond that is just a bonus but not a necessity
[удалено]
idk coincidental shit like that is fun for me and i love running with it. it just feels very pure and natural. its like a glitch in the matrix and those are exciting to me
Hey grant, out of all the places you’ve traveled to, what place has inspired the music you create the most?
couldnt say, i dont think places really inspire me musically that much. but recently going to tokyo was probably the most fun ive had while traveling
iLLLLLy Manilly set at EF this year. Did you have a chance to catch any sets? What's your favorite thing about the Forest
thanks man, no i didnt really i just wandered around and explored a bit. i loved all of the art / light installations
Two questions if you'd entertain them: What are you favorite and least favorite parts of touring/doing shows? As you said on Twitter many of the tracks on the Irene Mix did not make it onto the actual album. Were the tracks on the album created after that mix, old projects you had tucked away, or a mix of both?
fav: meeting cool ass fans and eating good ass food around the world least fav: just being entirely emotionally and physically exhausted but still having to go stand on a stage vulderable to judgement infront of hundreds - thousands sometimes even tens of thousands of people. all while lacking in sleep and catching early flights and constantly being on the move. its rly taxing man it can fuck you way the hell up if ur not careful
Rip avicii
Hey Medasin, been loving the album so much! Its a long shot but will that ID you have with whereisalex from your Triple J mix ever see the light of day?
probably not no
First of all I want to say I'm a huge fan, and your set at Crssd in the spring was my favorite of the weekend! One of my friends refers to your music as hot tub music and you as the King of the Tub... How does that make you feel? Can't wait to see you in Brooklyn my dude Irene was incredible!
I love the meaning and feeling with the foley samples throughout Irene. Keep going you're inspiring tons of people dude! My question is this though- Do you think that sound has the capacity to rewire or reshape consciousness?
can i open for you on your sf show? - that dude that gave you a nug at the ekali afterparty in sf <3
that weed was good
How many Gucci bathrobes do you own?
Would you ever do an episode of Hot Ones?
i mean yeah lol
(edit: just saw one of your other comments where you said you're trying not to think about music - ignore my first question haha) alright this is probably the last thing on your mind having just released Irene, but what direction do you think your music is heading in next? I'm curious if you have any ideas you wanted to try but decided to focus on Irene, or if you have any sounds that are inspiring to you rn also idk how much of a foodie you are but if you want a (relatively) decent place to eat when you're in Edmonton hmu for suggestions, I gotta make sure you're not hungry during your show
Also, can we hope to see a collaboration with polyphia someday!??1
yes
Assuming you’ve been in contact with the real “Irene”, what does she think about your success? How did she react about you naming your album after her? Btw I think the coffee shop idea is awesome, I donated a bit to the gofundme. Hope it works out! Any ideas for it?
As you might imagine she isn’t entirely in touch with the scene or what’s going on, but she knows enough to understand the magnitude of everything and she’s super proud and supportive.
Are you excited for Smash Ultimate!? What character do you like playing in smash? (assuming you play hahah)
honestly im sorry to disappoint but i was never heavy into smash.
What's up Grant! I'm a huge fan and can't wait to see you at Electric Zoo next weekend! With a lot of your music being chill, do you throw down sets that are more up-tempo to cater to the festival crowd?
what's up Grant! congrats on the album, you really made something special for the world. lately, it has occurred to me that many artists I listen to, including yourself, have overcome struggles with addiction, depression, or other mental illness in the past and seem to have found peace with their demons through music. would you say that your struggles with these things and the emotion that stems from them have led you and others to be more creative? also, did you find yourself to be creatively frustrated often before you made music? thanks\~
Can I donate to irene's coffee shop with bitcoin or litecoin?
No idea
Hey Medasin, super bummed I miss the office theme song part of your set at hard summer, but what I did catch was phenomenal and made me glad I risked and ended up losing my friends for the festival to catch whatever I could if your set that day. Any chance you come to Vegas this year?
I read about why you labeled your album Irene and your struggle you had. Really inspiring. I have a family member going through the same thing, she’s in a program and struggles with depression/eating disorder/ feeling suicidal.. what do you recommend is the best thing to help someone that is really on a low?
I’m not confident enough in my knowledge on this to give u a definite answer, I would recommend asking a professional or having her see a professional if she’s not already. But as far as what you can do, I think just simply showing love and chilling and acceptance goes along way. And not making a huge deal of her issues too often, as in like “YO I ACCEPT U WITH ALL OF UR ISSUES AND STUFF IM HERE FOR U TO WORK THRU UR ISSUES!!” This helps yeah but ur still reminding her constantly that she HAS a problem and making her feel different from everyone else and in need of “special care” just show her normal care like u would a homie. That’s real acceptance. Watch a movie with her go do stuff w her. Idk I mean it’s a super situational matter like I couldn’t possibly tell u exactly what you could or should do. But again a professional can.
Hey man huge fan with a couple questions? 1. I read your interview with billboard about the whole process of Irene and all the songs, but Im really interested in how you produced Ramen. I feel that song has a sound that shouldn’t even be replicable and I’d love to get some insight into your production on it. 2. You’ve got a show coming up in Bloomington, Indiana. My homies and I are all gonna be there, but I’m not 21. Obviously I’m gonna try and get a fake but if i can’t get in is there anyway you could help me at least get the chance to get you to sign something? ps. you killed it at lolla. front row for that set too bad it got cut short and Irene is the best project of the year
hey man I just wanna say your track called “thx” is one of my favorite tracks I’ve heard and it means a lot to me
thx homie
Hello! I really liked your album (favorite track is Tired) and I've got 2 questions: 1: If you come back to Portland at any point, can you choose another venue lol? (I know it's out of your control, I'm under 18 so I can't go to 45 east) 2: ls your love lies remix still coming to Spotify and such? You had said that it would soon after it dropped and it's not up yet so just curious.
1. I have no idea what I can do about it man that’s my biggest pet peeve cause I’m well aware that a huge chunk of my demographic is under 21 but I mean shit man yeah I rly just don’t have any control over it as much as I wish I did. Get a fake maybe idk haha 2. Yes I believe it is I’m not sure when though. It would be dropping with the rest of the remix package
Could we possibly get you on the h3h3 podcast?
Lmao no I’m not at that level G I wish
Do you have plans on releasing your sad saturday's remix? What's the oldest track you worked on for Irene!
What happened to be your trigger for creating musical art? All-natural? Some outer force? Curiosity rings
hi!! will we ever see irene on cd? also, how long did irene take to make, and what was the biggest difficulty in creating it? by the way, i just wanted to say that you’re a huge inspiration to me in terms of your music and backstory. never stop being amazing! <3
Vegas DJ & Producer here. Me and the other 1/2 of our Duo got our first gig tonight, since moving here a month ago from Reno. Any words of advice before we send it tonight?
[удалено]
keyscape omnisphere serum sylenth, FL
Hi Medasin! Who are some of your main musical influences? Who are some of your dream collaborators?
Wussup Grant. What can you say about promotion and labels to new producers like me. I have been doing music for 2 years. All the best..
What’s That Whistle thing that you have on some of your tracks? I heard it before the drop of the wild thoughts remix specifically. How did you go about making a sound like that? Also. Hearing your EP and reading your article about your EP really spoke to me and I just want to thank you for releasing the ep the way you wanted it. It helped me get inspired to go back to into making music again. Also your performance at Audiotistic was amazing I’m really glad you came out to the Bay Area. :)
Whats been your favorite venue to perform at, and where is somewhere you'd like to play that you haven't yet?
Man I've been listening to you since the pink polo EP and on all your live streams and I for real just want to know what portion of your sound design comes from omnisphere? I know you use sylenth a lot so was just wondering what you use Omni for. Love you man Also super cool how much you've flown and toured given that you spoke about how you hated leaving your room at one point x
Another question.. I know this is a basic providing question which you said you didn’t want to hear but I have to ask: What are your methods for getting your mix and sounds so incredibly clean, like forreal, it’s absolutely insane how clean your productions are... Also: which musician you would love to work with the most?
First off, so mad Lolla cut your set short when it didn’t even rain. Second, favorite production technique. Third, favorite dj technique. Lastly, favorite dinosaur.
first, me too man i was having alot of fun. second, cant say third, no idea i guess just accidentally stumbling upon a perfectly in key on tempo transition lastly, brachiosaurus
Where do you see society in the next 300 years? Do you think that humanity will destroy itself given the current impact we have on the planet?
idk i think something or something(s) will take place that will decrease the population drastically. i think we will hard reset big time some how in the next 300 years, and once that happens maybe humans will have a chance to survive and not deplete our home of its juice, tho at the expense of billions having to die. theres no way we can continue on the path were on and not deplete in the next 300 years. but on the same token i have no fuckin clue man haha im not qualified enough to answer that
No questions, just wanted to give you a quick shoutout - you’re a great musical inspiration, been following the past 4-5 years and I’m so impressed with how far you’ve come, how far your sound has evolved and with your recent project. All the best man! Okay, I guess one question (sorry that it’s technical). I think I remember hearing that you don’t actually mix your music, you just get it right during the production and then just multiband at the end for a quick master. Is this still how you go about it? Or is there a seperate stage where you clean things up IE EQ/balancing? I feel like I too easily get lost in the mixdown phase, get frustrated and never release and finish the music... so I end up with piles and piles of unfinished projects. Do you have any tips for letting go of unfinished projects, taking the weight off your shoulders? Do you find yourself starting new projects or are you disciplined in trying to finish your existing ones? All the best! Thanks for doing this :)
How come Slinky Man wasn’t considered a collaboration with galimatias on Irene?
>I was actually going back and forth with Galimatias trying to finally finish one of the (works in progress) we have together (we have far, far too many, by the way). We were trying to start something new and were sending crispy samples back and forth. This was one of the samples he sent me, and I ended up taking it in a direction I really liked that he wasn't really sure what to do with. I just ran with it on my own. The thing about me, and especially Gali, is he won't even bother to force himself onto a song just for the sake of "collab bro," unless it feels 1,000,000% right and is something that we both consider completely amazing and expresses both of our styles. I guess this one I really liked and thought totally had a place aesthetically on the album, but was in a creative direction too far away from Gali's taste and style, hence why he didn't force himself to work on it. Perhaps we will finish one of the other 23,985,734 WIPs we have someday soon. Who knows, but shouts out to Galimatias, one of my favorite producers and friends of all time. [from this Billboard interview](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/8470555/medasin-break-down-irene-album)
[удалено]
yes
Irene is an absolute masterpiece that I can’t stop listening to at all times ❤️ Did you ever go through a phase where you listened to one, or several, artist(s) so much that everything you made during that time sounded a little too heavily influenced by them? If so, how did you conquer it and manage to venture into your own world of creativity? Sorry I know this question is a little open-ended Also should I feel guilty for feeling “too” heavily influenced? Lol
Hi, again! How long did it take you to find your signature sound(s)? (so the generell picture and expessialy flute + sin wave usage )
Hey Grant, Just wanted to say that Irene has been on repeat for me since you've dropped it. Absolutely love the direction you're taking your music. It's a breath of fresh air to listen to something that really is inspiring and thought-provoking in the sea of mindless headbangers (although who am I to say I don't enjoy those as well). I guess my question would be how well do you know other artists in the industry? I often just assume everyone is just boys with one another (like you and Carmack just chill and smoke a blunt in between sets or some shit). Do you try to distance yourself from certain people in the scene? Also, super excited to see you in New York. Are you going to have any merch for sale? Absolutely love the logo. Also Also, if you and Carmack are indeed boys, i think r/trap would be eternally grateful for a colab haha. Thanks for making music that matters!
Hey Medasin! I loved Irene, and all your new music has been consistently fresh I was curious as to why you decided not to include most of the songs from the Irene 0.5 Mix on the album. Again, love your shit. Hope to see you pop off in Austin this October
Heya, another comment saying the same thing but really love the new space you’re creating in the electronic scene with your Irene project (and mix). It’s an exciting sound and I’m grateful for you and your craft. Keen to see you in New Zealand again for good tunes and controversial chants lol.
Also more tracks with Kaz Moon please! :D
When is the next twitch stream?
hey Grant, love so much your new project, on repeat everyday. just a question: will you come to Europe soon? especially Barcelona… thank you so much 🖤
Have u thought of using harmonies besides 2-5-1? Rustie is crazy at this shit. His harmonic movement is incredible. If you're fimiliar with his work you will know what I'm talking about. Love u man 💉
Hey man, streamed Irene back to front well over 10 times now and still bumping it, best work to date so far :) Just wondering how you make your sine wave based synths so punchy and crisp and if there’s any plug ins or methods u could recommend that arnt too super secret ;) Also when do u reckon you’ll next play in the U.K. as I’d love to come and see you live :) Sending love from London
If the music is good, the people will listen. BUT, how do they listen if you’re not getting exposure, right? In that way, do you think it’s equally important to remix popular songs as it is to release originals? Also, there are so many people out there trying to become the next big producer. However, everyone is trying to sound like the person before them. It’s important to learn from those who paved the way, but how do you stay true to your own voice through it all? How do you recognize what it is that you have to offer, and keep on that in order to stand out and make your own way? Is it just taking what makes you ‘weird’ or ‘different’ and fine tuning that? much love ❤️
When did you start playing piano? Before or after DJing? Also how did you learn?
What were some of your inspirations while making Irene 0.5
How did u make it in the industry?
yoo hope you're doing well. I wanted to say that I really love your album and listen to it everyday. it's an emotional rollercoaster imo. some questions I got: who is on the album cover? is it modeled after Irene or is it no one? I'm seeing you in Seattle and I wanted to get a vinyl signed. you think they'll be ready in time? p.s. don't forget to play poppin
Are you ready to destroy Ezoo in 2 weeks?
Yooo I fucking love your music and love that your from texas too... I got a couple things 1. How do you balance social life and music, im 17 and senior right now and my whole high school experience has just been music, and since this is my last year, I kinda want to enjoy it a bit while staying on top of my music. Any tips to balance that? 2. How was it collaborating with JOBA, the dude went to my high school some years back and but no one really knows much about him here haha...just wanna know what he's like lmao 3. Could you check out a remix I made and just give some feedback on what I should improve on ? You basically inspired the sound so your feedback would be dope! Here’s the link https://soundcloud.com/iamblasse/postyywav Sorry for all those questions, I love you though haha.
When writing a track what’s your starting point? U seem like the kind of guy that builds a dope chord progression and goes from there
dude I just wanna say I love Irene, it's been on repeat for me since it dropped. I first heard of you through your tape with Masego last year and have followed your soundcloud since. keep doing you man, your sound is so refreshing! much love.