What Does Being Creative Mean to You?
I was able to interview a Bay Area producer who’s reached great heights in the business of music and has also had plenty of success with his own drum sounds volume series of “Drums That Knock”. He’s been making music since he was 13 years old and having the opportunity to interview Decap is something i’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time because I initially reached out to him about a year ago in hopes of collaborating with him musically. It took some time but I was able to reach out to him and attend one of his “Drums That Knock” master classes. He was very humble in the aspect of letting people know before hand that he himself had a lot to learn when it comes to producing and that he was far from perfect in his techniques and creative decisions fundamentally. It was nice to hear that everyone is talented in their own way from someone, that we all as fellow artists and producers, looked up to in some way. He was very attentive to everyone's questions and was very detailed in his answers to be sure you left with a full understanding to whatever the answer to the initial question was.
I began talking a bit about how I was affected by other people in the industry that I personally know who are doing big things and how it negatively alters my moral sometimes. There are a few points in my life that I sometimes am finding myself in the position of taking on some of the traits/characteristics of a lot of different styles and other producers or artists techniques when evolving my sound. Sometimes I have to remind myself of who I am when I focus on remaining true to myself as an artist but it gets difficult when wanting to be a part of the trend. As a result sometimes my musicality gets clouded. I then asked him “what does being creative mean to you”? Before he answered the question, he asked me if he could think for a moment before answering. From an artist’s standpoint, I respected the fact that he wanted to carefully choose his words when answering. Decap said “I’m being creative when i’m creating something new”, “something using my skill-set using my time putting my energy into bringing something into being is what creativity is to me”. After he answered the question we went off into conversation about our careers as artists and some of the experiences we’ve been through with some instances including the amazing opportunities of working with other artists and actually a few artists that we both were familiar with in the working field including artists like Medasin (a producer based in Texas) and B.Lewis (A producer located in San Jose) and it really helped to bring an authentic feeling into the interview because it felt much more like a conversation as opposed to a formal interview.
I asked Decap what his 3 volume project “Drums That Knock” was and he started to explain the fact that he’s been pretty well known for the specific sound of his “hard hitting” drums. “I’ve been known to have drums that hit really hard and a lot of people would asked me, how do I get my drums to sound like that”. He wanted to share this sound with as many people as possible. “I wanted to put together a kit that gives that sound to producers. I put together “Drums That Knock Volume 1” which was a lot of sounds from my personal creation of drums in the beats that I made”. Decap has been featured on Ableton’s website performing one of his own records “Feeling” on the new Ableton Push in 2015 which allowed him the opportunity to be more than a producer stuck in the studio. This new instrument has allowed him to perform and really give him the opportunity to also brand himself as a performing artist. To find more information on Decap and any of his up and coming music or anything regarding what he’s up to next you can find all of his information on Decapmusic.com and also by @Decap on Soundcloud.com. Decap explains that “I am intending to make the music that moves my soul” and he says he’s been doing this for a long time now, so it’s almost like a breathe of fresh air when someone who’s been making music within the industry for quite some time now can find a way to keep the true authenticity in creation along with understanding the foundation of where creativity can truly come from. Focusing on something that will satisfy you as a person and benefit your inner self will always be a good to remember when embarking on the career of an artist.
