I got a lot of homies doing big things. After first interviewing Pham, one of my favorite "bedroom" producers from Poland, I decided to reach out to my good friend Sean Feng aka DJ 5F, who is doing big things musically over in Texas. Pursuing a creative endeavor, whether it's your main priority or hobby, isn't the easiest thing to do because the cash flow isn't always there. With that said, I got a lot of respect for my homies who are taking risks to pursue a passion and are holding it down.
I caught up with Sean to get a glimpse of what he's been up to and where he's planning to take himself in the future. Scope our conversation and get inspired.
My name is Sean Feng aka DJ 5F. I started messing around with CDJs senior year of high school then switched to the Traktor S4 about two years ago and really started getting more serious after getting the S4, so total about 4 years now.
Tell us a little about your musical background and how you got into producing?
I grew up learning to play the piano for 4-5 years but disliked it so I started playing the cello and played that for 8 years before getting into the DJ world. However, I regret not continuing to play the piano since it would have been helpful in music composition.
How would you categorize your sound?
I would say my sound is some type of future. I am influenced heavily by deep house, future, hip-hop, and trap music.
What’s the creative process like for you when it comes to making music?
My creative process happens in various ways, sometimes a melody or riff pops into my head and I record it vocally and later transpose it into a song, other times I play around on my keyboard and try to come up with interesting sounding phrases to build into melodies. I also like to compose different genres so every new song I write is typically a different genre compared to the last track and I try to build the track according to that.
I hear you’re a resident DJ at a local bar in Texas. How did you that happen?
I had a homie working as the social media intern at the Trophy Club and he told me they were looking for new DJs/bands to play. He got me booked to play for the GM, which thankfully went well and ever since it has led to weekly gigs and having a blast throwing down!
What’s the best song you’ve ever thrown into a live mix? I hear you drop Bobby Shmurda from time to time.
Haha I love dropping Hot N*gga cause that song is hype and the crowd always goes wild. I can’t really narrow it down to one best song. I generally play songs that I like a lot so a lot of throwback tunes from 50 Cent, Ludacris, Three Six Mafia, Clipse, etc. when the party’s poppin, but if it were my choice I’d definitely be playing deep house or future like ZHU, Shiba San, Dusky, etc.
Who are some producers you’re excited to see grow this year?
Some producers I’m excited about to see grow include Flume, Giraffage, ZHU, and RL Grime.
If you could pick someone to collaborate with, who would it be and why?
I’d love to work with Flume. He’s a huge inspiration to me with his unique sound as Flume and What So Not, the way he does his shows live off his APC, keyboard, and Ableton instead of traditional turntables, and the depth of his knowledge on sound design.
Between school and DJ’ing, how do you find the time to do everything?
School hasn’t been very tough in my last year at UT so I’ve had time to learn and practice composing music on Ableton. Gigs are only a couple times a week so those aren’t that hard to balance, I mainly just lose time to go out to shows and party on the weekends but I can’t complain when I love spinning as a job.
What’s next for you?
This one’s hard because I honestly don’t know exactly. I’ve applied to Physical Therapy school starting next Fall so I may end up going back to school but who knows where. I don’t know if I want to stay in Austin or move back to SoCal. However, in the next 6-8 months, I’m going to continue pursuing my career as a part-time DJ and music producer, while hopefully working part-time as a PT technician or personal trainer as I wait for grad schools to respond.
