Fade
The Beat Strangler
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illest o.g.
Producing music and playing the bass is what @Mike Free Music is all about. Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, he recently won a Beat This! Competition with a "War" theme. His winning beat hit hard and toppled the rest. I caught up with him and asked him a few questions, so here we go:
So how does it feel having won the Beat This! Competition?
If feels good winning the Beat This! Competition. Because you can say you went against some good producers from around the world and stood tall. And I think it adds some validity to my work.
How did you put together the winning beat?
I put it together the old school way with the 2Kxl and a Roland XP 30. Well I did use Battery too. So I guess you can say I used it all. I had something else going. A sample off a Rocky movie and that "Final Count Down" song. But I got stuck at the mall and had to get new tires. So, I went to Guitar Center to waste time. I sat down on a Mo8 and started to play that melody. I was like yo this sounds like war! So I recorded on my phone so I wouldn't forget it. I came home and put it down. I ended up adding the guitar at the end for an edgy touch.
That's dope! Score 1 for technology. So it was a "War" theme and yours fit perfectly. Was it a beat you already had done or did you do it specifically for the competition?
Thanks. I made this beat fresh for the "War" theme.
I noticed that most of your beats have a hard-hitting vibe. Can you describe your style?
I played sports most of my life and I would listen to music warming up or lifting weights. I listened to hard hitting and war like songs to get me pumped ready to roll out on some one or get rolled on. Either way it had to bang. So I try to incorporate that feel and energy into the beats into the music I make.
Who are some of your music producer influences and why?
Well I Like Doom and Madlib because they sample odd stuff not just Soul music all the time. I like Dilla because of his bounce and chops. I like Hi-Tek because I like how his stuff smacks. Then there are some non Hip Hop influences but I will hold back on those.
On some of your beats you seem to dabble a bit into the mainstream style of music, how did that happen?
I have a band called Maximum and sometimes I will fill in in another band if they need a bass player. I go to Open Mics and jam sessions. Maximum plays Badu, Jill, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, R.Kelly, TI, and Tribe Called Quest and I do sneak my stuff in there too. I believe gig'n and playing mainstream music causes that vibe to creep its way into my production work.
Do you make beats in order to create a certain style that will appeal to everyone? Or do you just create whatever comes naturally?
I just do what feels right for that time for that track and hope that I don't go too far left. I try to go off of natural feel.
What do you have in your studio setup?
I work with Komplete. I work with the MPC 2kxl. I work with the EPS 16+. Alesis Sr 18. BOSS Dr 202, and DR 5 and some hardware sound modules.
What's the one piece in your setup that you can't live without?
I was going to say the MPC but as much as I like banging on hardware I can't live with out this here computer. I can still make music even if everything else is gone.
What are you goals when it comes to music production?
I would love to make music production my full time job. If it's just making the track or mixing the track or just being a session player on a track, that's my goal. I would love to get a placement on a major project.
Do you have any new music projects coming out soon?
I am working on a beat mixtape called the "Dewey Decimal Beat Tape" and one called the "Trap House Timbs".
Thanks for doing the interview.
You're welcome. Thanks for spitting some words with me.
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