The doors were slammed at Pacha NYC on May 10th as crowds of people eagerly waited to see world renoun DJ, Arty, play that night. I was fortunate enough to meet Arty and ask him a few questions before he went onstage. The green room at Pacha was buzzing with writers from different music blogs, press, management, and Arty's friends as I nervously awaited to meet one of my favorite producers that I have been following since his early years. With eyes of admiration and excitement for the coming performance, the following story is what I captured in my encounter with Arty.
At first I asked Arty how he finds his inspiration to produce. Over the past several years, Arty has been cranking out several goosebump-inducing songs that made me more than curious to find out where exactly he found the emotion to write such beautiful music.
“I am inspired by life- day to day experiences, a lot of things inspire me, music is the main thing. A lot of artists from different genres, different styles, different albums inspire me- Coldplay, Eric Prydz, it can be pretty random, there are a lot of moments and scenarios in life that can be very inspiring.”
With his inspiration stemming from his life experiences it is evident why Arty's producing style has changed over the years, as he has grown into the artist he is now.
“The main thing is that I produce music that I really like, music that I have a strong connection to. I dont like following the rules, sounds that are popular in mainstream music, I try to stick with things that I like the most- beautiful music- something that gives me goosebumps.”
Naturally as an producer, there are other artists to emulate when looking for inspiration or just to listen to on downtime. Arty has been listening to…
“One of my favorite artists is flume- he is very inspiring, it shows me how you can use sound what you can do with the sounds. I like certain elements of his music and I try to do them in my own style. You need to push music to new boundaries and capture new styles.”
Many people like to predict which direction EDM with take in the future…Arty believes that it is impossible to know what exactly is next.
“Nobody knows where EDM is headed, now big room has fallen off, future house is really big at the moment people love it. What's good about music is that there is no certainty in controlling what will be popular, you will never know what tracks work on the dance floor, music doesn't follow a specific formula it is really random.”
Arty's favorite collaboration is with his good friend Mat Zo.
“Obviously my favorite collaboration is with Mat Zo! we always have a good time together, it's really fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing which direction he will take with his music in the future.”
And last but not least, I asked Arty for his advice for new producers, so for all you bedroom producers reading this right now, this one's for you from the legend himself.
“Be really passionate, believe in yourself and what you're doing. Being hardworking is important, if you're going to follow your dreams you need to work hard. There is no secret to being happy as a producer, it's just about being passionate and hardworking, and if you love the music you'll always have time to pursue it.”
(photo credit: EDMSAUCE)
