Hot Seat | 12th Planet

By Evie Lavers - April 02, 2015


In the Hot Seat Easter is 12th Planet!
His off-axis beats and subsonic frequencies orbit on the forefront of global bass. Penned “Los Angeles dubstep god” by Rolling Stone and credited by MTV as being the pioneering incubator of bass music in America, 12th Planet AKA John Dadzie and his influential label SMOG Records brought the British movement stateside and collaborated with Skrill (who also called him his mentor), KTN, Datsik and Plastician. He continues to be THE crucial force in the evolution of electronic music. 

Q. CasueL: For us upcoming producers who aspire to one day become an internationally recognized artist, and tour the world, what’s the one most important piece of advice you could give us. when we sit down in our bedroom studios, open up our DAW and get started on a track?

A. The best piece of advice I could give is to make sure you maintain a steady income before you submerge yourself as an artist.  Having a side hustle totally helps, because being a starving artist sucks.  I was a starving artist, and Ill tell you I am most thankful for the ability to be able to purchase a meal whenever I am hungry.   Second piece of advice would be, Use YouTube to answer all of your questions about production. It is by far the cheapest method of learning new techniques.  If you ever have any questions on how to do something in your DAW, or Plug in, you can go to YouTube at anytime, and it will have the proper remedy for it.


Q. The Deep End Collective: Which directions do you see Dubstep moving in the future? The genre has become so diverse, that it's hard to cater to everyone; do you find yourself sitting in the middle?

A. I see Dubstep in the present moving in about 3 different directions.  You have the very "Deep" movement which is influenced by Deep Medi, and the original vibe of Dubstep.  You have the "Riddim / Swamp" movement, which is influenced by Hench & Subfiltronik, and is kind of the new underground Dubstep movement.  Then you have the "EDM" influenced Dubstep, which is pretty much taking the formula of Big Room House, and applying it to Dubstep.  The EDM influenced dub-step in my opinion has the highest production value, and the best producers, maybe in the world.  With all of this diversity, I definitely find myself walking right down the middle of all 3.  I am influenced by all versions of Dubstep, even the garage stuff from back in the day. It is impossible to cater to all fans of Dubstep, so I guess the only thing you can really do is be true to yourself, and play or produce the songs you want.  Making the crowd happy is one thing, but making yourself happy is the most important thing in making music.


Q. Axen: What was the biggest opportunity that paved the way for you to move from being a local act to an international one?

The biggest opportunity that paved the way for me to move from being a local act to an international one was when my production level got high enough for other artists to play my music out live.  Once you have Dj's from around the world playing your original music, you will start to notice that the gigs will come in.


Q. Evie: Which up n coming producer are you diggin’ right now?

Right now I am working a lot with Lumberjvck from LA. We have made about 6 songs this year, and finished 3. He is an LA native and a graduate of The Icon Collective program, and he has inspired me the most while making music.  In fact, I should give a shout out to The Icon Collective program in Los Angeles.  They are a school that teaches you how to use DAW's and  Plug in's, and also teaches you about what it is to be an artist, and how to market yourself.  I would have killed to have been able to go to a school like that when I was younger, and I am impressed with the curriculum.  Some artists that have matriculated there in last 4 years are Protohype, MAKJ, Jauz, NGHTMRE,  SLNDR, and Init.

Catch 12th Planet this Easter Sunday at Ambar Nightclub!
The Deep End Collective + CasueL on support.
xXx

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