I always try to hit a few areas when I'm making a record; I want the sounds to be experimental and exploratory, I want the drumming to be distinctive, and I want my voice to be able to shine through.
You can communicate by responding with your body or with a hand clap, with a laugh or with a smile, with non-verbal communication.
My sound is super hybrid; the acoustic sounds are there and the electronic sounds are there.
Humans have real superpowers and when I see my dad, and saw my dad, work with communities and help people change viewpoints, and lead people in healing and guide them through troubled waters in their lives, that represents to me a real world wizard - if you want to look at it with prismatic eyes. That's what they're talking about you read about a magician.
I like to highlight people's superpowers.
My mom and grandfather are my first teachers of music. Those experiences and the process of exploring music as a discipline through them and with them is one of the main foundations of my life as musician.
I'm from New York. I grew up there. I grew up in Westchester County, the suburbs. For me, that was always the best of both worlds. I was super lucky to have a place where I could pretty much practice drums unperturbed. Obviously there were neighbor's complaints, but not very often, and I could get to the city easily by myself or with my parents.
I've always created solo work. When I first came to New York I was working in a few different areas; I was working as a drummer, a vocalist, an actor, and a dancer. I had gotten picked up more on the music side and that sort of went, and that's where I found my community in New York and that's the path that I went down.
I'm a big fan of new production techniques and new sounds. That's kind of what has been my focus out here; making sure that the songs can stand away from the production, however it's produced.
The more uncomfortable I feel, that's where I know the magic is.
Some people want to feel comfortable when they're performing; I'm kind of the opposite.
I think of every song like a game. It's like a video game: "Okay, I'm going to hop over here and if I press this drum, or if I hit this note, then that doorway opens. Oops, I fell down a trap door but I'm in a whole new world."
Music is so visual now.
