Author Interview: Trix-Music

This week in our series of interviews of AudioJungle authors, we meet…

Trix-Music (Josh Smith)

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from, what do you do for a living?

I’m a British born lad, currently living in London and working as a digital designer (with a bit of sound designing here and there) for De-construct.

2. How long have you been composing music and what got you started producing?

I’ve been composing music since I was twelve when I was making awfully bad dance music, but started taking it a bit more seriously when i got an 8-track when I was sixteen.

3. Do you play any instruments? Do you have any formal music training?

I play guitar mainly, but dabble in other instruments (keyboard, bass, drums).

4. Could you describe to us your home studio and the equipment and software you typically use to produce audio?

I have quite a simple setup: a Macbook Pro with an M-Audio Audiophile interface with a few synths, guitars, mics etc. I have to keep quite mobile so this setup is the best for me (though i am always thinking of the next bit to buy). Everything goes through Ableton Live, which has become a big part of what i do both live and in the studio.

5. Could you tell us a bit about how you typically compose and then produce your audio? Describe your creative process.

I normally start on the guitar and mainly write my songs in a tradtional way, however sometimes I am inspired by a drum loop or a synth line I make, so it depends. I then make a rough live set in Ableton, and jam to it to see if I can add any elements. After that i will lay a more concrete composition down and tweak it until I’m sick of it

6. What genre of music do you enjoy producing for and why?

I love producing what I call alternative electronic (less dancey electronic music, things like glitch, triphop, ambient), but I am always inspired by rock and hip-hop in places so there is a general mishmash happening.

7. What kind of things inspire you to create music? Do you have any musical influences?

Some artists that really inspire me are people like TV on the Radio, Massive Attack, Four Tet, Burial, and a lot of others who mix electronic with traditional song making and a more emotional feel.

8. What genres of music do you listen to in your spare time? Do you have any favorite bands or artists?

I go through stages, but the main genres I listen to are hard rock, hip-hop, blues and electronica. I listen to a lot of the artists on the Anticon Hiphop Label (anything by Doseone or Why?) at the moment, and enjoying the new Isis album.

9. What is your advice to other AudioJungle authors regarding how to create a successful portfolio of audio?

I think quality rules out, and being accessible and relevant to many different genres can help a lot. It’s about making a product a lot of people can buy, while being distinctive enough for it not to sound like every other stock piece there is.

10. What do you do to market your AudioJungle files?

I have a lot of friends in the digital design industry which know I do music, so I am asked  for help when they need a track. I always turn them onto AudioJungle whether it be my files or others here. I also have links from my music sites to my portfolio.

11. What are your three favorite tracks in your AudioJungle portfolio and why do you like them?

Signs | Whole Instrumental Song!

Signs is a song i did a few years ago, but the instrumental of it was one of my best works sonically. I used a lot of different instruments and took a long, long time on the arrangement, and hopefully it shows in the finished piece.

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Moroccan Flavour – No Beat (Chilled)

Was very happy with the vibe of this one, and got to use a new little instrument on it (a zither) too.

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Melodic Glitchy | Whole Instrumental!

Another composition im pretty proud of, being born from cutting up old guitar loops and a vocal line my friend sung on one of my older songs.

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12. Apart from yourself, who is your favorite AudioJungle author and why do you like them?

MusicforMedia stands out for me. He has a quality library and someone who is giving a lot back to the community too.

13. If you could change anything about AudioJungle, what would it be?

A better percentage for non-exclusive authors I think would do a lot for AudioJungle. I don’t think music should be a commodity like a Flash file, and it should be used in many different places. I think if they helped non exclusive authors they would see a great rise in quality and diversity.

14. Could you tell us about some of your audio projects outside of AudioJungle? What have been some of your biggest audio successes so far?

Probably my most notable success is getting two tracks onto a Prey soundtrack (an Xbox 360 game) that was released with the game. It came about so randomly, but was a great opportunity. I had to write and record one of the tracks while I was finishing my degree, which was stressful, but well worth doing.

15. When you aren’t busy creating music, what do you like to do in your spare time?

My spare time is mostly taken up by design, gigs, good food, finding good galleries, films, and generally enjoying living in London

View / listen to Trix-Music’s AudioJungle portfolio.