In order to explore the origins of the new EP and associated artwork for Lunar Loops, we caught up with producer and visual artist PixelandDigital, to find out more about the project and the journey that led to it. Here’s how that went.
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Hey – thanks for the interview, loving the new EP! To introduce things, what first inspired the PixelandDigital project?
I would say transitioning from being a listener in the EDM genre to a music producer has always been more of a dream. Recently, it was more or less an awakening in me that pushed me forward with this project.
Given the atmospheric depth of the sound, combined with the soulful vocal aspect and ethereal dance embrace, where do you begin with a new track – what’s the starting process, and how do you know when something is complete and ready to share?
I would say it was from decades of listening to other artist’s work that I had a baseline for what sounds good vs. something that would offend people. I would listen to the music piece section by section, then the entire piece repeatedly, until I was satisfied that I had done all I could to perfect it.
Tell me about Unstoppable – beautiful as an opener, hard-hitting and euphoric at its peak, also ambient at the right moments. What does this track represent, and why did you choose it to introduce the new EP?
That track represents a will and wish to be something more than the mundane in life. I am portraying a break out of the ordinary into the extraordinary. I choose to introduce the new EP because I am confident that over the year of trying to produce sensible music, it finally culminated in what you see before you today.
Favourite shifts into retro tones, a little heavier and more underground perhaps by nature – how different was the mindset for this piece?
The difference is perhaps from an inspiration I had at an underground club back in college, that an electric feeling of liberation from the everyday is what we all seek. Everyone is dancing to the beat without caring about the world and its problems.
How do you choose the right vocalists for any given track?
Matching the right vocalists is problematic because it is usually done before the piece can be created around the song. I can not pull a BMW by slapping a grill on a finished product and call it a day. I have to be more like an Alfa Romeo and shape the piece around the grill design to make it as whole as possible.
The beats and rhythm must also complement the vocalist, so I don’t conflict with the highs, mids, and lows.
You note Aphex Twin and Daft Punk as influences – what are your thoughts on the current digital music realm, and what are your thoughts on the use of AI when creating original music?
Funny that you ask that. I would say that I have dabbled a bit in AI-produced music, but the end product is not perfect. Despite editing a vast swath of what the AI produces, it never comes close to the industry standard. I have released a couple of AI-made music, but Lunar Loops is a departure from that.
How does your creative work as a digital artist impact your musical approach, and how do you maintain such high skill levels in both disciplines?
Both require creativity in a sense, but one deals with the art for the eyes and the other the art for the ear. Both run parallel with one another but are vastly different disciplines requiring different skill sets to come to fruition. Both, however, require creativity, and that is something that most adults have lost over the years.
What’s the scene like where you’re based for this kind of electronic dance music?
My inspiration comes from a recent discovery and in-depth listening experience in synth wave and some influence from John Wick’s background EDM ost from Castle Vania.
What was the inspiration for the beautiful closing track Deliver Us The Moon, and where do you imagine is the best setting for listeners to get the most out of this piece of music?
The order on SoundCloud is a bit off, so Deliver Us the Moon is more of a starting piece to my EP. It can be listened to anywhere, whether you are commuting to work/school, partying with your friend at a party, or working out; it is meant to be an inspirational song that gets us in that confident mood to accomplish anything life throws at us.
Is live performance a big part of your plans, or writing for film and media?
Perhaps in the future, but I want to continue honing my craft and build up my reputation in the industry. I have not trained officially and would like to do that before anything else.
What’s your biggest ambition at the moment?
I would say if I can make a living out of this I want to move overseas and build a custom home in the near future. Currently, California, where I am located, is not the final destination I want to end up in.
What’s something about you that might surprise fans?
I am a real estate agent, so it is a considerable departure from music production. Also, I track my car on the weekend, which is an expensive hobby.
Is there anything else we should know?
One of my ultimate dreams is to go to space and see Earth from another perspective in my lifetime.
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Find PixelandDigital on Instagram, Facebook & the Website.
