RZN8R, a future soul producer currently living in Brooklyn after moving to Oakland, publishes his remix album, “VXN.” The album is a compelling collection of international dance remixes that explores several genres and reworks popular songs by women using global rhythms and sounds. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
RZN8R: I grew up in Oakland, California. Growing up, I was part of a choir that toured the world. We traveled countries like Brazil, South Africa, China, and Italy. I was exposed to cultures from a very young age and it shaped the man I am today. I always enjoyed what at the world had to offer sonically and wanted to see what makes the world move. In college, I studied Performing Arts & Social Justice: Music Concentration, which blended music study with learning how music exists within and shapes culture. Then, I studied at Pyramind Audio School in San Francisco where I learned the complexities of music technology. While at these schools, I decided to expand my knowledge through different internships. I interned at Om Records where I learned how music is monetized and marketed. Om Records helped start the careers of Kaskade and Mark Farina. Also, I did production work for Bay Area venues and events like Stern Grove and 1015 Folsom Nightclub. I worked with big acts like Parliament, Future, Hieroglyphics and Erykah Badu. I was learning how to run my own business by observing how other people were running their businesses. I think the thing that musicians miss when embarking on their own careers is that you have to treat your musical journey like a business. How can you network, create value and scale? I was learning so much and eager to embark on my journey. I spent a few years playing gigs in the Bay Area venue circuit, blending live electronic music with my vocals and with DJing on Ableton Live. I wasn’t getting the desired effect so I spent a few months studying my favorite producers and their tools. I released a few songs after study but then the pandemic hit and the world was turned on its head. I’ve slowly been rebuilding my musical practice out here in Brooklyn after quitting alcohol and moving to the East Coast. In 2022, I released two R&B and trap albums of music I started in the Bay Area and finished on the East Coast. I played a few shows to accompany their releases too. In 2023, I started to boost my DJ gig and technique chops, and helped record, produce and mix an Xmas album. Now, in 2024, I feel extremely creatively motivated. The “VXN” Remix Album will be my first release of many this year.
2. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘RZN8R?
RZN8R: I really got an inkling to create my own music when I heard Gorillaz’ “Demon Days” and DJ Shadows’ “Entroducing” for the first time. I knew I had found something special. I loved how the songs tossed genre conventions out of the window and used the advantages of technology to create something entirely new. At the same time, I was raised on my parents’ records from the 60-70s like Jackson Browne, the Beatles, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson. My parents used to sing me to sleep to Beatles songs. When creating an artist name, I wanted something that meant “you like it, but it hits you deeper.” In my choir, my director said that I possessed the rare quality of “connecting with the music on a cellular level.” I wanted something that harkened back to those world-traveling choir days. I decided on the name RZN8R (resonator) because “resonating” with something means it is understood but there is deeper truth in it. Also, a resonator reinforces sound that is already there. All my life, music made me feel something that no other experience could call up in me. I wanted a name that called to mind that “tingly” feeling I experienced when experiencing music.
3. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
RZN8R: I created the tagline: “deep, lush, hypnotic grooves.” The song needs to “hit” but it also needs to groove. I like synthesizers and programming but my philosophy has always been to take a sound from source already present in the real world. It can be mixed, mangled and turned upside down but I think the sound “resonates” more if it has been culled forth from a physical source. It hits on something primal. I love unconventional and aggressive drums. I love music where the drum pulse is upfront in the mix. I learn different ways for my music to ignite something spiritual in the listener. I’ve been learning about Candomblé culture where certain drum patterns channel different Orishas (Gods). I integrate these rhythms into my sound to hopefully aid the listener into having a deeper experience with my music.
4. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as POP?
RZN8R: Halfway through my solo music career, I was noticing that I wasn’t crafting songs the way I wanted to and they weren’t having the intended impact. The emotional arc and layering wasn’t there like I wanted it to. I took about 7 months to study my favorite producers and learn from them, artists like Timbaland, Mike Will Made It, Sango, Flying Lotus, and Pharrell. I spent hours in my home studio in the foggy outskirts of San Francisco. I mapped out their songs, where instruments and hits were coming in at every layer, what instruments they were using and why? I started songs, emulating my favorite producers’ songs measure for measure, then allowed the songs to take on a life of their own. I did this until I felt I had studied enough of my favorite producers’ tricks and sound selection. What should I call my own? How can I make this my own? After that, I had many tricks in my arsenal. No one reinvents the wheel. They just innovate on already established things. Music has hit on the same primal level of humanity for Millenia. No one is reinventing emotion but they are finding new ways to access it. Everyone has found ways to hit that primal urge to have sound emotionally affect them.
5. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
RZN8R: I struggled with alcoholism for years. I burned some bridges and sabotaged my relationships. Also, it reduced my creative output. In 2021, I decided to quit cold turkey when living in Brooklyn and it stuck. I used to create music drunk and edit sober. Alcohol was my way of numbing the inner critical voice. I’ve had to redesign and reorganize my creative process without alcohol. Since quitting alcohol, I lost 20 lbs, and my brain and mindset are so much clearer. My creative output has grown exponentially. I release two albums in 2022 and plan to release at least two more this year after “VXN.” My creativity is in overdrive and it feels right. As I stated earlier, I’m an intuition-based person. When I was drinking, it felt wrong but I kept doing it because I was addicted. Now, that I’m not drinking, I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be, living in Bushwick, Brooklyn, with a pretty lady, cat, and home studio room.
6. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
RZN8R:
I have to pay attention to social media. Social media is how people communicate in the digital landscape. People can and will criticize. That’s natural. It’s human nature. I listen, hear and learn. I think criticism can be useful. We can grow from it. My girlfriend, who does social media and acting for a living has been teaching me. Captivating content is all about crafting something that is honest and showcases the artist as a person and a creator. People want to see who the person is behind their art. The mainstream media is highly curated and polished. People yearn for content that is raw and honest. Social media, especially on TikTok, has the unique opportunity to showcase raw humanity. It’s human nature to yearn for authenticity. That’s what makes social media so scary to our lawmakers: we can communicate authentically without borders. Through social media, we create new ways to communicate with our audience. For “VXN,” I’ve found new ways to showcase my artistry through social media and plan to create more. For instance, I filmed a series of videos of me DJing outside around my local Brooklyn neighborhood. The corner where most of the videos are shot have some of my favorite clubs (Silo, 99 Scott, Honey’s) and I wanted to pay homage to them. To contrast the gritty industrial ambiance, I was adorned in a coat I had bought from a coat I recently bought from New York fashion staple Daniel’s Leather. With these social media videos, stylistic elements were mixed together that showcases a brand identity that is unique and special to me.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
RZN8R: I’m looking forward to reaching a wider audience. I love seeing the reaction my sound is imparting on their faces. I can’t wait for my sound to reach a broader audience. I am finally at a place mentally, emotionally and spiritually where I can channel my knowledge that I have accumulated from my many experiences and years in the music industry.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
RZN8R: First, I throw a bunch of ideas at the song’s sound board. If they stick, I keep them. If they don’t, I don’t. Then, if it feels right, I massage it into a more developed idea. This can look like developing a motif to more complexity or pasting it more across the song. I follow my intuition to see how the sound develops from there. I have no consistency. Ideas come to me. If I try to force an idea out, it doesn’t come. When I remain receptive to ideas, they usually do come. I remain receptive to ideas by journaling, meditating and keeping extraneous thoughts from intruding my process. I don’t think. I mind-map. I do. Whatever is the idea spark, I follow. Sometimes, this comes from the tune I hear, sometimes from a drum loop idea. Limitations can also be helpful. Especially in electronic music, we live in a world of endless possibilities. Limitations force us to be innovative. For this project, I started with the a cappella’s of pre-existing tracks and laid a groove underneath them. I took and spliced from many genres but limited myself to not create any new sounds for the project. I was to splice and layer pre-existing sounds and conventions in new and creative ways. I wanted to play with tension and release and how to turn genres on their head. So, I mixed Brazilian funk with West African percussion, middle eastern drums with jersey club bedsprings, deep house vocal chops with afro house percussion. I wanted to learn the conventions, apply them and turn them on their head. I usually ask the opinions of others I trust when creating. I think it’s important to show our ideas to others to spring ideas off of one another. I make music for myself first but I like to show others when it’s at a respectable state of completion. I want my music to be enjoyable to others and make them feel something. It brings me great joy that I sound I made ignited a feeling in another person.
9. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
RZN8R: In 2015, my second year of the music project, I played SXSW and Noise Pop, an independent music festival in San Francisco. It was my first time touring not as a part of the choir. The RZN8R music project has grown exponentially since then and I hope to go to SXSW again. I’ve started again in New York City and been meeting many people out here. I’m excited to see where my musical journey takes me.
10. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
RZN8R: People should be able to enjoy music by just hearing it. No message or story needed. If I’m at a club or a live show, I definitely don’t know the intention behind every song but I can still enjoy the sounds. That being said, there still is insight gained when learning about the story behind the music. One can enjoy my music to a deeper level if they would like. There’s a story behind everything that deserves to be uncovered. For instance, this album is inspired by my world travels, appreciation for world cultures, and appreciation for the powerful women in my life. I released my previous two albums in a series because I wanted to share with the world my last slew of creative output. It was created over the course of a few years. I was only able to finish the albums because I stopped drinking, and moved from San Francisco to a healthier environment for me in Brooklyn. Listeners can have enjoy the music without knowing any of these facts but I think knowing the story adds an element of humanity to the music and a deeper connection with the art.
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