Synthetic
Synthetic Platinum-selling American producer Synthetic first came on our radar when he was named one of XXL Mag’s Best Hip Hop Producers of 2022. Synthetic has made his mark on the genre through his work with a wide range of artists, including the likes of Lil Uzi Vert, Yeat, Pi’erre Bourne, and others. When catching up with him recently, we learned more about his interesting background, and why FL Studio is the DAW for him. Read on to learn more! Shyney – Yeyo! (prod. by Synthetic) Tell us about yourself and how you got into music. I was born in East Los Angeles, and I remember music always being an important part of my upbringing. I remember listening to my father practice his DJ sets in the living room, my brother practicing his guitar and singing, and my mother teaching traditional Mexican dance choreography in the backyard to quinceañeras. In 2017, after years of procrastination, I finally made the jump and started learning how to produce music. Originally I went with the intention of learning how to produce EDM but found it was incredibly difficult for beginners. Being the impatient person I am, I got heavy into Hip Hop production because I enjoyed the instant gratification of making a simple beat with a catchy melody in an hour versus the drawn-out process of creating an EDM track that could take days or weeks. By 2020 I really started to take music production seriously. I had just graduated from USC, receiving my Masters in Social Work, and decided to take a year off to pursue my dream of being a full-time music producer. By the end of 2021, I had really made a name for myself. The “Synthetic” brand had become a household name in the community, and everyone seemed to be reaching out to me for my melodies. I also had picked up sound designing on the VST Serum, and I was making enough money to support myself full-time without having to work. By 2022 I had a nice catalog of songs with artists Yeat and Pi’erre Bourne, and it caught the attention of Taz Taylor from Internet Money. I decided to sign with Internet Money x 10K Projects in March of 2022, and the rest is history. Fast forward to 2023, and I have one of Lil Uzi Vert’s newest and most popular songs, “Just Wanna Rock”. I can feel this is only just the beginning of my music production journey, and I’m excited for what opportunities and collaborations come next. |
Lil Uzi Vert – Just Wanna Rock (prod. by Synthetic) How did you start using FL Studio & what does it mean to your productions? I started using FL Studio when a friend of mine recommended the software to me. I instantly fell in love with FL Studio because of how easy it was to understand and learn. It made producing the music I love easy and enjoyable. Music production, in a nutshell, means everything to me. It is my passion, career, livelihood, and outlet for expressing my creativity. Tell us about your work and some of the artists you have worked with. Artists I have worked with include Lil Uzi Vert, Yeat, Lucki, Dc The Don, Lil Gotit, Pi’erre Bourne, Zach Fox, Jace (Iayze), Slump6s, OnlyBino, sgpwes, Lunchbox, and many more. Some of my favorite records include “Just Wanna Rock” by Lil Uzi Vert, “Double” by Yeat, “Luv Money” by Yeat, and “Brazy Weekend” by Lucki. Tell us about your production environment and the gear you use. When I first started producing, I had a Windows desktop gaming computer with broken speakers. I remember producing being difficult because I could only hear from the left side, but I still made it work. Now I have a maxed-out M1 Macbook Pro that I take everywhere with me. I usually work out of the Internet Money studios, but when I’m home, I have my HS5 Yamaha speakers, Roland Fantom X, Mellotron, and UAD interface to work with. Nothing beats working in the comfort of your own home and spending time developing your ideas in peace. Is there anything else you would like to tell us? I would like to take the time to tell any upcoming producer reading this who is still on the fence about taking the leap to follow their dreams to get out of their head and just do it. Life is short, and as cliché as it sounds, you don’t want to live a life of what-ifs and regret. The journey is long, difficult, and full of sleepless nights, but the end result is everything you dream of. Don’t get into music production for the money. Instead, get into for the power of creative expression and freedom. Everything else follows suit when you focus on the thing that matters most, realizing your full potential. Take it from me I was once in your shoes; I was lost and full of indecisiveness and insecurity, but the moment I remembered to breathe and stay focused, everything started to work out for me. Don’t focus on what you don’t have; instead, imagine yourself already at your dream destination and use it as fuel to make it a reality. Believe in yourself because that is all that matters! Synthetic Links: |