Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
We all experience "beat blocks" from time to time, and Tcoast took a timeout to recharge and get a different outlook on music in general. It must have worked because he's now back and recently won the Warzone Beat Battle with only one beat thrown into the ring. How did he do it?
Congratulations on your Warzone win! How does it feel?
The win feels great! I was really shocked when I seen my name at the top. I was at work and I honestly forgot bout the battle going on. It was a really busy day and I remembered almost at the end of the day that it was going on. Soon as I pulled up the bracket, I followed my name through it and seen my name in the platinum! I had to look again to make sure it wasn't a mistake! I've been in a couple Warzone Battles and have got the bronze before but this was really unexpected. There was a lot of good beats, like always. There was a couple top notch beats that weren't matched up with me but I felt that they were better than mine and I would've took a loss if I had to battle them.
It seems that you were gone for a while and just recently came back. What happened?
I took a break from making beats for a few months. I felt I had beat block. A lot of my beats were sounding the same and I needed to figure out a way to change it up. I listened to a lot of music in depth. Listening to every little sound and bassline that makes the beats really sound good. And trying to incorporate different sounds in my beats but still trying to keep it in the TCoast style. And of course I have a regular day job so making beats for me is part time. Making music is something I've always wanted to do since I was a young kid. So if I could make music full time, it would be a major accomplishment for me.
Describe how you did your beat for the battle.
When I made this beat for the battle, I wanted to create something that felt like I was going to war. In the past I submitted R&B style beats to the Warzone Battle but would read the forums with the members saying that those style of beats weren't for this kind of battle. And not exactly directed towards me but it helped to see how everyone else was preparing. My process in making beats might be different than most. I am self taught and still feel I'm missing some easier steps. I don't have any sounds preset into my MIDI controller to be able to make a beat on the fly without stopping and editing before my next steps. I choose my sound. Create a melody or beat. Then I stop it. Play it back. Choose another sound and repeat the process. So for this beat, I started with some horns in my kit that sounded rugged. I played around with the melody for awhile until I felt it was war like. Added my piano. Added some strings. Then I added the drums. And last added the percussion. It had a good overall feel to it. So I named it "Ready For War".
You used only one beat for the whole battle (something that is frowned upon somewhat). Was that intentional? Or did you have other beats ready to upload?
Yes my one beat submission was intentional. I always find it to be a challenge to be able to win with one beat. I feel if you were to submit 4 beats and you choose one that is mediocre, that one mediocre beat is maybe going to be battling with a top notch beat. I did have 4 beats ready to upload but they definitely were not my best. I did read the forums and seen that maybe some rules needed to be changed. If 4 beats is what we need to do, then I'm all for it.
How would you describe your style of beats?
My style of beats, I've been told, are different. Good and bad. I do want to sound different but not go off the deep end and make garbage neither. The best way to describe my beats would be something you would probably hear in the 90's. Not saying my beats are as good as a lot of music back then but that's what I try to recreate. I'm really into the West Coast style and I try to incorporate that style into most my beats. I make the majority of R&B and West Coast style beats.
What do you have in your studio setup?
My studio set up is definitely not a high quality studio. Or really a studio. I have 3 pieces of equipment I make my beats with. I have my Samsung laptop, my Samson Carbon 49 MIDI keyboard, and my Studio Beats headphones. I do have KRK studio monitors for my major projects or editing certain beats but they stay stored away. I believe that you need an ear for music. You can have all the high dollar equipment but with no ear for music, it's useless. Not saying my beats are high quality but my equipment works for me.
Is there one piece of hardware or software that you can't live without?
Yes there is one piece of software I couldn't live without and that is my Kontakt 5 program. It gives you 100% control of your beat making process. If the beat doesn't sound right in certain areas, you can tune the most microscopic detail. It comes with a crazy amount of factory sounds. I do need to get FL Studio, but for now it's Kontakt.
Beatmaking for me is fun because I treat it like a puzzle. Why do you make beats?
I started to make beats with my homie Sw1ft. We always talked about making music in some way. We both had different programs and at the time I was running Reason 4. We would give each other tips on how to improve each other's beats. It helped me a lot cuz I valued his opinion on music. Made me try to improve my sound. At first it was more for fun, but now that a couple years have passed, I'm gunning for a long term career. I was brought up into a music loving family. My dad is the baddest drummer in the land and my mom has a beautiful singing voice. I grew up on a lot of old school music. That feel good music. Music changes constantly and I just want to bring back that feeling with a new school sound.
Is there one particular part of beatmaking that you don't enjoy?
The only frustration I have is trying to find that sound I have in my head but I'm not able to find or create it. Usually though, that leads to creating something out of the ordinary that I wasn't expecting.
Are there any projects you're currently working on?
I am currently working on my album or compilation of artists, that are featured on my beats. Kinda like a DJ Khaled album but without all the useless yelling of my name on the track. I have a lot of talented artists that need to be heard. So to all the artists out there, if I have told you you need to be heard, I'm coming for you!
Do you have any advice for those just getting into the beatmaking game?
My advice to the newcomers of the beat making game is to stay positive throughout your first years. Find a program your comfortable with and stick with it. If you don't know how to do something, YouTube it. That's the advantage of today. You can take a lesson on just about anything at no cost. There is a lot of people willing to give you advice. You can even ask me and I will find the answer for you.
Thanks for doing the interview. Any shoutouts you'd like to give?
Thank you for interviewing me Fade. I like to give a shoutout to my beautiful wife Monica. My one & only son Santana. My Dad Terry, my Mom Judy, Nathan, Natasha, Dahlia, Josh aka Sw1ft, Dan aka Lil' Dee, Logan, Carlos, Angelina, Erminia, Kevin, Andrew, Juan, Natalia, and Amiyah.... And everybody that has shown me support through this journey! I'm out!
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