Stereofox Mini Mix://42 – Artist (Invention_) + Interview

If you love chilled beats, nature and/or anything peaceful - today's mini mix & interview will feel like paradise.

My admiration for Invention_'s beats goes back to 2015 when I firstly stumbled upon his art, which I personally always have found to be as visual as sonic. I've always found him quite mysterious, so doing this interview was quite exciting. But firstly, time to set the mood by clicking play on that awesome 18 minutes long mix crafted by the Canadian producer.

TRACKLIST:

Hey, first of all - could you share a bit more information about yourself? Who you are, where are you from and how did you end up producing music?

Hey! My real name is Zak and I'm from somewhere in Canada :)

I grew up fooling around on the keys and ended up studying classical piano at university here. One day, a friend from my program introduced me to the strange sounds of early James Blake, Flying Lotus, Burial, Mount Kimbie and other emerging underground artists of that time. He later showed me FL Studio and Ableton, and how these kinds of sounds were arranged. I was completely hooked and soon found myself enrolled in classes such as "electro-acoustics" and "physics of sounds". Since then, I’ve been obsessed with creating beats of all kinds; with found sounds and samples as well as some of my own keys and finger drumming.

How would you describe your mix in a sentence?

There is just something so indescribably special about jazzy chords and drums :)

I love the different font of your tracks! Not even sure how this all works... Anyhow. Is that just one way to differentiate yourself or it's just a pure personal preference?

Haha thanks! I really just like the ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ of the font for some unknown reason haha.

The theme of "nature" is highly dominant in your beat work, where does it all stem from? I know most Canadians just really love the outdoors due to the landscapes of the country.

During the early years of my life, I had a forest for a back yard and spent a lot of time running around in it with my older brother. It was always a place of both calm and mystery to me, and I try to convey this notion through my beats. I love taking field recordings in the forest or during rainfall and use that natural ambience to sort of glue a track together, filling in the spaces and giving a sense of organicness.

How does your average day look?

I typically wake up, have my favourite breakfast (steel cut oats mixed with frozen berries, almond milk, maple syrup and coconut oil), and head to work where I teach kids how to flip around (coaching gymnastics, haha). I really love my job! It keeps me active and always learning new things. By night you can usually find me chilling and working on either music or digital art, or talking/spending time with those I love :)

Beside sounds, you're also a visual designer - I seriously love your Instagram feed. Are those 2 things interconnected?

Thanks, haha! I think the two are interconnected in terms of where their inspiration comes from. The heavy influence of nature in them is really nature of any kind, whether literally trees and animals, or human nature such as the way one thinks, feels and acts in the chaotic moment of creation. I really like the idea of taking a photo of something simple in a macro sense, then exploiting it’s naturally beautiful texture or pattern and glitching it out/manipulating it (using graphic design apps on my iPhone) so that it seems almost surreal and abstract. It’s always fun to see what creative decisions human nature can lead to.

What's on your playlist right now? Any artists you would recommend us to listen to?

I usually like to put my SoundCloud likes on shuffle while I relax or do stuff around the house. Lots of chill stuff on there that sets the mood just right! Lately I’ve been bumping a lot of jinsang. [bsd.u], cavanaugh, Matthew Im, beatmachinearon, wun two and Flofilz to name a few :P

What's the main goal of the music you create?

I guess the main goal is to get out whatever I’m feeling strongly about in that moment. My mood usually directs me to whatever I record or sample, and I try not to second guess it too much. I’m a bit introverted, so this is often the most satisfying and convenient outlet for it all. I do gravitate toward making beats of a chill or laid-back manner, mostly because I actively try to maintain a positive and relaxed outlook toward everything!

Thanks for the mix and the interview! Any final words of wisdom?

Thank you! Haha hmm… less is more!

If you want to stay up to date with what's happening to Zak or just explore his beautiful chilled sounds - drop by his Stereofox artist profile. Free download the mix here.