Interview with SNAFU

Snafu, a very talented and versatile artist, getting the support from many artists and releasing under huge labels. Respected, certified, and perfectionist, he is always pushing the boundaries. I wanted to know more about his musical universe and his perception about the music scene .

1. Hello Snafu, you are a remarkable producer , getting huge support from many artists, releasing under big labels; can you introduce yourself for those who don't know you yet and what is the story behind the name 'Snafu'?

Well, first off, thanks for the kind words! I wouldn't say I'm remarkable, but I enjoy what I make. I'm a small producer based in California and I tend to make hip hop influenced drum & bass and (edm) trap.

'Snafu' is a military term meaning Situation Normal: All fouled Up (or another F word lol). It means that something in the mission went wrong but things are mostly normal now (ever though things going wrong is considered to be the standard). I started this particular project in a turbulent time in my life; my dad had just passed away, I was starting a new job, moving across the country, and things were generally extremely chaotic for me, so it seemed like an appropriate fit.

2. What is your musical path? How and when did you get to music?

My mom is a classical piano teacher, so I've been around music most of my life. I've played a variety of instruments, played drums for a while in high school/college, and was even in marching/pep band. I got into production when I was like 15; my mom had bought a new Roland piano and let me sequence stuff with it and transfer it to the computer and the like. I got into DJ'ing shortly after that.

3. Did you plan at an early age to make a career in music?

I never did, really (and it still isn't quite a full time career; I spend more time at my day job than this). Ultimately, I'd like to go that direction if things pan out that way.

4. What are your musical influences?

I grew up in St-Louis and listened to a lot of rap and worked on rapper's car stereos in high school, but I'm also really into post-hardcore and punk (and was admittedly a warped tour kid).

5. What were you playing before producing?

I learned piano as a kid, then flute, then percussion/trap set.

6. How would you define your sound, and how did you develop it?

I always say hip hop influenced dnb or 'hyper trap'. I wouldn't call what I make 'trap' music as I leave that to the ATL Legends and real hip hop crews. Since I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop, I feel like it's just what I'm always drawn to. I found a diesleboy CD at street side records one day when my mom took me in there when she was looking for some classical music CDs. I thought the artwork was cool, listened to the demo, was completely blown away by it and had been hooked on DNB ever since. I do a lot of dubstep speed stuff now but I still like to switch back and forth between them.

7. Where do you get inspiration from?

I like to listen to stuff that gets me hyped up, so I try to create things that I think I would wanna hear at a show.

8. Are there any special conditions for you for producing?

Not really. I used to commute like 5 hours a day for work via bus/train and spent a lot of that time producing in headphones.

9. What is a typical day of production with Snafu?

It's totally random. I've been super busy since I moved, so today was the first day I spent the majority of it working on stuff. I usually keep notes of ideas I have for tracks that I'd want to remix or sounds/beat patterns I'd want to use so when I have time to sit down and produce, I open those up and go from there.

10. Is there any particular creative process and what's your DAW?

I primarily use Logix X but I've been using Ableton a lot for collabs lately. 

11. You worked on many collaborations; what is the difficult part in working together with another artist?

Probably the final mix/master. I like stuff sorta loud and rough sounding, and a lot of people do not.

12. Any dream collaboration?

There are so many artists I wanna work with. I've always looked up to Mayhem, Antiserum, Bro Safari (and his Evol Intent work), Kill The Noise (and his work as Ewun), Feed Me/Spor, and more recently Laxx and Gent & Jawns. 

13. What are the projects you are working on and what can we expect for the future?

I have a collab with Oeschy that we've been playing out that has been getting some good feedback as well as another original of mine that I've been testing out since NYE. I have a few remixes in the works that should be coming out in the next month two as well. I have a side project going with another artist where we have 4-5 tracks done as well, just trying to figure out how to market those the best we can. 

14. What are the gigs planned for 2017? Can you tell us a bit about your forthcoming tour dates.

I don't have a ton lined up, but I'll be at some showcases at SXSW again this year, Kansas City in March, and Denver in May.

15. Any chance to see you in Canada? More precisely in Montreal?

I would love to play Canada. I've only been to Calgary before and would definitely like to check out Montreal, have your local promoters reach out to myself or management. 

16. What is your favorite venue or festival to perform at?

The Skyway Theatre in Minneapolis has been my favorite so far. The crowd there is always so wild. 

17. What is your biggest dream and the biggest challenge for you?

I'd love to be able to solely make a living off of music. I'd like to be able to produce behind the scenes for pop acts and hip hop acts in the future. 

18. Choose 3 words to describe yourself.

Quiet, Loyal focused.

19. What affects you and makes you angry the most in the music industry?

Not knowing how to navigate the waters of getting my music into the right hands or not even knowing who to talk to about how to further bookings and the like has always been a frustration of mine.

20. What is your Top 5 tracks?

Definitely a difficult questions.

Mind's Eye- Pendulum & Bulletproof.

Levitate - Evol Intent, Ewun, Spor

Prayer of the Refugee - Rise Against.

The Flood - Of Mice & Men

Under a Killing Moon - Thrice

21. What is the project you are the most proud of?

I'd probably say my track 'Stick Up' with Zyme.

22. What is your opinion about the music scene today?

Oh man... haha, I dunno honestly. I don't go to a ton of shows, but I do get the chance to meet people that genuinely just love music and the experience of hearing stuff live. All I can say is that I hope that continues and that people continue to push a positive outlook on it. 

23. Define Music.

Well, at the end of the day, it's just signals and processing I suppose ... But its' something to provide a sonic experience and elicits feelings from the person experiencing it.

Make sure to follow Snafu on:

Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/snafu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snafumusic/?fref=ts
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/snafu_music