An Interview with Music Producer and Electronic/Pop Artist, RAMI
We were able to speak with Music Producer RAMI about his journey from bedroom DJ in Beirut, through majoring in recording arts Orlando to producing tracks with multiple million plays in LA.
He’s had a number of great releases, with 12 million plays for Swim, his collaboration with Arizona and Aux London hit over 4M plays on Soundcloud and now RAMI’s just released a new collaboration with Tom Bailey, called ‘Our Hearts’.
How did you get into music and for how long have you been producing for?
I was always into making beats. Ever since I was younger I always wondered what goes on behind the scenes and how a song is actually created.
When I turned 17, I would download softwares just to mess around, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but it was something I was never getting bored of.
When I got to college I started my first year as a business student, but then I found out about Full Sail in Orlando, and saw that they had bachelor programs related to audio (I didn’t even know that existed). So I went, visited the school, next thing you know I’m in Orlando majoring in recording arts.
What was it that made you and Tom feel this was the right time to work together — Can you tell us what the fit was and why you were excited to work with Tom on this song?
I’ve always been a fan of Tom’s music but never really got the chance of working with him. Tom had already written the song and recorded his guitars on it.
I built everything around the track, arranged it and so on. It was a very simple process. Darren from Tipsy records had sent me a message asking me if I was interested in collaborating with Tom on this track. I really enjoyed the vibe of the song and decided to just go with it.
What inspires you and what makes you want to keep producing music?
If there’s anything in this life that I can’t live without, it’s probably producing music.
It’s the one thing that allows me to put most of my troubles and emotions in, and completely forget everything that is going on around me.
I’m fortunate enough to be able to make a living through that, doing what I love, and at the same sharing it with people and having them enjoy it as well.
Are there any artists that you draw inspiration from — if so who and what sort of music?
I don’t really listen to a lot of dance music to be honest. I’ve been listening to a lot of hip hop/dancehall music lately. I hear a lot of people complain about the new age hip hop but I really enjoy it.
As for influences, one person I really look up to is Pharrell. His ability to experiment with so many different genres and still have that “Pharrell” sound is astonishing to me.
People starting out in music may be questioning what they need to get started. What was the first set of equipment/software you ever bought?
The first software I ever bought was FL Studio (I did actually buy it). I use Ableton now. I didn’t have any equipment. Once I started making some money, I bought a machine mikro and a pair of Rokit 8’s.
That was my setup nothing too complicated. But you really don’t need any of that. Most of my production has become super mobile. I only use my laptop, and my headphones (audio technica m50x).
The main thing I’d recommend for aspiring producers though, at any stage, is to train to hear for the kind of sound you want to create.
A good ear and Youtube Tutorials is a must! Just starting investigating videos and channels.
In terms of where to look, it really depends on the genre of music an artist makes. For my genre [electronic/pop], I would definitely say Mr Revillz, Chill Nation, La Belle Musique (these guys are killing it!)
What are a few key lessons you’ve learned about producing that other aspiring musicians and producers could take advice from?
Be super patient. Nothing comes easy in this industry, and it is very important to network and meet the right people.
Also, nowadays, you can do everything on your own, you just need to find a creative way of doing it.
I always have creative blocks but I never force anything.
If I’m not inspired at all I just take some time off and find something else to do. I try my best to take it easy on myself because it won’t work any other way.
What’s the process you go through in finding the perfect tune? Did you study with courses, learn online or just experiment?
A little bit of everything [Study courses, learning online and experimenting].
I am just super into what I do. I’m constantly working and finding something to do related to music. Sometimes I tend to take some time off but that’s only to freshen my mind and get back into it.
You’ve built a healthy following on Soundcloud now with over 18k followers, but how did you go about growing your community? What helped you build your audience and what did you focus on?
Aux London was more than down to release that song and I thank them so much for that. It kind of switched my life around, that and my Swim remix. I really focused on networking and making good music that I enjoy.
I was lucky enough to grow in a community of great people, and people that believe in what I do. You’d be surprised at how far a Facebook message can go. I met most of the people I work with through Facebook.
I connected with a lot of different networks through Facebook such as Aux London Dancing Pineapple and so on. I would pitch my songs to them and see if they would be interested in releasing them. That’s simply how it all started for me.
They would have a huge audience that would boost my popularity and at the same time boost their pages, so it was a WIN WIN for everyone. I didn’t have to do much Facebook advertising, it was all natural synergies.
On our platform, people create ‘Wondrs’, around their ambitions and aspirations. What would your Wondr be for 2017/2018 ?
I hope to get my first Gold record this year. Screenshot this!
Check out RAMI on Soundcloud or listen on Spotify
Follow RAMI on social media too
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