Hydrosonics: Base Jase

Name: Base Jase
Representing: Illinois
Contact: www.rapproduction.com

1) Your site is impressive. How long have you been selling your beats online?
I’ve had my music online since 98, but I didn’t officially have a store until 2006. That’s when Paypal made it easy to setup a site where I didn’t have to physically email tracks to clients. There are still a lot of clients who don’t have the net and want beat cd’s, but I refuse to give them out unless it’s someone that I’m really cool with. I’ve probably lost money by not giving out beat CD’s, but selling beats online is not where my main income is from, it’s from TV Licensing with MTV and Viacom. I would rather do that any day!

2) Sounds like interesting work. How did you get involved in that?

An intern was going through websites back in 2001 or so and ran across illynoise.com (my studio’s website) and I had an flash intro that was playing, they liked it wanted to use it on The Real World. After a few years it just started growing and they started playing more and more. Finally, the music supervisor at The Hills on MTV got me onto a license with the whole network, and I just put everything under my publishing company ILLYNOISE Music with BMI. Now I have some staff producers that I’m sending music out for also, and I’m always looking for new producers and more music!

3) You have established producers selling beats on Myspace on the cheap. Does that make your life harder?

No, it’s the mixtape producers that are making life hard selling (hot) tracks for 10 dollars! My experience with MySpace is that it’s not worth the time for trying to sell beats there. Youtube has brought me more business with beat making videos than MySpace. Having my own site where people focus on just my production and not thousands of other producers gives me a better chance of selling my brand and keeping loyal customers who come back. The difference is that I only sell exclusively and I don’t lease tracks, so when someone buys a track I immediately take it down. I tried Soundclick but I felt like I was trying to compete with a bunch of mixtape producers, selling downloads for 99 cents or whatever. I just wasn’t feelin that! Boon Doc is someone who learned from me in the studio, before he was into making beats, and he has done very nice with Soundclick and Youtube so I’m not putting that hustle down by any means!

4) You charge between $50 and $200 for a track. How do you determine what to price it?
I used to get 400-500 a track and maybe only sell a couple a month, but when I started selling more and having a bigger stockpile of tracks the law of supply and demand came into play, so I was able to sell them cheaper. It’s really a shame that I’m not getting more money, but I’m selling more and my name is getting out there. A 50 dollar track is usually something that I’ve had for a few months or something that hasn’t gotten enough attention. A 200 dollar beat is something that I think is hotter, newer and something that has more demand to it. I look at beats as a commodity and I don’t have an emotional tie to them. If I love a track I don’t put it up for sale.

5) Did you replay the sample on your “Taxi Driver” beat?

No it’s a sample, I always try to hide samples to a point. “Taxi driver” was originally something I sampled back in 92 for a group called PKO. They didn’t like it so I just held on to it, and remade the beat in 2004 on a ASR-10. I only played the bassline over the top of it and played the chopped up drums live on an MPC. I never play the main drums on separate takes, I always play the kicks, snares and hi hats in real time, unless it’s a dirty south beat. The other sounds are from an old Isaac Hayes sample.

6) When did you get started and with what equipment?
Back in 87 I got a Casio Sampler, with the yellow pads, then in 88 I got my first pro sampler, an Ensoniq Mirage. After that I just started building my equipment arsenal, mainly with samplers and drum machines. When I started getting really serious about production, I got a job at a label doing music for 100 dollars a week, and they had a EPS16+, and a SP12, so I just learned on the EPS16plus and sampled everything I could cause it had so much more sampling time. These days I’m using Logic 8 and all virtual instruments!

7) What is your record collection like? Do you DJ?

I used to DJ back in the day, but now I only have some Pioneer CDJ’s that I use in the studio when someone wants some scratches. My record collection is wack! It consists of mainly Sesame Street records, 45’s from my mom, and some jazz records that people gave me or I never took back to the library. Most of my collection is on CD’s and hard drive now.

8 ) Tell me about some of the independent artists you’re working with…

I’m working with Black Pegasus on a constant basis, we have a label partnership. His new album The Black Mexican is out and I’m doing the hook and singing a verse on a song called “Can’t Stay Around” we just put that song on Digiwaxx along with another song “Rep That” he did with Chino XL and Liquid Assassin. We’re also working on the Red Monkeys album (Black P and Liquid Assassin). I’ve also sold a track to Liquid Assassin, and he’s now on Strange Music. The Reminders, who consist of Samir and Aja, I’m just finishing up production on their album they have been working with One Be Lo.

Hydrosonics-Emmanuel Nyei

Name: Emmanuel Nyei
From: The Sudan
Contact: www.myspace.com/nuelmusic1

1) You were born in the Sudan, how has your culture influenced your creation of music?

My culture influenced my music creation because it was the first type of music i heard. At 6 or 7 years of age, our tribe, every now and then has tribal ceremonies or dances called “Nugara”, where they played bongo drums, ashikos, that can be heard from 3 miles away, and they danced all night long. So I would go home and make my own bongos and ashikos, from animal skin, and try to play that same rhythm.

2)In your profile you say “I learned so much, as far as mixing, mastering, track arrangments to name a few.” What exactly have you learned? Can you provide examples?

Well, when I first started I didnt know much, nothing at all. I didn’t know what mixing, mastering, or anything like that. I just looped many sounds together, played and recorded them, period. But then when I go back to listen and compare my tracks to those of the professionals, I’m like “damn, something doesn’t sound right”. Thats when I learned that tracks have to be broken down, correctly arranged, and mixed properly in order to give a whole “feel” to it.

3) So many people pick up Fruity Loops and just go in. Did you ever stop to read the manuals?

Honestly, I was just so eager to create something that reading the manuals never crossed my mind. I’m more of a “hands-on” learner. I just picked up and taught myself everything I know now. For those who read the manuals, it might be seen as an advantage but, those that didn’t read the manuals establish their own way of creating music.

4) Where do you get your sounds? Do you play any instruments?

The sounds in Fruity Loops was all I used at first. But as time went by, I started realizing that their sounds [don't] really sound professional. Thats when I bought sounds from ebay and downloaded some as well. I dont play any instruments, however, I’ll be attending music classes in college this fall. They teach piano and many other instruments, so maybe by next year I’ll be playing something.

5) Have you recorded any of your songs with artists?

I have worked with some local artists, and some upcoming artists in other states, no one who’s really out there.