Interview: Instupendo (producer)

Instupendo is the moniker of Aidan - a high school student from Philadelphia. Aidan, however is not an ordinary teenager. The young producer has created some of my favourite beats lately and while he is a recent discovery, I often stop at his SoundCloud page and brows through the sounds recorded in his bedroom.

Hey, Aidan! Pleasure to have you as a guest on our mini mix series. Could you tell us something about yourself?

Thanks for having me. I’m a 16 year old highschool student from Pennsylvania. I play soccer, and skateboard, but mostly I like to make music on my computer. I enjoy nature walks and sending and receiving letters.

How would you describe your mini mix in a sentence? What was the inspiration behind the track selection?

I was going for something that felt smooth and fit with the season. This mix is just a small glimpse into the music I like. It’s the kind of music that inspires my own production.

How did you get into music production? You're still at school, so you must have started this at a very young age?

I started producing when I was around 12 years old after my older sister showed me a Skrillex song and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I downloaded FL Studio and taught myself how to produce just by screwing around. I’d taken piano and guitar lessons before that, but mostly played by ear.

I've realized that your earlier tracks sound somehow more bassy/trap-influenced, while latest stuff like "falling." and "light lock." are... pretty low-fi / mellow. Do you think your sound is changing or it's more of a random kind of approach?

Well, yeah, there was bit of a shift, but I’ve always tried to make at least one change in each new track, be it the kind of drums I use, or the kind of synth that I use. It’s usually pretty random how that change comes about, but I always deliberately make a change. Sometimes I stumble upon something that strikes me; sometimes it’s more about wanting to learn something new. I think it’s important for artists to continually experiment and stretch their capabilities. The “departure” in my upcoming track, Icarus (dropping December 3rd), is a mid-song BPM and key change. Nothing crazy, but it’s still something that I’d never done before in a release.

How does your average day look like?

Most days I’m at school all day and I do typical student stuff, but I get credit for studying music production independently. After classes it’s sports, dinner, study hall and then free time to make music. When I’m not in school it goes like this: I roll out of my bed, make coffee, take a shower, open up FL Studio and try to compose a cool score. If I’m unsuccessful I’ll take a break and draw for a bit or something. At night is when I really start to work for real. At night I spend a few hours just dicking around in FL, seeing if I can do anything cool or better yet finish any songs. After that, I brush my teeth, put my retainer in, and go to bed.

A post shared by ? (@instupendo) on Mar 25, 2017 at 11:49am PDT

You're playing live a few weeks. Is that the first time you'll be performing live (if not, what was it like the first time on stage)?

My show on December 10th is the first time that I’ll be headlining in my own city. The first show I played was actually an accident. I was going to one of my producer friend’s shows and a day before, the person organizing it found out I was coming and asked me if I wanted to open it! It was pretty fun even if there weren’t that many people there.

What's on your playlist right now? Any producers we should be checking out?

My playlist is pretty eclectic - I listen to everything: Brooks Brothers, Lontalius, Warhol.ss, Steve Lacy, D Savage, Nujabes, Frank Ocean, Harris Cole, whatever!

People should definitely be checking out Buji and Good Intent. Those guys are not only my best friends, but they also make kickass music.

What has been the hardest thing to sacrifice in the name of music so far?

My social life. I’ve been taking music seriously since my freshman year of high school, so I rarely have time during the days to hang out with friends or socialize. A small part of me feels like I’m missing the “high school experience”, but most of me feels like I’m doing the right thing by doing what I love and working on my future.

Plans for 2017?

Perform more! And release a lot more music, maybe an EP?

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

Brush your teeth and face the day with optimism and vigor!