AliGotBeats Interview

What inspired you to start creating music and how long have you been making music?

There wasn't really one particular event that inspired me to start making music, it was just something I always loved doing. I enjoyed exploring instruments and sounds, and whenever there was a piano somewhere, I wanted to play with it. One friend in school told me about FL Studio, and once I got my hands on that, I just got addicted to making music. I started pursuing music as my career in 2016. I have been creating music ever since I can remember, but properly approached it as a career in 2016.

Have you had any placements with anyone yet? If so, who have you had placements with?

Yes, I have had placements, mainly with people from Germany, where I grew up. In 2017, I did a whole remix for Miami Yacine, one of the most hyped acts from Germany, through my friend who was DJing for them at the time. After that, I focused on releasing instrumentals and beat tapes on DSPs, and one of my biggest songs is just an instrumental with over seven million streams. I have also worked with up-and-coming people from the UK like Airborn Gav from London, Johnny Suave from Germany, and Mega EJ from Ghana.

What samples do you normally like using when creating your own beats?

It depends on a few things, like how much time I have. If I'm in a session with an artist, I won't create the sample from scratch because there's not enough time. If I'm by myself, I'll make my own samples for the beat. It's like creating two products at the same time, right? If no one ends up using the beat, I still got the sample that I can send out to someone else for a collab or whatever. But if I use other people's samples, I really love the samples that people send me from my Twitch community, like there are two guys who always send me the really good stuff, Aemka and Diamantizz who always send amazing samples. Other than that, there are sample libraries, like websites that I sometimes go to just for some inspiration. Sometimes there's just good stuff on there or even YouTube. It really depends. I don't want to restrict myself, and if I have enough time, I would do it myself. It all kind of happens organically with the stream and the community.

What vibe were you trying to achieve with this sound pack?

I really wanted to create something that feels like a movie soundtrack rather than a specific genre. I wanted to create something that could be listened to on its own or that could be used in a Quentin Tarantino movie. That kind of aesthetic of something that sounds new but still reminds you of something that was there before.

How do you see other creators using this pack?

When I started making the pack, I had never seriously played an instrument for any of my beats. But for this pack, I really wanted to step outside of my comfort zone, learn new things, and go back to where I started, like exploring instruments and new sounds. So I hope that the things I created for this pack will be used by people in the same way, to explore and try new things and hopefully create something they haven't thought of creating before, just based on that.

What tips do you have for creators using the pack?

I would say don't restrict yourself - just use it in any way that you want. If you  want to put some drums over its program, just do that. What works, whatever feels good, feels good, but don't restrict yourself - be creative like whether you want to create a trap beat or something. Boom bap leaning, or technical just be super creative.

What piece of advice would you give to upcoming creators?

I think staying curious and always being open to new things as I think really the best way to approach stuff in them, especially in the music industry, like things might not work out the way you think there will be, or they would work out, but that's okay. Just always stay open. Stay curious. Try to be unique and don't try to compare your path and your journey too much to other people's journey because everyone has a different. I would have never thought that I would be streaming on Twitch until the pandemic happened,  and I would not have thought to sit in the virtual room with Timbaland, but everything just kind of works out the way it does. And yes, the same thing with the instrumental release is just always, always be open to new things and try different things.

Who are your top three producers of all time?

Timbaland, J Dilla, and Pharrell.

What is your favorite studio snack?

My favorite studio snack is salted peanuts, and diet cola.

What's your dream collaboration?

At the moment, it's really with other producers and I've got a top few that I would really love to work with either this year or in the upcoming years, like Fred Again or Frank Dukes. 

Interview by Sean P. Jones

You can check out AliGotBeats' sample pack here.