HLMNSRA: how would you pronounce that, mate?
If you are like me, you are a longtime party maker, bored to death by the nowaday’s usual parties. But you are at a party, no wonder, where you hardly know anyone, you arrived there by chance invited by friends of friends by chance.
And you are on the sidelines to attend a usual ritual, the party time, and between spritz and chips new people arrive. Same old, same old. Then, among these people, suddenly, there is someone different.
Someone who makes more noise than others, in a different way from others, with a sonic and sly laugh, and a deep rustling to follow him. By combining drum machines with synths and samples, in a vital explosion of hip freshness and also a little hop.
A cool way to party. You introduce yourself, at this point, and this someone without problems will say “Hello, My Name is Ra“, or simply HLMNSRA . From Agrigento to London, one way. It’s a party.
First beat sold/placed?
The first beat given to people who were not part of my circle of friends in Agrigento, if I’m not mistaken, was for Canesecco and Gemitaiz. At that time I was producing together with my brother from another mother Jason Rader, we called ourselves Chain Beat Dropper. I think it was 2008. Before then I gave everything to my partners, sometimes I also rapped. Good times those of the afternoons in our “agrigentini” home studios.
How long did it take you to produce something you were proud of?
Well, let’s say that already the first very poor experiment made me proud. A .wav file of mine, all mine, the very first. Even today I get excited with little, and when I do it after a few hours you can find the result on my Soundcloud page.
Your favorite production set-up:
Warrior mode:
Ableton, Sp404 (OG-rest in peace / SX), Turntables (and discs of course), Microkorg, Guitar, Kalimba (which Railster buggered me), my various Volca Bass type toys and various cheap synths, iPhone6 (to respond to WhatsApp messages, and for Garage Band that I use when I’m out to record ambient sounds).
Slacker mode:
Ableton, scarce headphones and LPD8 on the legs, bed/sofa/kitchen table.
The best “digging advice” you have ever received:
Never received one, in case you would like to share some of your secrets hellomynameisra@gmail.com with me.
The producer, in the last 3 months, who made you say: “Oh, shit, I have to get back on the machines”?
It is very difficult to make a name, I am continually bombarded by new producers, practically spending my days listening to the feed of my soundcloud. If I had to name a name, I could perhaps name a certain whereisalex .
The worst production mistake you’ve ever made:
Let someone do a mastering process without giving it a careful double-check (reverberation at the master I hate you deeply). Then I should add also the excessive layering, which I abandoned when I bought my first Sp-404. Then resampling #tuttalavita.
An essential tip for mixing:
Have someone else do it? haha. No, however, I am very ruff, but in general, I keep the drums on the -6db and the low at -8db and I try to get to the -6db of the final master, but I never succeed.
In conclusion, I have two theories about the last question:
1- is a standard question
2- you have never listened to my productions
Vote guys vote. Hello Loudness War. Ciao strettoblaster, lots of loving.
