9+1 Q&A with Dread Pitt

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

I was intrigued by music from when I was very young. I remember listening to music on headphones and wondering where the sounds came from. Later, a friend of mine had a copy of Magix Music Maker and I was super excited to play that (much more than my friend haha). Fast forward a couple of years, and I downloaded the FL Studio demo when I was 15. Started making hip hop beats and slowly learning the process. After I got more skills, I decided to release my first Trap tracks, which slowly gained some listeners. In the last couple of years, I became most inspired by world music, so that is the current sound I’m pursuing, combined with hip hop, trap, and other beats.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

Melting Pot EP is a blend of a lot of sounds. From smooth R&B to hard trap. It wasn’t always the idea to combine these songs as an EP, but I still wanted to release them all. So I thought why not? So now we have a chill song with Emmillienne, two banging hip hop tracks with Josimar Gomes, and a fun pop/hip hop track with AMY MIYÚ.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

I usually get influenced by specific sounds or small things from movies or series, not really by specific artists. But artist that have been influential to me are MEMBA, TroyBoi, and Sarah Schachner (composer of Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty soundtracks). Non-music wise, the books from Cal Newport and Noah Harari have been very influential.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

The blend with world music is something you don’t see very often. I try combine the familiar sounds with sounds and drums that listeners may have never heard before, so they get opened up a little bit more to all the cool sounds the world has to offer.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

1. A book like How To Survive On A Deserted Island
2. The album Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relatives
3. Probably the entire show Modern Family to lighten my mood.

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

I’m an introvert, so I have no problem with being in the studio alone, and that’s what I do most of the time.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

Normally when I was playing shows I was usually the closer, so I had to wait all night before I got to play, and most of the people would have already left. One time at a festival I was also planned for the closing set, but this time it was very quiet at our stage at “prime time” during the day, because there were many big stages also playing. But when it got later, the other stages closed and our stage got more and more crowded, and when it was time for my show there were like a thousand people. That was an amazing experience. And I did my first stagedive there!

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

My track Savannah or Levante are probably good examples of unique tracks, because it features Mariana Preda, a professional pan flute player. I don’t think there are many trap/hip hop tracks with live recorded plan flute.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

This year I decided to make sync my main focus. That is to get my music placed in movies, series, and games. One of the companies I teamed up with was BMG, who is working hard on pitching Melting Pot EP and other music, and another company is Ghostwriter Music, who is very active in the movie trailer world. I made a 6-track EP with them which is releasing soon. So I’m very excited to show you that!

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

If there is only one food that you would have to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Pizza. I can eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Photo Credits: Sharon Vos

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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