Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview DeepDive
My newest project is the DeepDive self-titled LP. It’s my first LP as DeepDive and as a solo artist of sorts. It combines different aspects/genres of electronic music and indie rock. I typically write the music and lyrics, play the instruments, sing, record, mix, master, and do the artwork on my own. I did have a few friends contribute to this project. One track has live drums, another has a friend featured singer with lyric contributions from a mutual friend, and a third song has some samples and scratching by a DJ friend of mine.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Walking into the grocery store at about 3-4 years of age and hearing the cover of KC and the Sunshine Band’s “Please Don’t Go” by KWS is probably my earliest music memory. The song stuck with me and was probably the first song I can remember being stuck in my head on repeat. Listening to it now, over 30 years later, I can see the influence it had on me and some of my electronic type of music.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I always have had an instrument around, so I don’t really remember how it all began. I do know around 16 years of age, I first got an acoustic guitar and started figuring out how to write my own proper songs with verses and choruses. Eventually, I joined with friends in making music and learned so much from the collaboration process. Sharing ideas and new songs with them is what has fueled my passion for creating music for most of my life at this point.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
The DeepDive album is actually a mix of different projects I worked on throughout 2024. 2 of the songs were released as singles in the early part of that year because they were the only ideas I had. I sort of felt like I was at another stage of writer’s block. In the summer of 2024, I decided to find some older ideas I had saved on my Roland synth/sequencer and that’s how the ideas for a few other songs came about. One song was purely made to offer a collaboration opportunity with a DJ friend of mine. The project is really a mix of different styles, collaborations, and ideas. Originally, I wanted to title it “One-Offs, Stray Lines, and Diss Tracks” as a reference to the variety of things one might hear throughout the album.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
It’s just a mix of different electronic and indie/alternative ideas. Many tracks are easy to listen to and have a chill vibe, but there are also a couple that are more up tempo and you might want to dance to.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
This is a very important question to anyone who makes music! The biggest thing for me has been to forget everything I learned in the past and everything I think music should be like. Whether it means chord structures, song structures, lengths of things, if there should be a verse or chorus, if the lyrics should tell a story or portray emotion… It’s all made up in the first place, so why not make up your own structures and ideas about what each song should be like?
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I used a Roland JD-Xi for all my synth, keys, bass, and electronic drum sounds. It’s a synth but also a sequencer, so some of the songs were written on the keyboard. I also play a Telecaster on most songs, with very few pedals – slight overdrive or delay sparingly. It’s played through a Monoprice 5 watt tube amp. The cheapest tube amp money can buy, but it’s great! All of my vocals and guitar are always recorded using a good ole’ Shure sm57. I record into a Steinberg 4-channel interface and use Reaper as my DAW software.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
“One by One” by No More Lullabies is a song I recently heard on my local college radio station. It’s really cool, kinda catchy, has nice sounding guitars, and interesting vocals.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/deepdive/1701684815
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I’m currently working on a guitar driven project – 5 songs – with the same friends I collaborated with. These songs are all lyrics written by a friend that I made into songs on acoustic, added electric, etc. This project will be under a different artist name: “Captain Nap” and I’m assuming it will be out sometime in early 2026.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I have a very diverse background in music with diverse ideas, projects, and songs.
