“Synthesized Serenity” – Naveen Thota

Albert Zhu, Staff Writer

Ever since I was a kid, music has been special for me. Sometimes I’d bring out pots and pans and start playing with them, pretending they were a drum set.

I was first exposed to electronic music six years ago through Youtube channels that played house music [genre of electronic music]. When I discovered electronic music, I realized that I could incorporate an entire universe of sounds into my music without being limited to any type of sound. As a composer, I’ve found that electronic music gives me a lot more power and variety.  

Electronic music is more than just artificially producing the sounds of real instruments; all the sounds are synthesized, transforming acoustic sounds. The synthesizers produce sound-waves, and can be edited with specific parameters to get the sound that you want.

Beginning in high school, when composing music I visualize and draw inspiration from ideas and events. For example, I composed one song when my dad was having employment problems and another when I was going through a hard time at school. I’ve found that having a base concept is important, even if the end product is different.

One of the most memorable moments I experienced as a musician was when my friends and I performed during last year’s Blacklight Rally. The coolest part was that we were able to mix electronic music with physical instruments. We performed with a live drum set, mallets, and a snare drum (which was played by my friend Garrett). All of this was paired and synced with the electronic music. When we performed, the audience gave an overwhelmingly positive response. Everyone waved their phone flashlights along with the music, and a lot of people came to us afterwards to tell us how much they had enjoyed our performance.

I’ve produced a total of eleven unique songs over the years, with 350 followers and 10,000 total song plays on my Soundcloud [music publishing platform] accounts. The best advice I can give to aspiring producers is “always finish a project.” Listening to the same beat again and again may bore you, but it’s very important, especially for beginners, to have the will to finish the project, no matter the end result. That way, you have closure and can move onto the next project.

For me, music is the ultimate form of self-expression. Lyrics speak to you, instruments make you feel emotion, and tunes make you dance. When you produce music, people who you’ve never met before can enjoy and connect with your creation, and your music affects them in ways you could never imagine.

Music is a definite part of my future. Although becoming a producer as a career is not really an option right now, I’ll always be learning, producing and putting my music out there. As long as I have the passion, it will be possible for me to commit myself to music.