Sed's Vortex

[Music] [Music] How's it going everybody and welcome to Ready VIP episode 9. This is a very special episode for me. As you can see, I'm wearing my nine shirt on, my six pass. Um, I'm joined by a very special guest, Sedona, aka SS Vortex, joining us as our VIP musician today. Hello everybody. I'm so happy to be here. Um, it's such an honor. I've been loving everything that Ready VIP has been doing. So, it's just great to be a part of it. I'm so glad to have you on. You know, I just got to see you uh perform direct support for Level Up the other day, and man, what a show that was. Uh, blowing the speakers off it. I got to hear Simatics, your song, in person for the first time and was just like in awe. I I I love the concept of simatics. I think that's what really happens to us, you know, at a cellular level when we uh take live music to that degree. And so, um we're going to talk today about Sedona's music, her influences, uh all the things that make up her art, and a little bit about the music video we're going to create at the end. So, Sedona, um, I'd love to hear a little bit about you, kind of your origin story. What's your Marvel comeup? So, I actually did not start pursuing music until the pandemic in 2020. Um, I've always had the itch to do music. I've always kind of sang in the shower, never professionally. Um, but always had that little voice in my head to like, okay, like music's always there. Music's always there. but never really had the confidence or the time or um the motivation to really get into it and dive deeply there. Um but I did attend audio engineering school. So that was like my first introduction into the music industry um on the behind thescenes side. So I did a lot of studio recording um live sound engineering as well but mainly in the studio um prior to the pandemic. So I was up in Nashville, Tennessee, operating the boards, setting up the whole rooms, like analog recording. So Tennessee is a special place for music. It really is just kind of the cradle of so much that has happened in our country for music and to be behind the scenes there. You learn a lot at a granular level, you know. What was that experience like for you? How much did you take away from that to into your music now? Yeah, I took a lot away from Nashville. Being able to be hands-on with all the gear and the artists and all of the instruments, it was just surreal going from school where we have like a few different options to um explore those different paths. Going to a huge studio, worldrenowned. I worked at Blackbird Studio. So, wow. It was just really awesome to be able to experience just like the high level of like artistry going on there. I tend to be one of the people who like um I look at the top level of anything that I do whether it's I want to play chess how do the chess masters play you want to paint what does a paint master do to get there right there's a pathway that you kind of see built underneath them and you want to follow that because what what are the steps to greatness to achieve that like level of excellence and every artist I think to some degree strives for this and the perfectionist in the artist can't help but like look at great art and want to achieve it and so being around it. You get to see like things you wouldn't see from the outside. You get to pick up details that are like these are the habits or these are the concepts I need to understand. Yeah, definitely. I mean, there would be sessions that would last for 20 hours and there would be breaks here and there. Yep. you know, you have a little nap time, you get, you know, your food, but man, they are just going all day because it's like, you know, once you're in that flow state, you want to ride that out and you want to just do whatever it takes at all cost to protect that that vulnerable position of being able to create and like express that so vulnerably. Um, so it was really really inspiring getting to see that. And when the pandemic hit, I got laid off. It was like a huge thing where like everything was now like at a halt for the recording industry, the studio world. And I had so much time to myself that I was like, "Okay, like I literally have no excuses now." Like I have this DJ deck that's been sitting here just collecting dust. Like let me try to have fun with it. And in the beginning, it was just an outlet just to like, you know, do something while we can't go out and have fun and interact with people. Um, so I pretty much taught myself how to DJ during the pandemic and then taught myself how to produce as well. Um, but Wyatt, my fiance, he has been a huge, huge help because he used to actually rap as well. Nice. Shout out. Pretty hard music, right? Yes, we love it. Um, so and he's made his own beats for like a decade now. So, he's definitely helped me navigate the world of production and um yeah, I think blending both the analog world, being hands-on with the gear and physically seeing it along with the artists who are just determined, motivated, just, you know, they just want to tell their story. And seeing all that combined, I was like, man, I just I got to go for it. You know, I have no time to waste. Yeah, I have said it I think at least once on Ready VIP, but I'll say it again because we have brought up the topic of what happened to so many artists during the pandemic. It has almost become a motif of our first 10 episodes because so much incredible art was born during this time. You know, it it it is a place of, you know, negative impact globally. But I always look back at the Renaissance and remember that it came on the heels of the black plague. It came on the heels of the dark ages, right? Like when things were at its most bleak, humanity turned around and made art. And so when we shut ourselves in and take a little time for ourselves, it's amazing what we'll come up with. Yeah, the introspection was a huge huge key in that for me. I've always wanted to like write lyrics and I've always written poems and kind of being able to fuse it together. It did become like therapy for me. It became something that I turned to when the world was so dark and scary. We didn't know what was going to happen that I could like at least have it out of my head into this realm where it feels like, okay, I got it off my chest. Yeah. Express yourself and create your own world at the same time. World building. Yes. Yes. Speaking of world building, so you have been doing quite a bit of that at your projects uh with all of the art and music combined in what you do and the artistry you put behind it. So, let's talk a little bit about that. Where are your influences? what kind of pushed you to make said and where does she come from? Yeah. So, I would have to say my top three artists and I'm a big music lover, so I I listen to everything. It's hard for me to even say like a top three because I'm like, "Okay, which genre then?" But if I'm talking more of what inspired me to get into DJing, into producing, following my own path, um definitely flume. Huge inspiration for me. Um I love how he is not afraid to be outside of the box, outside of the norm. weird time signatures, weird sounds, but he also finds a way to save space for um vocals and people to be featured on the rap and singers. So, Flume is definitely definitely one of pushing the boundaries of the experimental areas for sure. Yes. Yes. Um and then another person who definitely pushes boundaries, Flying Lotus. one of my favorite um he was actually the first DJ I saw uh back in 2015 at campa never seen anybody behind text with visuals or anything and like my friend was like oh we got to go like we got to go see this like I promise you're going to love it and as soon as like the first few minutes came on I was just immersed in the base and the visuals and the story and I was like where has this been all my life it's your 10 year moment I mean hey we're coming up on your 10 year anniversary event Oh my god. Wow. That is the epoch of a 10-year journey. And when we talk about the 10,000 hours, now you're on the other side of it. That is surreal actually because like you just get in the habit of go go that you don't realize how much time has gone by and like what influences you had even way back in the day until you really think about it. So wow. Yeah. Shout out to love that. So that's two of the three and you still have one more. And then G Jones. I'm wearing the G Jones shirt. Um, but I love G. Jones. Just the emotion that you can feel in his music and just again, he's not afraid to push boundaries. I like really weird, trippy things that don't make sense sometimes that makes it exciting for me to listen to. Um, I love stuff like that. And he is able to just put whatever he's feeling into his production. And that synththeavy modular granular sound is just like that's what I'm going for. So love that. Yeah. And so that builds some of your influences and kind of gives us some history on your journey too. So um you just released a new album. Um right that was, you know, a big mileark for a lot of artists is to be able to produce something that is so curated. Let's talk a little bit about that. Yeah. So, my first album titled Origin Story um came out in January of this year and it was definitely a culmination of the journey it took me to get to SS Vortex. So, it was also almost like the, you know, the prequel to where my journey is now. Um, and definitely audio engineering has a big part to play in that. Just my journey through life thinking that I wanted to be a nurse and go to nursing school and figuring out quickly that wasn't for me. and then you know dropping out and feeling like what am I going to do? Where do I fit in this world? You know, how can I best use my efforts but also feel creative at the same time. Um, so it's definitely a journey of just figuring myself out, soulsearching, doing things, you know, to see what I like, trying new things, and then ultimately, you know, through that whole journey of, you know, going to audio engineering school, going to Nashville, living through the pandemic. I'm like, man, like there's no better time than now. What do I have to lose? And that whole journey is depicted through the album. Um, starting with Genesis, which is the first track on there. It's definitely like the startup of the back voice, as I like to call them, calling to me in my head, kind of like urging me towards this path of like, yeah, follow your intuition. You know, a lot of the times I was super insecure about what people would think of me, how people would present or how people would um resonate with what I'm doing, how they would perceive me. You know, there's lots of moving parts in that. And it's easy to get in your head. And so I think origin story was just breaking away from like the self-doubt and just, you know, like this is my life. This is my path. And you know, if you're loving what I'm doing, welcome to the club. And you know, if it's not for you, that's totally fine. Yeah. I love origin story. It was the one like several of your songs were immediately put into my little playlist. You know, I even shared a little thing earlier on Instagram where I was like videoing me going through and listening to your new song and I pulled it up and then I watched it again later. I was like, "Oh yeah, you can just see a bunch of my playlist out there. That's great." Um, but that one in particular, as soon as I heard it, I was like, "Oh, this is incredible. This is this is art." But that song, man, it gives me goosebumps. It's And I got to see it live, too, which was like, you guys want some goosebumps? If you want the feels that like live magic, live music, also the same thing, gives you. Yes. Go see Origin Story. Go see Vortex. Have her open up that live. You'll get the goosebumps, too. And it's seriously so true. Like, I didn't really immerse myself into the electronic world until I saw it live. And I it didn't click for me until I was like in the crowd with people. We're all experiencing seeing the same thing. And all the different frequencies and sounds that you're you're hearing. It's just it does. It gives you goosebumps and it's it's something that I've never experienced and it's now I'm like I'm hooked. I can't get away from the scene and the community is just so beautiful around it. Like the rave community has literally like saved my life and has given me a place to just express what I want and have it just an open safe space which is what I love here. Here same here. I couldn't agree more. And for anybody listening, you know, not only is the community a really safe space, but I a lot of people out there want to create a safe space for you to enjoy it, they want you to be there and be part of the community. And as weird as it sounds, people you've never even met are thinking about you right now going, "How can I make this experience awesome for them?" Um, yes, I think it's a lot of the kind of same fundamentals that Rave Daddy has built on the app that we try to use to bring people together and is just looking out for people, not for any other reason other than just wanting to look out for people to take care of people when they're vulnerable and music is a great space for that because people are vulnerable in life every day all the time, right? And then we go into this place hard and it life is hard. Uh, and music lets us touch that other dimension where we're just we're able to be raw. We're able to be emotional and be okay with that and just be in the moment. Yeah. And there's definitely a freedom to that and being able to experience that with so many different people. There's people that will come up to me that I meet that day that I'm just like I could just feel that overwhelming sense of just respect and love and, you know, support that is not in any other part of the music industry that I've at least experienced. Um, and it's just something that I just I have to be a part of. And that's definitely where I named my fan base after um tribe. I like to associate people that are like in my broadcast channel or, you know, supporters of me, my tribe because it is it's a community that I want to build that I want to have and support people to lean on and just a safe space to express what we need to express, you know, have music there and and then have us be free, you know. Absolutely. you get to be uh kind of the own magical leader of your own tribe. Yes. Yes. So, we talked a little bit about um your album. Is there any other songs you want to mention? Are there any other details you want to get into before we move on? Because I know sometimes music is so personal, you could talk about it for hours and be like, "Oh, there was this one thing. How did I forget it? That's the one song I was going to talk about and I forgot." Yeah. It is. And I'm I'm still getting used to like plugging myself in too. Like I'm such like this is so new to me that like of course I want to like talk about it and like you know have bragging rights, but at the same time it's it's like I'm still getting used to like hyping myself up in this journey too. Um so no, thank you for giving me the opportunity to touch a little bit more on some songs. Um I'll go back a little bit into Genesis. That was definitely the first track of the album. I wanted to create a song that I could play as an intro for my live sets. Um, something that I could just put on there. Immediately you're hearing the vocals. Um, you're also hearing all the different whimsical ethereal energy that I'm putting through there. And then I incorporated um two tempo changes in that song, too. So, as soon as you're kind of hearing your heart racing a little bit, kind of speeding up, like that's what you're feeling is that BPM change there. That's the hallmark of an incredible musician, especially DJs, right? just be able to control the mood and the uh elements of the song through the BPM. So, great. Great. I I remember hearing it going, "Oh, this is clever. I see what you did there." Yes. Yes. And I wanted to like almost resemble it like, "Okay, we're getting the motion starting like, you know, as almost like a vortex or a whirlpool, like, okay, we're starting the motion here and as soon as we're getting the momentum, you know, it's going to keep going." And so, um, going into the next song, which is rumination, that's a very special song for me because that is a song that pretty much depicts like my self-doubt, all the inner voices in my head, you know, my inner sabotur, and all the different things that I'm letting get in the way of my true passion and what I want to follow in life. And so that song really represented just me kind of like breaking out of that negative thought loop and you know having more self-respect for myself, treating myself better, like having more grace with myself. And you know my journey is not going to be perfect. Um but I have to like learn to fail and be okay with failing and just come up and persevere and you know keep going. Um I also wanted to say that the five songs they do flow together. I wanted to make an album that flowed almost kind of like a set. Um, and yeah, the next song, Simatics. So, we're kind of like getting through the soulsearching, the self-doubt. Okay, I'm now getting more into my own, coming into my own. Simatics definitely represents my whole music journey as far as audio engineering goes. Um, studio recording, live sound, the fun part of getting into the music industry and having everything be new for the first time and just experiencing, you know, it was a very exciting time in my life because it was like I didn't really have a clear direction of where I was going, what I wanted to do, but I was just riding the wave, you know, and simatics, I wanted to make it fun. I wanted to have a bunch of different genres within the song. Um, which I incorporated like a bass drop. I incorporated a house drop and then I did another tempo change into the drummer base drop. So, I wanted to incorporate like organic sounds that you can hear like every day to tie back into Hans in the very beginning saying, "Yeah, how simatics is what simatics is." I love that. I I love oldtimey clips sampled into music. It's one of my favorite things. Like I I actually I listen to simatics almost every day. So it's part of my dub dimension playlist, right? And so so much. I was actually just while you were talking. So the I have it sandwiched right after Interface Wheel and Alien Communication by Subtronics. And he's got some sampling in there too. So, right. Um, you get to hear Mitu Kaku talk about like string theory and then we get to hear simatics and like it just takes you through the headsp space of all the weird stuff and so it's it's in my regular rotation and the breakdown like I can hear it now in my head just w I'm like I want to just like play it for the audience. You need to be moshing right now. You should hear what's inside my head. It's incredible. Right. Uh that song is it it hits hard and it has some musicality to it that you don't always find in songs that are that heavy, right? Uh and I think that that's kind of the hallmark of what makes SS Vortex your project so incredible is marrying those musical elements with the like raw power and expression of like dubstep and uh heavy hard bass. Yes. Yes. To throw it back, I actually started listening to dubstep in like 2009, 2010, you know, the UKF era and like all the different, you know, Flux, Excision, Nero, Dr. P. So that has always been the core of my sound is like just dubstep bass music. But I do love the organicness of music, you know, incorporating pianos, incorporating strings, incorporating horns, you know, things that you may not always hear. Um, and it is it can be a struggle to kind of tie it together, but I try to when I'm producing just going with the flow and trying new things and like, you know, something that may not work here if I take it out. Oh, it may work over here or oh, I put this right here and then I can kind of off of this sound base the rest of the song and where it's going off of that sound. So I just wanted simatics to be a really fun interpretation but also having like that scientific level of like yeah we are all frequency and sound and different things that resonate will create different energy and that's definitely what my name's all about says vortex is you know my energy sharing my energy with the world an energetic whirlpool of all different emotions and things but um I definitely wanted to take it on a journey with simatics for sure. Nailed it. I love the Han sample I had. I almost was like kind of like insecure. I was like, do do I need to put this in here? Does it sound like okay? But like I was like, you know, I'm just I got to do it. I got to do it. It's it sells it. And I think it's also a good pause right after as the as the album is curated to be an experience, right? There has to be quiet moments. There has to be exciting moments. And this is like your cinematic moment where you're like you're transferring from one song into another and you take them down the lens and you show them a little bit of simatics before you exploded back open. Yes. Yes. Exactly. And going in from simatics to epiphany, that was definitely the part of the journey where I was like, "Oh my gosh, like I can do this myself. I'm putting all these hours in. You know, I have all the skills, this foundation of sound and music that I can really incorporate into my project." And I wanted Epiphany to be more of like a heavy rock related um genre because I'm trying to incorporate more pop punk rock vocals into a lot of what I'm doing. So I wanted some of that production to speak for itself on the album too. Um so with Epiphany I kind of started off like very quiet. it kind of creeps back in and it goes on a journey of, you know, crazy instrumentation, different baselines, different guitar lines, and I just wanted it to feel like a real band was up there. And then all of a sudden, you get hit with the techno moment. I'm trying to do multi-recorporations as well. And um I wanted it to be exciting and fun and something that kind of made you feel like, okay, I can't ignore it. there's so much going on and it's so in my face and there's, you know, so many different things happening that like I can't ignore this. And that's kind of how like the epiphany was for me. I like Epiphany. Um, you know, and I think it's the hallmark of this album and you've described it several times of bringing in all the genres and trying to use a lot of your different musical influences to create something new and something very personal in you. Uh, and when you like look at it laid out and you're trying to put all the pieces together, it's not as easy as some people might assume to build this puzzle, right? Like it's very abstract at first cuz you have a lot of ideas you're trying to marry. And not all of them are easily married. Some of them you're like, "This is a concept in here. How do I put it into the music?" Um, and but what this creates, I think especially for you as an artist with your own trajectory is when you watch artists develop, a lot of times they have two directions to go. They box themselves in very early because their sound is very specific. I do this, my audience loves this, and this is what they expect from me. But if you build a rich fertile ground of diversity in your early albums, then everything you do later can pull from those elements and you could do a whole album based on some of the other elements and people go, "It's definitely still Sedona." E, you got it right on the nail. Like that is literally why I wanted to create an EP and for my first EP to do anything, have no limits on the genre. I didn't have like, oh, I wanted one house drop, one drum, but you know, I didn't really think of it like that. I just knew that I wanted something that had a wide range of genres because it's so easy to get boxed in and it's so easy for your audience as well to just kind of expect to you to do the same thing. Um, and it can be really hard as an artist to feel like, okay, well, I've done this for so long. Like, how do I box out and branch out? And so, I wanted to kind of like challenge myself and see like right out the gate what I could do with it. Um, and then in the future, like you said, I can build off of those vibes and create different avenues, and um, yeah, I I'm always wanting to do different sounds, different vibes. Um, because to me, that's more exciting, and I don't feel as like mundane creating the music. So, and I hope that you guys can feel how excited I am when I'm producing the music. So, that's definitely the intention for that. That's good. You know, I think a lot of that comes through in your music and you could have not said it and I think people would have known it, but saying it also lets you know as an audience member that you're putting this much thought into them and their experience, right? You're not just from the artist lens of I'm giving you my art, but then you turn the chair around and you sit in their chair and you go, how are they how are they receiving? What are they receiving? And how do I send something that they want to receive? Yeah. Yeah. because you know at the end of the day it is my artistry and it is about what I want to put out but I I also want to like I'm always an audience member too you know I go to concerts I go to raves I always position myself in the crowd and be like okay like what would I want to see next or what what am I missing that I usually see from other huge inspirations you know I'm always like you said trying to learn from the best of the best the people who are masters at their craft seeing what they're doing putting that down where can I incorporate that into what I'm doing now. And that's definitely like where the leap comes from. Um, it's crazy because that was actually the first song I wrote off the album uh four years, actually four and a half, almost five years ago. The leap I wrote during the pandemic in 2020. Um, and that's when I had been laid off of my job at uh, Blackbird, not really knowing what to do, missing home, missing Arizona. And I did write The Leap about taking the leap of quitting audio engineering and kind of coming back to my roots and going for it as an artist. So yeah, The Leap was a huge huge song for me. Like I was when I was recording the lyrics a year ago getting the EP ready, I was literally crying because it's just been like four years of just this crazy journey that I've been on that it it just feels surreal that I'm even here and I'm just blessed to be doing what I'm doing. And it's amazing to see that the leap, even though it was four years as far as the lyrics were written, how it ties into what I'm doing now. um trying to take the leap and dive further into maybe doing more out of state shows and getting my name out there, working with other artists and doing more collabs and just trying to navigate my way through the industry uh by staying true to my artistry, but also like having an open door for people who want to learn, who don't know what to do or, you know, I'm always an ally for people that want to get started. And that's a huge reason why I do what I do. I want to inspire people to think for themselves and to just, you know, what do you want? What do you desire? And go for that. Yeah, that's amazing. And that takes a lot of courage, too. That's not an easy thing to like live out on the tip of that spear. It's not. And I I've had to reinvent myself many, many times in my life thinking I dead set on a certain path and that's what I'm going to full force 100%, you know, go hard or go home. And then, you know, okay, that's not for me. humble humble step back. Let me see what I need to do to re-evaluate. And a huge theme in my project in origin story, but in the SS vortex project is resilience, perseverance, and courage. So, I love that you said that because yeah, it's it's it's not an easy path and a lot of people don't talk about just the mental warfare that goes on, not only yourself, but with the world and social media that you have to constantly be in tune with. And yeah, it's it's a balancing act. And I've had to, you know, over my journey like learn that, okay, like self-care is definitely needed. Burnout is real. Even though what I'm doing, the burnout can still come. You can burn out loving what you're doing. That is that's real. That's life, man. I have I've been there. That's hard, too. It's a cuz you're not exhausted by doing the thing you love. You're exhausted because it's normal to be exhausted. And those are hard things to like marry. You're like, I want to do the thing. The body is bruised, but the spirit is willing. My mind's like, "Yes, but my body's like no." Exactly. Sedona, I'd love to hear about your new song. I actually just listened to it for the first time today. I was like, "Imprep for this podcast. Got to listen to the new drop and it actually I immediately remembered it from seeing you play it live and I was like, "Oh, she previewed this at her set at level." Just a little sneak peek. Yeah. And it was it was really good. It's I uh screen recorded it and I I shared it on Instagram and it'll probably in the show notes for this episode, but um tell us a little bit about that song. You and Echo Drone put together something really haunting. Yes. Yes. And the opportunity, how it all came about was very organic and I'd love to share a little bit about it. Definitely. Um, so when I opened up for Barely Alive in March of 2024, um, I put a few of Echo Drone songs in my set. Anytime people will reshare after the show, um, and tag me, I will always try to tag the artist and reshare. If I can put the song in there, show some love and support. I always think that's really important, you know, always give credit when credit's due. So, I did that and he saw one of the videos. he reached out and was like, "Oh my gosh, like thank you so much for playing my song. It's so awesome." Um, gave me a follow, which I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that's so sweet." So, of course, like the support. Um, and then he messaged me back, I think maybe the next day or so. I think he had seen one of the um the reels that I had posted of me singing. He was like, "Oh my gosh, like your voice is great. I would love to have you on one of my songs." Hey, you go, girl. Yeah. It was like my first big opportunity, big moment um outside of the local scene. Um, and it was just really cool how it it really happened organically. Um, I think he's based in North Carolina. So, he is east coast um over there. Um, and so I was like, absolutely, let's work on something, you know. Um, if you have like a little whip in mind, send it my way and I'll try to write to it. So, he did. He sent it my way and it's hilarious. He had Katy Perry's um, Last Friday Night as placeholders into the song. I just knew. I was like, "Okay, this guy's awesome." Like, I could just tell like, you know, this is going to be a fun opportunity. And at the time, I was like, you know, trying to write to it and I'm like, man, I'm just not in a very fun party mood right now. I have been going through a lot of trauma, a lot of different things going on in my life, losing relationships and people, and I just could not get away from that in my head. So, I was like, "You know what? Maybe I just need to like get this out, write this out." And um Wyatt and I, we went up to Sedona and we love to go to the vortexes up there and just sit there and just like let the stillness and the quiet just give you a reset. Um our favorite is Yeah, it's the best. The best. Our favorite um spot is the airport vortex. So, we were just sitting up there and I'm just trying to brainstorm and within like an hour the song came to me and we were I was up there kind of like jotting down ideas and I'm just like, "Okay, I think I just need to like write about this concept. Um, get the lyrics out and then kind of see what I can do with it." So, I record it. I get the lyrics over to him. And he's like, "Oh my gosh, now that I have this in front of me, like, let me really see what I can do with it." He's like, "If you're okay with it, I'm actually going to like scrap what I sent you. I'm going to just write something completely new for it. Wow. I love that. Which is like honestly the dream. Yeah. Because, you know, he he heard the story that I was wanting to tell. He heard the pain. He heard the darkness. And he wanted to like, "Okay, hold on. No, we need a vibe switch for this." And it he couldn't have done it better justice. Nate killed the production. Like, he took you on the journey of just the highs and lows. And the song is based off of losing someone you love to addiction, to substance abuse, to drugs. Um, and just trying to navigate that journey of trying to help that person, not knowing what to do and how you can help and be of service to them and them not wanting your help and, you know, them pushing you away and just feeling so lost and, you know, not knowing what to do and wanting to just kind of tell that story of the struggle and the highs and lows of that experience. and he he was able to just compose a song that like you're smiling, you're headbanging, you're laughing, you're crying, you know, it kind of takes you on all the highs and lows and it's very special special for me. So yeah, I thought the song was also exceptionally timely. Like talk about being on the bleeding edge of music, right? Because this concept I think was just in like two like nightmare just put out a song, you know, about losing a friendship, death of a friendship, right? And I think we're all kind of in this, you know, mind state, not all of us, but some of us who are going through it, right, of like most of us, you know, mourning and healing and also expressing that and and being okay with that like and having a space for it. And I just thought it was a really powerful song cuz like it's easy for people to see the art and and the struggle and think that's all the artist is, right? Is to be consumed by this. Uh, and clearly, you know, you you are also, uh, making other music that you enjoy and you love. Uh, but to be able to save space for this, you know, cuz I know that there are people out there when they're going through it and they turn it on, it hits, right? And that's really what music's about. It's, you know, transportive. It's it's time travel, right? You're taking an emotion that you had and a time that you had and you're giving it to somebody else in a different time and place and they're getting to experience that and and connect. It's real. It's It's a very raw song. Yeah. Thank you. I really appreciate like you being able to receive that from the song because Yeah, it was very emotional song. it was really hard for me to even want to write about it because it's something that like I I'm not very open with a lot of the struggles that I go through and like so music is definitely one of those things where if I can like put it in a lyric I can get it out and feel good and it was definitely just a moment for me to heal myself and put that out there for other people to hear and to resonate and to know that yeah you're not alone like we all go through all these different struggles and trials and life is just so crazy. You never know which way it's going to take you and you could, you know, be having your life flipped upside down in an instant and having to like process that and, you know, figure your life out from there when it looks so different. I just wanted to really write about that experience and um yeah, Echo Drone was able to really produce like a very heartfelt song and just yeah, it's it's I'm just so like over the moon that it's out and that people can hear it because like you said like you even got that that gist of like Yeah. Like a death of Friendship and just how that impacts your life. Yeah, it was it it was interesting too cuz going into it like I didn't know what to expect. I was just like, "Oh, I'm going to listen to Seth's new music before I get on here." And then I had to like check myself real quick and go, "Okay, this is emotional. This is a this is a whole thing." And I had to like sit with it for a second. And then I also had to separate it cuz you know, you're going to come in here. We're going to have a good time. You don't want to like carry all that with you, right? But it was it's it's a powerful enough song to hit you at that level to make you go, I need I need to take a break. I need to brea breathe for a second. And that's that's a really good place to be as an artist, I think. I So congratulations on just making some awesome art. Thank you. Crybangers. Yes, the inner emo kid in all of us. My my my scene girl is living right now. Swear. Um, so we've talked about some of the projects that have gone by. We've talked about your new project that just came out, but what is the future looking like? Let's time travel to there. Tell us what projects do you have in uh the future and where are you going? Where can people see you? Yeah. So, I definitely want to make it a goal to immerse myself in remixes. That has been something that I've been itching to do for a while now and just have been very focused on original music and shows. So definitely towards the end of the year, I'm going to dive in and you'll definitely be able to see my music taste and how random it is and through those remixes being able to kind of, you know, put my own spin and my own uh production style onto that remix. So I want to challenge myself, get more remixes out um towards the end of the year. Um but right now I do have a few collabs in the works as well. Um my fiance pretty hard. He's working on his [Music] Um, it's called Castle Rave and I believe it will be out this year hopefully in October. Still kind of tentative on the dates for that, but I will be on three tracks um with him. Yeah, he's he's like a 13 or 14 track album. It's going to be nice. That's awesome. So, yeah, I'm really excited for him. and one of the songs that we have together he'll be um singing on and that'll be our first time doing a duet on a track. So, I'm really excited to see how that goes. And um yeah, when it drops, we can have him on and then an excuse you can come back on and we can like all hang out and talk about the new music. That sounds great. And also, you know, getting pretty hard music on Ready VIP sounds good. I I I wonder if I know anybody who could help me with this. Maybe we could put a good word in. I think But that's another episode that's in the future. We're still on episode 9. And so with this um you have new music coming out. That's really exciting. Are you Can you tell us anything about it? Can you Is there any spoilers? Yeah. Yeah. So the three songs on the album um one of them's called Nightfall. That one will be the one where we're both singing on it. Um both doing production as well. Nice. Um, and I'll definitely reserve more of the story of his album for when he can be on this episode. Um, but the next two songs, one is going to be called Intention and that is a culmination of just both of our intention with production and doing music. We actually started out as a DJ duo back in the day when we're first pursuing music called Never Strangers. and we always wanted to do it together and always have, you know, the theme of like, you know, no one's a stranger, everyone, everyone has a seat at the table. Um, but we also wanted to kind of do our own thing, too. So, we decided to do our own solo projects and we're like, okay, well, we can collab and like in the future, like that's what we can reserve that space for. And intention was going to definitely represent the magic that happens. I I definitely have the most fun when I produce with Wyatt and we both bring a side out from each other. That uh is just awesome. So, it's it's a very special relationship we have and being able to do music together. It's a very beautiful thing and you know we're we're always down to do fun crazy stuff. So, and it's not lost on me that you chose the word intention to set your intentions for a very magical moment. That's well done. the subtlety. Well done. Right. We're both very conceptual artists and like we don't pretty much do anything without like an initial concept and art imagery to back it up, artistry to back it up. So yeah, the next one will be called Bound by Consent. And um yeah. Yeah, he he's definitely his um fan base is more of like the submissives and Pretty Hard and whatnot. So like yeah, he can definitely go more into that. Um, but all three tracks are going to be pretty much like bass heavy. Um, melodic as well, but more on the dark heavy um, let's see, what would you call it? Very triumphant, I would say, sounding. It's going to have a different energy to it. So, very exciting. Very, very excited for him. Um, and yeah, I have a couple other collabs in the works right now. Black Rose, who I previously shout out Black Rose. Black Rose. We love Black Rose. Yes. Black Rose. So, we're working on another track together. Um, he's just phenomenal at producing and he's so quick with it and whatever he like brings to my attention, he's like, "What do you think of this? You want to hop on it?" And I swear everything he brings over, I'm like, "Of course." Like, this is just insanity. So, yeah, we're uh we're hopping on a track together. I'm not too sure what the title is. I think it might be Angels Like Me. We're still kind of in the rough um works of it, but I'll be seeing on there as well doing production. Nice. So, that's gonna be coming out soon. Um probably like later this year, if not next year. Still kind of in the works with that. I love Black Rose. I actually met him at a Neielson concert of all places. Um shout out Neielson. Shout out Neielen. Love Neielson. You know his I still use his music um in the intro. We when we first started Rave Daddy, I used his music in the intro and then on episode 8, the one that just aired today while we're recording this um I used it again. So I always like the opportunity to feature local artist music and anything we do. And Neielson was he's just nothing but player, man. Love that guy. Yes. So I met Black Rose at one of his shows and instantly I was just like, "Oh, I love this guy's vibe." And I followed him and he's got great music, too. So that made it a lot easier. So, it sounds like you have some other collabs coming up though. Uh, tell us about those. Yeah. So, this next one, um, wild story. His dad was actually the person who delivered me into the world. What? His dad. And it's crazy cuz my mom's um, labor and everything, it was a very compromised situation. I had to have like she had to have an emergency C-section. and he was the doctor that actually came in and like saved the day. So, this guy, his name is Brad. Um, he goes by, I don't know how to pronounce his name, but it's spelled T A O A T. Um, and he's been in the scene for a very long time. He used to do um I think production in New York if I'm not mistaken, but he's been upwards of like 10 15 years I believe. Um, yeah. doing music and DJing. And it's funny at Wyatt's last show, Mike Dao, shout out Mike Dao. Mike Dao, um he went on uh after Wyatt and they got to talking and he's like, "Yeah, like this guy, like I'm super inspired by everything he's putting out." And it was Brad, but we didn't know it at the time. So Wyatt was like, "Oh, I'm gonna follow him on Soundcloud and show some support, listen to his tracks." Wyatt was like, "Holy [ __ ] this guy is [ __ ] awesome. like we need to get on a collab with him and Brad actually messaged us and was like you guys it's crazy I've been waiting for this opportunity because I wanted it to happen organically but I know said my dad delivered her and I've been he's actually ran lights for me um at I think for Flex Pavilion so he's also um part of the VJ squad and lighting crew and um yeah he was like this is just so crazy how this all happened like organically and he's like, "I'd love to get on a track with you guys." And he has a very very like clean like professional um old school like dubstep sound and it's very like melodic like back, you know, takes you back to like the days that got you into it. The roots. Yeah. The roots. The roots. Um so we're going to be working on a couple tracks with him too and it's just so full circle the story. Love that. What a wild story. You prefaced that with this was going to be a wild story and I might have to actually cut the preface out because but seriously did not disappoint. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's so amazing to see not only how music brings people together, but just how small of a world it is and how we truly are all connected and just all these little signs. If you pay attention to them, they're really like leading you in the right direction. And yeah, I just love the fact that I keep seeing people from my past that I haven't seen in years come to shows or for example, people like Brad who I've never met, but that we've kind of been in the know of each other and how that comes into play into the current time that we're in. So, it's beautiful. Orbiting in the same solar system, right? Yeah, it's wild. Heck yeah. Um, so that takes us over your collabs. We um have shows coming up. So I at the moment don't have any shows booked right now. What is the world coming to? I know. [Music] Coming soon. Hopefully coming soon. It's been really tough because I'm actually we're getting married this year. Why? And I Congratulations um in September. And that's acceptable. It's been crazy. Um, and I've definitely like I wanted to take the level up show. I couldn't turn that down. And you know, there may be a possible tour in the works. I don't know, maybe this year. So, more details to come soon because I'm not at liberty to discuss yet, but just know that shows are definitely on the horizon. I'm not going anywhere, but definitely, you know, real life milestones like getting married and wanting to put my into that. So, absolutely. That's awesome. And congratulations. super excited. Uh, but I don't know anybody else out there ready VIP. You might have just heard about this for the first time, too. Some people might have just heard this as your wedding announcement. They're like, "Whoa." Oh, right. Yeah. So, um, awesome. And a perfectly good excuse not to have a bunch of shows booked because you got, you know, stuff to do. Um, so where is the best place for people to reach out to you if they want to get connected to your music? if they want to get connected to you for collabs or maybe they just want to follow and you know see what the SDS vortex is like be part of the tribe. Yes, come be part of the tribe. Um any platform on social media. I try to stay very on top of my notifications. Instagram is probably the best way um to get in contact with me or through my Gmail svortex@gmail.com for bookings. Um but yeah, I try to stay up on everything. Um, as far as, you know, getting in contact with people and future show announcements, I also did just launch my website a couple months ago. Nice. Which is super exciting. Yes. SVortex.com. So, we got like the official domain and everything. And you own the domain. Yes. Yes. There were few years I've been using the Wix, the free, you know, websites and whatnot, but it was definitely time to to upgrade and, you know, get that profile all set there. So, all my tour dates, tickets, information, um, anything you need will also be on there, too. Awesome. That is wonderful to hear. Saidsvortex.com. Everybody should go there right now immediately and flood the website so it crashes. I'm kidding. Kidding. Don't do that. Shut it down. No. No. Shut it down on her own website. Take a break. Break the internet. No. There was also a place Yes. Yes. But there was also a place to sign up and be part of the tribe on there, too. just go down to the contact um button there and you can put in your information, get signed up for emails and texts and whatnot, too. So, right on. Um so, as our parting shots here, um we're going to talk a little bit about the music video for Simatics and then I always ask some silly questions at the end to take us out on a little bit of laughter. And I never ever, if you've ever watched even one episode of Ready VIP know I never tell my guests what I'm going to ask and it's always something shenanigans. So, be prepared. It's coming. This is This is the shark fin popping up. You know, the silly questions are on the horizon right after we talk about Simatics at least one more time. Um, so we've talked about the song and we talked about its origins, but now we're going to talk about this sweet music video that we're about to produce for it that the audience is about to watch in like a lot less time it's going to take me to produce it between now and then. Um, it is a journey. It is. So, I connected with the song right away and I have been trying to upgrade my my give back, my personal like this is my investment into our community is that every artist I bring on, I want to give them a platform to tell people who they are. This is why Ready VIP exists. Uh Chris and Ben who support us have been really um adamant about us giving people the opportunity to launch themselves, right? Just let show them the world. Uh but the other part of that is making art together. I as an artist love to make art and being part of your journey even a little bit is really exciting for me. And so for a song that I listen to regularly, this is like getting to be make a music video for like a Subronic song or something. This isn't just like uh like I'm making something for somebody who's a guest. This is my music I listen to. It means so much. Um and so I had to level up. I I literally right. Um and so I started looking at um Big Film Productions. Um shout out to their Instagrams and stuff. They have a plethora of um tutorials and YouTubes on how to make movies. And I was like, if I'm going to make a music video, I want to make a music video. And so I made a like kind of a shot list based on some of the promo that they had just cuz I I made it on my phone. I was like in the middle of work like I can't get some addicts off the brain, right? Got to do this. Um and I sent you over the shot list and then it, you know, you went on vacation. You went and I didn't hear from you for a little while. Um which is great. Like go vacay and do all the wonderful things. Uh and then you dropped in my uh inbox, here's all the shots. Like and it was incredibly organized, which makes it so much easier on me. You have no idea. We try. And so I'm going to combine the two. I'm going to take these big movie visuals of like dragons and bone dragons and hydras and basilisks and all kinds of cool things and I'm going to um overlay it with magic visuals for uh said and you know this is also the first music video I get to talk about before it's made. So everybody else we did the interview and then I made the music video. So this is uh first that I guess the audience gets to hear about the process. Um, and so I just I sat with your song playing over and over and going, "Okay, if I'm visualizing this in my head and Sedona's in the middle of like the mountain top somewhere, what is this? How does this look?" Um, and so I just kind of I gave you the shot record, you gave it to me, and now I'm putting shots together where Sedona is like on the decks in the middle of a forest with magic. I'm here for it. Yeah. And it's it brings together, I think, the concept that you and I both quite enjoy, which is music is magic, right? And it's hard to distinguish the two. And so this music video, I think, is going to sell that motif very strongly. And I hope everybody enjoys it and plays it on repeat and just watches it a whole bunch. Oh, yeah. I can't wait to see how it turns out. Me, too. Um, that's that's the thing about art too, right? Like as it it's never ever finished. You just get to a point where you're like, I am satisfied and I don't No, it would never get done. We would never put anything out. I'm such a perfectionist that like I could do millions of things to the things. Me too. Um, but I I am going to pour it into this all the perfectionist energy. We're going to come up with something awesome. Um, so now for the silly questions now that they've got to hear about dragons and magic and fairy tales and everything. Um, so my first question, what was the childhood book that introduced you to the fantasy, to the magic, to the whimsy of creativity? Everybody has that one book or that one show or that one thing that was that spark. What was it for you? That's a good question. And I'm so embarrassed to even say this, but I don't read that often. It's so bad. It's so bad, you know. I mean, could be a comic book, could be a cartoon, who knows? Could be a comic book, a cartoon. Um, let's see. Because I've always been more into like shows and Nice. Okay. And um I think if I had to choose, I love the concept of Maleficent. I just think it's so and I don't know if that's a book. probably is based off of a book. But um either way, that is definitely the story that had inspired me to kind of just go for it and let go of my inhibitions and what people are thinking or what I'm thinking and just kind of like just be free and let my vulnerability shine through. And I feel like when a lot of that is happening, it's when people can really connect with you. When you're not afraid of looking like a fool up there going crazy, you know, balls to the wall, like people like, "Okay, like I'm not concerned kind of about how I'm looking too, you know, and I just I love that. I want people to feel free. And Maleficent really comes from a story of being an outcast in society and you know based off of how you look or you know a darker energy and it's perceived a certain way and you know fighting for the perseverance and the courage to be brave enough to you know get through those hard times and come out on the other side is being like no matter what I look like I can still do this or I can be this you know and I just love that Maleficent it takes the story from the opposite side instead like, "Oh, the perfect perfect princess, you know, over here." No, we're going for the other side, the person who's been through some stuff and what is their journey like and, you know, why are they the way they are? And I just love that story. I agree. And dark and beautiful, right? Like it encapsulates those two concepts. Uh, and taking it from a different perspective, I think, is just the hallmark of a good artist, right? Being able to see a story and go, "Yeah, but what does this say from the other side? What does the other side think? I love that you said that because so many songs that I'm writing right now um for the future, whatever. I'm trying to put myself in different perspectives. You know, it may not have been something that I personally went through, but seeing somebody that I love go through it and like maybe what what do they feel, you know? And I feel like that's you hit the nail right on the head with that. The perspective is is everything. You're a good storyteller. You're going to be able to achieve that. Um, so question number two, and this is an oldie but a goodie. Anybody who's played along at this point that has their paintbrush or pencil out and they're they're keeping up. I Yes, I do write in paint brushes sometimes. Um, what is your favorite Pokemon? Oo, okay. It's so basic, but Pikachu, I mean, I have Okay, I know. It's not that it's basic, but it's obviously the most popular one, but I there's just something about Pikachu that just it's always resonated with me. When I was little, I would definitely watch a lot of the Pokemon shows, but um kind of fell off of it for a while. I mean, time just of course, and there's like a million of them now, and there's so many now. I couldn't even tell you like the newest ones. Yeah, I'm a OG Pokemon 150. I I probably played like the first four gyms or so and then I had kids and you know they play now. So that's it's great to watch. That's awesome. Oh my gosh, that's great. Could pass it down. Yes, absolutely. The past down knowledge of Pokemon, right? This is this is talk about a side quest we're going on on this episode. Um this is a pretty regular thing in my house for my daughter to come up and say, "What's good against fairy type?" And then you have to list it and then she like which Pokemon are are are of that type. What what moves do they have? Like she's very inquisitive about these things. And um you know as a dad who's you know now I'm a Pokemon master apparently I have to like call on the lore. I have to call on turn the hat backwards. Let her know what you know about to get into it. So Pikachu, you're the first person to answer with Pikachu and it definitely uh matches your energetic personality. So, I could see it. Pikachu is electricity. Exactly. Nice. Um, question number three. If you could have any collab with any artist tomorrow, who would it be? Oh my gosh, we asked the hard questions here at Ready VIP. If you need a second, so hard. You know, on the last episode, I gave him a top five and we ended up giving like nine and I was like, "Okay, so this episode we're not going to make it easy. We're not going to give you all the space to call out all your friends and every artist you love. Just one. Just one. Wow. Okay. And we're going to tag I'm going to give you two because one person is unfortunately not here anymore." Um, but that that one, you know, RP would would have been Mac. Miller. I love Mac Miller. I love Mac. Miller. That was always the dream collab for me up until the sad thing. Most humorously still putting out music, too. Which is so crazy to me that like that's even happening. And like who else is doing that, you know? And so I just Mac. Miller has always been like one of my favorite rappers since I was like 13, 14. Got me into rap. So, um, I got the t-shirt upstairs. Oh, I love it. I actually got to meet him, too. At the marquee. So, it's just so full circle getting to play there, too. Um, but on his Good AM tour, and it just I mean, I like his greatness just brushed off on me, hopefully. So, I grew up in Northeast Ohio. So, when he was like an underground rapper in Pennsylvania, I knew of him like he was doing like basement shows with 15 people. And then I, you know, get out of the army and I look and I'm like, "Oh, shit." Like I know. Look at this guy now. Like I saw him when he was like doing the star. I saw his like posters stapled to telephone polls in Pittsburgh, right? Like oh my gosh. Throwback. I'm dating myself here, but so good choice. Okay, so that 100% that was your bonus acceptable answer. You get an extra. I was going to say no. I was going to make you I was going to hold your feet to the fire. You managed to slip that one in. managed to slip Mac. Miller in. Okay, so let's see. The second Okay. Well, the person that I the the artist I would collab with, it's got to be Purity Ring. Purity Ring. I don't know if you're familiar with Purity Ring. Tell me more. Okay, so it is an indie electronic duo. Um, it's a guy and a girl and the girl sings and the guy I think they both do production. um but he doesn't really like sing or anything but they have been around well I started listening to them in 2012 when their one of their um I think it's called Shrines their debut album came out and it was always something that I would revert back to like I used to do cheer and I was in cheer competitions and very intense pressure of you yeah very Pikachu you know and Yeah, you would literally like have two minutes and one chance to get it right when you're out there doing your conversation. And I would always zone in, put Purity Ring on, and it was something that would bring me back because I deal with awful anxiety and performance anxiety as well. And just something about their music just really really gets me back into believing in myself. Um Oh, that's awesome. Heck yeah. They're so ahead of their time. like that that first album they put out, it's very electronic heavy and if you listen to it, you would think it had just came out. It's very ahead of its time. I'll have to send it to you. Um, but very definitely dark, creepy, horror lyrics and very processed, autotuneheavy, trippy vocals. Um, I'm here for it out. Yeah, multiple albums since then and everything is really good. It's definitely more on the um indie side, but I I love indie music as well. So, heck yeah. Yeah. Well, that is your three questions. Great answers. And that takes us to the You did it. Hey, I survived. Um and that takes us to the end of the episode. So before we go, I'd like um you to be able to give any shout outs that you want to say, any parting shots you'd like the audience to hear from you. Anything that you feel like you just didn't get a chance to voice yet. Now is your moment. A I love that. Well, first and foremost, I want to thank you. Thank you so much for having me on here and really like believing in my project and listening to the music. And I can really tell it resonates with you and all the feedback that you have in your head is what I had in my head producing it. So, it's just really special and I'm just happy to be here doing such an amazing um podcast with such amazing people. So, first and foremost, got to shout out Rave Daddy, Ready VIP, um Chris and Jeremy. You guys are all awesome. So, got to shout all you guys out. Um, definitely have to shout out Relentless Beats for giving me all of the opportunities that I have been so lucky and blessed to have. I've been able to play the main stage a few times and you know, I couldn't have done it with Dylan Lo and the whole team at Relentless Beats. Um, Bri as well, um, and Thomas Turner. So, I just I have to thank them because they have really given me the platform to build my fan base. So, shout out to RB and shout out to all the great promoters that are out there in the underground doing amazing things. Full Moon Festival, Dark Mark, um The Function, we got Stephanie and Roman there. Um we got 11th House with Jordan and you know there's so many other people I can name drop, but those those people have done a lot for me as well as Sin Matthew Sin and Lavender with Horizon. So, got to pay homage to where everything started about four years ago now. crazy. And I got to shout out Wyatt, my my partner, my life partner. He has seen all the ups and downs and he is my my rock through this whole process. He gets to see everything. So, shout out. Yes. And shout out to Tribe. Shout out to the whole tribe. Any support, big or small, that has been going on throughout the years, I'm over the moon and just happy to do what I'm doing. And there's so much love and gratitude that I'm feeling and I just have to, you know, thank you guys. I wouldn't be here without you guys. So, all the love. So, Tribe, I'm speaking directly to you now. I'm I'm going to lean into the camera, right? We don't normally get special guests like you. You guys are you're you're kind of VIPs yourself. Most of the time, people just come and hang out with us. They they they listen to music. The tribe, you guys are you're kind of a thing. And so I need you to go and share this episode, to go and share the music video to like support said unquestionably. Just boost the signal as far as you can make it go. All right. Like that. That's all I'm asking. You can you can do that for me, tribe, can you? I believe in you. We got it, tribe. We got it. So before we go, I always like to give our chance our guests the chance to have the last word. Would you like to say roll the music? Roll the music. And what you're going to see now are what happens to particles of sand and other various particles. What a sound resonates across a plate and and resonates those particles in tune with the sound. Because when we think, we're not just sending out a wave which resonates the energy. We're sending out on a frequency outside of the range of human gearing. We're sending out a sound. Everything is sound. Heat up here. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat up [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat up here. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. A [Music] All because of dreams. All because of you. All because of dreams. [Music] All inclusion dreams. [Music]