Read the Motley Cue Interview below and share it on social media.
Please tell our readers who you are and what you do?
Hello! I'm Motley Cue (aka Brad Venable), I am a music producer & DJ from Florida with my main focus being on underground bass music (ie: weird bass music, drum & bass, halftime dnb, glitch hop, & deep dub) My passion drives me to be on the cutting edge of my art and because of that I try and reflect inspirations in my productions and performances from other artists who are also on the cutting edge as well as from the people I keep close to me.
How would you describe your influences and how have they changed over the years?
I would describe my main influences as eclectic minds that create music & art for equally eclectic minds. With that being said I have drawn inspiration from many different artists over the years and with change in my own personal taste, artists who influence my art have taken to many different sounds. Artists like The Widdler & G Jones were what originally pushed me to start making music many years ago, then I was introduced to Tipper and that opened up an entire realm of underground artist that have helped mold my sound into what it is today.
What´s new right now?
Right now i'm working on an EP to release some time in the near future, as well as a few tracks to release on the Sugoi Creative Collective later this year. Lately I've been putting live gigs on the back burner so I could focus on my EP and further craft my sound. I have my monthly residency at Bass Parade in Tallahassee starting back up soon at a new venue so I'm really excited about that!
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Are you a superfan of anyone? How did you become a superfan? Do you remember how you become a fan and what turned you into super fan? Have you ever thought about why you´re such a fan?
I don't know if I'm truly a super fan or not, but I would have to say Tipper is my all time favorite artist. I was introduced to his music about 5 years ago and have been in constant awe over his productions. Every time I experience a Tipper & Friends event or see one of his sets at a festival I am re-inspired just like I was the first time I heard his music.
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What was the biggest mistake you made when you started making music and what would be the number one tip you could give to a newcomer musician?
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How do you get gigs? Can you share any tips?
My strategy for growing my fan base is to just create music that resonates with me and hopefully it resonates with others too. But honestly I create music for myself and the fact that anyone else likes it is amazing to me. I feel that if someone hears my music and truly likes it, they will take it upon themselves to like and share it just as I do to other artists.
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Do you have good promotion tips for other musicians?
Self promotion is one of the hardest parts about being an artist and I struggle with it all the time. I've learned that just putting out content is the key to self promo, whether its releasing music or posting a Instagram video of yourself in the studio or at a show, just put out the content.
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Do you have insights on how to grow your audience on soundcloud that you want to share with our audience?
My strategy for growing my fan base is to just create music that resonates with me and hopefully it resonates with others too. But honestly I create music for myself and the fact that anyone else likes it is amazing to me. I feel that if someone hears my music and truly likes it, they will take it upon themselves to like and share it just as I do to other artists.
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What has been your biggest challenge right now? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
My biggest challenge to date has been the extremely steep learning curve of music production. I have only a small bit of background in music growing up and only recently decided to try and make something of it. The hardest part for me is teaching myself all the bits and pieces of music theory I wasn't taught in school and then learning how to apply them in my productions. This is a constant battle of conquering a small challenge only to have another one pop up, so in the grand scheme of things, I would like to say that I am still trying to overcome this and will probably still be trying to overcome it the next time we meet.
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How do you personally discover new music?
Discovering new music can be tough some times, but really it boils down to having a few good sources and having good taste in music. I usually use Soundcloud for artist discovery and I will use Bandcamp to find an artists discography. If an artist doesn't have a Bandcamp odds are they have all their music on Soundcloud already. I call it Mining because in order for me to discover new artists and songs that no one has ever heard before I have to dive deep into the artists I follow and who they follow, then I will look at songs they like and share and then repeat the process. You really have to go down the rabbit hole to find quality underground music, but it is always so rewarding when you discover a new artist that has the sound of Bassnectar and the following of, well, myself, hahaha!
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Once you discovered new music, do you tell others about the new music/artist you discovered? If yes, how exactly?
“Always! What's the point of creating music for no one to hear? If I discover a new artist that really resonates with me I will be the first to share their stuff. I may keep it a secret for a few months locally so I can have unique live sets with unfamiliar music, but I will always share music I find that I believe others will enjoy as well.
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What is your number one tip to improve your music production or songwriting skills?
The best tip I have to improve your productions is to ask questions. Most producers are willing to chat with you about music and usually have good tips & how to's when it comes to making music. I also send out private WIP (works in progress) files to producers who I draw inspiration from and 9 times out of 10 they will give me feedback that helps me move forward with my own productions.
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What is your best tip for those who struggle with finishing their tracks?
I struggle with this as well and a good friend of mine told me to just sit down and write the track… don't worry so much about the sound design at first, getting the idea down while it is still fresh in your head is the best way to finish a track in the end. Once I have a track written and structured the way I want I will then sit down and dive into the sound design, doing it this way helps me flesh out other ideas and can often lead to starting and finishing other tracks.
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We meet again in one year. What has changed?
In the next year I hope to continue making significant strides in my production challenges as well as appearing in some festival lineups. I decided to take this year off from the live gigs to mainly focus on the music, but I'm starting to find my sound and hopefully the promoters will recognize that and book me for their shows ?
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https://soundcloud.com/motley_cue
https://www.facebook.com/MotleyCue
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Enter your questions to the artist in the facebook comment section below.
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