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Artist Snapshot: TOMMY NUTTER (@itstommynutter)

June 5, 2018

Artist Snapshot: Tommy Nutter (@itstommynutter)

Thank you for doing the Artist Snapshot with us.

We want to create a unique post about yourself and learn about your creative process, products you use, and skills you have learned to position yourself as an artist, teacher and entrepreneur.

(DISCUSSION W/ TOMMY NUTTER)

CREATIVE PROCESS

I'm always thinking of new sounds and concept for music. Even when I'm deep in conversation with people I often have a beat going in the back of my mind. This means I'm easily motivated, but the hard part is having the time to let that motivation do its thing.

I'm one of those people who doesn't read instruction booklets, and who would rather sit there for hours figuring out something on my own than watching a tutorial, so a lot of the skills I've developed have been problems that I've come to know how to fix not by learning from others but through trial, error, and inspiration.

That being said, once I figure something out, I tend to stick with it for a while to fully explore its capabilities.

I tend to think more clearly about music and concepts when I'm driving. I don't listen to much music in the car but in a way I'm constantly listening to the music in my head making changes and trying out new sounds, then when I get back to the studio its either all forgotten, or I'm in the mood to bang it out on the MPC.

My studio setup right now is a custom built PC with more Hard drives than I could ever want and a high end skylake processor. I run the Komplete Audio KA6 interface with my MPC and turntable, and a M-audio Code 61. One of the most important things to me is good reference monitors. I use the Maudio BX8 which I've come to know inside out over the past couple years. I also have a small cube speaker, multiple earbuds, a 2.1 Logitech speaker sub system, and my car parked just outside so checking the mix on multiple sources is never a problem. I also have my guitars and my guild starfire bass, as well as drumsticks, a coffee can shaker, a Kick drum and other little bits of percussion.

I see people drawing in midi notes all the time on the Internet but I could never do that, I need hardware for sure.

this Image branded/property by : @itstommynutter

VERSATILITY

If my most recent piece of work isn't my best then I feel like I'm either going backwards or I'm not putting in enough effort. I don't have a set thing I like to work on most, as I'm inspired by so many different things. However I want to acknowledge that for me this can be a bad thing. I find it hard to niche down in one certain area so I feel like my progress in making sales or appealing to certain markets is definitely hampered by this. In some ways its a good thing that I can be so versatile but in terms of business its quite hard to know who to target. I think I get the most satisfaction out of mixing someone's song and completely blowing them away with the mix, more than I do making a beat and then mixing it and hearing the finished result.

ALWAYS LEARNING

I feel like I'm always learning, I feel like I've got so far yet to go, and the weird thing is, with mixing, you can be satisfied with your mix at any point in your career, and have no idea what could make that mix better, but someone like pensado or Greg wells would be able to hear things you don't even have any idea of. That's what excites me, if I'm happy with where I'm at now, just imagine how happy with myself ill be in ten years.

keep LEARNING

This is the methodology I want to bring to my viewers or followers, to be happy with where you're at, and to keep learning so that enjoyment grows over time. I think having an understanding of the concept behind how things work, rather than specific instructions on how to configure specific plugins etc only serves to make you learn faster and develop a better knowledge of sound engineering . See Example Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0EDJW48q-E

I upload a beat every week to youtube and facebook, and it has buy links to my beatstars store itstommynutter.beatstars.com. Link Here https://itstommynutter.beatstars.com/ I've sold a few online, but I'm the worst at business and marketing and feel I'm still in the early stages of trying to learn how to make money on the web from leasing beats. I also try to upload either a cooking video or some type of tutorial or vlog.

As for mixing and mastering I get a lot of work from freelance websites such as fiverr Link Here https://www.fiverr.com/itstommynutter/mix-and-master-your-song-or-instrumental?arrived_from_manage_gigs=true&display_share=true and I work with local artists who come to record at my home studio. If people need mixing and mastering, looking for crisp vocals and luscious reverbs, hard hitting kicks and deep full bass, they should visit itstommynutter.com Link Here https://itstommynutter.com/ and listen to the portfolio. I have all my prices listed and do special discounts for Albums or Demos.

I also try to write a blog post every now and again and make them a little bit different than your usual music blog. I try to be quite philosophical about the whole thing. Link Here https://itstommynutter.com/blog-2

"I consider myself a creative person, on a journey with music by my side, trying to enjoy and learn as much about music as possible whilst fitting in real life problems like needing money to live. My journey leads me to meet people, and its so great to meet and talk to people who are similarly engrossed in this whole music thing, so if I can be of any assistance or help then I guess I'm an educator, but if left to my own devices I'm most definitely a producer, but that doesn't necessarily mean quantity over quality."

I've been making beats for 4 years now, and learning to mix and master properly for about 3 and a half years, although I've been songwriting and playing guitar since being a young teenager. In my late teens I was also in a few Pop Punk Bands and acoustic projects.

MIXING AND MASTERING

If people want their song mixed or mastered its important for me to get the price conversation out of the way first. If I get a client who starts his story telling me he's had car troubles this month so cant afford to spend more than $25 to get his song mixed, then I plainly lay out what he's got to expect for his $25. More often than not, this guys songs are all about getting money and popping bottles.

Once were past that stage and hopefully I know the client takes their music career seriously, i like to get some of examples of the sounds they like, the artists they aspire to, and any inspirations or expectations they have about their vocal and the sound of the instrumental or drums.

IMAGE BRANDING BY TOMMY NUTTER @ITSTOMMYNUTTER

M&M PROCESS

I usually do one mix after that and send the client a quickly mastered mp3 to gauge how they feel about it and if they have any further instruction. Sometimes they're completely happy, other times they just ask for small changes.

After that we repeat the process until they're happy, and I leave the mix for a few days before checking and mastering (if I'm doing the mastering too). At that point ill also make bus compression decisions depending on if the mix is getting sent on to a separate mastering engineer or not.

When the job is done, usually the client and I will continue to speak about their upcoming projects, what their plans are, and who they're working with at the moment, and usually I end up getting a little repeat business further down the road.

I do enjoy learning about my clients and I get to hear a lot of new styles of music and get to gauge what sounds people are into as well. Its very interesting to me and also helps out a lot with the music production side of things.

music

I've always been a fan of pop punk, which led me to unplugged sessions where id see amazing artists doing live raw performances of songs I already knew. I saw how songs could be changed and given different senses of intimacy and reality and just fell in love with acoustic singer songwriter type stuff. I love the new childish gambino album, it reminds me of pink floyd and the doors, but I still enjoy listening to korn every now and again.

There's also mainstream songs and Pop songs that I love, so I don't think I have a specific genre I listen to. As for hip hop, I will say that I've never been a lyrics kinda person, I tend to listen to the music way more than the lyrics, but even if the tune is bangin, I still cant stand certain tones of voice and find them unenjoyable to listen to.

WALK-IN SONG

I think it'd have to be superman by goldfinger. The brass in that makes me so happy and giddy, its just a bangin song for a real good happy time. All my friends would be there high fivin me, everyone would be smilin and eatin hot dogs and pizza. ye that'd be awesome.

MENTORS

I think elon musk is on the right track to better humanity, and I think neil degrasse tyson is doing his thing to keep us smart, I have people who I really respect, but I think my main thing I look up to is my own plans. Every now and then I get a notepad, I draw a little stick figure in the middle, and lots of lines comin from it, and I write down what I want or what I want to achieve in the following months. It helps me focus and I get to decide my own future.

APPRECIATION

When working with an artist I'm looking for how devoted they are, and if they are in it for the passion of the music, or they just want the lifestyle. That usually defines how much work they wanna put in, but people are weird creatures, it takes me a while to figure them out.

DAY IN THE LIFE

A typical day means waking up at 9am, drinking two coffees and watching youtube for an hour before I can function properly, then I start working on mixing for clients, taking breaks in between to do my correspondence or work on my website. Usually whatever project I'm working on takes however long it takes, and then I eat. Sometimes I forget. Then at about 9pm I'm usually in the mood to make a some beats or work on some beats that need finishing, and I get to bed at around 2am, although the big reference monitors have to go off at about 10.30 as I live in an apartment.

PERFECT DAY

My perfect day would be spent mixing for major artists, still within my own home studio, but knowing that Im getting paid for my time means that id be able to put my everything into that mix, and at the end if I blow them away with the mix then I feel like I've accomplished greatness and I feel validated for the hours I've spent learning and grafting, and feel thankful that the time spent has made someone else so happy.

Image property of Tommy Nutter @itstommynutter

where may we link up and follow your content?

TOMMY NUTTER OUTLETS

Buy/Lease Beats Instantly: https://itstommynutter.beatstars.com/

Mixing and Mastering: https://itstommynutter.com/

Subscribe Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChBzUxb8kzrNURO9ebC9xjg

Email: info@itstommynutter.com for exclusive enquiry & questions

Twitter: https://twitter.com/itstommynutter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itstommynutter

Instagram: http://instagram.com/itstommynutter

Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/itstommynutter

thank you for following us @RAREFLAVR

WWW.RAREFLAVR.COM

image property of tommy nutter at @itstommynutter

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Artist Snapshot: MyNxGGAE (@MyNxGGAE)

March 6, 2018

Originality is THE QUALITY we seek before creating an Artist Snapshot on our blog. We work to find artists with unique capabilities, style, and sound; We respect the hustle and people with " RareFlavr "

#rareflavr #RF

Pop-culture typically has a common theme with music and what makes a "hit".

Our goal is to find artists who sound nothing like what's trending and are in it to make dope music without copying style.

Artists who create content for what they think is cool rather than what's "trending" is what it's all about

The great thing about social media is that we are able to network with creatives all over the world. We value rare artists who create their own path and work hard to enhance their skills.

Recently, we had the opportunity to interview an intelligent Artist @MyNxggaE and asked him to share some knowledge, music, and gain some perspective on the industry and social awareness #share #rareflavr

MY NXGGA E

IT ALL STARTS WITH INFLUENCE

"yea I've always had an interest in art and the overall creative process. As a kid I did oil painting, wrote short stories, played a few instruments (drums, cornet, sax). As I got older I got really into graphic design, photography. The biggest influence on me artistically is probably a combination of Langston Hughes and John Coltrane. Jazz was awe inspiring to me as a kid; the complexity, the unpredictability, it was truly soulful music. Thats what got me into playing sax. I got a big ass book of Langston Hughes poetry when I was in high school that man was truly a prolific writer defining social awareness. In a more modern sense Kanye has been HUGE for me. His work with the MPC is forever an inspiration to my production and arrangement. "

GEOGRAPHY

" No actually I was not born and raised in St. Louis. Both my parents are Jamaican. I was actually born in Milwaukee and grew up all over the country (WI, OH, MD, CA) to name a few; I actually went to 3 different high schools in 4 years. But I've been in STL for about 10 years now and it's played a very instrumental role in my social awareness. St. Louis has such a rich and storied black history from the ville and kinloch, historically strong black communities that survived segregation era to the harsh realities of East St. Louis, and the racial injustices plaguing the north city as well as St. Louis County in areas like Ferguson. And this is a history that is not singular to St. Louis but rather something I saw in Baltimore, Chicago, DC, NYC, etc. all across the country as I grew up; Black communities struggling to survive while in search of the American dream. "

MENTORS, INSPIRATION, INTERESTS, AND INSTRUMENTS

"My musical influences are always changing depending on what music I'm currently fixating on, I think it's my ADD at work. Right now I'm on a synths kick so Devonte Hynes, Majid Jordan, Ryan Hemsworth; but overall Future, Pharrell, Drake, George Clinton, Linkin Park, J-Dilla, and Erykah Badu. The artist that speaks to me the most in music is by far Kanye West; watching him journey from college burnout backpack rapper to media mogul and all the bumps is between is inspiring; his producer/rapper/brand model changed not only the music industry but the fashion industry as well. Musically I feel like Kanye always exemplified what first peaked my interest in hip-hop, the complexity in the musical arrangements to the level of full classical compositions. Lyrically Kanye has always been both deeply personal and yet socially and culturally aware which is a difficult balance in the climate of the early 2000s.

PRODUCTION/EQUIPMENT/INFLUENCE

"Yea I started producing because I kinda have an obession with "cloud rap" like an other world production sound; I absolutely love my Akai MPC Studio best piece of equipment in my studio (even though I do have an MPC Live still working out the kinks the learning curve is crazy). I use my numark mixtrack controller for some chops. I usually do my own masters so i got my jbl monitors, steinberg audio interface, rode nt1 cuz rode mics are amazing for low resonating vocals, my bass guitar, and a fender amp for extra bass. As a Virgo I always favor the here and now over the past, I draw a lot of inspiration from 70s funk, 80s synths, 90s boom bap, but the music that speaks to me the most is the music I'm listening to now. Princess Nokia, Northeast Party House, The Neighborhood, NxWorries, Kaytranada, Steve Lacy, Smino, SZA, and Ravyn Lenae "

LIVE SHOWS, ENTERTAINMENT, STAGE PRESENCE, STUDIO SESSIONS

" Showcase Tour hit me up, I think they found my info on reverbnation. It was an amazing opportunity for an artists showcase, a nation-wide tour, but each stop being filled with 10+ Local Artists. The show was amazing first time I've performed since I had my first child so I was a bit nervous, but once I got on stage it was all muscle memory lol. I do everything I can to bring my audience into those late night studio sessions with me, so I chose tracks that I think translate well atmospherically. I am always impressed by the energy of live rock shows so I do all my vocals live no backing track, give the crowd something that sticks with them, memorialize the moment. Low-Key I'm cooking up on adding live elements to the song arrangement too (reference that MPC Live I mentioned earlier) and I've been working with a jazz fusion band of late so new things are coming soon. My favorite track to perform is probably That's My Nxgga Prod by @vaughnvibes. The beat has that classic boom bap/J-Dilla feel so it seems perfect to recreate the energy of The Get Down that I was obsessing over at the time I first heard the beat. It has some good call and response portions to get the crowd involved and then showcases my lyrical ability and range well. Yea I'm glad you caught the easter egg of The Store Run; it was a track I made inspired by the nostalgia of me and my less reputable cousins stepping out during thanksgiving to hit the "store run" and come back eyes redder than the devil is and ready to eat lmao. So it was just something creative to commemorate the season; I like making tracks that are real conceptual sometimes. I produced the beat and then just freestyled in rounds like how you take turns spitting over the radio in the car during the hotbox. "

My Nxgga E - "We Jammin" Black Friday Cypher @ 2720 Cherokee St Louis, MO

PERSONAL BRANDS/ UPCOMING PROJECTS

"Negus is my own creation a combination of lifestyle brand and multimedia company. It represents my internal struggle for identity as a black man in America. Negus is the amharic word for king a or a god a title given to rules of Ethiopia the only African country to not be colonized; however it also phonetically is pronounced much like niggas the racial epithet meant to strip black people of the value in our ancestral heritage. Negus is actually the name of my next project, a self produced EP slated to drop this summer. I've been working on this project for 2-3 years now so I've been teasing about it in visuals and making merch to self-fund production costs. The Champion collaboration I did with Negus for the Store Run/Thank You hoodies was just extra sauce cause the track felt like it fit the season so well I needed something to physically commemorate the experience. "

ADVICE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS, STAGE PRESENCE

" Honestly repetition is the father of all learning. I think practicing your material constantly allowing your music to become just muscle memory is key. I treat the lyrics almost like a mantra, reminding myself of the feeling and emotions that I poured into the music so that i can best portray them in my delivery. I'd also say that working the stage is key; having an understanding of how to have good stage presence can go a long way. Negus was made for live shows so while I do have video treatments formulating for a few of the songs, my first step is to bring the material to a live audience likely through a listening session our live showcase this summer in conjunction with the projects release. "

FUTURE OF MUSIC

"The future of music looks bright I see the elements of hip-hop being rearranged not only by the popularity of EDM but also due to the rise of urban contemporary music. I think groups like NxWorries give rebirth to atmospheric hip hop, the latest class of MPC producers (Kaytranada, Sango, Knxwledge) are proof that the legacy of JDilla lives and breathes in a newer generation. The future of the music industry however is on an interesting path. For better or worse the culture IS changing. The release of music has been drastically effected by the success of streaming platforms. Despite the best attempts at combating the diminishing market such as Beyonce Lemonade album releasing with no marketing seemed to only slowed the inevitable; and thus new platforms, and business models must be built. Fashion has always been an important outlet for musicians to display their creativity but the collaboration strategy has given what was mostly a marketing strategy real teeth allowing for strong gains for brands like adidas, supreme and puma putting their product in front of larger audiences and giving them access to a greater range of materials to create from. "

IMAGE PROPERTY OF @MYNXGGAE http://mynxggae.tumblr.com/

photo property of @mynxggae recreated by @rareflavr

Make sure have a listen to some of his tracks on Soundcloud above or here: My NXGGAE Soundcloud. Our favorite Track is the Store Run Freestyle- think the beat has the hip hop feel and the flow is original. Also, the Leave Y'all Track feat the instrumental of Future's "Percocets and Strippers"

Make sure you check out 3AM in the CHI the sample is fantastic "houston atlanta vegas" sample is on point

We are grateful had the opportunity to create this artist snapshot and learn more about the influence of @mynxggae. If you Have a listen to some of the projects he has released on soundcloud feel free to like and share the music. Thankfully we are able to learn more each day about artists, the creative process and enjoying the talent and creative influence. Feel free to share this post and check out the instagram links below. -RAREFLAVR

FOLLOW @MYNXGGAE ON INSTAGRAM

PHOTO PROPERTY OF @MYNXGGE ON INSTAGRAM.COM

FOLLOW @MYNXGGAE ON TWITTER

RAREFLAVR

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If you stumble upon a great artist or unique artist with creative abilities do not hesistate to direct them to our website and submit here or tag @rareflavr on social media.