LAN Party (July 2019)

At some point, every artist will ask themselves whether or not they’re upon the right path. The fork in the road is more confusing than ever. Passion versus possible comfortability. LAN Party is no stranger to such a fork, to such a moment of self-reflection. But it is the truth of art which guided his soul towards the truth: that creation is his salvation.

While the last years may have mirrored a rollercoaster for the Chicago artist, the few pit stops between rides was a wave of creative euphoria no challenge could upset. The free flow of expression and humanistic understanding was at a level nothing else in life could develop. Passion was David against the Goliath of modernity.

And as the story goes, David arose the victor. LAN Party similarly is in a spot of victory. He is set upon the beginnings of a journey with limitless opportunity. A journey where every fork in the road is positive and where decisions made are not with the possibility of a misstep. The future exists on the horizon, and for LAN Party, it is time for the horizon to become foreground.

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Our first question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been lately?

My day is going good! I’ve been working on this song all day and I’m really excited about it. Lately, I’ve been busy with school, but I finally finished yesterday, so my schedule is going to be way freer.

For sure, having that freedom is beautiful. Did you feel a sense of impossibility with music with such a busy schedule?

Not impossible, it’s just harder for me to get into the right headspace when I feel like I have other obligations that I need to take care of. I also make some of the craziest shit at like 4am, so having to go to bed somewhat early was kind of a drag.

During that time of difficulty, did you ever have doubts about your commitment to music or is it something that could never die no matter what came up?

I’m going to school for audio engineering, so my schedule still revolves around music just from the recording perspective. I’ve never had serious doubts because of my school schedule, but when I first got to college, I definitely went through a rough year trying to figure out if the music was worth it or right for me. Eventually, I just experimented enough and found my strengths and what I wanted to do with music.

Absolutely, most creative-minded people have those moments at some point, if not constantly. But, how would you compare where you stand now with music to where you were when you first began? What challenges existed within that transition?

When I first started making beats, I was constantly trying to make stuff that I thought would fit an artist that I had in mind. I felt like I had to stay within certain constraints if I ever wanted it to actually reach an audience. When I started just making music that I would want to listen to, it was so much more rewarding and I realized that people would rather hear your unique perspective, and not necessarily your best imitation of someone else’s. It just took me a lot of time and frustration to come to that realization.

It’s a pretty large epiphany to have as an artist. Do you think part of that initial mindset was due to your influences at the time doing the same for other artists? Or were your influences more full-fledged artists that you were always trying to be more so like?

I think it was more that I felt like I had to be realistic and bend to the artists around me in order to get any kind of audience. So I wasn’t making the stuff that I was super passionate about, I was just trying to make other people happy.

Now that you’re more sure of your artistic, and I’d assume personal self; what would you say is the vision you’ve centered on with your music and what is it that you value within art?

Shit man, I honestly don’t have an overarching vision of what I want to do with music, I really just make whatever excites me and makes me happy in that specific moment. What I make is usually directly influenced by whatever I’ve been listening to lately or ideas that I think would be fun to try out. So I guess I have short term visions that I try to make happen, but no central focus for my music.

But maybe then the central focus is to always be happy and to combat any and all negativity persuaded by the outside influences of the world?

I would say it’s even simpler than that. It’s more just to make whatever that moment calls for. Whatever I think is “missing” or could be improved upon in music.

What do you feel this moment in music is missing then?

Nobody’s making bopping music anymore. We gotta do something about that.

You mentioned that you also care for music you’re currently listening to and what you’re currently influenced by. At this moment, what is that, both in and out music? What is it that you’re finding to be your artistic motivation?

I’ve been really into Jim-E Stack lately. He has these big, natural drum tones and super sleek 80’s production but you can tell it’s modern, I’ve been using a lot of those elements lately. I think learning more about recording and engineering has also inspired me to record more real instrumentation and not be sloppy with how you record them. Other than that, my friends that I regularly make music with really help me get different perspectives.

Absolutely, your focus in school seems to be teaching you that tightness in sound and work. On the topic of friends in music, how do you find collaboration currently, not in a past sense when it was just beat making for others, to shape how you approach creation?

When I say that making stuff for others was holding me back, I don’t mean that it’s a bad idea to make something with someone in mind, it’s just that I thought that I had to only make stuff for others because I couldn’t do it myself. I think it can be super fun to dip your hand in different genres you don’t normally gravitate towards and try to put your own spin on things. As long as I and the other person have mutual love and understanding of each other’s music it’s super rewarding to work together, even if it’s not my comfort zone.

Now in terms of your work alone currently, how are you approaching your new creations and what changes are you trying to make within your sonics and lyrical qualities?

Lately, I’ve been trying super hard not to commit to one idea for what direction I want the song to go and just letting myself completely change the song if I’m not quite excited enough. It ends up being a super time-consuming process and I have 7 completely different versions of each song I’m working on, but I think it’s the best way to make something super crazy.

Is part of the process for you to attach an aesthetic component to your work? You do fit yourself into a more digital and computer-based visual world, but does that shape the music you make?

I really wish I had a better eye for visual art. I’ve always struggled with picking cover art and trying to represent the music visually so I typically leave that up to other people around me who have a better eye for design. My input is pretty much whether I like it or not.

Interesting, do you feel there is an importance to that aspect of an artist or is that something almost irrelevant and a total afterthought to you?

It depends on the artist. For some people image can be so central that it kind of outshines the actual music and I think there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not super important to me.

You’ve said a lot that you have this newfound freedom and a lot of new ability with your music. That asks though what goals you are trying to achieve in the coming months and years and what milestones are key for you to hit?

I think right now I just hope to be able to reach a level where I can work with the people who I look up to and am inspired by. A sizeable audience would, of course, be cool too, but it’s less important to me.

Do you think part of your coming goals revolve within the live setting and if so, how do you hope to individualize it to your own artistry?

Live performing is something I’m still very new to. I’ve never played original songs at a show, I’ve just done DJ sets here and there. It’s definitely something I want to work on once I have more time, but right now, I’m focusing on just making more music. I want to make sure I can perform at a level that I’m proud of before I really start doing shows. I don’t want my shows to be me just singing over a backing track, it’s gotta be crazy.

Right right, it has to match the level of energy in the tracks. Do you plan to make it more of a show than just a performance? The idea of adding layers beyond just the songs and making it a full-fledged universe with the work?

Something like that, yeah. I’m not sure what it would look like but I want it to be memorable. I feel like I go to a lot of boring shows.

As a closing idea, what do you want the mark of LAN Party and your art to be in the future when it’s all said and done and what do you want it to mean to the larger musical consciousness?

I hope that people think I tried to make something different from what was already out there, whether it be good or bad. I think the biggest contribution you can make is to make something that doesn’t yet exist.

Absolutely, that’s such a beautiful way to look at it. Do you have anyone to shoutout or promote? The floor is yours.

Chase Alex and Silver Sphere are the future of music.