Alien Contact, How Weed Enhances Music Making, & The Power of Self-Awareness

Intro

In this episode, Zach talks with Daniel and Jeremy of East Mane, a producer/rap duo from Chicago. They discuss aliens, how anxiety towards weed inhibits creativity and approaching music as a means of self-improvement. Jeremy and Daniel also vent their frustration with streaming services, and share why the vulnerability of creation leads them to respect music they don’t like. A disagreement about Avatar: The Last Airbender leads to an unlikely competition, and the duo explains why variety is the result of experience.

Key Takeaways

Why Aliens Exist

The universe is too massive for us to be the only form of intelligent life out there.

“There’s a basically 100% chance of there being another universe where someone exactly like you is doing exactly what we’re doing right now, and then there’s infinite copies of that.”- Zach on the multiverse theory

Multiverse theory was probably derived by someone on acid who figured out it might actually be real.

Why Weed and Compromise Create Good Music

East Mane is the convergence of similarities and differences from Jeremy and Daniel’s influences.

They were not serious until positive feedback made them realize that they had potential.

“We made something that we will never use to this day, but at the same time, it was such a fun process. And I think we worked so well together because we’ve known each other for so long, that it made a lot of sense to just see where this could go.”- Daniel

Competition is the common thread between sports and music, but it’s not a zero-sum game.
- “It’s more important when you compete, than how you compete.”- Zach

It’s essential to maintain focus and dig deep when your artistic space becomes a workspace.

“We’ll just hit a bowl then get in the mindset. Turn off the lights and start getting some beats and some synths in, and just seeing what works.”- Daniel

Jeremy and Daniel have grown together and fed off each other in a positive way.

Smoking weed can help you get into a different mindset and think differently about life.

Recognizing your anxiety around weed can help with relaxation and spur creativity.

“Before I even smoke, I just think like, how do I feel right now? You know, just normally. And then, after I do, I just go back to that. I know what I felt like before this. Why would I feel worse now?”- Daniel

While their work can be isolating at times, Jeremy and Daniel are heavily involved with each other’s roles through real-time feedback.

Self-awareness is the key to finding common ground.

What would I put on my playlist? We try to make stuff that fits that. You want to like your music. Why would you make stuff you don’t like?”- Jeremy

Music as a Means to Self-Improvement

Making music can be used as a practice to get better.

“Continue to build upon what I have in my head originally, and don’t settle for what I had written down right away.”- Jeremy

Freestyle live streams and fishbowl lyric topics are a great way to improve your craft and get people involved.

A good producer has to be an expert with software plug-ins to get the sound they desire.

“I try to continuously figure out also if there are other instruments, or other software plug-ins that we need, because there’s a million out there. As a producer, it can be daunting to know what you really need to get to like really get your vision on paper.”- Daniel

Social media metrics aren’t an indicator of whether a musician is good or not.

Artists don’t experiment enough and often settle for the wrong thing.

Blind optimism, paired with self-evaluation, is the path to success.

“That ambition, that delusion, is actually a necessity because only those kinds of people are the ones who are actually going to get there because they think that they can.”- Daniel

Realizing your limitations helps you steer your mentality towards constant improvement.

The Difficulty and Reward of Being an Artist

Streaming services have good playlists and algorithms, but are not useful for discovery.

“I like how algorithms give you more of what you want and the more you use them, the better they get at that. But I think where algorithms fail in some sense is that you don’t have the random selection factor.”- Zach

Music promotion can be confusing and expensive from the artist's perspective.

“That’s 50 percent of it, is the making the music. The other 50 percent is marketing and spending money on it.”- Jeremy

Creativity is a gift that you’re born with, not a learned habit.

“There are people that have these gifts that are beyond anything anyone can measure because it’s not a measurable thing. It’s just unique and intangible.”- Daniel

Making music is about being vulnerable and putting yourself out there, even when it’s rejected. You can respect something that you don’t like.

Zach feels that it’s unfair for content to be nitpicked because it’s often pulled out of context.

Being a musician gives you a deeper understanding of the subtle beauty behind it.

“Now I hear every layer in a song and how it mixes together well. Maybe how somebody’s voice is like actually amazing when before I used to just think like ‘oh they’ve got a good voice. They’re a pop singer or something like that.’”- Daniel

Creativity disappears when the process is underappreciated.

“Don’t really focus too much on the major part of the song, whether that’s the chorus lyrically, or you know, some awesome part of an instrumental. Think about the little things.”- Jeremy

A public catalog of random household sounds is a billion-dollar idea.

Unexpected vs. Absurd Views

Jeremy is basic and uses his ‘considerate voice’ when approaching Daniel’s love of Avatar: The Last Airbender. He thinks that Spongebob is on another level.

Zach crowns Daniel the winner of the spontaneous ridiculous view challenge since Jeremy’s love for Chelsea Cutler is more unexpected than absurd.

How Music Has Evolved Through Sampling and Experience

Sampling is the most pivotal change in the evolution of music.

“Now, so many people just use sampling as the way that they just create music, and I think it’s put a whole different spin on the creativity, not just the creative process.”- Daniel

The production process is like putting together an enormous puzzle.

Past experiences are a primary hidden influence on their music.

Daniel’s Columbian heritage and interest in international percussion is a source of East Mane’s variety.
- “I try to use that influence that I have to grab a lot of different sounds and influences from different international cultures because I never want our sound, or our style, to be pigeonholed into one thing.”- Daniel

Observing how different cultures react to the same event explains a lot about life and enhances your experience.

Full Transcript, Click Anywhere To Play

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