On this episode of Auxoro, Zach speaks with short story author Chris Cooper. Chris has received acclaim for his irreverence in his stories. During their discussion, they pick apart everything from the philosophy of meaninglessness to the metaphysics of anxiety. Chris offers advice to the depressed young nihilist and the writer who must be true to himself.
Read MoreIn this episode, Zach talks with Gryffin, an electronic music producer from California known for his creativity and organic sound. They discuss the influence of Gryffin’s musical cousin (Dustin Kensure- Thrice), lessons learned from electrical engineering and the connection between imagery and sound. Gryffin also shares how performance has changed during the pandemic and why his remix of ‘Burn’ (Ellie Goulding) changed his career. Other topics include the balance between serving your fans and yourself, the spiritual aspect of music and why conducting over Zoom is as awkward as it sounds.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreFor this episode, we sat down with Serbian-Australian producer Dirty South. Dragan Roganović, aka Dirty South, has been making music for over 15 years and is someone whom I've admired since I was a teenager. In this conversation, Dirty South opens up about his dive into filmmaking, battling creative burnout, his mindset in the studio, the facade of social media, and more:
This time, we sat down with producer Justin Caruso who has toured the world with top acts like The Chainsmokers and Tiesto. Justin recently released his latest single ‘Good Parts’ which is an absolute jam. The acoustic version is live now as well so go slap that link wherever you listen to music.
Justin also performed at Moonrise festival earlier last month and will be supporting Loud Luxury on their “Nights Like This” tour in October and November in LA, Chicago, Philly, and Boston. In this episode, Justin discusses playing Jäger pong with Tiësto, studying music business at USC, developing an original sound, Fortnite, and more. Without further ado, here is our exhilarating conversation with Justin Caruso.
This time, we sat down with Louis Futon. I saw Louis Futon back in the day when he opened up for Odesza in Chicago November of 2017. He crushed that set and he’s been someone I’ve been trying to hunt down to speak with on the podcast, so I am ecstatic to release this conversation. In this episode, we talk about the insane beat challenges where he recreates songs from other artists like Tyler The Creator and Childish Gambino. It’s insane, he completely flips them and gives each track its own funky twist. We also talk about Louis Futon dropping out of college, the sense of smell, Adderall addiction, live shows, and the inspiration behind his debut album Way Back When.
This time we sat down with Rob Abisi and Nick Shanholtz, otherwise known as Lost Kings (@wearelostkings). They garnered early attention by producing unofficial remixes for Disclosure, Dirty South, and the Killers. Since then, Rob and Nick have been extremely active on tour and in the studio, releasing an official remix with Rihanna and making original smashes of their own. Shortly after New Years, the duo released an EP titled Paper crowns with features from Wiz Khalifa, Loren Gray, Social House, and more. This entire EP is an absolute banger for the house party, pregame, car ride, shower, doesn’t matter. I’ve been bumping Paper Crowns and sometimes that does involve me flexing the pipes in the shower. That’s the power of Paper Crowns.
In this conversation, Nick and Rob discuss building success in LA - the city where many dreams go to die, chasing those dreams while on the verge of giving up and moving back home, the weirdest jobs they’ve had to work, being baked on the set of the ‘Don’t Kill My High’ video shoot, what goes into planning a set for Ultra, and more. Even if you don’t make music, listen to electronic music, or maybe you haven’t heard of Lost Kings, this conversation is one you will want to listen to. If you do anything creative, whether it’s a side project or your main source of income, you need that relentless drive and something unique to offer, which Lost Kings has and then some. So get a little comfortable, maybe light up a j, pour up a drank, and stay tuned for a conversation that will definitely not Kill Your High.