Algorythm was born in raised in Clinton, MD about 10-15min outside of DC.  Algorythm moved to New York at 18 years old to study Art/Design at The Cooper Union. He graduated in 2005 and has been living in Brooklyn ever since.

Algorythm tracks are here!

AMADI: How long have you been producing music?

Algorythm: I made my first beat in maybe the 11th or 12th grade of high school. But I wouldn’t say I started producing then. It was one of those things where I wanted to see if I could do it first. It took about a year for me to even let people hear my music. When I did let people hear they loved it so I started to get into it more. I didn’t really start producing until I moved to NY and actually started working with artists and recording songs. Thats when I really started to get into it and push myself to constantly get better.

AMADI: What genre(s) do you produce?

Algorythm: I can break it down into a ton of different styles and types but I’ll put a big stamp on it and say I produce Hip Hop music. Straight up. That’s all I really listen to, outside of R&B music and some of the older 60s and 70s soul music that I dig every once in a while.

AMADI: How do you stay original with your productions?

Algorythm: Staying original is something that is inherent to my process. I almost never start making a song with pre-built kits or presets. Every time I sit down to work, I am starting with a completely empty canvas. Because of that every single song has a slightly different sound and texture to it. On the flip side, sometimes consistency suffers so it may take me a little longer to get something going, but I never want to rely on a formula to bang out good music. That’s just not my way.

AMADI: What are some of your favorite hip hop albums? Why?

Algorythm: As far as production is concerned there is 1 specific album that changed my entire perspective on what Hip Hop is and what it can be — Slum Village - “Fantastic Volume 2.” That album changed everything for me. Dilla was a genius and this album proved it. Other albums that stick out in my head right now are Jay Z’s Blueprint which really established the New York sound for the early 2000s with Bink, Kanye, and JustBlaze behind the boards. 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin took Hip Hop back to the streets and out of the Pop/Dance world for a quick second. The Roots Things Fall Apart is one of those albums you can listen to straight from start to finish without skipping any songs. Outkast’s Aqueminia I think this album was one of the first albums to really push the envelope of unconventional song making. I could go on for days with this!

AMADI: Who are some of your favorite producers in the game right now?

Algorythm: Dilla is definitely my favorite producer of all time. After him it turns into a long list of extremely talented producers that has no start or end, I’m influenced by everybody:
The Mizell Brothers, Dr. Dre, Black Milk, DJ Khalil, Bink, Leroy Burgess, Swiff D, Timbaland, Don Cannon, Eric Sermon, Nottz, Raphael Saadiq, Just Blaze, Khrysis, Tumblin Dice, Teddy Riley, Illmind, Pete Rock, Quincy Jones, Oddisee, T-Pain, Kanye West, Kev Brown, Eazy Mo Bee, Primo, Swizz Beatz, the list could go on forever!

AMADI: Tell us about your experience participating in the Red Bull Big Tune beat battle?

Algorythm: As upcoming producers we rarely get a chance to really play or hear our stuff out loud in front of a lot of people on really expensive top notch speakers. The Red Bull Big Tune beat battle gives us that chance. That’s one of the best things about it for me. I live in NY and ride a train almost everyday. My music sometimes never makes it past my iPod headphones, or at best a car sound system, so I jump to the chance at playing my music out loud for crowds of people to hear. It’s incredible. On top of that the amount of exposure you get from this type of thing is incredible. It’s a guaranteed traffic boost to your website or myspace page which makes it a great way to get your name and your music out into the world.
I won the DC preliminary battle and made it to the Finals which were held in NY. Red Bull had a lot of space set up for all of the producers to interact with each other. They even had a music station there with an MPC, a Triton and a Motif Keyboard for the producers to mess around with. There was so much competition in this thing it was ridiculous. There wasn’t anybody in it who I couldn’t see winning it all. I got knocked out in the second round against 14 kt out of Detroit. It was a close one too. A lot of people came up to me after the show and said it was probably the best battle of the night. In the end 17 yr old C-Sick out of Chicago ended up taking it all. Overall, It was a great experience and I am thinking about doing it again (for the third time.)

AMADI: What has been your biggest adversity or obstacle with breaking into the music industry?

Algorythm: The biggest thing for me has just been finding the time to stay focused on getting my music out there in a new way. With the economy the way it is and a music industry that doesn’t want to embrace technology, it is tough to stay focused on breaking into the industry as a actual goal. Why would I want to break into an industry that is dying? For me the adversity is figuring out a way to become self sustainable with music, without depending on a major corporation who will only end up screwing me when their machine dies. That’s my biggest obstacle, figuring out a way to make it with music without becoming just another part of the machine.

AMADI: What advice would you give an aspiring music producer?

Algorythm: Own your craft. Don’t worry about being better than everybody else. Only worry about making the beat your working on now, better than the joint you made yesterday. Everything else will come.

Contact information:
Email: beats@algorythmusic.com
Myspace: http://myspace.com/algorythm
Website: http://www.algorythmusic.com
Video (See Washington, DC): http://www.redbullbigtune.com/2/

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 3:03 am and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.