South African sensation Naartjie

Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?

Naartjie:  I heard about Exposed Vocals on twitter actually, so I checked out the website and I really like what you guys are doing here, its really supportive to small producers like myself.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Naartjie:  My name is Reid Emery (a.k.a Naartjie), I was born in Durban, South Africa in 1999. I am the child of totally non musical parents, who did not take me seriously, when at the age of 5, I saved up for my first guitar.  I played it every chance I got.  After spending seven years of my life in South Africa, my family and I moved to Brisbane, Australia. It was only in Australia that I really started to make a connection with music. I progressed well on the guitar and instantly became obsessed. It means a lot to me, personally. I love creating and manipulating sound to come up with something unique that expresses my emotions. Four years ago, we moved to a farm north of Brisbane. At that stage, I had never heard of EDM, and never once thought about music production. But that all changed when I learned that half of the songs we listen to today are actually produced electronically. I was instantly hooked, spending hours upon hours on my laptop, trying to own these skills. After a year of hard work I started to gain the interest of other dj’s, and slowly but surely I am enjoying trying to make it to the top.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Naartjie: haha, the name Naartjie actually means orange or mandarin in dutch/Afrikaans, but the really reason why I chose it was because that was the name of my brothers pet lamb, (and partly because it was the only name that wasn’t taken when I used to play minecraft). I’ve stuck to it now because it is different and has a link to my origins.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Naartjie: I think that sharing music online is an awesome way to promote yourself. Releasing tracks for free is a definitely something to do, fans love it.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Naartjie: Start by building up a small fan base online, the more people that get to hear your music, the more opportunities you have.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

Naartjie: Smile, stay calm, and try again.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

Naartjie: I haven’t been on a tour yet, hopefully one day I will.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Naartjie: I gather my inspiration from everyday sounds, in most of my tracks you can hear loads of elements that have been recorded, you can’t beat natures sound. Whenever I start a song, I always start with a drum and bass line, it builds up from there. My melodies depend on what mood I am in.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Naartjie: You can find me on soundcloud: soundcloud.com/naartjieofficial and twitter: twitter.com/NaartieW

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Naartjie: Hahah, Im a gummy bear.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Naartjie: Well first off my mum would make me give it to charity lol. If I got a year off, I would use that time to make music.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

Naartjie: I am currently working on a Mac Pro X, my DAW is Logic Pro X, and I have a Novation Impulse MIDI keyboard. I hope to upgrade and expand soon, so loads of planning and saving so far.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Naartjie: My manager does all the promoting stuff for me, he seem to be doing a great job, so yeah.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Naartjie: I would love to play with Nicky Romero or Deadmau5 at tomorrow-land. They both are incredible artists and they are really the guys that inspired me to start producing.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Naartjie: Yeah, I have a whole bunch of remixes that I am working on at the moment as well as some of my own original productions.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Naartjie: I am a keen SCUBA diver. So that would definitely become my career.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

Naartjie: Yeah I do It was; Get Scrapped by Deadmau5. at the time I was wondering why it cost so much, but its definitely one of my favourite albums.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Naartjie: Its difficult juggling school, work, my family, and music all at the same time, but I try to wake up early to make sure there is enough time for my music. Its definitely a struggle though.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?

Naartjie: A whole bunch more music, its a bit ambitious but I really want to get a record signed this year, maybe that is something to look forward too as well !!