Exposed Vocals Interviews Redex aka Elijah O’Bryant

New York born producer Redex aka Elijah O’Bryant is a student of George Mason Univeristy in Fairfax, Virginia. He first started to work on his craft with his friend Ethan and he is in a group with him called Epsilon.He is an up-and-coming future bass artist looking to make a name for himself in the music world and he is influenced by artists such as Krewella, Grant Bowtie, AlunaGeorge.

 

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

 

Redex: I grew up in an area of Bronx, New York called Riverdale. It was a chill area and my friends and I would always go to Van Courtlandt Park. One particular friend of my named Ethan enjoyed listening to Dubstep and I was drawn to it as well. So over the course of two summers Ethan and I were making music in FL studios 10 and that’s kind of where we decided to pursue it. Now that I’m in college at George Mason University, we’ve actually made a group titled Epsilon, so watch out for that.

 

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

 

Redex: Haha, there’s a funny story behind it. When I was about 5 years old I wanted to play an online Pokemon game on my computer and I needed a username. So I had a friend who asked me two questions: “What’s your favorite color?” And I said red. And then he asked me if I completed the pokedex in whatever game edition was out at the time and I replied yes and so he put the two together and it’s just stuck with me ever since. It’s catchy.

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

 

Redex:  I think online music sharing is a great thing. It allows people to get their music out there to a much more broad audience. Whether or not someone is serious about sharing their music or not it allows their voice to be heard. I believe sound cloud is a great music sharing platform to use and as of right now I do give my music out for free.

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?

Redex: Don’t give up. Just because you haven’t made your big break yet doesn’t mean that you never will. Keep promoting yourself, keep pushing yourself to make better music; to better your brand. Never stay satisfied; always want more.

 

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

 

Redex:  Well, I find inspiration to produce tracks in almost anything. For example, I could be walking to class and I could just think of a random beat or I would listen to a song and think of a good way to remix it. After I’ve thought of a beat I just work on hammering out the sound that I want. I may work late into the night or early in the morning until the song is done.

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

 

Redex:  Not yet, I’m still working on that. However, you can currently find me on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/red_ex32

 

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

 

Redex: Haha, the easy answer is to take a vacation. Honestly, I would spend that to take care of loans I have, some expenses my parents might have, and then I would spend the rest of the money and time investing in ways to make myself a better producer and to expand my brand. And if I have some change lying around maybe I’ll take that vacation. Haha.

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

 

Redex: Honestly, I have only used Twitter and Soundcloud to promote my music, in addition to telling people by word of mouth. I really underestimated the power of Twitter, but it is actually a really good way to communicate with other artists/producers and to gather a fan base.

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

 

Redex: Currently, I’m working on a project where I’m remixing an AlunaGeorge song. And the collaborative group that I’m in Epsilon should definitely be putting something out in the near future.

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

 

Redex: If I wasn’t making music I would be a normal college student trying to get his degree. Haha. I would definitely take up boxing if I had the chance.

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

 

Redex: Luckily I’ve been blessed to where I don’t have as many responsibilities interfering with my music life. Right now I just have to prioritize on getting good grades in class and then coming back to the dorm and working on my craft.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

 

Redex: All of my fans out there should look forward to me progressing more and getting better as a producer, along with me possibly doing a few shows here at George Mason University. Also in the summer I should be releasing my first EP.