Exposed Vocals Interviews Elefant Brainz

Elefant Brainz is an artist-run Hiphop factory, built on a democratic ‘squad’ mentality
Any artist with ambition can join, but only the highly-motivated stick around.

Core members are: Dominus,Prawz,DJ Rue the Day, and Sketch

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

Dominus: I want to be an artist for two reasons. The first of which is therapy. To me, there is no better feeling than writing a good line, or putting everything that you have, all the anger, frustration, and passion, into a track and hearing how it sounds. To me that is as close to heaven as I can get.
The second reason is because of the listener. Tech N9ne changed my life for the better through his work and due diligence. I would like to have a similar impact on a person’s life through my work. To, hopefully, help people for the better. To be that voice when the world seems to be so quiet. That is why I want to be an artist.

Prawz: See for me, it was a simple combination of wanting to be John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and being grounded through my entire middle school years. When everyone else was learning how to make friends and chasing girls I was at home strengthening my picking hand…in one way or another…
Hell, I’m still trying to be John Frusciante, most of my songs have three or four bluesy guitar licks buried somewhere.

Sketch: I just wanted an excuse to write heavy guitar parts and weird lyrics. Seth (Prawz) wanted to learn production. And we were living in a small town. Nothing to do. May as well learn music. We’ve taken this a lot further than we originally planned to. But 5 years and 6 or 7 studios later I see no signs of slowing down or giving up.

RTD: My desire to be an artist sprang up out of nowhere one day. Actually I think I heard someone playing piano and I thought “I want to do that.” So I started learning piano, as well as guitar. When I met Prawz in high school everything changed for the better as he introduced me to music production. With that knowledge I was able to take my musicianship to the next level and actually make music to be heard, but just to be played in my bedroom with an audience of zero.

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

Prawz: I came up with Elefant Brainz, I’m not even sure if the other artists like it as a name (Haha,) but my thought process is that Elephants never forget. Be it a line or a face. Master your art and never make a mistake a second time. Also, the idea of a herd or a tribe. I don’t believe anyone makes it alone.

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

Sketch: Don’t mind online music sharing. Of course I’d like to make this a lucrative venture. But it’s just as awesome to see something you made get a ton of downloads. Seth (Prawz) and I give away our music most of the time actually. We just want people to listen and know name and brand.

Prawz: It’s important to prove that you’re in it for the music above all else before you can charge. People need to see the blood. Because then it’s not a question of whether you’re lazy or manic-depressive or just a straight lunatic. Which…could all be true…But. point being people get fed a lot more BS these days so they need to see some blood before they’re willing to buy a ticket to the coliseum. The album I just produced with my deathcore homies in Discount Jaw Removal was pirated and given away for free by a Russian site within 24 hours of release. Sucked because we never got our time and money investment back, but there is something to be said about knowing people want your music, even if they do steal it. Like maybe if I keep grinding they’ll eventually respect me enough to buy one of my shirts or something.

RTD:I am not necessarily opposed to online music sharing. When I determine what I am going to do with something I’m releasing, I consider how much it means to me and how excited I am to call it mine. If it’s something I worked hard to complete and make as near perfect as I can, I’m going to charge money for it, but if it’s something I did for fun and I didn’t slave over it to make it perfect then I’ll release it 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?

Dominus: Nothing is ever easy. It takes a lot of work and guts to make it in this industry. If I were to break everything down over what I have learned so far it would be this: Step 1, you have to be ready. Not just being ready to work. No, you have to be able to show that work at the drop of a hat. If you are a rapper have a handful of verses memorized so that you may drop one at any given time in any place, or environment. Step 2, and most important in my eyes, you have to be able to work with people. You have to be able to show your personality. You should never be an asshole, or anything like that ever. That goes for any business. If you say you are going to do something, do it. It is as simple as that.

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

RTD: My inspiration usually comes from past experience, or when I have a lot of energy and I want to write something that reflects my mood. Once I get excited about it, it practically writes itself. My process always starts with percussion and guitar/lead, driven by some riff or underlying format I have in mind. From there I just fill in the pieces until I have a complete product.

Dominus: I tend to think of the bad times that I have been through and use that pain as motivation to keep working. Instead of using this pain in a destructive way, I am trying to use it in a productive way. I feel as if that is another reason why I love making music. When I feel as if I will not make it, I always think about a person that is going through struggles and not having someone to talk to. I want to be that person that they can talk to. Not just for one person, but for everyone. That is what inspires me.

Prawz: Since way back when sketch and I were metalheads that didn’t even listen to hiphop, I find writing down a name and a feeling together are a great start. Then I grab the guitar and write two or three corresponding melodies, sometimes I play them on guitar in the final version, other times I program them into my DAW. sometimes I go the psychedelic route & sing it through excessive autotune, flangers, and amp sims to make like a “voice-guitar” like the Weeknd does. I would say atmosphere is the most important thing in music to me.

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

Prawz: I try to keep all our business confined to twitter @EBhiphop . Manning one site where you can focus on genuinely connecting with others is better than having a dozen sites that get an occasional post.

We also have a blog at www.ElefantBrainz.com, It’s pretty new so not much is happening over there yet.

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

RTD: I would find the perfect place in the Twin Cities for a studio, and buy all the best equipment. I’d probably also buy some crazy custom built guitars, and a bunch of off-the-wall instruments like a sitar, hurdy gurdy, theremin…stuff like that. Chances are I’d also fly to Rome for a few weeks. It’s one of my favorite cities.

Sketch: I’d buy a small 2-level house. Convert the whole lower level into a studio. Buy a few grand worth of equipment. Save the rest and. Spend a year recording with the crew.

Prawz: I’d be trying to find the perfect vocal microphone for me, Like that one Sketch has is not incredibly expensive but it suits him flawlessly. Plus my stratocaster needs some repairs, Can’t be John Frusciante without a Stratocaster.

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

Prawz: We’ve tried a lot of things, and the only thing that’s really been successful is writing good music. Honestly we’ve paid for facebook/twitter/reverbnation promos since 2012, and nothing has done well up until the past two months or so, and I think it’s those years of practice that got us here.

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

Prawz: I think everyone has new tracks coming still. I would expect about twenty more songs from us before 2016 is over. I know there are two albums that are almost done and I myself have another mixtape due out before the year is over.

Dominus: My debut project is coming out very soon. The project is called, “You Don’t Want This EP.” Ironically, the reason why this project has this title is because I feel that this project has something for everyone.

RTD: My band Mourning Star is working on our second studio album, due this fall. In terms of the label, I have a few ideas that will turn into a mixtape at some point. I have yet to see where they take me.

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

RTD: The same thing I’m already doing: Working at the airport. My passion outside of music is aircraft, and I love having a job that allows me to work with them daily.

Sketch: I pursue neuroscience with almost equal zeal. So probably that or something else involving the study of the brain.

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

RTD: Family comes first, income second, but there’s always time for music. I fit it in at night and on weekends, and it all works itself out.

Prawz: Flat out, I don’t. My personal life is a mess because I’m obsessed with music and write ten hours a day. Plus, all these mugs live in different states, I’m the guy that travels from artist to artist making sure everything is smooth. I’m never home, I’m always tired from travelling… I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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

Dominus: If you are in the Midwest, I am apart of NAV Entertainment’s ‘Respect the Mic,’ where artists from all over the Midwest come to make a name for themselves & where they’re from. It is held in Burlington, Iowa. Come on stage and perform!

Prawz: Look out for ‘You Don’t Want This EP’ by Dominus & ‘Trench Art’ by Sketch.
— check out Sketch’s song Lord of The Flies with me.

And as a gift to the readers that got this far, here’s an exclusive unreleased track from Dominus’s upcoming You Don’t Want This EP.