Exposed Vocals Interviews MOG
MOG is an independent artist from the West Coast of Canada. His goal is to produce and spread music. Heavily influenced by EDM and Hip-Hop, MOG’s style can range from dance tracks to chill, smoking tracks. With a strong belief in easily accessible music, MOG’s music is available free online with an occasional free download promotion. MOG hopes to be able to continue to produce music for years to come, moving into vinyl record production shortly.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
MOG: I was born an artist on Saltspring Island BC and picked up a few instruments during my childhood. I discovered my first DAW in high school. It was on one of the student computers and with it I learned that I knew very little about tempo, timing, mastering, etc. I began picking the brain of local DJs and was given the advice: “Every 8 beats, do something different.” That paired with online tutorials got me to where I am now, which is still a very amateur stage in my opinion.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
MOG: The name MOG was given to me before I began producing music and I honestly don’t know its true origin.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
MOG: Online music sharing, in my opinion, was the solution to a huge problem in the music industry. That problem being, the willingness to create music solely for the purpose of commercialism. I believe the intention behind the music can be seen clearly, and when an artist focuses more on net vs. gross than they do on their art, it lowers the quality of music. Yes I do give away music at times.
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?
MOG: I am still a “start-up” so the advice I’d give is something I have heard lately: Spend 30% of your time with people trying to get where you are, 30% of your time with people doing it at the same level as you and 30% of your time with people who have already done it.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
MOG: I listen to a lot of different styles of music but Hip-Hop has always been my biggest inspiration. I try to recreate the feeling I get when I hear my favorite songs.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
MOG: I currently only use social media to share my music with fans and friends. This includes https://soundcloud.com/mogmusicproductions, which is where I post the majority of the music I create. I also recently started using https://twitter.com/MOGProductions to help spread my music. The first website I used was Lafango.com, where you can find my earliest work which consists mainly of practice tracks that are very amateur. You can also find me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MOGMusicProductions/.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
MOG – I would rent a studio and produce vinyls till I couldn’t afford to eat. Utilizing genres like Hip-Hop and EDM.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
MOG – I produce music because I love the process of creating a song and I haven’t focused on promotion, it’s still in the unknown for me. Soundcloud, Twitter and Facebook are my most relevant sources of promotion right now.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
MOG – Currently, I have been working on a couple new tracks [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258510384” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /] and [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258510995” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]. I have also been working on a Hip-Hop track. It is still in the early stages of development and I hope to have a preview ready soon, so keep an eye out for that. I also have a handful tracks from 2015 that I am finishing.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
MOG – I would not be very happy that’s for sure. Music has had a major impact on my life and if I wasn’t producing it, I hope I would be working somewhere in the industry at least.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
MOG – Poorly, my music cannot always be a priority in my life right now. Being an independent artist, it sometimes gets neglected. However, I put as much energy as I can into my art while juggling work, family and friends.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
MOG – A lot more music of different genres, Hip-Hop, EDM, maybe DnB and even Blues. I suffered a loss years ago, which I have only now recovered to a point at which I am able to produce a higher calibre of music. The majority of tracks posted before 2016 have been directly influenced by that loss and I believe I have the ability to produce better music now.