Music Review and Interview with ATOWN
Alton “ATOWN” Michaux founded SOUFTRAX in 2009. After buying some home studio equipment he set up shop in the back room of his house – later SOUFTRAX and Red Cloud formed a merger through Red Cloud CEO Stephen Whiteside….only a few shows later they found themselves living the dream and taking the journey. After a brief hiatus in the studio, ATOWN is ready to branch out and focus on a solo career. With the support of STRXC, he’s ready to take on the world. The rest is history in the making.
Listen to ‘Headshot’ Listen to ‘Jar’
Let’s get right into it! Alton Michaux “ATOWN” is a clearly talented individual on his way to stardum. His lyrics and style flow over these masterfully produced tracks. His vibe is strong and message is clear. The calling card of an accomplished musician…
However, Headshot starts off with the acknowledgement that he hasn’t actually accomplished anything..“I could really sit and rap about my accomplishments / but really truth be told my n*gga – I ain’t accomplish sh*t” He goes on to rap about his mind going off in differerent directions which leads to drug abuse. It’s hard not to respect this brutal reality that many people face. Music with substance is whats big out here in NYC and you will notice his songs aren’t about girls shaking their ass or how fly their whips are. His songs tell a real story. Think about what all of the greatest artists of our time have in common. When you listen to the their music and story forms in your head – that’s when it’s real and hits an emotional chord and becomes great. I’m not just tapping my foot at a sick beat… “I don’t rap / I just talk”
Jar is a great introduction to Alton as well, as it offers a range of sounds, styles, and rhymes. When we spoke to ATOWN for an interview (see below), this was something he iterated and doesn’t seem to cross over into turn-up territory, his music is grounded in real life.
Other artists up here in the NYC scene could learn from Alton as he spitting straight knowledge out of NC. It’s no doubt that you will soon start hearing ATOWNS name being spoken next to Petey Pablo and J. Cole (a couple of well known rappers from NC)
ATOWN will advance the culture while still building up his own legacy with tracks like ‘Headshot’ and ‘Jar’. We’re anticipating what the future holds for ATOWN and we’ll be checking for his progression.
By HBdidit – Exposed Vocals Music Reviewer and Breaking News Contributor.
A NYC fashion designer, music lover and lover of life!
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
ATOWN: I actually found you guys on twitter, I’ve been trying to use it (twitter) more to network and help grow the business. Definitely glad I did too!
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
ATOWN: I’m from a little town called Morganton, NC. Nothing really special about the place, but it’s where I call home. I started out about 12 years ago recording beats on the radio and free styling with the homies in my mom’s minivan. I was just always so amazed by the guys who could spit that heat off the top of their heads, like I wanted to be THAT GUY! I’ve got a HUGE amount of respect for those TRUE ARTISTS out there, those with a true passion for what they do. So I just kept honing my craft until one day I shelled out a few dollars and bought my first piece of equipment (some low-end microphone and a desktop from the pawn shop, but that was a big deal for me at the time). I’ve been in the studio ever since.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
ATOWN: That’s a very good question, because I get asked that all the time. “ATOWN” is kind of just a play off my government name “Alton”, but it’s also symbolic of my roots musically – I came up listening to Outkast, T.I., Ludacris, Goodie Mob, etc. It was probably the most musically influential time period of my life thus far. Although I still take a lot out of the game today.
My label, STRXC is a merger between my original label – SOUFTRAX and my brother, Stephen Whiteside’s label Red Cloud. We formed the merger back in 2012 when the label was really more of a band. Since that year, we’ve decided to focus on my career as a solo artist with Steve running the show as my manager.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
ATOWN: I love it, because frankly I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t exist. However, I think it can cause problems if you don’t know what you’re getting into. Alot of times I see artists spamming facebook and twitter, tagging and mentioning everybody they can think of just to get there song a few plays. I’ve kind of always been against that, just because I don’t want people to have that negative connotation with my music.
I definitely do give away free music, I just released two free mixtapes last year. I think it’s something every artist should do, just because it keeps a good relationship between you and your fans. It’s also a great way for you to just get your product in people’s hands as easily as possible. I’m not saying I never charge for my work.. that would take away from the value of what we do. You can always stream for free, but if you give them a free download then they take that song with them wherever they take their devices. Definitely a good idea in moderation.
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?
ATOWN: The best advice I can give to anybody out there trying to make it is to just STAY WITH IT. It’s not going to come overnight, but with consistency and a good product (your music) you will find success. Also, today we have an advantage because there are so many sources of information out there that cover just about anything a start up or veteran artist would need to know.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
ATOWN: Mistakes happen, it’s just important that you keep the show rolling without a tick. Most of the time, if you’re killing it anyway, the audience will never pick up on it. When I was performing with my band back in 2012, we had several shows where somebody forgot their lines or trips over an exposed mic cord or whatever. At first, it was pretty brutal because one of us always felt the need to bring it to attention and apologize to the crowd. That’s a bad idea, because it just makes everybody feel weird when it’s all said and done. It was a hard one to learn, but it’s things like that that will set your shows apart from other less professional artists.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
ATOWN: I’ve had the pleasure to do a number of shows and live appearances but I haven’t officially been on “tour” yet. It is something that I look forward to doing in the near future.
We had some of the craziest nights back when we performed as a band. I remember one of the last times we performed in Marion, NC at a bar called the pizza joint.. MAN! We hosted a party with a couple of other local artists on a saturday night and there were so many people that not everybody could get in.. we had the whole place buzzing and going crazy when all of a sudden I heard a bottle break. I looked across the crowd and realized there was a huge fight going on! Well, it’s not that crazy now that I say it but when it happened the energy was explosive. Great night tho.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
ATOWN: Inspiration hits me at the most random possible times. I’m not one of these songwriter’s that can just sit down and right a perfect song. I have to wait until the lightning strikes and capture it. Once I jot the idea or concept down I can take it to the studio and build on it. I’ve got an advantage over a lot of artists, in that I don’t have to pay for studio time because I run one. That takes a lot of the pressure off songwriting and allows me to take my time and fine tune at my own pace.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
ATOWN: Yep, definitely you can find all of my music, as well as any other artist to come out on the STRXC Music roster on:
Reverbnation (www.reverbnation.com/strxc)
Soundcloud (www.soundcloud.com/strxc)
Facebook (www.facebook.com/strxc)
Twitter (http://twitter.com/strxcmusic)
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
ATOWN: Ahhh man, let me think.. I use my iphone a lot so I usually just make playlists on soundcloud or spotify, but I know for a fact that Selena Gomez has been in rotation a couple of times on the road (I’m not proud of it, but hey good music is good music). I’ve also been caught jammin out to “No Type” by Rae Srummond recently (not as embarrassing as you’d think)
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
ATOWN: After I got done crying massive tears of joy, I would do some HEAVY investing into my music (studio equipment, marketing, etc.) and probably just pour all my time into that. I hate saying that you have to have money to make it, but you do have to be willing to invest (time and money) if you’re serious about what you’re doing.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
ATOWN: Right now, I’m making beats on a Maschine Mikro 2 and recording via Pro Tools via MBox2. Definitely planning on making a few upgrades at tax time this year. I need a sturdy set of monitors, a new mic, and I’m upgrading my DAW (Pro Tools) so there’s much work to be done. Hard to do on a budget, but it definitely can be done.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
ATOWN: In my few years experience with promotion, I’ve leaned pretty heavily on the internet and social media just because of the span of information and the convenience. Not everything works, but through tools like Google Analytics it’s becoming easier to see what methods are creating traffic to your page. I’ve found that person to person marketing works best when you’re on the road or doing shows at regular intervals. Handing a potential fan a t shirt with your name on it goes a lot further than an email with a link in it.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
ATOWN: That’s a tough question.. if I could perform anywhere.. I’ve always wanted to perform at Coachella for some reason. It just seems like it’s a great place for artists to get the true experience in front of thousands of the most enthusiastic fans in the world. If I had to choose an artist to perform with, it would have to be Daft Punk. I’ve always been a huge fan of they’re music and the whole robot-mask, ultra high tech turntable setup. I know the energy would be crazy and one of the best shows fans have ever seen, period.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
ATOWN: 2015 is an important year for not only me, but everyone involved in my label. STRXC has some big surprises and maybe even a couple of new faces ready to rise up and make some noise this year. I can’t say too much just yet, but things are going to get hot and heavy as we roll into spring 2015. I’ll also be releasing my first single of the year, “Addicted” on Feb. 24 so definitely be on the lookout for that. To stay posted on updates, you can join our mailing list at any of the our websites.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
ATOWN: If I wasn’t making music, I would definitely be doing something artistic or creative. Painting, writing, something!
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
ATOWN: The first album I can remember buying was T.I.’s “Urban Legend”. I probably kept it in rotation four or five months straight! It really motivated me early in my career. I remember hearing T.I.’s flow and keeping up with his lyrics and just being in awe of everything from the production to the concepts. Great album, definitely a classic.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
ATOWN: As a dad, a husband, a student, an artist, producer, small business owner and an employee at a full time job: time management is definitely an important issue in my day to day operation. Sometimes it’s hard to do the things you want to do, you don’t always get to lock yourself away in the studio for a couple hours. That just means you have to find more efficient ways to spend your time when you’re in there. I try to stay on top of everything else, that way when I do have those precious windows of time, I’m able to fully capitalize on them.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2015?
ATOWN: Fans should be very excited about 2015! We’ve got tons of music already in the pipeline and we’re now working with promoters and venues to set up show dates in and around Western NC. 2015 will be a huge year!
