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1. Happy NZ Music Month! How did you initially get into creating music?
I always loved music as a kid, I used to play guitar, and got good enough to busk around my hometown in Warkworth. I never really learnt in those early days how to write though. I was really into DJing when I was in high school, my music taste was very different back then! When I moved to the city, I started playing a few shows in the bars around the city, and I learnt fairly quickly that DJ’s don’t always get to play the music they want to. Especially in the bars I was playing! One night I got kicked out of a club I was playing for standing on the decks and singing “Blood on the Leaves” by Kanye West at the top of my lungs. They kicked the DJ out hahahaha. That one stuck with me. I decided if I made my own music, then they would have to accept what I wanted to play. So I started learning how to produce. There was a few years of that before I ever touched a microphone, and a few more years before I got my first gig.
2. Tell us about your inspirations & motivations?
I don’t think inspirations can be tied down to anything. I think if you’re getting all of your inspiration from one source, like music, then you are closing yourself off to the bigger picture. I would even take it further and say inspiration isn’t something you go looking for. It’s in everything. Motivation can be triggered by something that happens around you, but you shouldn’t rely on outside sources to motivate you. Sometimes you’ll be waiting for months for something to kick you in the arse and get you working. Sometimes you’ve just gotta show up even when it doesn’t come naturally.
3. What have you been up to in this lockdown and how has it affected you?
I feel super privileged to be in the position I am in through this lockdown. I have been on the grind non stop trying to get my business off the ground for the last year, working pretty much every day for super long hours. Just before everything went down, things were falling into place, and luckily for me money wasn’t as much of an issue as it had been earlier on in the year. I also had no work coming in, so it was somewhat of an enforced holiday for me. Not everyone has been as lucky as me, and my thoughts and love go out to all those who have found this lockdown really stressful and difficult. Especially to the families who have been personally affected by the virus.
4. What do you think of the NZ music scene?
NZ is on fire! Every single year, we have better music coming out. Every year, people push it a little bit further. I think we are in somewhat of a renaissance in NZ. For a long time we have been super influenced by America’s scene, and it seems recently people are focussing more on what’s going on here, and taking pride in their personal identity. This country has always been incredibly unique, and has so much to offer in terms of perspective. So it’s cool to see that being embraced across the board.
5. Goal board time – where would you like to see yourself in a years time?
In a year I want to be sitting on my deck with a coffee with a big goofy grin on my face. The music I’m making will be out, and it’s fucking banging. I will have stronger relationships, and there will be new talented faces in my life. I will be full of gratitude and will embrace everything that is out of my control. Everything is falling into place in it’s own time, and it’s not up to me to say when the puzzle will feel complete. So in the mean time I just want to laugh more, be brave enough to cry and help the people around me be the strongest versions of themselves.
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Silas recently released ‘Jump On Me’ which you may recognise as the music behind Paris Goebels MAC campaign. He is also a part of the collaborative project NADA DAFF which just released an album. Check it out below:
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