Q: What’s your name and how long have you been a musician, and what got you started?

A: My name is akyouser.oner. I started playing guitar 13 years ago, at age 14, mostly out of boredom due to the fact that I was in trouble a lot. As soon as I started learning, I immediately felt a drive to use it as a creative outlet.

Q: How did you get your first job as a musician? What did you do?

A: My first job as a musician, believe it or not, was in a jazz vocal group. We went around to local retirement homes and other events (mostly) for the elderly folks in our community.

Q: When I start publishing my music and actually try to make a living out of it, what kind of demand in the business will I be looking at? Will it be tough to find work?

A: Well, I believe that with music on the internet evolving the way it is we will be seeing it go in a whole new direction. With so many people able to produce quality music from their bedrooms with a PC and some software, the competition will be very tough. What will make you stand out from these other people is how you promote yourself. The old adage still applies: it IS who you know. The only limiting factor will be your imagination…

Q: When you started being a DJ/musician, how far did you think you would get, and how far do you plan on going?

A: When I first started making music I just made it for myself, but as I followed that path further, and made more contacts in the industry, I decided that I could eventually make saleable music for the public. What will the future bring? Even I don’t know the answer to that. As time goes by, more and more ideas come to me regarding my creativity and ‘marketing’. I currently produce experimental electronic music and my first album for that project will be released in a few weeks on a non-profit label called Infinite Sector (http://infinitesector.org) under the moniker Full On. I also have a Hip Hop/Drum and Bass project with another local producer/MC (MC Unknown) called High Profile that will be performing our first show in April. Another side project I’m working on is called Renegade Freak 1C, making Breakbeats. As far as I can see now, there is no end to my musical versatility.

Q: What would be the average gig for you?

A: Well, I’m not sure if there is an ‘average’ gig for me, but my favorite setting is a personal show of my Experimental music for a small group of people who wish to expand their definition of what music should sound like, and creating soundscapes for them to explore.

Q: And how much would you usually make at the average gig?

A: I love to play out, and I love to make improvisational music in general. Most of what I do is for that love. At this point I have been playing free shows, and even my new album will be available for free download as well as for sale at the cost of production ($4.95 USD in this case). I am happy to accept any paid gigs as well, but my intention thus far in my career is not to make millions of dollars. Of course that is just my personal opinion, and if you were wondering what to charge someone who wants you to play out, I think the average would be about $100-$200 (USD) per gig to start with. I have heard rumors that big names such as Fatboy Slim demand up to $5000 per DJ set, but of course that’s just a rumor.

Q: What is music to you? And what gives you the drive to make music?

A: To me, music is a release of the tensions of everyday life. Sometimes it is an escape from reality. Sometimes it IS reality. The drive for me to create music, and art in general, stems from my need to express the unexpressable. I want to be able to convey emotions and thoughts that one might not normally be apt to experience through normal means of perception.

Q: Finally, if you could give someone that it’s interested in becoming a professional musician, what would be your advice for him or her?

A: Create for yourself an image of what you want to become, and if you work hard enough at it, not only will other people believe it but so will you. Never underestimate the power of networking, and finally: never compromise yourself or your values to achieve success…

Graften: Fucking fantastic intro. It just creeps up on you, it's dark and a bit foreboding but I really like it. I also really like how you've balanced out all those sounds, so they create a sort of percussive feel to the song without there being any drums, and I like the "wind" noise. Lots of atmosphere, very Aphex Twin-ish sounding. The end is great too, reminds me of how the
Chemical Brothers tweak around at the end of The
Private Psychadelic Reel when they do their thing
live.

Trip Sequence F4 - TRUTH is Ready: Color me nutty, but I could swear I heard these sounds when we were walking back from Coachella, but maybe it was just the shrooms. All the sounds in here feel very organic, vast and familiar, and remind me of what it would sound like if you were floating in a submarine toward the bottom of the ocean... or walking back from Coachella while frying. I sear I'm not high right now. Overall this is really a strange piece but at the same
time you can tell what direction it's headed in. It would sound great as a sort of segue between two songs.

Trip Sequence [+-]: OOoooo, dark creepy intro, and nice bubbly sounds. Sounds right out of a sci-fi movie, or even a video game. I had to listen to this twice because I kept hearing things
and didn't know if it was a part of the song or what. This is really cool, but I admit, it might scare me if I were to listen to this late at night with the whole house asleep. It builds up really cool, lots of dark layers, then kind of drifts apart and eases you down gently. It does end a bit abruptly though, I was expecting it to trail off into fade-out land - then again, I don't think you're out to make songs where
people expect certain things of them...