I started off making songs for indie games back in 2005. At that time I only used Anvil Studio and a basic Soundfont program to sort of "enhance" the midis. Because I had to input the notes one by one, staff by staff, the songs were usually less than one minute long. A few months later, I came across FL Studio and found that I really enjoyed working with it. With FL Studio, producing music for indie games became less tedious. However, I lost interest in making music for such games (as most never got completed and there was no gain for me other than practice), and I started putting out tracks on Newgrounds (which at the time, were shit compared to the other tracks on there) so that I might see my songs on one of the flash animations there. It was good for about a span of 2-3 years; I got reviews and honed my skills as a producer. It was during that time that I learned more about effects and all that good stuff. However, I lost interest in Newgrounds because of their clear neglect of the audio section and the fact that reviews and ratings were rare. So for about a year, I went completely off the radar- I seldom shared my music with people I did not know personally. During this period of time, I experimented with sampling and breaks (I had discovered the wonders of Old School Hip Hop). That all led up to now, where I hope to once again share my work and receive recognition/ criticism.
I don't play live as "armymenis12." I do, however, perform with my dad as his keyboardist/ percussionist at times. And yes, I do enjoy it. The attention of the crowd empowers me in a way, I guess. And yes, I do believe that every moment on stage is special in a way. Being with my dad and just jamming; putting our souls into the music- it's a very powerful experience. With that said, I believe that music is alot more powerful than we think it is, and that every sound, every nuance- from the crackling and distortion of an old motown record to the rumble of the subwoofers of old cars rolling down my street is special in that it shares a moment that can only occur once in a lifetime captured on a spinning disc. That's somewhat of a miracle in itself.
(Yeah, I'm weird lol)
Well, I have a range of musical influences. However, my two most important influences are definitely Hip Hop and Japanese Music (Enka and J-Pop). I really enjoy listening to Jazz and Funk as well. Personally, I grew up on the stylings of Warren G, Dr. Dre, NWA, The Wu, and Puff. My favorite rappers are Big L (rest in peace), The Notorious BIG (rest in peace), Q-Tip, and Jay-Z.
My favorite Hip Hop Groups/ Collabs are Brand Nubian, Tribe Called Quest, Gravediggaz, Group Home, and Audio Two.
I may have forgotten some stuff, but you probably get the picture.
Casio Keyboard, MBOX 2, Protools, Reason, FL Studio, and my brain.
Well. Some people ask "why spend hours and hours making music that people probably won't listen to?" I do it for the love of music and for the love of my love.