@elow

Interview

About: Elijah Faust @elow

What's good. My name's Elijah Faust, you guys know me as @elow. I'm from Slidell Louisiana right above New Orleans. I was born in Mississippi but grew up here and met amazing people. My father introduced me to music through a keyboard he had long before I was born and helped me learn the piano at just 3 years old. After that I just kept to it, and later down the road in 2021 discovered that I can make music outside of something I was comfortable with. Thus being born Pogtopia179 on audiotool. I for sure wouldn't be where I am today without my best friends Noah Cheng, Daniel Mejiad, Jaime, Sel, and Eli. I'm thankful for everyone I met on this app as well. It pushed me to continue even at low points and boosted me up during my highs.

Describe the style of music you produce

I would have to come and flat out say, I'm an experimental type of guy. I can't stick to one style and make many different genres. Some of my favorites have to be Jazz, Hip-hop, Trap, Breakcore, Drum and Bass, Botanica, Ambient, Hardstyle type of EDM, and ROCK such as chiptune rock, indie, etc.

What is your musical background and when did you start making music?

At the age of 3 with my father. But even after that I picked up the saxophone for band and played for 8-9 years getting decent at it making it to all-state for Louisiana. Now I just play for fun and enjoy it when I can. Another main point about my history is that instead of focusing in school, I ALWAYS made music in class on audiotool and got a LOT of recognition around my school as "The Beat Maker". I eventually sold my first beat my sophomore year as a supertrap track for $20 lol.

How long have you been using Audiotool, and how did you discover it?

2021 is when I truly settled on audiotool, finding the community and interacting with everyone. I know I'm not the only one for this on but a YouTube video from ishywon with a goofy thumbnail — if I would've never seen this, I doubt I would've found audiotool and had a spark for music.

What is your favorite Audiotool device and why?

Many people might answer for me and say the Audiotrack but I would definitely say the Heisenberg. Even though I'm not the biggest sound designer I still enjoy the countless drafts I have of just one or two Heisenbergs to experiment on and just generating melodies.

What is your favourite trick in AT/What technique do you always use?

SOUND SELECTION. Being most specific towards beginners, if you have a sound that is low quality, don't use it and expect good results. Detuning things is a big one. It gives my tracks some wonky feels and overall sounds nice to me especially on saws or synthesized sounds.

Have you ever had a writer's block? If so, how did you deal with it and what do you recommend to your colleagues?

Absolutely! The last time I had writer's block was like 6-7 months ago but learned a trick to overcoming it: making music at least an hour a day. You don't have to post them either and it can sound like the most vile, despicable thing ever. But the point is to get used to your DAW and when you do have an idea, you will be one step closer to achieving your dream song. Another good thing is stepping out of your main genre/style and making something completely new.

What has helped you the most on Audiotool to improve and widen your musical horizon?

The people. itxmi — this was a big one from me to you. You had a huge impact on my take of music and competition. Interaction and listening to different tracks from various artists helped me discover a lot of new genres, open my ears to styles unlocking my own style of music. Community is key or your music will never be heard by others.

What do you like most about Audiotool? Is there anything you would like to suggest?

The fact that out of almost every single DAW you can work with artists IN LIVE TIME and the fact that this DAW is COMPLETELY FREE and accessible anywhere. If I did suggest anything it would be to make a mobile feature and/or app for the studio. It would most likely bring more users, more interactions from different locations.

Your message to the community:

Don't lose your spark. If you read this, I hope your spark is as big if not bigger than mine. I love every person on this platform that I had a chance to meet so far.