How I Became Addicted... to Electronic Music

 Before I was born, my mom met my dad at a lounge near the SeaTac airport. My dad was a DJ there, and after they got married, he started working as a DJ for a mobile music company where he'd be hired to do weddings and other events. So I was around music from the day I was born. My favorite band at age 3 was Three Dog Night. I also really enjoyed Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical". 

I was given a tiny electric organ that I thought was really cool. I didn't ever learn to play piano or know the notes, I was ahem... 3 years old... (I guess some people learn at that age and then go on to be Mensa members)...but I enjoyed playing with the sounds.

 

Growing up as a young pre-teen I was into New Kids on The Block. Of course, who wasn't? And I enjoyed radio hits including pop and rock. As I got a little older i enjoyed rap and hip-hop until it all changed one day, in April of 1994. Kurt Cobain shot himself in the head and died. This was in Seattle, near where I lived. And then all the local radio stations started playing alternative rock, including the rap & r&b hip-hop station. (Radio stations were still a big thing in the 90s). I soon grew accustomed to listening to alternative, and less focused on hip-hop to the point I no longer enjoyed rap and hip-hop music. So when the hip-hop station started playing actual hip-hop again, I tuned into the alternative music station.

 

That is where I first heard EDM. They would play the Chemical Brothers and the Crystal Method, as well as many others, like Prodigy. I was very impressed with how this music could make sounds traditional instruments could not. It was calling me, and I was ready. This was circa 1995.

Cut to 2000. I have a computer and-dial up internet. Somehow I came across a copy of Sonic Foundry's Acid Pro software. I found loops on the internet or made them myself, and would stick 'em all together to create my own music. When this felt like it was going to be something more than just playing around, I got a copy of FL Studio, back then it was called Fruity Loops. I made my own sounds and then would piece them together in Acid.

My first track was something called "Foreign Moon" and I still have a recording of it somewhere to this day. My last track I ever made was 1 month ago, called "Project999". My styles have changed over the years so I no longer use the "Redgloam" moniker, instead opted for a much more jovial artist name of ManiK Fox. 

https://soundcloud.com/manikfox

 

And that is pretty much my journey. I went to raves and parties a lot in the early 00's as well, which gave me the appreciation for multiple styles of electronic such as Drum & Bass, Techno, House, and Trance.

 

Then I got into psychedelic trance, or Psytrance for short. My favorite music has always been chillout though, and when I discovered Psychill (sometimes called Psybient) I fell in love. It has all the elements I like. I enjoy a good beat, either a hip hop beat or something that just punches hard, and twisted psychedelic sounds or soothing ambient tones. It all is so good and I love it. 

Feel free to have a listen to my ManiK Fox stuff and drop a comment here or on SoundCloud to tell me what you think.