Hotboxx Talks About His Beginnings in Music Production, His Influences and More
Hotboxx is a Miami-based DJ and producer who has been making waves in the Electronic music scene for over a decade. With a diverse range of influences and a passion for creating high-energy tracks that get people moving, Hotboxx has established himself as a rising talent in the dance music world. In this interview, we had the chance to sit down with Hotboxx and dive deeper into his story as a DJ/producer. From his early memories learning to play instruments to his latest productions hitting the charts and receiving support from top-tier DJs, Hotboxx shares his journey as an artist and the experiences that have shaped his unique sound. Whether you’re an established fan or just discovering his music, this interview offers an opportunity to get to know one of dance music’s most exciting new talents and learn about his journey as a producer/DJ.
What’s your earliest memory involving music?
I started taking piano lessons when I was around 6 years old that’s really when my love for music started. I’d say my first specific memory was playing my piano recital for about 100 people when I was 7. Was an awesome experience and got me a bit more comfortable with public performance.
Who were your biggest musical inspirations growing up?
As a kid, my brother was always a huge influence on me, musically, he would make me mix tapes with new music from Hip Hop, R&B to classic Rock and even Dance music. He showed my Giorgio Moroder, Daft Punk and a few other pioneers in Electronic music, and what really made me fall in love with Electronic music was when he gave me a George Acosta album when I was 9 years old. That was my favorite CD, I would listen to it nonstop. There were many other inspirations but he definitely influenced a lot, in this regard. He even gave me a copy of Reason when I was 17 which is the DAW I first used to start producing.
When did you know you wanted to make music?
Since I was young I played in band, played French horn, trumpet and piano. I always liked improvising, when I played didn’t always stick to the sheet music, so it was always kind of in my blood. In my early teen years my brother was making beats on Reason and singing/rapping on them and it really got me interested every time I would see him using the program, and then he gave me a copy of Reason at 17 and that really pushed me to want to make music.
More than anything there was a summer when I was 18 years old, were one of my best friends and I would sit and work every day for hours just familiarizing ourselves with the program and really trying to figure out how to complete tracks. That pushed me to want to get better and better and being in Miami there was constant inspiration with amazing DJs/ Producers constantly playing down here, so it was easy to feel inspired and want to work on music.
How did you learn to produce music?
Youtube was my best friend. I learned all the basics off YouTube. But what I love about music production is every time I sit down, I feel like I learn something new, it really is an amazing thing and these programs are so complex, it’s crazy what can be done, especially now in comparison with when I started.
For how long have you been making music?
I’d say Ive been really serious about it for the past 3-4 years but on and off, been working on music for just over 10 years
What’s the name of your first track and how was it?
The first track I released was called ‘Promise Land’. It was an underground type Tech track that I made with my good friend, it was really the first track I made that I actually felt was finished, that’s why I call that my first track. We released that in 2015, I believe.
What would you say is your greatest achievement so far?
On the production end I’d say having over 300k streams on Spotify and charting on multiple releases. There are definitely others but these are the significant ones for me, also having huge DJs that I have always looked up to give me feedback and download and play some of my tracks is incredibly humbling and really is a special feeling.
What did you want to do before starting your music production career?
I never had a specific goal, there was a point I wanted to go into Law. I was studying Political Science and Economics and thought Law would be an easy stepping stone, but once I graduated from undergrad I did not want to spend another 4-6 years in school, internships, etc. So that pushed me into sales which was honestly amazing to me and gave me the money and flexibility to focus on my production career.
If you could start your career all over again knowing what you know now, would you do it?
I would have started spinning and producing since I was younger and would have loved to collab more early on, I think I would have gotten better much quicker if I did this early on when I was learning everything through YouTube.
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