Most young adults spending their formative years behind a desk in a college classroom. Steven Spence was an exception to that rule. As a young twenty something year old, Steven toured the world as a drummer and songwriter. After signing with Interscope Records, his metal band Black Tide performed in over 20 countries along with coverage from Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine; all seemingly overnight. Despite all the excitement, Steven knew that there was going to be more to his career than drumming for a successful band in his youth.
Steven now travels the country as DJ/producer and today premiere’s his latest track “Believe” on Casablanca Sunset.
“Believe” is a rhythmically centered and laid-back tune that falls somewhere between TGNT and The Chainsmokers. The beat samples the Mumford and Son’s song “Believe” and is definitely worth a listen. Very catchy track that turns a vocal sample, loud horns and properly mixed drums into a stand out single.
You can find more from Steven over on his website and soundcloud.
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Steven also took the time to answer a few questions for us, which are below.
Casablanca Sunset: What’s one of your favorite artists or bands at the moment?
Steven Spence: My friend Kiara (Kiiara) also recently relocated to Los Angeles and I love her stuff. She’s a solid writer and her voice and flow is incredibly unique. I didn’t know anything about her music until after we met and clicked. It’s always nice when someone with awesome music is also a great person. She’s so sweet, funny, and talented it’s hard not to love her and her music.
CS: Your bio says you had an uncle who played the keyboard with The Wailers. True?
SS: Yep good ol’ uncle Marty! He’s a classically trained pianist and that obviously translated well as he made the transition over to keyboard for The Wailers. I remember being inspired by his stories of performing live in front of masses of people all over the world. We’re still close.
CS: What do you use to produce? How long does the process take and what does it look like?
SS: I produce music in Ableton. I’m using an Apogee Quartet as an interface. My writing/producing process varies from project to project however I usually start song ideas with the vocal melody/lyric in my head. One of my new unreleased songs called “All of Your Love” started years ago in the shower at the top of my lungs HAHAHA! I like getting creative in the studio, and specifically for the production of “All of Your Love” I had the idea of playing a bottle of vodka with a drumstick as an added percussive element to the rhythm section towards the end of the track. It turned out pretty cool and it’s definitely a fun song! Look out for the ridiculous music video that goes along with it soon ; )
CS: What was your inspiration behind the Mumford sample? Anything in particular?
SS: Back when i was living in Florida I would regularly work with Grammy winning super-producer Jim Jonsin (Beyonce, Lil Wayne, MGK, etc). Our relationship started in 2010 when i was still with my old band but continued throughout the years as he would ask me to play either drums or guitar on some of his clients’ records or just collaborate on music in general. Jim has done an excellent job of creating a studio environment that’s all about a great vibe. One day during a VIBE creative session he loaded a ton of songs into his MPC and messed with pitching a few. One that struck me in particular was the Mumford record. I was pretty inspired so I ended up going home and knocking the first version of it out myself in one sitting. For a while it got lost in a crowd of other tunes on my computer, but my old roommate reminded me about it so I opened the session, put some more time into it and it quickly became one of my squad’s favorite jams to ride out to.
CS: Plans for future releases/touring in the upcoming year?
SS: I’m constantly writing new music and as of right now I’m pretty happy with the arsenal of new tunes I’ve got loaded! I’ve definitely matured as a songwriter especially since relocating to Los Angeles a few months ago. There are definitely a few uptempo sing-alongs ready to go and I’ve been getting some great feedback so I’m excited to get them out soon! I love performing just as much as I love exporting the final version of a new song from my Mac. Right now I’m still in studio mode but I can’t wait to start DJing again!
Thanks Steven! Appreciate your time and the new release.
Check out more from Steven Spence on his website here.