I got the chance to speak with Eklo, a rising house artist with over 8,000 followers on Soundcloud! Be sure to check him out, he’s a really cool guy and makes some awesome music!

How would you describe your music and yourself?

Hmm toughest question first! Lol! I’d say I am pretty easy going, I love to tinker with computers and random DIY stuff around the house. I can definitely get nerdy with computers and video games but I also love being outdoors, in the summer I’m out in the bush camping almost every weekend.

My music usually starts on the acoustic guitar, songs are fully written and recorded over a simple beat. From there I just play around on the keyboard and develop the rest of the song. The core of all my songs are the vocal and the guitar, that’s what usually drives the arrangement and the overall vibe of the track.

Your most recent single “You and Me” came out a few months back. What’s next, music wise and possibly performance wise?

Since “You and Me” came out in September on Source/Spinnin’ Records, I’ve been juggling work and music trying to produce whenever I find time & inspiration. My focus for the immediate future is to just get a few of my works in progress finished and in the queue for a release! Performance-wise I’m working on getting more comfortable behind the “decks”, making a transition from musician/producer to DJ hasn’t been seamless for me. My producer side of things wants to tweak every aspect of a track, I’m trying to find a nice balance between introducing live elements but also keeping the music simple and dance-able because at the end of the day people just wanna have fun and dance!

What’s your favorite song that you’ve produced thus far?

On a technical basis “Feel So High” would take the cake, I did a lot of great automation and some out of my comfort-zone percussion that I’m really proud of. That being said “Let’s Go Home” will always be special to me, it really got the ball rolling for me and reached an audience on a level above anything I’ve done before. The positive feedback on that track really inspired me to start focusing on my music and develop the sound I have today.

Who is your dream collaboration?

As a singer/guitar player I’d love to do a topline (vocals) on a Kygo track, seems cliché since he’s considered mainstream these days but his composition and melody-skills are crazy, and he also has great grooves in his tracks, the vintage Kygo tracks with the big bass lines are the best

As a producer, currently I’d probably say Shaun Frank. Some of his latest tracks are mind-blowing, his latest remix of Ocean Drive is ridiculously good. Also he’s from T.O so we’d be keeping the collab Canadian!

Have you had any favorite interactions with fans yet?

Since I live in a small town and not a lot of people here know I make music, I haven’t had many face-to-face interactions. The best online one would have to be the guy that send me a picture of a dude on the bus with a beard and a snapback looking at his phone. His caption was something like “Hey man, I thought I just saw you on the bus, but I’m pretty sure you’re not in Norway”…#doppelganger!

Who was/is your musical idol?

Growing up the musician I listened to the most was James Taylor, most people would know him from his hit “Fire and Rain”. I knew the words to a ton of his tracks and always envied his unique guitar skills.

What’s your favorite part of being a music-maker?

Pressing that “Export” button or that “Upload” button. They’re comes a time in every track that makes it to the finishing stage where you decide it is complete. This moment can be so elusive and tricky to find! But when you know your track is complete it is a great feeling.

Any advice for aspiring music producers?

I’d say don’t get caught up in the numbers game. It’s not about how many reposts and plays you get or how many likes you have…none of that changes the music you’ve made. I believe if you’ve made a good track that you like, they’re are others out there that will share your taste. It’s true, with all the music out there it can be tuff to find your audience, but focusing all your time on promo takes away from time you could spent playing with synths, mixing tracks for friends, cruising reddit for production tips, etc!