Interview by Carol Wright | Photos Courtest of Intro To Music Theory
We got to chat with Intro to Music Theory about their collaborative process, their company Unchained Music, and their single “It’s An Attitude.”
Take us back to the beginning. How did Intro to Music Theory come to be?
Intro to Music Theory started soon after we formed our event production company here in Hainan, China. Our side of the island was lacking opportunities for the ex-pat and local communities to party together with live music, so we took matters into our own hands by hosting beach and pool parties at hotels like the Ritz Carlton and smaller music festivals to feature local DJs and bands, sponsored by companies like AB InBev. During one of our ‘overground’ late-night parties at a club on the 11th floor in downtown, one of our DJs pulled out last minute. We had our horns on us, filled the slot spinning back to back, and improvised over our favorite tracks. Once we felt the energy from the crowd, we were hooked and IMT grew from there, touring all over China, New Zealand, and Thailand in 2019 and early 2020.
What is your usual collaborative process when you’re working on a new song?
We definitely start with small ideas – a lot of our tracks grow organically from a bass line, sample chop or drum loop. We find it’s really important to not overthink the process, throwing all our ideas out there and seeing what sticks. Sometimes the horns come in very early in the process, other times the horns are the icing on the cake, and it all really depends what we’re feeling. Consistency is huge. We find that a lot of our best ideas come through when we’re performing regularly and scheduling out regular intervals in the studio. Sometimes what we create won’t be at a high enough level for us to feel comfortable with sharing it with the world, and that’s ok, that’s an important part of the creative process – consistently honing your craft.
What were some of your influences when it came to how you wanted your latest single “It’s An Attitude” to sound?
At the time, we were touring quite a bit through China, and we found that deeper, funkier tracks were really vibing with our audiences, especially when we were adding our horns into the mix. We wanted to capture the feelings of slowly building the audience’s energy throughout the night, looping sections of our favorite tracks, adding and manipulating live-recorded horn loops like you would mess with the parameters of a synthesized line in a live Techno set. The track started with the chopped up snare line, grew into the bass line and then with the trombone choir groove and the incredible wah guitar line recorded by our good friend futurebum. The trumpet melody grew from there, and of course we had to include a little Miles Davis words of wisdom in the track.
Tell our readers about Unchained Music. What motivated you to start the company?
Unchained Music is our mission to provide a more equitable, accessible music industry for independent artists and labels. We are starting by providing absolutely free music distribution to over 220 digital service providers like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music , and Tidal through the power of DeFi and the utility of NFTs. The beta of our platform is currently live, and our roadmap includes providing world-class streaming analytics, label and marketing services, and a peer-to-peer marketplace ecosystem for artists and labels, all powered through our token which is launching at the end of the year. When we returned to the U.S. for part of 2020 due to the pandemic and China shutting its borders while we were on tour, we turned our focus from performing to the studio. We discovered that the entire industry is filled with barriers to entry, especially when it came to distributing our music and getting heard. The standard for distribution agreements includes everything from paying a flat yearly or monthly subscription fee, to signing away a percentage of your royalties. As independent musicians to this day, we know how much every penny matters when it comes to growing your brand. We are passionate about placing power back into the hands of artists, and Unchained Music is just the beginning. Join us by signing up for the beta at unchainedmusic.io!
You both spent time working in China prior to the pandemic. While there were you inspired by their music and arts scene?
We were lucky enough to return to China in late 2020, and what we found was the lack of international artists touring from outside China really injected a new energy into the scene – local artists who used to be warm-up DJs or bands were now filling prime time slots and going on tour. It felt like the music scene exploded a bit and became a lot more eclectic. It’s always fun to tour through bigger cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu or Hangzhou, because each scene is so much different from one another. We’ve been very fortunate to build close friendships with the local Burning Man organization here, and it’s incredible how visual the art scene is here.
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
Failure is an important, integral part of the process. Learn to view failure as an opportunity for learning. Our biggest periods of growth tend to follow something that didn’t go our way.