Boasting distinctiveness and versatility in equal measure, ATL based producer Kreatev sat down with us to discuss his work. In this installment of the Soulquest Lab, he delves into the process through which he merges West Coast influences with soul and jazz, the ebb and flow of his creative process, the importance of visuals+more.
First off, thank you so much for giving us your time and knowledge. We’ve been following your work for quite some time now. How are you?
Hey! I appreciate you having me. Everything is good. Just making Music as usual lol.
How and when did you start making music?
I started making Music when I was 14 Using Cakewalk and my dads tape recorder to loop samples. I had no Idea what I was doing at the time haha.
You release instrumental music but also work with rappers. Is there anyone you’d like to work with?
Man It would be my dream to work with Black Thought or Lupe Fiasco. I feel Like they made an Incredible impact on HipHop. Respect to those guys.
Your music always feature cars on the visuals (even on your older soundcloud tracks). Any reason why ? Is that a passion of yours?
I’m a car guy at heart. Especially JDM Cars. I used to build & modify cars before I started doing music full time. I’ll always have a love for the car scene.
If I’m not mistaken you play the keys, bass and the drums. Were you self taught or classically trained ?
I actually suck at playing the bass lol. I used to shadow & play keys & drums with a few of my musician friends to get the basics down. I would say I’m decent enough to get out my ideas.
What is your sample digging process ? Tape, wax, YouTube ?
Honestly I can’t remember the last time I sampled anything in that fashion. I have just been recording a lot of drum loops for my production.
We know you use the Nord Rack, some Ableton gear and an Sp-404 but when it comes to the creative process, what is it like? We know great musicians never share their secrets but do you have any other special tools or plugins?
The Nord Rack & Ableton is my go to right now. You can make some crazy sound with that synth & I like the work flow of Ableton at the moment. I like to get my Ideas out quickly so simplicity is key for me.
You never compromise on the visuals. The colors and compositions of your videos are always perfect and it really adds to the atmosphere. We’re always inspired by multifaceted artists. We know you draw but do you also dabble in videography outside or your beat videos?
Definitely. Making beat videos is actually fun for me. I get a real satisfaction out of video editing & color grading. It’s a lot of fun showing people the process of how I create music.
What are you currently working on ? Anything exciting coming ?
I’m currently working on a possible future album. Im working on some more artwork with NINETOFIVE as well.
Thank you so much for your time and for answering out questions man. Anything special you’d like to add ?
I just want to say I appreciate everyone that’s doing positive things in the beat community. It’s definitely a privilege for me to be apart of this. Also thank you for interviewing me it’s been fun 🙏🏾🙏🏾
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