Spastik

The Name:

Recently it has come to my attention that the name “spastic” is a slur word in other countries. I by no means mean it that way.  It came about for how I acted in class and in situations when I forgot to that my A.D.H.D. medication and was often restless.  It became a nickname, where in America just called a clumsy or nerdy person. My bouncing off the walls personality when off my medication is also similar to how fast pace Drum & Bass is.

So to sum it all up Spastik = Myself without my A.D.H.D.  medication.

Quick Background:

Spastik is an independent music producer based out of Boise. His status as a DJ is backed by ten years of experience in music production and mixing, and his experience includes appearances at esteemed venues such as Lush Bar and Lounge in downtown Boise.

Specializing in Drum and Bass, Spastik has produced many DnB mixes and songs, which have been aired on local college radio stations. Most of his mixes are modish and light, as old school jazz and funk is frequently implemented into his tracks. Soulful vocals also embellish his tunes with a sexy, retro vibe.

Spastik’s Story:

I first got into music production back in 1999. I always wanted to make music, but prior  to having music production software, I just beatboxed for people. I also used to tap out beats on my desk. Then some showed me who Rahzel was and I became more interested in making music.

My grandparents bought me Acid Music 2.0 while I was up visiting them and I started making songs with loops. I first started with the production name Project R876, since it came to me as I was falling asleep one night.

After 2 years of that I made a full length cd, trying different styles of music. This was “Who Said What” and was released in July 2002.

Durring this time period I accidental discovered Drum and Bass and fell in love. I was trying to find drum solos and bass music in “KaZaA.” I fell onto a LTJ Bukem track that was mis-labled along with Ak1200′s remix of Drowning.

I began working on my “Dark_Hour” cd trying out how to produce drum and bass. With my “Lite_Hour” cd showcasing the last of my other experiments.  This was also the time I tried to get away from using loops and start using one time samples and synths. It was around this same time I changed my name from Project R876 to Spastik.

The new name was something people started calling me at school, since I have ADD and it shows when I don’t take my medication.  I also started messing around with making mixes using MixMeister, when I released “HardcoreDnB.”  Shortly after I started working on “Summer Breeze” mix.  ”Summer Breeze”, “Dark_Hour”, and “Lite_Hour” were all released in summer 2003.

I got into making more mixes in the beginning of 2004, where I finished up “Tha Dillinja Mix,” showcasing  my new appreciation Dillinja’s basslines, and “DnB Sessions Vol. 1″.  It was also this time where I started to get away from using MixMeister for making mixes, and using Acid, since beatmapping was better.

Next came a selection of mini mixes, “The Anger Mix,” “Uplifiting Vibes Mix,” “Love Mix,” and the still unreleased “Rain Mix.” “The Love Mix” was later turned into a full CD Mix, and the “Rain Mix” is still not perfect to my liking, but will be finished in the near future.

Around this time I started to figure out my muse for making music, and that was relationships with girls. This first track that showed it was “Missin U” which was fully produced from start to finished in 3 days/ 24 hours of time.
I started to fall in love with a girl, and that’s where my “Love Story” album got its start.

It walked though the good and bad times of trying to peruse her into making her mine. The end of the cd wraps up to show that It was a success.  I was also asked to make a mix cd for my schools Lan Party at this same time. That is where the “Lan Mix” came into play.

In 2005, I took a hiatus in making music. I had some projects going on, but not many passionate tracks that urged me to finish them.

2006 the feeling started to roll in. I began to describe that year in events, or what would come of it. Each track was a highlight of that month in the year. Things were going great at the beginning, but on a slow decline.

After the album was done, I wrapped it up by December, and finished “A New Beginning” for January 2007.  I also finished another mix at this same time titled “Above The Sun”

2008 and 2009 I got into actual mixing. I started 2008 having a little experience using cd dj’s . Mid 2008, Hoy showed me how to mix vinyl, and then I kept practicing from there. I got my first real set of DJ turntables at the end of 2008. 2008 was full of music production, but no full releases. “Star” was finished, but I wanted to wait till I had a full cd, or close to a full cd before releasing it.

2009 I started a bunch more tracks, and started to work on more mashups. In april I got my first gig at Lush, the lounge, where it continued to be a weekly event for me.  Mid 2009 I started playing at 2 clubs, Lush, and Club Redfire. Around the end, Lush Closed, and Redfire switched to just hip-hop.

2010 has been a huge year for me so far. Wrapping up on the production of “Corrupt Partition” along with 7 gigs booked up until May. We will see what the rest of this year has in store for me.