Lee Mintram (known under his moniker Featurecast) has been very busy this year, and we were very fortunate to have the chance to interview him about everything that’s been going on.
Featurecast kicked off the year by releasing Can I Kick It. He’s also started to assist budding musicians with music production by releasing a series of tutorials. His plan is to release the tutorials on YouTube approximately every 2-3 weeks, and he’s hoping to help out artists with his tricks of the trade. His first two tutorials have been released already.
The first tutorial is just under 22 minutes long and focuses on how to create drums in Logic Pro X. If you’re ready to learn how to make your own breaks from scratch in Logic Pro X, roll up your sleeves and follow along with the tutorial here.
The follow-up video focuses on polishing a mix that you’re ready to release, and you can find that video here. Read on to see what else has been keeping him busy:
You released an album last year with Jalapeño Records and released a track last month, do you have any other interesting projects underway right now?
FC: Yes, I have a couple of collaborations underway at the moment with Basement Freaks and Flavours. These will probably be free tracks. I also have a remix EP of my album Shout It Out being released within the next couple of months.
It can be difficult to find some solid tutorials on music production from an industry pro like yourself. What inspired you to put together your tutorials?
FC: For that very reason, there are so many production videos out there but very little that focus on mid-tempo, breaks or funky music so I just wanted to try and bring that to people. I hope over time I can put out more that focus on techniques that I think are a bit more unique to what I do in my productions.
Can you give us a preview of what to expect from your upcoming tutorials?
One of the videos I put out is on how to master mixtapes. I know there are a lot of people that do mixes, and I just wanted to share a few tips on how to put the polish on your final mix and make it sound a little bit more professional. I’ll also release videos on the techniques I use for making edits, mashups etc. Again something that’s not generally covered in production videos.
Do you have any advice for artists that are just starting out?
FC: The best advice I can give someone starting out is to be original. Try and do your own thing in whichever genre of music you decide to make. If you just copy and sound like everyone else it will be far harder to get noticed. So be original.
—
So there we have it. Being original is the staple for every artist’s success in any industry, and those are wise words indeed from this seasoned pro. All of us here at DMNW look forward to seeing his future videos on music production. If you’re interested in Featurecast and his work, here are some links to check him out on Soundcloud, Facebook, YouTube or his website!
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
