The prolific British Columbia producer on building a robust catalog of music, making his most personal record to date and using private links to stay organized.
Welcome to Sound Advice, the series spotlighting artists’ creative process and their SoundCloud journey. We’ll get the inside knowledge straight from the source on how musicians, producers and creatives are leaning into everything Next Pro offers to elevate their sound, reach the right audience and catapult their careers. Sound Advice is now available in audio format on the SoundCloud Stories profile.
In the last 15 years, Jamison Isaak – who records as Teen Daze and Pacific Coliseum – has put out 11 studio albums, countless EPs and a number of singles. Sonically, Jamison has dipped into a range of styles: ‘80s-inspired synth pop, peaceful ambient, hazy electro and woozy Balearic house, to name a few, all tied together by his signature sound: gentle melodies, chill vocals and dreamy electronic grooves. Last year, Teen Daze won Canada’s Juno Award for Electronic Album of the Year with his record ‘Interior,’ and this year he’s back with another new full-length. This record is called ‘Elegant Rhythms.’ It took four years to put together and it finds Teen Daze leaning into confessional pop about life in your late 30s. ‘Elegant Rhythms’ is inspired by the sophisti-pop sounds of groups like The Blue Nile, Sade and even a mid-career Paul McCartney.
We caught Jamison at home in the chill town of Chilliwack, British Columbia – just 100 kilometers east of Vancouver – to talk about his new record, turning inspiration into new sounds and using SoundCloud for music discovery. We even got some tips and tricks on how you too can organize yourself and finish more music.
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE, FEATURING TEEN DAZE:
LISTEN TO VOICE NOTES WITH TEEN DAZE:
LISTEN TO 'ELEGANT RHYTHMS' BY TEEN DAZE:
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE OF SOUND ADVICE:
- How growing up in a small town in British Columbia, with close proximity to nature, has influenced Teen Daze’s creative process, as well as how his environment (and not being tied to external factors like club culture) has played a role in shaping his perception of dance music.
- The making of Teen Daze’s 12th studio album, ‘Elegant Rhythms,’ including being inspired by jazz, 80s sophisti-pop and Daft Punk’s ‘Discovery’ album.
- How Teen Daze has credits releasing such a prolific amount of work with being organized. He offers insights into how he organizes his work and offers advice for fellow musicians to come up with a system that fits their own, specific workflow.
- Using SoundCloud private links to organize music and listen to in-progress work, as well as share ideas with collaborators.
- Experimenting with uploading songs to SoundCloud for a limited amount of time as a way to learn more about his audience and have fun with the music-sharing process.
- The importance of sticking to what works best for you creatively, especially when crafting deeply personal records. For Teen Daze, that means cultivating morning work habits and clearing his mind through physical activities, such as walking or biking.
- Incorporating analog gear, like the Roland 303 and the Roland TR-8S, into his production process to achieve era- and genre-specific sounds.
- How Teen Daze approached promoting ‘Elegant Rhythms’ a bit differently than past releases, explaining how he looks to other musicians like Brian Eno for inspiration when it comes to ideas for building a world around the music.
- Looking to SoundCloud as a mecca for music discovery and as a way to connect with a community of fellow musicians and music lovers.
LINKS AND EXTRAS:
Follow Teen Daze’s journey on SoundCloud.
Vibe out to Daft Punk’s ‘Discovery,’ one of Teen Daze’s formative influences.
Be like Teen Daze and listen to a lot of Sade around the house (specifically, “Kiss of Life”).
Check out Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies cards for creative inspiration.
Listen to the Buzzing: Electronic playlist on SoundCloud.
Follow the official Sound Advice playlist on SoundCloud.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF SOUNDCLOUD
- Learn more about using DMs to connect with fellow artists and potential collaborators.
- Learn more about searching your own Likes on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about using private tracks on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about getting started with Insights on SoundCloud.
- Learn more about Advanced Insights, available to Artist Pro subscribers.
- Learn more about unlimited uploads, available with a Artist Pro subscription.
- Learn more unlocking access to unlimited distribution, available with Artist Pro.
To discover additional features a SoundCloud Artist Pro subscription offers, visit here. To catch up on past installments of Sound Advice and make sure you don’t miss out on future episodes, visit here.
CREDITS Hosted by Vivian Host. Executive Produced by Mike Spinella. Produced by KC Orcutt. Audio Engineered by David “DibS”. Coordinated by Trevor McGee.
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