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electronica producer

SonicFluxx Interview: Cosmic Inspiration and Artistic Evolution on Florida’s East Coast

In this A&R Factory interview, we speak with SonicFluxx, an artist shaped by a childhood amid the unique cultural and natural landscapes of Florida’s East Coast. SonicFluxx shares how experiences such as witnessing shuttle launches, growing up near Disney World, and being surrounded by 80s and 90s pop icons like Depeche Mode, Madonna, and Pet Shop Boys influenced his sound and vision. He reflects on his path from DJing to full-time music production in Los Angeles, alongside the challenges of adapting to social media in the modern music world. With new music on the horizon, SonicFluxx reveals a vision dedicated to using music as a healing force, ready to connect with listeners globally.

SonicFluxx, welcome to A&R Factory! Thanks for sitting down with us to discuss your career and your future ambitions. We’d love to know how your upbringing on Florida’s East Coast, among such iconic figures, influenced your sonic signature. 

Growing up in Central Florida in the 80’s and 90’s was a special time in our American history and I feel lucky to have experienced many things that most didn’t during that era.  Growing up next to Disney World taught me that music holds messages and meaning and that music can be the language that unites all.

I watched the Space Shuttle program firsthand and watched many shuttle launches from my backyard.  I learned at a young age that there was more than this world we are on and I found love in the stars and the universe.  I questioned my existence of this planet at a pretty young age and what my role was.  I grew up living five minutes from the beach – walking through the sand and understanding the concept that a speck of sand doesn’t make much, but a whole bunch of it creates a beautiful beach.

When you grow up and live in such a magical and inspirational place, I think it tends and fuels the creative fire within and ignites the spark that so many musicians and artists before me have experienced.

What was it about Depeche Mode, Madonna, and Pet Shop Boys that inspired you to light your own creative spark? 

I found deep inspiration with these three artists particularly because through their music, I learned that songs can have a message to invoke positive change in society.  Many artists feel a duty to use their voice as a platform to invoke political, cultural and societal change in the world and this is also what I wanted out of my own music and songwriting.  Aligning with the same beliefs as an artist also made me feel connected to the artist themselves in a way and I found this connection to be very special.

How has your relationship with music changed over the years?

I was born in a Southern Baptist Church, so I grew up singing traditional hymns on Sundays. I grew up extremely sheltered from what is called secular media in the religious tone.  My introduction to pop and dance music did not occur until my rebellious teen era, in which I would spend hours in FYE at the mall and listen to CDs.  I consumed every bit of pop culture I could at this point in my life.  I connected with dance music in a spiritual way that spiritual music never gave me.

I began to study and analyze what made a great song at this age.  I would have a knack for knowing what songs on an album would be the next single before it was released.  I turned this talent into songwriting.  I was a DJ in my early 20s and began producing remixes myself with Sony Acid Music Studio on a laptop I rented from Rent-A-Center.

I am a self-proclaimed pop and dance music lover.  I took pride in sharing new tracks with people and seeing their reactions when they loved it.  After many years of no music interaction other than consumption, I quit my job, quit college and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career full time.  I find myself enjoying creating music more than I enjoy listening to it myself.  However, don’t get me wrong, I still stan for a few artists new music!

Creatively, what came most easily to you, and what did you have to work hard to hone?

Melodies, hooks and songwriting came the easiest.  Most of my songs have been written in about three days – one song I wrote in 15 minutes.  I have a knack for hearing a beat and immediately hearing a melody in my head.  Then words come after that.  It’s a chaotic process I will admit, but it works for me.

Half of my lyrics aren’t even written down anywhere because songs are written so quickly.  ‘Nomad’, for example, was half written and I made up the rest of the lyrics in the studio on the spot.  My songs come from my life, my struggles and my heartache – it’s pretty easy to spill out currently.

What is challenging for me is creating social media content.  I am not good at picture taking, not quick to take pictures in settings and I find creating and thinking of social content does not come easy at all.  I am from the MySpace generation, so the new era of social media has definitely been the biggest challenge to overcome for me.

You mentioned a period of depression after focusing on your vocation as an astronomer; do you believe a lack of creative output is to blame for a lot of existential suffering in others?

Short answer: yes.  I believe that many people do not use the right side of their brain enough and invoke creativity in their lives.  I love that book reading and crocheting has made comebacks these days.  I think more people need to find that creative output to truly find peace.  As a child, we use this side of our brain so naturally and it’s a beautiful thing.  When we lose our sense of imagination and wonder, we can lose who we are and where we are going – Walt Disney taught me that and I still firmly believe in it.

Could you tell us more about your vision for your music going forward and any new directions you are exploring in your artistic journey?

When I started my music career full time, I said that if my music reached just one person and helped them, I’ve done my job.  Music is healing.  Music can be your remedy, as I sing in my song ‘Remedy’, which is a love letter to all my fans.  I have achieved this and now my goal is to take the same concept but go worldwide.

I am always writing new music and do have new music ready to go and am planning to release a deluxe edition of the album around February 2025.

Stream SonicFluxx on Spotify and discover more about the artist via their official website.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Lulled by the Digital Tides: Mercy Vibe Strikes an Ambient Polyphonic Chord in ‘So Dreamy’

So Dreamy’ by Mercy Vibe is a serene drift along uncharted digital waves. The reggae-infused track marries the unexpected charm of 8-bit-esque polyphonic electronica with the familiar comfort of syncopated rhythms. The real brilliance lies not just in the fusion but in the execution. With oceanic effects gently rustling through the production, listeners are invited to surrender to the track’s cathartic ambience, where nature meets meandering chiptune progressions in harmony.

Mercy Vibe, a Midwest-hailing artist and producer, allowed this seminal single to act as a canvas to exhibit her genre boundary-pushing and future-forward production style. As a thinker and creator, she has mastered the art of imbuing her rhythms with resonance. The philosophy of the instrumental piece is written between the lines: live free and easy, a message delivered purely through the musical motifs that pulse at the heart of the track which allows reggae beats to meet the pixelated pulses of retro gaming machines—a sublime retreat from the mundane, urging listeners to embrace a sonic experience that’s as dreamy as it is revolutionary.

Be a part of the reverie by streaming So Dreamy on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Michael Kanyongolo followed his muse instead of the herd in his alt-dance track, Justice

Brooklyn-based electronic music producer Michael Kanyongolo obliterated the EDM mould with his 3-track release, MK, featuring the seminal single, Justice.

In a track that pulses with an electro heart, Kanyongolo injects licks of funk delivered by rolling bass guitars to deepen the groove, creating progressive rhythms that play with complex time signatures, flirting with the Avant-Garde.

As the track unfolds, the heavy, dark, and reverberant phasers cloak the mix with an ominous, almost cinematic feel. The sound design isn’t just on another level; it’s in an entirely different orbit. Kanyongolo’s interstellar mix is one you can get endlessly lost in as the interplay between the layers brings ever-deepening textural depth and scintillation.

The auditory slice of ingenuity established Kanyongolo as an artist you can always expect the unexpected from. His inspiration from electronic icons like Daft Punk and Justice is clear, but it’s his signature synthesis of adventurous production techniques that make him worthy of a space on your radar.

Stream Justice on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get into the groove with Ryan Alexander’s funk-chopped disco pop earworm, Stay the Night

Ryan Alexander’s latest single, Stay the Night, featuring pop vocalist Michael, is more disco than a disco ball with its funk chops which cut through the kinetic grooves to ignite dancefloors and send sparks of serotonin flooding through the psyche of anyone who encounters this synthesis of sonic nostalgia and salaciously amplified contemporary innovation.

The hit mainlines the guitar rhythms of Nile Rodgers with the beats of Daft Punk, while the infectiously euphoric pop vocals from Michael turn up the heat in this magnetic earworm, resulting in a track that showcases the immense potential of this independent producer’s talents.

Although Alexander is currently reverberating through the underground, it is only a matter of time before he breaks major ground and storms the mainstream with his flair for expansively fusionistic songwriting and producing.

Hailing from Glasgow, Ryan Alexander’s passion for music is evident in every beat of his rapidly growing discography, which is picking up major traction through his local performances in October Café and other revered venues around his hometown. There’s no doubt that a big break is around the corner.

Stay the Night was officially released on July 22; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

From Earth to Utopia: Galactica Tranctica Fearlessly Innovated the Trance Anthem with the Cosmic Unconventionality of ‘Cleopatra’

One of the most fearlessly innovative forces in trance, Galactica Tranctica, has made a name for himself with his eclectically styled and unapologetically unconventional singles and EPs. His eagerly anticipated debut LP, Forgotten Forever, which hit all major streaming platforms in June, etched his legacy.

His intuitive exploration of a cosmos of styles, textures, tones, and emotions prises the listener from material reality into interstellar journeys through utopias of ecstasy. The standout single, Cleopatra, is a progressive tour de force which teems with euphoric energy and filters diverse layers of electronica into a cohesive soundscape of bass-swathed beats, transcendent ethereal motifs, and experimental synths, which showcase an artist unafraid to explore new territories to lead his listeners to the brink of nirvana and beyond.

Influenced by Grimes’ ability to obliterate aural boundaries with sound, Jason Poole, the mastermind behind Galactica Tranctica, follows suit with his intrinsically originated, expansive as a solar system, productions which have earned plaudits from BBC Radio Introducing, Amazing Radio, and Wigwam Radio.

Stream Cleopatra and the Forgotten Forever LP on Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bitvert – Deletist: A Techno-Punk Invocation of Resistance

Bitvert’s latest release, Deletist, is an off-kilter slice of pulse-pounding experimental electronica, crafted in the heart of East London’s artist quarter—where creativity thrives despite economic and political adversity.

The encapsulation of the struggle against a dysfunctional government and parasitic leaders embodies the spirit of liberation and defiance; the punk ethos charges the sequence of nocturnal electro, born through an amalgamation of spectral electronica, 4/4 techno beats and kinetic sub-bass frequencies.

The single’s release coincided with the new government’s election, yet it remains timely all the same, given the sense of nihilism and despair that remains pervasive in the UK’s collective psyche. Deletist serves as a bass-drenched techno resistance, a sonic uprising against the subjugation that has eroded hope and fuelled a belief in our epoch’s irreversible regression.

With punk’s spirit relegated to the shadows of the music industry, Bitvert ensures its essence endures through his frenetic rhythms that testify to the times, call for unity and vindicate through volition.

Deletist was released on the 4th of July via We Are Not Content; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Batka – Ałive: An Electronic Odyssey Between Serenity and Storm

BaŁka went down a cinematic storm in their latest release, Ałive, featuring PRESPHNE. The seductively progressive hit opens on a note of ethereal transcendence with the intricate instrumental layers efficaciously complementing the quiescent harmonic whispers, but it isn’t long before the intensity builds within the momentum of the tour de force of seamlessly chameleonic shifts in tone and tempo.

The head-spinning hits of Drum ‘n’ bass contort Ałive into a pulsative juggernaut of an anthem; the industrial rock aesthetics which follow act as further attestations to BaŁka’s ability to move sonic mountains with virtuosic melodic manipulations.

From the exponentially expansive crescendos to the transient installations of nature-infused cathartic tranquillity which follows like serenity after a storm purges the atmosphere, Ałive is definitive proof that few artists are as capable as BaŁka in depicting the duality between the brutality and ferocity of the human experience.

The inspiration for his powerful sound design is so much more than just an abstract concept. The thematic essence of his work hits you as hard as the beats, which goes a fair way in explaining how in six months within the industry, he’s already had an official release on MONTA Records, been signed by the LA-based music group, Cage Riot, and garnered over 30k streams.

Stream Ałive on all major platforms, including Spotify, now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

António Sá – Partition_Monolog: An Ambient Immersion into Digital Reflection

António Sá’s debut LP, CACHE 01, presents Partition_Monolog, a track that immerses listeners in subtle cerebral reflections, a tonality of transcendence and syncopated spectres of futurism.

The soundscape within the concept LP, which explores how memories are increasingly digitised, subdues the listener into a profound state of catharsis while pondering what it means to be human when our autonomy is increasingly enmeshed with the artificial artifices of technology.

António Sá, an artist, producer, and sound engineer, efficaciously utilised spatial effect within his diaphanously lush downtempo progressions which are shrouded in an aura of deep reticent thought. Partition_Monolog invites you to lose yourself in its sonic world, invite ambience into your psyche, and join the visionary as he follows his muse through unchartered territory.

The CACHE 01 album, released under Diffuse Reality Records, brings a fresh perspective to the electronic music scene. It speaks volumes of the Portuguese-based originator’s talents and ability to awaken the imagination within his evocatively euphonic scores.

Partition_Monolog is now available to stream on Spotify with the rest of António Sá’s debut LP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lose your head and your heartbreak on the dancefloor with Sam Macdonald’s nu-disco hit, I Wanted More

80s synth pop vicariously lives and breathes through Sam Macdonald’s latest nu-disco hit, I Wanted More, which is a testament to the artist and producer’s cultivated talent, honed while studying music production at Leeds Conservatoire.

Hit play and be force-fed ear candy through the synthesis of the rhythmically compulsive disco grooves and the 80s Madonna-esque vocals that don’t stop at soaring above the production; the passion within them wraps around the track like an incandescent aura you will want to bask in time and time again.

The euphoria within the fiery neon-lit tour de force, which finds a vindicating way to address the dejection of not being able to meet unrealistic romantic expectations ensures that anyone who has been burnt by that particular old flame before will be able to lose their head and heartbreak on the dancefloor with this flawless hit.

I Wanted More was officially released on May 10th and is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Reach Nirvana with DJ Roko’s Slice of EDM ‘Heaven’

DJ Roko dialled up the disco dance-pop euphoria in his latest burst of beat-driven euphoria, Heaven; 90s disco nostalgia permeates the exhilarated EDM production that embodies the UK producer’s influence of David Guetta, Tiesto and Calvin Harris while leaving plenty of room for his signature style to ensnare the airwaves. If rhythm is a dancer, as Snap! proclaimed in ’92 it would get down to this hit that will maximise your lust for life.

The West Midlands-born, Glasgow-based artist and DJ first exhibited his talent for fusing kinetic rhythms with melodies that melt into the mind through his official debut release, Velocity, earlier this year, and has already attracted over 10k monthly Spotify listeners with the infectious intensity within his sound that will undoubtedly flood dancefloors throughout 2024.

With his self-produced debut LP, in addition to several other projects, ready to drop later this year, DJ Roko isn’t a name EDM fans will want to ignore for much longer.

Heaven was officially released on April 27; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast