Perfecting your technical skills or developing a unique artistic voice? I see a lot of people obsessing over mastering every plugin and sound design trick, yet they still feel like their tracks don’t stand out. On the flip side, there are artists who don’t know much about mixing but have a distinct, captivating sound that people instantly recognize. Do you think technical mastery should come before cultivating your unique style, or is it the other way around? How do you balance the two, and what challenges have you faced in YOUR own journey?

Have you been eyeing any hardware or software lately and you're just waiting to pull the trigger? What is it and what do you think it will help you with?

My name is Zach. Happy to be here! I was born and raised in Alaska. I left to join the Navy when I was 20 to travel the world. I love exploring nature, I'm a huge movie buff, and most of all, I love music! I've always been really good at keeping a peaceful and calm attitude. No matter what problems come my way, I remain positive and work through them. I have been passionately working on music since 2017 and I can't begin to explain how great of a journey it has been. I've been exploring many different genres and I feel like I am capable of producing and releasing solid tracks of LoFi HipHop, techno, house, cinematic scores, and even some unique music that I can't even classify. The next step I want to focus on is performance. I've never performed before and right now I'm struggling to figure out HOW to even perform my music. My most successful project at the moment is under the name Motive Inc. I am not sure if it is something I should attempt live (playing the keys, vocals, and hitting drum pads) or if it would be something I play with DJ equipment. Either way, I am very eager to learn from other artists and hear their thoughts! My music can be found here: https://linktr.ee/Motiveinc

Do you collect vinyl records? CDs? Tapes? What is your prized possession? For me, mine would be The Voyager Golden Record, which is a consumer version of the data sent into space in 1977 on the Voyager Space Probe. It includes tons of classic songs and audio from earth. It even has greetings spoken by people all over the world. Maybe one day an intelligent species will discover it. Honorable mentions from my collection: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King vinyl set Interstellar soundtrack vinyl Beatitude by Pepe Deluxe on vinyl

Here is a track of mine that I am very proud of! My first album I released under the moniker Motive Inc. had the song "Voyager" in it, and "Wanderer" is essentially a newer version of it. It's the same concept but with added elements in the 2nd half. It features ambient piano, dreamy guitar, LoFi drums, and experimental percs. This is also the first song I ever used my own vocals on, but I used heavy effects to give it a meditative electronic characteristic. Looking back, I think if I needed to change anything, I would have mixed the kicks a little bit differently. My tracks are never intended to be high energy because I think my Motive Inc. theme works well with a subdued style, but I think I could have managed making the kicks a little bit punchier. Anyways, I will provide a couple of links for anybody who wants to listen! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/385rDHSGYL2McJLm2sFLQj?si=UZZwWpQrTbSJ6HOzcT12tQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7tzkbSg6E1pe1ul4UTqT6P SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/9HWxZ