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Describe the moment that inspired you to get into music production:

This is a bit of a long story so bear with me.

I remember when I was around 5-6 years old, my mom used to have "Life After Death" by Biggie on cassette. She played it in the car once, and I still remember to this day, the first time I heard "Hypnotize" and the feeling it left me with. I was absolutely in love with Rap from day 1.

Fast forward 8 years and I still had an interest in music the whole time, but now I had picked up playing the guitar. I was hooked on playing that for the next few years - learning my favorite rock, blues, and metal songs.

Now it was the beginning of my Sophomore year of high school in 2017. My interest in music never faded, but now it was time to start thinking about career options. I had always been interested in music, however, I realized that making money off of playing guitar was not a viable career option for me.

I was listening to "Without Warning" by Metro & 21, and I thought to myself "I could pivot into this lane, and make money like Metro. That following summer I downloaded the trial version of FL Studio, and the rest was history.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Metro Boomin, Quincy Jones, Cubeatz, Mike Dean, Eddie Van Halen, NAV, Brent Faiyaz, Diljit Dosanjh

That's a lot, but they all had a direct influence on the music I make and my career.

What’s your DAW of choice, and why?

FL Studio - It was the one I saw the most tutorials for on YouTube and it seemed like every big trap producer was using it around the time I started.

Do you have any routines or rituals before starting a session?

I almost always start with either the root note and/or the 5th note in a scale, then draw in a top melody. From there I just add melodies as I hear them in my head. Once that's done I put down the 808 and the rest of the drums after that.

The first part I make usually changes a lot over the course of me making the beat. I just do that to get into my flow of creating, and the rest of the process branches out from there.

How would you describe your signature sound?

I always want my beats to sound like an extension of myself. Usually it aligns with how I'm feeling emotionally when I make the beat. For example: If I feel I'm winning that day, the beat will be hard hitting and uptempo. Or if I'm thinking of something nostalgic, it will have more of a soulful sample behind it with some bouncy drums on it. To give the beat more of my signature sound I'll always try to throw in sounds that I designed myself.

What's on that master bus 👀?

Fruity Parametric EQ - +3.2 dB on high band +1.6dB on the 2nd from left band. Soft Clipper - default preset. Maximus on the 'Master Aid 1' preset: all I do is go to the "Bands" tab and adjust those.

If you could only use three plugins for the rest of your career, what would they be?

Omnisphere, Serum, and Zenology

What is a must-have drum kit every producer should have?

I'm a huge fan of using deconstructed kits, right now the ones I use the most are by Babyxprod and Bangtozzy. Other than that I'd say the PBS and BWB drumkits are up there. And my own drumkits (shameless, I know lol)

How do you overcome creative block?

The best thing to do is remove yourself from the studio environment. Go outside, leave the house, do something that you normally would not do. The biggest thing with creative block is that you are doing the same thing too many times in a row. Discipline is important, but for those of us who are more creative, being too rigid can be detrimental. Do something fun and novel and that will help you break out of the rut.

For me the best things I do are hang out with my friends, try a new restaurant, or do something outdoors. Honestly, anything that allows me to receive some sort of stimulus that I would otherwise not get normally sitting behind a computer or phone screen.

How do you know when a track is finished?

I'm such a perfectionist I usually have to cut myself short or do a basic arrangement and render it out. Otherwise I'd go on and on trying to perfect the beat. Good rule of thumb is when you have your arrangement done and all your sounds are mixed, add some transition sounds and be done with it.

What is one of your favorite highlights of your production career?

I think my YouTube channel has to be the hallmark of it all. That's where I have amassed the largest following, and as a result, gained me most of the important and lasting relationships in my career.

It's the tried and true means of how I was able to show growth on my producing journey and how I evolved into the producer I am now - week by week. It's almost like a living memoir of my beatmaking progress over the years.

What are some of your most recent projects?

I did the intro on Fredo's comeback single "No Comment." It was the #1 Trending Music Video in the UK the weekend it came out, and it was my first song to hit 8 figure streams. Huge shoutout to ADB and Swidom for letting me be a part of that. I also got a couple songs on Lil Kee's last album "The 13th. " I co-produced "No Hook" & "Haha" off there.

Who's an underrated producer more people should know about?

My brother @spaceboytaj. He is hands down the most underrated drummer that I've had the pleasure of cooking up with. I've learned so much in terms of drum sound selection and bounce just from cooking up with him.

Which producers would you love to collaborate with?

Metro Boomin, Mike Dean

What's a song you wish you had produced?

Bubbly by Young Thug

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about music production?

Two words: "have fun.”

The most successful people truly enjoy their craft, so having fun is the key driver to everything you do.

You may not be the most talented, skilled, or lucky; but if you really love it and stay consistent, it will take you further than you ever could have imagined.

What is a fun fact about you?

I am a practicing Sikh, whose family is from Punjab.

Outside of music, I started a career as a civil engineer. At of the time of this interview that is my day job.

I am a lifelong vegetarian.

I absolutely LOVE basketball. I played a couple years of varsity in high school, and I've been an avid NBA watcher since I was a kid. This was my first addiction before music, and the main reason I didn't start taking music seriously until I was almost out of high school.

What’s your long-term vision?

For music, my main goal for the next 5 years is to rack up as many major placements as I can. There's some accomplishments I want to get such as a Billboard #1 song/album, a platinum record, a Grammy win/nomination.

Philanthropy is my highest priority pursuit in life. This might be pretty far down the road, but I want to develop a scholarship fund for kids that otherwise would not get the chance to receive a higher education. My experience from getting a college degree really shaped who I am today and gave me the lifestyle that I always dreamed of. As someone who was a scholarship recipient, I want to pay it forward as much as I can.

My biggest goal outside of these is financial freedom. I want to generate as many avenues of revenue from both my music and personal investments as I can in the near future.

Where can people hear your music and connect with you?

These are the 3 social media platforms I'm the most active on:

https://www.youtube.com/@BeatsbyTej

https://www.instagram.com/beatsbytej/

https://www.tiktok.com/@beatsbytej

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