Everyone in this community has a story, today I got the privilege to ask producer ‘t8martian’ a few questions about creative outlets outside of music, plans for the future, social media, and musical inspiration.
Go shop -> https://traktrain.com/t8martian#450805
j1k – Fist off, can you introduce yourself for people that may not know who you are ?
t8 – Hey cuties. My name is Tate Martin, I’m a 17 year old music producer. I make some beats here and there. I go by the producer name “t8”. So my producer name is basically just a shortened version of my real name. I also chose the name because it’s simple and might stick in someones head easier. I’m from a small town in Oklahoma with a population of just about 400 people. So there’s not really any music connections I can make out here, but I’m trying to make a name for myself and move to California with my best friend, then I’ll start to really build up from there.
j1k – I hope the internet can help you out in making the money it takes to get out there. How long have you been producing/making music , and is music your main creative outlet or is there another you utilize?
t8 – I’ve been making music for about 2 years now. I started making music after years of programming video games, I wanted to add music to my games, but realized I liked it significantly more than actually programming video games. So music was definitely not my first creative outlet. When I was really young I wanted to be an artist, then a little bit later I wanted to be a photographer, then some time after that I found adobe flash and started animating videos for Youtube. I was animating for some time when I found out you could make video games in flash. Then after doing that for some years, music came into the picture.
j1k – I have a similar story lmao I coded once and enjoyed learning the software and I learned Photoshop and FL and adobe premiere and i’m still learning more of them. Which artists/musicians have resonated with you the most, and who has influenced you in the way that you make music?
t8 – Earl sweatshirt, Mac Miller, Gab3, Lil Tracy, Kanye West, Lil Peep, and so many more people have influenced me. Some non-musicians like game designer Edmund McMillen or fashion designer Asspizza have influenced my music as well. I like to think everyone is inspired by everything, the good and the bad. If you grew up with a rough childhood, those emotions will show up in the music. If you grew up in a household with a loving family that will also show up in the music. Music is just way to share those emotions, so people going through the same things, good or bad, can relate.
j1k – Music is the best way to share emotion and experience. How much time will you spend on mixing a beat before posting a snippet on social media? Also, do you have an opinion on social media’s effect on our society?
t8 – I usually just mix the beat as I’m working on it, so when the beat is all laid out it’s already mixed. I’m trying to get better with mixing though, I think that’s where a lot of my beats lack. I think social media’s impact on society is totally dependent on the person. If a person is sad and depressed, social media might make things worse. I know that I often go through times when I think every beat I’ve ever made is absolutely horrible when comparing them to others. In the end it’s all about getting up, dusting yourself off, and working everyday to be a better person.
j1k – IMO comparing artists never works out in anyone’s favor. Everyone has such different styles, I agree its really dependent on the individual. I’ve heard some of your solo beats and songs with Pedia that were really good mixing wise. Also the track Lil Turbo recorded when he went live was sounding fire. Do you have any favorite songs / beats that you have worked on so far?
T8 – That’s a hard question, I usually end up disliking all of beats after a certain amount of time. Most of the time it’s the simple ones I make that catch my ear and end up being my favorite. I’m currently working on a beat tape, so I want that to end up being my favorite thing I’ve made.
j1k – I can relate, I have countless beats sitting in folders that I heard and told myself I could do better, most of them started out good but I overthink them into the ground. Simplicity is key for sure. I feel like it’s easy to hold yourself to a standard thats too high though. What are some goals you have for the future?
t8 – I’m going to create a mental health app to help people going through difficult times, I feel like it’s the most important thing we can be doing. A lot of problems like violence, domestic abuse, drug addiction, etc, is all a product of bad mental health. If we all work together to help prevent mental health issues, all these other problems would also decrease as a result. In terms of music I want to establish a name for myself and make some of the best music that’s ever been heard. Eventually when I’m older, I want to get into directing movies when I have enough money to fund them and pay everyone involved a great salary. I also want to start a clothing brand in the future, as well as start an organization to help homeless people off of the streets.
j1k – Well said. This about wraps it up for now, I hope to do a lot more content like this in the future, do you have any shoutouts?
t8 – Yeah, shout out to my brother TJ Reimers, he motivates me a lot, his Instagram is tjreimers so go follow him. He’s only 5’2 so I also keep him around to make me feel taller. And also shout out to you for giving me a platform to let people know a little bit more about me. 🙂