Tom Mouna met with Akito to hear more about this DIY ethic and why the artist is so eager to teach it to others.

Tom Mouna I’ve always been a fan of your DIY attitude. I can imagine that that one result of such an ethic is that you need to be good at all of the different elements of your musical output, broadly speaking, production and mastering, design, PR, label management, party organisation—am I forgetting anything?

Akito Hearnshaw I could probably master a track to a playable level but nothing like a pro. But yeah, I think you covered it all!

TM What made you want to be in control of all of these different elements yourself?

AH I love to wake up in the morning knowing I don’t have to wait on anyone. If I have an idea or project I can develop and execute it as I wish and in a time frame that’s suited to me. I’ve never dealt with pressure well creatively, so I’ve cut it out of my music process as much as I possibly could. The sense of freedom knowing the only expectations you have to meet are your own is something I cherish.

TM Is it a path you’re glad you went down?

AH I’m delighted I chose this path, my passion and integrity are congruent with everything. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

TM From your own perspective as an artist, what have been some of the toughest things about trying to consciously take control of all of these elements yourself?

AH Consistency and time, I reckon. My attention can be heavily divided at times, so I’ve had to learn to manage my time and emotions more effectively, to be productive and complete all ongoing projects. Some learning curves are steeper than others, too. For example, I’m quite quiet and introverted on weekdays, so the PR thing was a whole new world to me; reaching out to multiple blogs and platforms to feature the label’s music and artists, before I’d have to go through someone or through an agency and that would sometimes require a fee… Once I was in contact with more people who were willing to listen and feature the output I realised it could be handled personally, which was a huge relief and cut out a lot of back and forth. With everything I’ve pursued so far in music, I’ve learnt to really enjoy it eventually. And that enjoyment for me comes down to problem solving and a sense of progression.

TM Do you think it’s a sign of the state of electronic music that you can’t just focus on making music?

AH I’m really intrigued by this state of affairs. In an ideal world, maybe we could just focus on creating and everyone would jump at the chance of hearing our new music. But the current landscape feels so fierce and saturated, you really need something to cut through the smog to reach the people on the other side. I remember 10 years ago, to get bookings as a DJ, to penetrate the noise, you had to produce in order to excel. Today through the development of social media, you could simply be funny, good looking, or neither but still have an edge. But it’s still down to attention and sustaining relevance; same shit, different platform.

TM Where do you want to see your music production moving towards? Are there any sounds you’re particularly drawn to and influenced by?

AH I’ve been listening to a lot of Japanese 70s and 80s city pop recently, there’s a certain sound I’m really drawn towards, a duality between love and hope with a bitter, melancholic undercurrent, is what I’m really into. I want to take influence from this directly and figure out how to introduce it into my own music, giving those same emotions a current, club feel. Besides that, I’ve been listening to loads of ambient music and Young Thug.

TM If I had to classify your music, I’d say it’s a part of a hybrid-club sound that’s distinctly global in both its pull of influences and its listenership. How do you see your music fitting or not fitting into this description?

AH I’m partial to mixing elements and influences that excite me most, so I think it fits perfectly.

TM What do you think draws yourself and other producers to this kind of sound and aesthetics?

AH I think it’s a mixture between the familiar and what’s currently acceptable, and then attempting to push this to its most advanced version without losing the first two ingredients, entering paths less travelled over the obvious route.

TM So, is your production process always aimed at doing new things? And how does that interact with a more, so to speak, “well-trodden path,” that would maybe be more likely to lead to more commercial success?

AH The idea of success in music isn’t important to me anymore, there are enough producers and DJs out there that I don’t feel any pressure to perform in a certain way. I’m just a pixel in the output, so I’m pretty comfortable just doing my own thing slowly and entertaining the creative process over anything else.

TM You’ve also started creating production tutorial videos. What’s the motivation behind creating the videos?

AH I’ve actually had the idea to start a YouTube channel for years, I just didn’t know what direction to go in and lacked any confidence to start. But then things changed rapidly late last winter. My partner at the time had been the biggest, most positive influence in the process. She managed to somehow instil a huge amount of confidence in me, which brought it all to fruition—also her relentless drive and work ethic really woke me up and put me into action.

TM It seems like doing the videos is also something quite personal to you…

AH The process so far has really helped out in terms of my own personal development. I feel more confident, especially talking through and explaining things, which is something I’d avoid at all costs previously. I could never see myself doing it, especially on such a public platform. From a young age, I was basically mute and always struggled to string words together but over the last few months, continually writing scripts and reading voraciously have helped immensely, what previously took me six to eight hours of agony for a single script I can now punch out within an hour. I still have huge room for improvement but this is probably the biggest progress I’ve seen so far. The more I’m getting into it, the more I like creating new videos.

TM Back when you began to produce music were you learning from videos like this?

AH My friends taught me everything I know. Everything that I’ve shared so far via the channel, I’ve been shown or taught face to face at some point and I’m just presenting my tried and tested interpretation of it. I’m very lucky to have such kind, caring friends and colleagues, who are skilled and actively involved. So it’s easy for me to access information if I’m ever in doubt or stuck. Now, I’m trying to develop my channel and content around the people that don’t have that same access, that’s the aim.

TM But it’s not just producing music, right? There’s a tutorial on how to create DJ mixes in Ableton, which must have been useful to DJs in quarantine without access to DJ equipment. And there are also videos outlining some less glamourous aspects of surviving as an underground musician, like planning your own tour, self-releasing music, and selling merch. What made you want to create these specific kinds of tutorials?

AH I think with any new skill or goal, the most difficult part is just starting. Those tutorials show that you can start independently or at least flirt with new ideas and directions by yourself. From my experiences so far, external help arrives once you have learnt to help yourself. These videos exist to encourage as much as be informative—and hopefully get people in action.

TM How do you choose the subjects? Do you make some on request?

AH I just look at the problems I’ve stumbled across in the past. I feel a lot of people in music will reach similar or even the same hurdles, so I just offer advice from my own experiences with what I believe to be pragmatic, concise solutions.

TM What do you expect from the audience?

AH I don’t have any expectations from the audience—I have hopes though. My wish is that they enjoy the videos, find them useful and possibly take action if it’s fitting.

TM Are the tutorials something that you feel can help you to reach a bigger audience?

AH Yeah, for sure. With music being so subjective and context based, there’s only so many people that will enjoy it or be present. But with videos, especially ones based on advice, I feel it’s broader and more approachable, I’ve had far more people reach out to me about the videos in the last six months than I’ve ever had about my music. So I guess the channel will create more awareness of my music as it grows.

TM And are they also something that you feel can help your audience to reach a bigger audience themselves?

AH That was definitely the aim with the PR video. I know a lot of people skip the whole process due to lack of budget so I wanted to try and put the power back in their hands and at least attempt some form of PR campaign rather than let it slide because they couldn’t afford it (if they wanted to of course)… Some people have had good results from it too! So, I’m really happy about that.

TM Do you think the videos could be monetised in the future? Have you thought about releasing them through a Patreon-style structure, with people basically paying a subscription fee to see this kind of content from you?

AH I want to keep it free and accessible to everyone. I won’t be going down the Patreon route anytime or ever. People support me and the channel through purchasing my sample and preset pack that I leave in the description of the videos and that’s more than enough for me.

TM Could you talk a bit more about your sample and preset pack? What made you want to create one? Has it been financially worthwhile?

AH I’ve always been into sound design, so I’ve wanted to create a drum sample and preset pack for ages, but this time I wanted to make them for the public. I find most people process and pick sounds really differently so I just wanted to offer something personal, geared towards my usual output and preferences. It’s been financially worthwhile too, it’s helped me out loads during the lockdown period. I’m super grateful to everyone that’s purchased them. I’ll definitely be creating more in the future for everyone.

TM Given the current situation with lots of people still spending more time inside and some with extra time on their hands, it seems like a good moment to be releasing tutorial videos. But, what’s the future plans for these tutorials?

AH The plan is to vary the style of videos soon. I’m really keen to get some interviews together. I’ve always been fascinated by people and their creative processes. I’d like to create content around the personalities behind the music, giving insight into a side of the scene which isn’t as well documented as their accomplishments. It could be anything from cooking to a kick drum master class—I just want to highlight what really excites them, what gasses them the most. I’ll continue to do tutorials too, maybe not as frequently though…

Pictures by Steve Braiden (featured image) and provided by the artist.

https://sansabsence.bandcamp.com/