Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dayton Moon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dayton, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I was born and raised in Arkansas and moved to Missouri when I started high school. I always had big aspirations that the small towns I grew up in simply couldn’t fulfill. I knew I needed to make a move and take a risk to get myself out there. I watched an interview of one of my all time favorite music producers, Mr. Carmack, and he suggested to move somewhere that you have no friends or family nearby so you can focus on yourself and absorb the inspiration from your surroundings and harness that creatively. So I did exactly that. When I graduated high school I decided to attend a small technical school in St. Louis that taught music production and recording engineering. I had no friends or family nearby so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to start fresh. This was my first major risk. I updated my socials to my new location and within a week I had somebody (now a great friend) contact me through SoundCloud wanting to meet up and help me get on my feet in the scene there. I very quickly ended up learning how to DJ and started playing my first shows and competing in local beat battles. It blew my mind how simply getting out of my comfort zone and chasing what I wanted put me right where I needed to be. I did as recommended and lived in St. Louis for about 2 years and started planning to move to Los Angeles. I had a large network of friends and connections there through music and felt like it was the right move to make. Before I had time to plan my move I ended up getting a message on Twitter from a producer I had been a fan of for a long time (Great Dane) asking if I would like to move in with him in LA. I had never talked to him before but I did not hesitate to take him up on the offer. Just like that, I sold everything I had and packed up my car and drove nearly 40 hours to LA. I ended up meeting so many people I had known from the internet for so long and became good friends with a lot of my favorite artists. It’s crazy to think of how it all happened but it goes to show that if you want something and dedicate yourself and your intentions towards it completely and take that risk, life will connect the dots for you.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started manipulating sounds and making beats at around 11-12 years old. I learned early on that in order to stand out I needed to push boundaries and be unique. I have always loved the idea of taking a weird or unusual sound and turning it into something that is pleasing to the ears musically. I’ve used this foundation to bridge weird electronic sounds with hip-hop. I grew up on a mixture of rap music and metal so I tend to lean towards a darker, sometimes heavier sound. Over time my taste has evolved through contemporary electronic music and beat culture that has in turn evolved the sound of my production with it. When I start making music I enter a flow-state that I can’t completely describe. Decisions become very clear and the ideas are almost overflowing. It’s in this state that I am able to push those boundaries. My goal is to continue to do this and to be on the forefront of contemporary beat-making. I also express myself creatively in other ways. I love to make abstract art and I’ve been learning game development for about a year now. I really want to excel in other mediums so that I can begin to create entire worlds using my art.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part is fulfillment. I feel like expressing yourself creatively is not only fulfilling but a necessary thing for humans to do. Creativity is a gift of the human mind. It is a form of intelligence. We should nurture this gift and exercise our abilities to create incredible things for ourselves and others to experience. I believe that everyone is an artist/creative in their own way, even if they may not think so.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The best resource of all, and something I did not realize was so vital for a long time, is experience itself. Going out and living life and having new experiences. This directly fuels creativity and is essential to expanding your palette and having inspiration to draw from. It is easy to get caught up in a cycle but it is important to break from routine and have new experiences. The only thing we have for reference is our knowledge and experience; so it is important to always continue to learn and experience new things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/aedfx
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aedfx
• Twitter: https://x.com/aedfxmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aedfx
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/aedfxmusic
• Other: [email protected]
  https://www.patreon.com/aedfx

Image Credits

All provided are self-taken photos other than the dj photo which was taken by @underground.exposure_ on instagram.