We recently connected with Kristin Allen-Farmer and have shared our conversation below.
Kristin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on recently is the writing, producing and releasing of my debut “Essence EP” and “Essence Remixed EP” under my artist name Dream Tonic (found on all streaming platforms and at dreamtonicmusic.com).
Although I’ve been a musician and pianist my entire life, it is only recently that I committed to myself that I would learn how to produce my own music and learn the ins and outs of digital music software, mixing and mastering. I’ve come a long way in a short time due to my unwavering commitment to my craft. I decided to pursue music production right before COVID hit. My plans were to have ample time and space to learn a new skill, however, all of a sudden, my children were home with me all the time and I had zero free time or space. Somehow, this seemed to strengthen my resolve and I doubled down and committed to myself that I would NOT let this obstacle get in the way of my goals. Furthermore, I was shocked to learn that only 5% of music producers are females, and only 1% of music producers are mothers. I definitely am in the minority and for some reason, this compels even more to keep doing what I do.
I ended up connecting in with a record label and electronic music producer community called Producer Dojo, and it was through them that I was finally able to get my music out to the world. They even held a remix competition for my EP, which turned into an entire EP of its own – a remix EP!
Because of these EP’s that I put out, I was then introduced to an opportunity to work on an incredible project – which was to make music for the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Adventure hotel at Disneyworld. I worked incredibly hard for many, many months and created a large amount of music for the hotel.
Despite setbacks, rejections, and so much hard work, I am always motivated to continue moving ahead because music is clearly my path and I have no choice but to keep going!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
ABOUT MYSELF: I (Kristin Allen-Farmer aka “Dream Tonic”) am a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer. In addition to performing and recording for my artist project, I write music for film and TV, with my latest tracks being featured in the new Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Adventure hotel in Disney World. I started playing piano at the age of 6, went on the attend a performing arts high school, majored in music in college and received my Master of Arts in Music as well. I went on to perform, teach and tour until I finally learned how to produce music in Ableton live.
WHAT SERVICES DO I OFFER: I can create custom songs, instrumentals for a variety of uses, deliver high quality vocals, lyrics and songs on a custom basis, offer VoiceOver work, I perform and DJ, can play classical piano at your events, I am a very experienced educator in everything from piano, music theory to music industry, releasing music and sync licensing.
WHAT SETS ME APART: I listen to my clients and really tailor to their needs, often times offering a new take on a musical problem or a offering a cool, creative idea that wasn’t put on the table yet. I am really excellent at breaking things down and explaining things in a way that activates a student’s or client’s prior knowledge and building off explaining things from there.
This link will take you to my music, my reviews and projects underway. https://linktr.ee/dreamtonicmusic
Come check me out at www.dreamtonicmusic.com and let’s get to work!
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Give the underdog a chance. Listen to the track that has only 2 streams. Offer the artist a slot at your venue and take a chance on them. Share your friend’s music that they just released on social media. Buy your friend’s homemade soap and candles. Subscribe to your artist friend’s newsletter. Be a good friend and support your artist friends, even if you don’t fully resonate with their art because somebody else might. It takes two seconds and is so meaningful to them. There is room for everyone in this world. Just because you promote one person’s brand doesn’t mean it will take business away from yours.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
“Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy was a game changer for me. It’s all about acknowledging that we will never have enough time in the world to tackle our to-do list and instead, we simply need to prioritize. When we get down to it and look at our priorities, there will always be certain tasks that we dread but that are necessary. Do those first and get them out of the way. It will strengthen your resolve to be able to do hard things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dreamtonicmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamtonicmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dreamtonicmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-allen-farmer-547201a2/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dreamtonicmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgj8CXSsg47gS3EN1HvwEhQ
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/54uCwjpagoWFwtUN1RnTQu https://linktr.ee/dreamtonicmusic
Image Credits
American Hunny Dk3Studios