We recently connected with Nicholas RIchardson and have shared our conversation below.
Nicholas, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
For music production, I’ve been self-taught since I started as a kid in the late 2000’s – early 2010’s, playing around in Fruity Loops and figuring it out as I go. YouTube is probably the best learning resource out there, and it keeps getting better with time as music production becomes more widely accessible and popular. If I could go back, I definitely would’ve read the instruction manual for the software a lot sooner… it’s invaluable. You might think that’d be a given, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t even think to, especially when you’re just a young kid just starting out.
I think the most important skill to have, before technical knowledge, is to develop your ear. Listen to lots of music across a variety of genres, find things you love, things you hate, and research the techniques of your favorite artists and producers. Especially in the internet age, there’s endless potential to learn and grow.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a songwriter, rapper, music producer, audio engineer, graphic designer, entrepreneur; needless to say, I wear a lot of hats, Especially when working with my team at NOTA Collective/Studios. We’re always brainstorming our creative ideas and collaborating to put on shows, release music, connect with other independent artists, and bring out the best in each other.
I’ve had a creative drive for as long as I can remember. As a young kid, I was spending my free time writing lyrics in my bedroom or building toys for myself out of cardboard, tape, and glue. I never outgrew that sense of curiosity and wonder, and I don’t expect that I ever will. I truly believe creativity is its own reward.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I believe that any true artist does what they do because they have to. They may try to quit, but they can’t. They might get discouraged when people tell them they’re wasting their time, but they always find their way back in front of a canvas or a microphone.
Art allows us to communicate in so many ways that simple words can’t. Even poetry measures the words differently; it speaks in multiple languages at once. It bridges the gap between the material and the unknown, our feelings and experiences that can’t be captured in a more conventional way. That need for understanding and discovery is essential to who we are as people, and to me that is the greatest reward it can give.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
While I can’t say I’ve ever owned one, I think they’re an interesting case study of how creative people connect with audiences in the digital age. The landscape has evolved so quickly, and we’re trying out all these different ways of making the experience tangible and special for the audience when so much of their participation happens remotely, through a screen. I’m excited to see how these ideas continue to develop, and I hope they do so in a way that benefits both the artist and the consumer.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ABSNT
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/absntmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/absntmusic
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/absntmusic
Image Credits
photos by @dyn.theartist and @myloftypursuits