We recently connected with Steven Alvarez and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I would have to say that my most recent album, EDEN, has the most meaning to me. I had originally planned to take a break from music production once it was over due to my daughter being born right after it released so I put everything I knew together. Artistically, it is the most sophisticated work I’ve done.

I’ve always been one to tell stories through my music and the story I wanted to tell in this one felt more cinematic than anything I had done up to that point. I wanted to infuse classical instrumentation with my electronic productions in a way that i could establish my own “orchestra” and create an album reminiscent of a film score.

I pulled out all the stops, creating teaser trailers and song specific background videos to push a campaign so that people get hyped to listen. It was the hardest I had ever worked on a project and I did it for my fiance and my newborn baby.

Steven, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Well, my name is Steven Alvarez and I’m an electronic music producer by the name of Spiffy Man. I’ve been producing music professionally for 13 years, self releasing my first album ‘Headlights’ in the summer of 2011 when I graduated high school.

I got into music production in a sort of odd way. I used to make backyard wrestling videos with my friends and was apart of a forum known as GBYWN. On the forum, I met a guy who was using a much older version of FL Studio to create his own entrance music. I was extremely curious on learning to do this myself and looked into it. But, being 13 at the time, I sort of gave up on it pretty quickly. It wasn’t until about my junior year in high school that I took a look again. I wanted to recreate the sounds of the synthesizers for the band Van Halen and began teaching myself through the few Youtube tutorials available at the time. From there, I fell into a rabbit hole of music production that I never pulled myself out of.

At the beginning, I was strictly a Progressive House artist. I, like so many others, was heavily inspired by the artist deadmau5 and wanted to create amazing music like him. Over time, I developed my sound as a unique blend of cinematic movement and the dreamy sound of Deep Progressive House. Today, I just consider myself an artist of electronic music as I experiment with all sorts of genres; these include Synthwave, Chillstep, Lo-Fi Beats, and even Rolling Techno under a separate alias.

I’m proud of everything I’ve done, even my early works that I find cringey to my own ears. I put my heart into each album I’ve made and created a cinematic universe within my music that, if one takes the time to listen, you can imagine yourself in and find yourself sneaking away into your imagination. This is how I fell I’ve set myself apart from other artists, even if it hasn’t made me as popular. But that’s not the goal, rather my goal is to entertain the few groups of people who truly enjoy my work. My music speaks for itself, I hope after this you’ll take the time to listen.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of everything I do is the inspiration I give to people who listen to my music. I’ve received messages from fans on Facebook and Instagram throughout the years and it’s always been positive. Many are individuals going through hardships in life and telling me how their music helped theme escape and become better individuals, some are aspiring artists looking for suggestions and critiques in their work. I always respond to the messages, even if it’s a little late, just to let them know I’m glad my music helps and inspires. It pushes me to continue to do what I do so many more are inspired to create art for the world and to feel that they have a purpose in life.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I find that non-creatives who attempt to critique the work life of creatives have a vast disconnect on how we are able to do what we do. You have individuals who are CEOs of companies that run streaming services and they believe music production costs little to nothing, even going as far as using that to justify movement in their company to pay creatives less per play. What they fail to realize is how much work goes into a musicians song.

When I say work, I don’t mean just the production of the song. It also includes the money it costs to get art made, ads placed, mastering services used, etc. These are outside the fact that we all buy our own equipment with the little money we have, many artists giving up a lot of their free time which is a major cost on its own. It took me years to gather together the virtual synthesizers I wanted to use, the studio monitors I felt matched my workflow, and the hardware that tends to need replacing every few years due to how much I use them.

It’s a rough life being a creative, in any field. I create my own album art, I make my own promotional videos, and I pay out of pocket for any ad placements so that my music can reach the people who it can benefit the most. Majority of the time, the small amount of money I make goes back into the music rather than my pocket so that I can continue to make new music for others to enjoy. I hope non-creatives in charge of areas that are dominated by creatives can soon learn and understand this, taking the time to truly study what it is they’re in charge of and be more sympathetic to us all who drive the money machine they’re riding on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.spiffyrecordings.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sp33fym4n
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/pages/Sp33fy-Mn/308892443323
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/spiffyman
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/YVvSykooshWUqMpJ8