We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Trent Ballantine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Trent, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Ever since I was a young child I have been obsessed with music and dancing. I can’t remember a time in my life where music was not something that I was intrigued by or interested in. Growing up my parents always had music playing in the background so I can 100% thank them for showing me how powerful and unifying music is. I grew up listening to all the oldies/classics. Some of our household favorites where The Bee Gees, Temptations, Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash. I remember countless holidays with my family dancing throughout the house singing at the top of our lungs “Ain’t No Mountain High-Enough” by the Temptations. I would definitely say out of all the listed artists/bands we listened to as a family, the Temptations where our go-to. As far as my personal journey with creating/writing music, this didn’t begin until many years later when Covid struct the world. For the past five years or so prior to Covid, I had been experimenting with the concept of mixing/Djing but never really took myself seriously. I would DJ house parties in college and at friends houses but it was mostly just a casual hobby. Creating music was something I had always fantasized about but never actually took the leap of faith and tried it out. The pandemic was actually the driving force in me learning how to create music. I figured if I couldn’t be out socializing then why not teach myself something I had been fascinated with my entire existence. All throughout college, I attended raves and music festivals and fell in love with the sub genre of EDM called bass music! I loved all the weird and atmospheric/crunchy sounds this genre brought to the dance floor. I will never forget the first bass music event I went to which was Excision in 2012. My ears still have not recovered from that show… Prior to learning how to create bass music, I had no formal musical training. I never learned any type of instrument so I literally started from scratch. I watched just about every Youtube video from Bunting and Ahee as well as countless other videos. It’s pretty amazing that we live in a technological time where we can teach ourselves just about anything via the internet. Although the pandemic had some dark moments for all of us, I can honestly say it was a blessing in some ways for me personally because it pushed me as a human to pursue something I might have never done otherwise. Creating and writing music has full-filled my life in more ways than I can count and I will never stop chasing this dream.

Trent, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As mentioned in the previous question, I essentially got into this industry during the pandemic. I first began with learning how to make music. Eventually, I progressed into more of a networking role and began connecting with other artists all around the nation. I started hosting these live-stream music events on Twitch which is such an amazing platform. Hosting these live-stream events will always hold such a special place in my heart because this was definitely a huge contributor to the network I have created within the industry. By hosting these events I not only got to connect with other artists, but it also helped me connect with other promoters which became a huge asset once the pandemic was over and people could host in person events again! As with most industries, it’s all about who you know when you’re an up and coming artist. Another thing I did that really helped kick start my music career was I created a record label with my business partner called Collective Conscious Records. Creating this label was a huge asset to my networking abilities because it now gave me a platform to help myself and other artists get their music in front of more listeners. I can proudly say that our record label platform has tremendously grown over the years and continues to grow daily. We have also thrown countless events/shows as a record label and will continue to throw events for many years to come! I also run an event company as well called TrapHomeProductions so definitely make sure to check us out on Facebook or Instagram :) If I had to sum up what I am most proud of in a few words, I would say it’s the fact that I have helped out a lot of up and coming artists get their first big break/show. I have booked dozens of artists for their first live show which later down the line led them to getting more booking opportunities. As someone who had to create my own opportunities in this hard industry, it feels amazing to see the smile on the face of an artist who’s been working for years at their craft but never got one booking. Once again, it’s all about who you know in this industry and that’s why there is a lot of undiscovered talent out there.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The best advice I can give any up and coming artist when it comes to building an audience/fanbase is support other artists in your industry. When you support another artists music they will most likely support your’s as well which eventually turns into a shared audience. This was a huge asset when it came to me getting a bigger audience/social media presence. It’s what I like to call a win-win scenario. You’re winning because you’re supporting another persons art as well as winning because you’re potentially going to get their fanbase to check out your music as well!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would say the driving force in my creative journey is the concept that when I get old I want to look back at my life and know that I truly chased by dreams and followed my heart. I don’t want to grow old and have all these what-if thoughts. I want to grow old knowing that I did what I loved in this world and I left my marking.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headstash_muzic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/headstashmuzic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE9iMnnuHxkRHCan514YEGQ
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/headstash_muzic?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
• Other: Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/head%24tash/1576111196

  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1S26gp5lJiaTbWG62hOs75?si=vJ7afPNjTbCKwFuXfLS-yg