Marvinmarvelous features as a veteran DJ and Producer, whose origin began in the dance music scene from an early age, with surrounding musical influences in his childhood home like Motown, R &B, Jazz, and Classic Rock that has helped to shape the music he shares with the world today.
Marvinmarvelous sits behind an impressive discography of House anthems along the likes of ‘Boys and Girls’, ‘All I Do’, and ‘Harvard Soul’. His talent for the art of music production is what sets him apart from the rest, considering his sounds have reached international levels in countries such as France, Spain, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.
Join Marvinmarvelous as he continues to develop his skills with a unique blend of Deep House, Electro House, and R&B tailor-made to be felt in the soul and enjoyed properly.
T.H.E – Hey! Great to have you here. How’re you doing?
Marvinmarvelous – Life is good, no complaints.
T.H.E – What software/hardware do you use?
Marvinmarvelous – Even though I keep Pro Tools and Logic on my computers, my main DAW is Ableton 11. It does everything I need it to do in a quick an easy way. I only use the other two when someone brings me a Logic or Pro Tools session to be worked on. For plugins, I use UAD, Waves, Softube, Izotope, Soundtoys, Fabfilter, and the Plugin Alliance bundle, for most of what I do.
As far as hardware is concerned, I have a SSL AWS 948 console that I love. It works well with my DAW’s and I can integrate all of my outboard gear with it too. As far as outboard gear, I have a bunch of compressors, a Manley Vari-Mu, Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor, Tube Tech CL1B, Rupert Neve MBC, LA-2A, and a few others. Compressors are the one thing that are really different from the plugins. Plugins tend to lose the roundness in the low end, and the openness in the highs as compared to the hardware. I also use a Manley Stereo Pultec, Kush Audio Clariphonic, and a Charter Oaks PEQ-1 for outboard eq. I have a room full of synths, but my favs are my Korg M1, Moog One, Juno-106, and my Fender Rhodes Stage piano.
T.H.E – What are the 3 main rules you follow when producing?
Marvinmarvelous – First, I try to find or make a sample that sounds good from the start. If I have to put more than a couple of plugins or eq’s on a sound to make it sound good, I start over.
Second, is to make music that I like, and music that I feel represents what I want to portray to the public. There’s 7 billion people in the world, so somebody’s going to like what I do.
Third is to have fun. If I’m not feeling it when I’ m creating, I’ll leave and come back later when it feels right. I never want making music to feel like a job.
T.H.E – One tip for new producers?
Marvinmarvelous – Find your own voice. Get your production skills to the point where you can copy someone if you wanted to, but find the music inside you that makes you feel unique when you make it.
T.H.E – What are the main things to avoid doing?
Marvinmarvelous – Following the latest trend. By the time you’ve heard it, the people that made it are on to something else. Also, don’t procrastinate, keep moving forward. Lastly, it’s not the gear, it’s the person making the music that counts. Don’t get caught up in thinking that if you only had “that” piece of gear, you could make great music. Having quality gear is nice, but a laptop and stock plugins have made some really great music.
T.H.E – What advice was you given when you first started out?
Marvinmarvelous – To remember, it the highs and mids that make people listen, but it’s the bottom end that makes people dance.
T.H.E – What is your advice on sampling?
Marvinmarvelous – Sampling is a great creative tool, but because of copyrights issues, if you’re sampling someone else’s music, you had better get clearance, or you’ll have big problems if your song ends up being a hit. It doesn’t matter how obscure you think a sound is, it can still come back to haunt you. If you sample anyway, mangle it so it’s not recognizable to anyone.
T.H.E – What tips do you have for creating a ‘signature sound’?
Marvinmarvelous – Practice! If you make enough music, you’ll end up with your sound after awhile. You’ll find gear, plugins, synths, chords, and drum sounds that appeal to you, and you’ll start using them more and more.
T.H.E – How do you spark your creativity?
Marvinmarvelous – I always keep my ears open for new sounds wherever I go. I was walking down a street in Istanbul, Turkey and I heard this guy playing a flute. He had a unique way of vibrating his notes. I asked him if I could record it for a nice tip, and he said yes. Also, I’ll sometimes go to a club or festival and watch what makes the people move and go on from that. Usually, it’s just a 2 or 3 second sound that sparks something in me.
