Being my first post of this electronic music blog, I think it makes sense to tell, in first place, a little bit of my story. Despite having created Hozho only in 2015, my path through electronic music production had begun a few years ago. However, I will try to summarize everything that happened until the day I decided to create this project that today is an integral part of my life.

I went to university in 2011 to study Psychology. I moved from Viseu (my homeland) to Aveiro (the city where I live nowadays). At this point, I was in a band and I was the bass player. I played electric bass since I was 16 and it fascinated me in many ways: the bass sounds and the fact that only a very small group of people played this instrument. However, my band was a covers band and this didn’t fulfill me because I wanted us to create our own songs. I consider myself a very creative person, to be honest. I even went so far as to create my own basslines at home and spend hours on the same loop, just because… In any case, the band has come to an end when I went to Aveiro. Coincidence or not, at that time a friend of mine showed me a musical production program, something that I didn’t know. So, I started experimenting and taking the first steps in FL Studio (the DAW I still use these days).

I started producing hip hop beats, then I went to drum and bass and I ended up in minimal techno, all this during my academic course over 3 years, where I finished my degree in Psychology. However, the musical production was nothing more than a hobby and Psychology no longer had the same fascination for me as it had a few years ago. However, I still admire the science of Psychology but more focused on personal relationships – I love people!

After completing my degree, I decided to stop my studies for a year. I returned to Viseu where I had to find a job to earn some money. What happened at this job changed my life forever! I started to work in a company that sold telecommunications services, door to door, with no fixed salary at the end of the month. What many of you will be thinking at this moment I thought at the beginning too: “What a shit work! It means that if I don’t sell anything, I’m not going to gain anything and I’m wasting my time on this.” Well, I thought about it at the beginning but the motivational sessions every morning at the office before we went to the field were “explosive”. They made us to believe that it was possible to reach a level where we could be the owners of a company, but for that we had to sweat a lot, walk a lot, sell a lot, talk to many people and create our team! It would not be easy but it was possible.

And now you’re asking yourselves: “But what does this have to do with music?” Well, it’s all about music, or photography, or painting, or any other kind of art. Because what really matters here is one thing – MOTIVATION! After 5 months I left this company but I left with the mentality that everything is possible in this life. And that’s when I made the decision to want to be a musician, because now I knew it was possible to live it!

 

“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”

Thomas Jefferson

 

Do you want to be a musician? YOU CAN! It’s up to you, nobody else. Because if you depend on someone else you will never reach the top because you are going to let these people influence you and they will make you believe that it’s not possible, that the life of DJ and producer is difficult, that you need to be very lucky to get there. LUCK? Your luck is built, day after day, in front of your computer, producing music, learning new techniques, with a lot of persistence. And you’re fooling yourselves if you think you need to have a studio with good monitors, a good keyboard and good soundproofing to make good music. I produced Silent EP (my first EP) only with the computer and headphones. And I don’t say it’s the best EP ever but it’s something, it’s music, it’s MY FUCKING ART! And there are people who like it. And if there are people who like it, even one person, then it was all worth it.

To conclude this post, I just want to say what I really think, feel and believe this – success is within everyone’s reach! I don’t want you to believe me, I want you to believe in yourselves. This is not a race. There are no shortcuts. It can take a long time or take less time but one thing is guaranteed – you will get there! How? From my personal experience and the experience of other artists, I can say – BE YOURSELF! There’s nothing a fan admires more about an artist than a genuine personality.

 

“It’s better to be different than to be a little better.”

Aubrey Wilson

 

Personality is your greatest ally. It doesn’t matter if you are good or bad producer. If you don’t have the mentality and the will to really want it, you will never get it. Simple. Do we live in a world full of producers and DJs? Yes, it’s true! But remember that along this way, many will flinch, many will think that it’s not possible to make a life as a musician, and they will end up giving up. And at this point, you will be alive, raised and doing what you love and what you have always fought for. Because that’s what it’s all about: be happy doing what you love!

 

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.”

Gerard Way

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