TSDcast 79 - Woven Thorns (Entrevista + Mix)

Directamente de Denver para o TSDcast - Woven Thorns

Take a step to Dub - Hi Morgan, a big welcome from all at Take a step to Dub, how goes?

Woven Thorns  -  Oh it goes haha things are good though, no complaints. Thanks for having me!

TSD - Although you're no stranger to the digital community surrounding bass music, on the last couple of the days you emerge under a new alias! What made you want to change from Kālī to Woven Thorns?

WT - Yes, very exciting! I changed my name for a few reasons, but I’ll keep it short. Earlier this year, I took some time to reflect on my goals as an artist and realized that in order to create a project that’s uniquely and entirely my own, I needed a name to match.

TSD - What’s the story behind the name Woven Thorns, if any?

WT - It stemmed from trying to figure out a simple combination of words that no one else had used before. But I also wanted a name that had a strong presence and helped indicate the overall vibe of the music. The more I sat with the name Woven Thorns I realized that it held layers of significant meaning, too. Mainly, that it represents my mission to create order and beauty from the chaos of emotions through music.

TSD - Taking a step back in time, do you remember what first got you into wanting to create music?

WT - Definitely. I have always been obsessed with music, since I was around 5 years old, and I was always trying to find new ways to connect myself closer to music as I got older. As a kid and teenager I got into dancing, voice lessons, singing in the choir, and playing guitar. When I got older I also started going to lots of shows and DJing, working alongside various event promoters, writing for music blogs and creating my own music blog in order to try and connect with music further. With all of that in mind, I was still unsatisfied. So at that point, I realized that the only solution was to make music myself. It was an intimidating but very honest realization, but I knew that it was the only choice to make in order to be truly happy.

TSD - What music do you listen to outside of producing, has it changed a lot since you started? Do you think it feeds into the music you make?

WT - I’m kind of all over the place … doom metal, classic rock, blues, both new and old school hip-hop, almost anything from the ‘90s, alternative, electronic ... lots of stuff. I’d say my taste hasn’t changed but rather expanded and evolved a lot since I first got into producing. It’s been such an integral part of growing my own sound, especially since I’ve been getting into resampling a lot more and taking cues from hip-hop production in that sense. It has also opened my mind in terms of wanting to incorporate different moods and feelings into my own output, pushing me to strive for both a timelessness and diversity.

TSD - Where do you find yourself drawing most of your inspiration from?

WT - Honestly, I’m most inspired by how other people’s music has made me feel throughout my life and wanting to give that same feeling to others through my own music. I can cite all of my day-to-day influences until my face turns blue, but that sentiment underlies the root of it all. I think back to moments from my childhood where I sat in my room just listening to CDs and absorbing all of the emotion that it made me feel. In my toughest and loneliest moments as a teenager I always had music, and it always struck me so intensely and purely and it gave me permission to indulge in whatever I was feeling at that moment. No matter what stage or mental space I find myself in, music has always made me feel like I’m not alone and has also helped me to recognize who I am, even if I can’t articulate it with words. I’m inspired by the hope of giving that to other people through my music. I want listeners to feel a little less alone and connected to my music because they find themselves there, too. I would feel so incredibly honored.

TSD - I'm sure it's the thousandth time and you gonna hate doing it once again, but it's gotta be done. Did you think much about the fact that there were barely any women in the scene?

WT - No haha. I know it’s an unexpected answer but the way I see it is that people have the freedom to choose whatever path it is that they want to pursue in life. It’s up to the individual, whether male or female, to make it happen for themselves if they feel strongly enough about it. For me, music has always grabbed me, and it just made sense to start making music when the thought first entered my mind, and that was it. I know there are always obstacles and excuses, and learning how to produce may seem especially intimidating, but ultimately the only person standing in the way of your happiness is yourself and if you love something enough and are passionate enough, you’ll find a way.

TSD - How do you feel about social media in all of its influence on the music game now?

WT - I have a lot of mixed feelings, both positive and negative. On one hand, it’s obviously a great marketing tool and a means to reach audiences around the world (when the algorithms don’t get in the way). It’s also a way for fans to connect with you and relate to you on a more personal level outside of just your musical output. On the other hand, I feel like it’s so easy to fake importance and rely too heavily on superficial or non-music related aspects to appeal to people and grow your fan base with social media. Artists can get surprisingly far in that way. And I feel like sometimes it can be hard to see when someone’s gone too far in that direction and their appeal is stronger as an “influencer” rather than an artist. I could honestly write an essay about this. But basically, I can’t really get behind someone if their online “image” is a crutch to get more attention than they otherwise would through their music.

TSD - Despite you are from Santa Barbara you're connected to the Denver scene. How has your music and growth as an artist been influenced and affected working from there?

WT - In more unconventional ways than you might think. It’s great to be connected to so many artists and music lovers ... it’s a solid opportunity that not everyone has, but I realize that no matter where I am, I always thrive more when I exist in my own creative space and separate myself from what other people around me are doing. I’ve always been that way. When I detach myself from external connections, both in person and on social media, I allow myself to enter my own space of creativity in a more pure form, and that’s where my best music comes from. That’s where Woven Thorns was born. I know other people are probably the opposite and thrive from soaking in different artists, music, shows, etc. but I need to operate in my own space.

TSD - We can say that your final act as Kali was the free EP "Within". Could you give us an idea of where you were trying to take this piece of music from a technical viewpoint as well as its listener emotionally?

WT - I wish I had a deeper answer to your question, but honestly this release came about because I had been sitting on a stack of tunes that were intended to be released by other labels. Enough time had passed without hearing anything from those labels, my style and skills evolved, and my name was about to change so I figured that I would just give that music away for free. I’d rather have it out into the world for people to enjoy than let it sit on my computer forever. I was just happy to share that music with people.

TSD - More frequently we see artists like yourself using Bandcamp for releases as an alternative to going through a traditional record label. In your opinion why this happened?

WT - I’m definitely not one to speak generally and for everyone who’s released on Bandcamp, I’m sure everyone has their own reasons, but I think that some people are tired of dealing with messy label politics and putting their art in the hands of other people who might not treat their music with as much care as it deserves. And sometimes artists don’t even see a single penny for these releases. You’d be surprised. Thankfully, if people want their music to get released they don’t necessarily have to wait around to get picked up by a label, and they can have full control over the situation as well. With that said, labels definitely play their own role that Bandcamp can’t really provide, in that, if a label is run by solid people and has a strong following, it can be a really priceless platform for an artist’s growth. 

TSD - One of the things that we like hearing about are up and coming producers to look out for. Take that in mind which artists are you keeping an eye on?

WT - I’d say Nosq, Hitman, Nights, Moosiqunt and Stizzla & Eater … I’m probably spacing on a few more but these guys are all great at delivering super unique sounds at a really high quality. 

TSD - We are quite excited about the mix you put together for us. Tell us a little bit about the selection process, down to the final recording?

WT - Thanks, I’m excited to share it! It actually took me a bit to wrap my head around ... I felt a little extra pressure because I wanted this mix to convey the vibe of the new name as best as possible. Overall, I was striving for a sophisticated darkness … still heavy, but my own definition of what that means. In terms of selection, I wanted to showcase my own productions as much as possible, unheard Woven Thorns things especially, along with music from other artists who I really support ... also just some cool ass music that hopefully people haven’t really heard before. The final recording was done on CDJs and mixer recorded into Ableton.

TSD - Before we finish... can you give us any cheeky upfront information about what we might be seeing from you for the rest of the year?

WT - I have my first two shows under the Woven Thorns name coming up in October. I’m playing Beauty In The Backyard in Maryland on October 4th and an all-female lineup later in the month in Denver. I hope that once I start shopping all this new material around to labels that we can add that to the list of expectations, but that remains to be seen.

TSD - Now to finish... there any question that were never been done to you that you would like to answer?

WT - Not that I can think of! I’m just grateful that you took the time to ask these awesome questions. It’s nice to know that other people are interested in what I’m doing. 

TSD - Thank you for your time Morgan, all the best for the future. Are there any final comments / shoutouts you wanna share to wrap things up?

WT - Thank you! Again, I really appreciate being a guest on your platform! I definitely need to shout out my boyfriend. He helped me with my beautiful new logo and gave me a second opinion on basically all of the work that went into getting this new name up and running. On top of that, he’s all around inspiring and supportive. I also want to give a special thanks to my family for always being so genuinely excited and curious about all of my music stuff and rooting for me to succeed and be happy. I’m lucky. Oh and of course, thank you to anyone who continues to follow my music. It’s one thing to have faith in myself as an artist, but to see that get reaffirmed by others is so priceless and literally means the world.