Bringing Bass and Losing Fingers with Protohype

8/2/2018

Max Hype, aka Protohype, has become one of the most well-known producers on the Bass Music scene. He's had releases on Firepower, SMOG, Spinnin’ Records, with a discography totaling over 100 original creations, Outside of music, he's been developing his #Puppycrew brand to throw charity events to help fund no-kill animal shelters. He's stopped by to talk about his upcoming projects and performance at Imagine Festival.

Let’s start off by talking about new music, you’ve been on record saying that you’ve made some of your biggest hits in around an hour. What can you tell us about how your workflow and creative process has changed over the years?
This is true, I have been known to knock out a track in a short amount of time because I’ve worked on streamlining my workflow to make it really quick for me. After I’ve done the initial work on a song, I’ll always revisit the idea and polish the mixdown and complete any ideas I didn’t finish. However, my best tracks have this fast, organic flow when I’m creating them. It’s a skill that I’ve homed in on over the years and it makes writing music very enjoyable for me.
Being fast with my left hand helps me with my workflow. I know all of the hot keys and have all of my go-to samples and plug-ins accessible to me with one click which is crucial for quickly translating your ideas into your DAW. Over time, I’ve fixed a few issues that have allowed me to get things right the first time I do them as opposed to having to go back all the time and fix things after the fact. For me, a huge tool for a fast workflow is having an in-depth template with all of my go to ideas when I open up a new session. I recommend that every producer has their own template that helps them use maximize their time in the studio.

How have you been treated as an artist over the course of your career?
I think that every artist doesn’t really get respect or recognition in the beginning of their career but that’s part of how the game goes. You’ve got to earn your respect and support from your peers and that comes with good music and time. A lot of young guys think they’re owed all of this attention and praise but the reality is no one is owed anything. You’ve got to prove yourself worthy of whatever you think you’re owed.

A post shared by PROTOHYPE (@protohype) on Jun 27, 2018 at 9:42am PDT

Can you give us an update on #Puppycrew and your non-profit?
Big things are happening with the #Puppycrew. We’ve now done five charity shows and every single one has been a big success in its local community. I’m working now on planning the next show which I think will probably be in Nashville which is actually my hometown. I’m just doing what I can to try and help save these animals and make it as easy as possible for people to get involved to help as well.

Can you tell us about some of your most outlandish experiences you’ve had on the road?
So many ridiculous things have happened to us on the road. One story I can tell you was on my first European tour with Getter and Bare Noize. We were in Bordeaux, France, in this tiny club that was essentially a sweatbox. I don’t know if I’ve ever been hotter in my entire life. After my set, Getter went on stage and I was standing outside with Ollie from Bare Noize when we saw this girl crying on the side of the street surrounded by all of her friends. We were super confused about what was going on then we saw an ambulance pull up and the promoter come running out of the club with one of those ice buckets meant to hold champagne and you’ll never guess what it was holding: a real human finger. The medics took the bucket and the finger, hopped in the ambulance, and booked it out of there. We later found out that the girl somehow managed to get her finger chopped off on the railing during one of our sets. She ran out of there and someone else had to find her finger in all of the chaos and loud music to put it on some ice so that they could stitch it back on. We never found out what happened to that girl in the end. Hopefully she got her digit back.

Heading to ATL to celebrate @herobust bachelor party...the boys are back in town!

A post shared by PROTOHYPE (@protohype) on Jun 1, 2018 at 11:14am PDT

How do you feel about being a DJ in general sense and what have been some of your past experiences performing?
I love performing! It’s been something I’ve been doing my entire life whether it’s been in bands, or in a play. I was happy that it became part of my career. The truth is that I had no idea that DJing or performing would ever play any role in my love for music production. I absolutely love DJing and I’ve really gotten a chance to become the best DJ and performer I could possibly be after all of the hundreds of shows I’ve played over the years. Every single set that I play, I try and do something new or different with my mixing to try and continue perfecting my craft.

Lastly, tell us how you’re feeling about Imagine Festival coming up. What sort of set are you preparing and what sort of expectations to you have for the event?
I’m really excited about Imagine. The last time I played the festival was actually during its inaugural year when it was downtown by Georgia Tech. The thing I remember most about that day was how hot it was! Apparently now it’s over at the speedway which is looking to be even hotter but hopefully fall will have kicked in by the time the big event rolls around. I can’t wait to come back to one of my favorite places in the country to play especially now that I live so close.
As far as what I’m going to play, I’ve taken off pretty much the entire summer to focus on teaching and writing. I’ve written an entire album’s worth of tunes and I’m going to make sure to rinse them all at Imagine. Several of my new tunes feature original vocals from yours truly and I’ve been incorporating a live aspect to my show where I will be performing these vocals on stage so I’m really excited to share all of that with you! See you all out there

A huge thank you to Protohype for taking the time to answer our questions and Imagine Festival for connecting us to bring you this exclusive interview! Follow Protohype using the links below!