The QR Network
  • Interviews
  • The Label
  • News
  • About
    • Contact
  • Privacy & Cookies

The QR Network Presents

EDM Interviews, Experiences, and Everything in Between.

From Military to Musician with Stisema

2/10/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
You've mentioned in other interviews that you used to be in the military. What can you tell us about that part of your life and how you transitioned from that rigid lifestyle to the the life of a musician and performer?
I was introduced to EDM before I went into the military, but I started to like it more while I was there. I was stationed in a city called Stavanger, which was south of the village I was living in. Back then, I didn't go out all that often, but whenever I did, I would always take notice of the DJs playing and it got to the point where I wanted to try my hand at it. My uncle gave me some inspiration as well - he was a DJ in the 90's. When I ended my short military career due to problems with my legs, I started to go out more often and meet other DJs in a city near my home town, Haugesund. This is where I got to know some of the resident DJs who gave me opportunities to perform. Everything went really fast from that point forward.
Your music tends to gravitate towards the lighter and brighter side of EDM. What sorts of inspirations do you like to draw from when making your new tracks? 
When I first started making music back in 2013, I really liked the UK house vibe. So much so that I decided that I wanted to go there to make music. Back where I'm from in Norway, the people there really like mainstream music, and so I tried to focus my sound on what I saw people enjoying. These days, I focus on evolving myself and working towards developing my own signature sound by putting in a lot of studio time and constantly experimenting. I love making everything from softer deep house to bangin' future house, and I have so much new music that I can't wait to show everyone!
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by STISEMA â–¡â–¡â–¡ (@stisema) on Sep 29, 2018 at 10:15am PDT

Your release that came out this Friday is a bit of a departure from your normal future house sound by slowing things down a bit. What caused this shift in music direction and can we expect more like this from you in the future? 
For my first mainstream track, I wanted to draw on some of the music that I enjoyed as an 80's kid, namely disco. I've always loved listening to music from the likes of Daft Punk and the Norweigian band called Lemaitre. With "One in a Million," I experimented a lot with these sounds as well as retro wave, which I often use in my other tracks. I used some real instrumentation in this one including a groovy guitar line from my extremely talented friend Martin Meneilly, and catchy vocals from Sander Nijbroek. The end result is very funky and easy to listen to. Right now, I don't have any plans to make a track like this again, but you never know where my creativity takes me!
View this post on Instagram

The official video for ‘Waiting For You’ is out NOW! . . □: @madshalvorsen_photography

A post shared by STISEMA â–¡â–¡â–¡ (@stisema) on Jan 26, 2019 at 2:58am PST

Looking back, you just published a music video for your track, "Waiting for You," that came out last month. What was your experience like putting the video together and you feel like they are as effective a marketing tool as they are for mainstream genres? 
I wouldn't necessarily call it a music video but more of a recap from my big gig at Studentweek in Norway. It just so happened that my new single "Waiting For You" happened to get released on the same day. However, I am really excited to release my first true music video this Wednesday for "One in a Million." I hope this can reach a totally new audience and help my music spread even further.
What words of advice would you give to up-and-coming artists to ensure that their tracks perform well on Spotify?
My first piece of advice is to make a network of curators. Contact private tastemakers on social media and ask for placements in exchange for sharing their playlist.  There are also many playlist curators that will take a fee for placements. Always do some research before you buy these, though. There are a lot of not-so-active playlists out there where you won't gain any plays. What I often do is visit other artists' profiles that are in the same genre or have the same vibe as you. From there, you can see which playlists they are in. This is where you will find all of the "holy grail" type of playlists that you can't find by just searching for them.

It's also important to build your own social presence on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and your own Spotify playlist. With that network in place, you are able to trade tracks with other artists and so on.

What does a normal day look like for you?

Oh where to start! (laughs) I got the professional certificate as an electrician eleven years ago, and did that for seven years before quitting to do music full-time. Currently, I am back in school studying electrical engineering and will have finished my degree this coming summer. I went back to school so that I would have a safety net to fall back on if music doesn't work out for me. Hopefully it won't come to that because I will do whatever it takes to make music work for me!
During the week, I get up in the morning and go to school from 8:00-14:00. After classes, I'll come back to the studio at home and then spend some time with my girlfriend. Most of the time, the days in the studios last for quite some time when I get into that creative head space. I also try to stay in shape by going to the gym - I've got to get ready for the festival season!

Weekends are often the same when I'm not on tour. When it's tour season however, there's a lot of traveling, late nights, and waking up early to get things done or travel to the next place. It's all good though, because I love traveling!
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by STISEMA â–¡â–¡â–¡ (@stisema) on Jan 13, 2019 at 9:33am PST

What's coming up next for you?
Well, 2019 is going to be interesting! I have a lot of collabs coming up with a mix of both well-known and unknown artists. I can't talk too much about that just yet. But, you can follow me on social media if you want the latest! Beyond that, I have a lot of new music coming up and the music video coming on Wednesday that I mentioned earlier. I have also just announced my first festival appearance for the summer at Skral Festival in Norway - one of my favorites! I'm also in touch with several other festivals but nothing is confirmed yet. My plan for the rest of the year is to keep pushing out new music, and do my best to get out and perform on the big stages around the world. I feel very lucky to have this "job" where I get to spread my ideas to so many different people through music and travel all over the world.
A huge thanks to Stisema for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to follow him on social media using the links below!

SPOTIFY INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD WEBSITE

NEXT

Picture

PREVIOUS

One of Six Triad

EDM INTERVIEWS

Picture
Picture
Picture

Chris W. Lao

Writer, DJ, and Student.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Interviews:

    Adventure Club
    Axollo
    B3RROR
    Birthdayy Partyy
    Cat Dealers
    ​Chad Kowal 
    Chester Young
    Chocolate Puma
    Conor Ross
    ​Corx
    D'Angello & Francis
    Dannic
    Damien N-Drix
    Debris
    Declain
    Dirty Ducks
    DJ Brooklyn
    Drop Department
    Fabian Mazur
    Folded Dragons
    Foxa
    Herobust
    High 'n' Rich
    ​Husman
    Ibranovski
    ​Jex Jordyn
    Jimmy Clash
    ​Jonth
    ​Jordan Jay
    Justin Mylo
    KAAZE
    Kage
    Kompany
    Krimsonn
    ​Kris Kiss
    ​Leah Culver
    Loca Recordings
    ​Loris Cimino
    DJ Luane de Lima
    Luca Schreiner
    Lucille Croft
    Maddix
    Magnificence
    Marauda
    Maurice West
    Merzo
    ​Micah Martin
    ​DJ Natalia Moon
    NEVERGLOW
    Nino Lucarelli
    Olly James
    ​OUTRAGE
    Pessto
    Peter Rijpkema
    Pharien
    Pro​tohype
    Retrovision
    Riot Ten
    ​Roy Orion
    RudeLies
    SaberZ
    ​
    Salvo
    Sativ Records
    Seth Hills
    Sophie Francis
    Steven Vegas
    Stisema
    ​Sunday Noise
    SWACQ
    Syzz
    ​TBR
    Teminite
    TNO
    Todd Helder
    Tom & Jame
    Tom Wilson
    Tommy Jayden
    Triple M
    TV Noise
    Valy Mo
    Wasback
    Yuki-San
    Zubah
    9lives

    Tags

    All
    Armada Artists
    Axtone Artists
    Bass House
    Big Room
    DJs
    Dubstep
    EDM Adventures
    EDM Industry Professionals
    EDM News
    EDM Spotlight
    Future Bass
    Future House
    Imagine Festival
    Interviews
    NCS
    Progressive House
    Quartzo Artists
    Revealed Artists
    Site Updates
    Spinnin' Artists
    STMPD Artists
    The Music Elk
    United
    Vocalists

    Archives

    March 2025
    October 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

    RSS Feed

Ventures

FACEBOOK
Instagram
​TWITTER
Soundcloud
Youtube

QR Network

About
​Privacy

© COPYRIGHT 2021
. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Interviews
  • The Label
  • News
  • About
    • Contact
  • Privacy & Cookies