UNIIQU3 is an artist, DJ, producer and ambassador of the Jersey Club genre. She’s opened the Renaissance tour for Beyoncé, been sampled by Doechii and made the first Jersey Club track to be longlisted for a Grammy. Trained as a classical pianist and dancer, UNIIQU3 fell in love with club life following an injury that curtailed her dancing. We caught up with her hot off completing her debut album, ‘Mass Appeal’ to talk about her first exposure to Jersey Club in her hometown of Newark, how a cracked copy of FL Studio helped her enter the male-dominated DJ scene, Broadway auditions and Stonehenge.
UNIIQU3 is an artist, DJ, producer and ambassador of the Jersey Club genre. She’s opened the Renaissance tour for Beyoncé, been sampled by Doechii and made the first Jersey Club track to be longlisted for a Grammy.
Trained as a classical pianist and dancer, UNIIQU3 fell in love with club life following an injury that curtailed her dancing. We caught up with her hot off completing her debut album, ‘Mass Appeal’ to talk about her first exposure to Jersey Club in her hometown of Newark, how a cracked copy of FL Studio helped her enter the male-dominated DJ scene, Broadway auditions and Stonehenge.
Season 8 of the My Forever Studio Podcast is supported by Audient, and the impressive new Horizon range of audio interfaces.
https://audient.com/
https://audient.com/products/audio-interfaces/horizon-range/
https://musictech.com/
https://tyxstudios.com/
STUFF WE TALK ABOUT (SPOILERS AHEAD)
https://www.instagram.com/djsliink/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela
https://focusrite.com/products/isa-c8x
https://www.rocktronusa.com/banshee-2.html
https://musictech.com/news/gear/chromeo-talk-box-electrocuted/
https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Pianos/Disklavier-Enspire-Pianos/
https://reverb.com/uk/p/vintage-neumann-and-telefunken-u-47-tube-microphones
https://musictech.com/reviews/yamaha-ns-10/
https://www.krkmusic.com/collections/rokit-series-generation-five-powered-studio-monitors
https://voidacoustics.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pisces.atl/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/paragonbroadway/?hl=en
https://www.pioneerdj.com/en/product/dj-mixers/djm-v10/
https://www.ableton.com/en/push/
https://www.technics.com/global/home/sl1200.html
https://www.hardsummer.com/
Chris Barker [00:00:04]:
Hi, I'm Chris Barker.
Will Betts [00:00:06]:
And I'm Will Betts, and this is the MusicTech My Forever Studio podcast, brought to you in partnership with Audient.
Chris Barker [00:00:11]:
In this podcast, we speak with musicians, DJs, engineers, and producers about their fantasy forever studio.
Will Betts [00:00:17]:
That's right, the studios that our guests choose are ones that they must live with for all eternity, but they must adhere to our totally arbitrary rules.
Chris Barker [00:00:25]:
That's right, the rules. Okay, so our guests get a computer, a DAW, and an audio interface. Those are the free items that we let everybody choose. Then our guest will choose just 6 other bits of audio gear plus 1 non-studio-related luxury item.
Will Betts [00:00:39]:
But Chris—
Chris Barker [00:00:40]:
Yes?
Will Betts [00:00:40]:
No bundles!
Chris Barker [00:00:43]:
No bundles.
Will Betts [00:00:44]:
Choosing something sold as a package of separate software or hardware as a single item is strictly forbidden.
Chris Barker [00:00:51]:
Our guest this time began her journey as a sought-after vocalist in the club scene before becoming an artist, DJ, and producer in her own right.
Will Betts [00:00:58]:
Yes, it wasn't long till her take on the Jersey club sound made her the de facto global ambassador for the scene.
Chris Barker [00:01:04]:
In 2021, her track Heartbeats was the first ever Jersey Club record longlisted for a Grammy, and since then she's been producing even more bangers, opening for Beyoncé and having the 2018 bubblegum sampled on Doechii's Booty Drop.
Will Betts [00:01:17]:
Yes, and now that her debut album is finished, she finally has time for the really important stuff— building her forever studio.
Chris Barker [00:01:24]:
That's right, the forever studio. Yep, this is the real work. This is my forever studio with Jersey Club queen Unique.
Will Betts [00:01:30]:
Welcome, Unique.
Uniiqu3 [00:01:31]:
Hey, what's up, you guys?
Chris Barker [00:01:34]:
We're good, we're good. You, you heard a little bit about the podcast there, and I take it you've listened to a few episodes. We're gonna build your dream studio, but before we start with the construction, let's talk about how you got started and your journey to where you are now as a major influence in the Jersey club scene, but also, you know, in, in electronic music production. Did you always want to do music, or was it always something that it was a hobby, or how did that go?
Uniiqu3 [00:01:58]:
So my origin story— yes, my origin story, it starts from when I was a kid, you know. I was an only child for the majority of my adolescence, and my parents definitely wanted to keep me occupied. So they put me in everything they can, from dance lessons, piano lessons, and I'm talking about every type of dance. I did pointe, I did tap, I did African dance, I did modern. And yeah, as far as piano, I took piano lessons from a classical pianist. Shout out to Miss Hensler. You know, and yeah, it later developed into me singing and dancing, and I would try out for different Broadway productions. The biggest one I've tried out for was The Lion King, but I did not make the cut because I was taller than all the boys that played Simba at the time.
Uniiqu3 [00:02:53]:
So I was so heartbroken, but my dad got me McDonald's. McDonald's was a luxury, you guys. This is not back when McDonald's was the norm, you know? It was like, oh my gosh, I'm getting chicken nuggets? It's like, you know, getting A's on your test.
Will Betts [00:03:08]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:03:09]:
So yeah, I was really excited. And honestly, it really just reflected my whole story from then on because I just got deeper and deeper into the arts throughout high school. You know, I was in different plays, I was in different musicals, I was in concert band. Unfortunately, in concert band, they don't have pianos, so I was learning everything but my main instrument. I was learning the glockenspiel. It's such a random instrument. I know everybody's like, you played the glockenspiel? I tried my share of wind instruments, like the French horn and the clarinet, but I didn't really get down with the whole mouth-blowing thing. It kind of made me numb, so I was more of a hands-on person.
Uniiqu3 [00:03:57]:
Which I feel like made sense for me to become a DJ later in life. But yeah, all throughout high school, I was just a performing arts brat. Unfortunately, until I dislocated my knee, I felt like I was living in one of those coming-of-age dance stories.
Will Betts [00:04:12]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:04:12]:
Dislocated my knee, and I was like, man, yo, there goes me, you know, making it into Alvin Ailey. And I just kind of floated around for a little bit, just doing track and basketball and trying to stay active, but not doing what I love, which was dancing and making music. So I kind of became a little rebel. And I met these friends that introduced me to the party life. And I feel like, you know, ever since then, that's when my whole thing switched. That's when I totally dove into being a party girl and just diving heavily, more heavily into the— Jersey club dance scene, because that's something I was slightly introduced to through dance class because of all the CDs that would be sold downtown around my dance school. The girls would show me how to do the dances, but I never experienced a party until that incident happened that kind of led my, you know, rebellion of just like, all right, I'm not gonna do anything. I'm just gonna party.
Chris Barker [00:05:12]:
So were you already dabbling with production at this point?
Uniiqu3 [00:05:15]:
No, not at all. It was just straight curiosity in the arts. And I could say that after diving into the scene and really getting a dose of the dance culture, I was like, wow, this is so cool. But it's just like so many dudes behind the decks. Like, what's up with that? You know? So my boyfriend at the time, who was one of those guys behind the decks.
Will Betts [00:05:36]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:05:37]:
I asked him, I was like, yo, can you teach me how to DJ? He's like, all right, bet. And honestly, I caught on so fast. It was like, wow, I already know how to make music, like, and compose music. You know, and read sheet music, but this is totally different. I'm reading waveforms now.
Will Betts [00:05:51]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:05:52]:
And honestly, blending 2 songs together came second nature to me, and that's how I really got started on my DJ journey, bouncing around and hopping on decks. At the time, it was very just much, okay, like, your cousin's got a baby shower coming up, do you wanna DJ? I'm like, okay, yeah, anything I could get on, I'm trying to play. And that's what later led me to production because In New Jersey, we've developed this dance genre called Jersey Club, and Jersey Club is a hybrid dance genre that ranges from about 130 to now 150 BPM, but it was never that fast. You know, it comes with the times. But, um, yeah, it's a hybrid dance genre that not only caters to the dance floor with cool dance commands, but it also remixes your favorite top 40 songs in any genre, whether it's pop, R&B, country, hip-hop, even overseas genres we've touched recently. So that's really cool. But to get bookings in this city, you had to have the hottest club tracks. So I was like, I need to learn how to produce.
Uniiqu3 [00:06:55]:
So that's when I downloaded a cracked version of FL Studio.
Chris Barker [00:07:01]:
So FL Studio was the start?
Uniiqu3 [00:07:03]:
Yeah, FL Studio was the start. And, you know, I went from FL to just making different edits. I started off producing Jersey club. I never really had proper training like I did as my other instruments. You know, I was classically trained. I was in class every day. That was my major, compared to DJing where it was something self-taught. But I'm just so happy that my musical background made it easy, you know?
Will Betts [00:07:28]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:07:29]:
It was like, wow, now I have— I just played the piano, but now I got the glockenspiel, I got the trumpet, I got this synth, you know, this crazy synth. all in this laptop. Like, now I could play every instrument I never wanted to play, you know?
Will Betts [00:07:42]:
So was it always going to be Jersey club for you? I mean, you're from Newark, right? So you're in New Jersey. So it was never going to be anything else, right? Or is there a world in which you could have gone another direction?
Uniiqu3 [00:07:52]:
Yeah, no, it was definitely always Jersey club. That's the sound I grew up with. Um, that's the music that gravitated towards me, especially as a dancer, because as a ballerina, I was always surrounded by different genres of music, you know, like getting introduced to the Beatles at such a young age was different, but also listening to Beethoven and also dancing and playing it on the piano. So hearing Jersey Club was just so left field to me at the time, but also still so familiar because they would remix, you know, the songs that I would listen to on my daily, like Aaliyah and Missy Elliott and 50 Cent.
Chris Barker [00:08:28]:
So you got FL Studio because it was the one available as a crack, or because you were told that's the one to get, or—
Uniiqu3 [00:08:35]:
Um, yeah, it just was the easiest one to crack, and it was like the first first thing that popped up, you know, when I went to go download like a DAW, which I didn't even know what it was at the time. Um, and then I slowly made my way to Sony Acid Pro, which is super old school. I feel like it was actually going backwards, but, but it's okay. Um, see, there's a reason why though, you know. I definitely feel like FL Studios is more for beatmakers, and there's some amazing things that people can do in FL Studios, but at the time I just felt like making Jersey Club on Sony Acid Pro was just so essential because you could really squeeze in there and chop up all the samples. You know, that was the best way to manipulate the sound. So I could take a saying that said, all my girls drop to the floor, and I could say, all my girls drop to the floor. You know what I mean? Like just switch it up.
Chris Barker [00:09:22]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:09:23]:
With, you know, being able to really go in there and chop up all the samples very detailed.
Chris Barker [00:09:29]:
And especially if you're doing lots of remixing and like pulling in stuff for your DJ sets, it's an edit machine, isn't it?
Uniiqu3 [00:09:34]:
Exactly, exactly. It just gave me the freedom to really manipulate everything the way that I wanted to do. And I was in Sony Acid Pro for a really long time. I was cracking the Keegan for a really long time, man. Like, on YouTube, straight geeking it, you know, straight. Like, constantly. And shout out to all my friends. You know, there were so many different street teams, we call them, you know, but they were more so DJ and producer collectives that threw events that really looked out for me, you know, when I started my producer journey.
Uniiqu3 [00:10:09]:
Somebody very notable is DJ Slink. I remember he made a song on my laptop at the time, and I remember I used that as a template for a long time. I was like, yeah, I'm gonna just study this, you know? And he also sent me my first club kit over AOL AIM, you know, back when you could send files over AIM. That's how I received my first sound pack. Crazy. Crazy.
Chris Barker [00:10:33]:
Oh, I miss the AOL days.
Uniiqu3 [00:10:35]:
Me too.
Chris Barker [00:10:36]:
Yeah, I do. Like, yeah, what a community. But let's start off with where in the world you would put your forever studio.
Uniiqu3 [00:10:43]:
I mean, where in the world?
Chris Barker [00:10:46]:
It's tough, isn't it, as the Jersey Club queen? But yet you have the whole world for a studio.
Uniiqu3 [00:10:51]:
Right. And I've been, I've been to tons of places. I would definitely think my studio would have to be in Brazil. I think it's a place that definitely has a nice balance of paradise, but also city, you know, and, and being a city girl, I still need that urban atmosphere to give me the energy to make these club edits. But at the same time, I do need the balance of not hearing anything and getting inspired from just silence. And I feel like Brazil would be able to offer me both of those things. So, you know, we're heading over to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
Chris Barker [00:11:29]:
Real authentic.
Uniiqu3 [00:11:30]:
And honestly, I'm no punk. I got my peoples over there. I definitely feel like I would either be in Santa Maria Which is a nice neighborhood, or I would just get a nice crib up in the favelas with my people, you know, real tucked away. You can't even come. You can't even come and disrupt the magic unless you know somebody.
Chris Barker [00:11:48]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, fair, fair.
Will Betts [00:11:51]:
So if we have to nail you down to one though, is it going to be Santa Maria or are you going in the favela?
Uniiqu3 [00:11:56]:
The favelas. I'll just take the trip down to the beach if I got to.
Chris Barker [00:12:00]:
Yeah, exactly.
Will Betts [00:12:01]:
Nice. He's nice.
Chris Barker [00:12:03]:
And what type of vibe is this studio then? What's the kind of decor you go for? What inspires you when you're in the studio?
Uniiqu3 [00:12:09]:
I think this studio would definitely have a tropical vibe. Lots of plants. But I am still a very, like, eccentric, low-light person. So I feel like it needs to have the versatility to transition from day to night in a very soothing way. So I need a place with natural light. That's a must for the daytime vibes. But also, you know, maybe just 1 or 2 big windows that has a scenic view as well. Like, I need to be looking out at all of the different rooftops, and I need to be able to see the beach from afar.
Uniiqu3 [00:12:44]:
Like—
Chris Barker [00:12:45]:
Okay.
Uniiqu3 [00:12:45]:
I feel like having a scenery is just so important to me because 9 times out of 10, we're locked in there all day, and I just need something that's gonna help me remind that life is happening. that time is going by, but in a very beautiful way. So yeah, I need to be able to see the scenery from outside for sure. Like, gotta catch those sunsets.
Chris Barker [00:13:04]:
Um, what's the studio that you've been to where you've gone, yeah, this is nice, or I can work in here? Or do you generally just work on your own? Are you generally just—
Uniiqu3 [00:13:13]:
Well, I could say like all of my home studios have had views. I don't play that. So, so I'm always looking over the city. My last apartment was a little higher. I was on the 15th floor. This one I'm on the 5th floor. But you know, I gotta see the city. I see the skyline like that in, because I'm here to save them with my sounds.
Uniiqu3 [00:13:30]:
So, you know, I got to be able to see the city. So that's definitely the home studio vibes. But when I'm away, it depends. But I need all my studios to have an outside area. I never really liked the studios where I'm just like hitting the block afterwards. I like it if they have like a little balcony, patio, outdoor vibe, because yeah, that's true. I need to be able to like take a breath.
Chris Barker [00:13:52]:
Yeah. And a lot of the ones I've been to, that outside is just a car park.
Uniiqu3 [00:13:56]:
Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:13:57]:
Like it's a one-floor block with a door and inside is nice, but when you wanna step outside, it's just like, oh, we're just in a car park.
Uniiqu3 [00:14:04]:
Yeah. Nah, nah, nah. I need the vibes. I, I recently worked out of Empire Studios in San Francisco and their studios are so sick. They definitely have a sick patio area. But what I love about that studio is it gives that good transition to day to night, more so on the area spaces, not so much the view, but I love their lighting. It looks like Tron, like the whole light system in there looks like Tron, and I definitely need that. Like, I need neon lights.
Uniiqu3 [00:14:32]:
My friends always make fun of me. They say like every time they call me, it's really dark. They think I'm a vampire because like I hate over— I hate, I hate—
Chris Barker [00:14:42]:
The big light. We call it the big light in the UK. The big light. Turn the big light off. It's too much, isn't it?
Uniiqu3 [00:14:48]:
It's too much. It reminds me too much of like work, you know, or like shopping. Like, I'm not at Target.
Chris Barker [00:14:54]:
Yes. Sometimes you go to restaurants and bars and they have the lights like that and you're like, what are you doing?
Uniiqu3 [00:15:01]:
Exactly. I could see my food, thank you. But you also can't get the restaurants that are too dark, like Soho House. Love Soho Down, but you'd be like, what's the menu say?
Chris Barker [00:15:11]:
So you can't see all the celebrities in there, right? So you don't get starstruck, right?
Will Betts [00:15:16]:
So you don't get spotted.
Chris Barker [00:15:17]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Will Betts [00:15:19]:
So, so you said it's really important to you to have that transition from day to night. How does that affect how you work on your music? Do you do different kinds of music in day and night, or?
Uniiqu3 [00:15:29]:
I do. I feel like during the day I'm definitely more of a songwriter. I feel like I could kind of have more clarity to my ideas. I also have like the energy and clarity in my voice to just lay down vocals, um, compared to at night when I feel like I'm a little bit more on the production side. Happy hour has already came and gone, and the effects of that needs to be written out in Ableton. During the night, I'm definitely more of my producer bag. If I do rap, I feel like it's a little bit more aggressive, you know? Definitely sing during the day, definitely rap at night, chanty vocals at night, more aggressive production. I feel like even during the day, if I do produce, it'll be very soft.
Uniiqu3 [00:16:12]:
Like, you know, I'll lay out some synths, some drums, maybe more so ideas. I feel like I mostly go hard, like, after 5.
Will Betts [00:16:20]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:16:21]:
But even so, you know, it's still light outside, but, you know, you're getting that transition. So it's like, okay, okay. Idea, idea, idea. Time to execute.
Chris Barker [00:16:29]:
Yes.
Uniiqu3 [00:16:30]:
Time to turn up.
Chris Barker [00:16:31]:
Oh, it's a good, good title for an album, isn't it? Go Hard After 5.
Uniiqu3 [00:16:34]:
Oh, I do like that.
Chris Barker [00:16:35]:
Go Hard After 5.
Uniiqu3 [00:16:35]:
I do like that. Might be the next one. Plus, like, at night I'll be open to having more friends over. During the day I'm really like solo producing, like don't bother me, D&D.
Chris Barker [00:16:45]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:16:45]:
And then at night I'm like, okay, I don't mind if somebody's like talking in the background, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:16:50]:
Go Hard After 5. That's cool. Um, well, the next thing we've got to lock in now, we've got— you've got your location, we're in Rio. Mm-hmm.
Will Betts [00:16:59]:
Um, we—
Chris Barker [00:16:59]:
you get 3 free items, and that's a computer, a DAW, and an audio interface. Now tell us about your computer, because I'm— I've seen a few streams. You, you're on PC? Are you on PC?
Uniiqu3 [00:17:12]:
I am on PC.
Chris Barker [00:17:16]:
So are you gonna take the PC into the forever studio?
Uniiqu3 [00:17:18]:
I am, I am. If I could, I would build my own, you know.
Chris Barker [00:17:22]:
Well, you can, you can.
Will Betts [00:17:23]:
You can, you can do it right now.
Uniiqu3 [00:17:24]:
Yeah, that's what we're doing. We're building our own. I don't know much about all that technical stuff. I am—
Chris Barker [00:17:30]:
Just an absolute supercomputer.
Uniiqu3 [00:17:31]:
Yeah, just absolute supercomputer that has all the RAM in the world and no lag. Um, maybe a couple of terabytes of space.
Will Betts [00:17:40]:
Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:17:40]:
Yeah.
Will Betts [00:17:41]:
That's all we need.
Chris Barker [00:17:42]:
But we're on Windows. We're on Windows.
Uniiqu3 [00:17:44]:
Yeah, we're definitely on Windows. I use PC because after many MacBooks, I was just sick of, like, having to go through the loops. of downloading the plugins I wanted to be able to use. And also at the time, the programs I was using, you know, ain't nobody cracking Sony Acid Pro on a MacBook. Come on. You know, like, so yeah, like I just was like, you know what? Like, that's when I moved to Ableton. But being back on PC, I love it. It doesn't give me any problems.
Chris Barker [00:18:14]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:18:15]:
I just tell my friends, send it to my email. They're all like, AirDrop. Sorry.
Chris Barker [00:18:23]:
Yeah, I mean, I, I was a Windows guy from the start and I never, I never felt there was any difference really. I just— it's once you're in the program, once you're in Ableton, it doesn't really matter what you're using.
Uniiqu3 [00:18:33]:
It doesn't, it doesn't. I just feel like it's more compatible. And also when I started streaming during lockdown, I just was like, you know, I need to have a laptop that can hold all of this stuff. Yeah, so yeah, it was definitely going with the streaming kind of laptop. At the time I had an Alienware, so.
Chris Barker [00:18:49]:
Yes.
Will Betts [00:18:50]:
Okay.
Chris Barker [00:18:50]:
Proper gaming laptop. Yeah. Okay. So we're locking that. We're locking some fancy schmancy. Well, maybe we can get some top—
Uniiqu3 [00:18:56]:
Big custom computer.
Chris Barker [00:18:58]:
Yeah. Okay.
Uniiqu3 [00:18:59]:
Okay.
Will Betts [00:19:00]:
Let's see what I can find.
Chris Barker [00:19:01]:
Fit for a Jersey Queen. Right. Um, and now we need to talk about your audio interface. We give these away free, but what are you using right now? Do you care? Uh, what would you love to have in your forever studio?
Uniiqu3 [00:19:15]:
I mean, I am not picky. I haven't gotten to that level of, um, being an engineer purist where I'm just like, this is the only and the only. Um, but yeah, I'm a Focusrite girl. I just like things that are user-friendly and compatible. The reason why isn't only because of that, but when I think of an idea, I just need to be able to put it down. I don't want to have to go through any hoops, so I just love that this is kind of like user-friendly. with everybody. It's not getting in the way of anybody's laptop when they have to download everything on the internet to be compatible with it.
Uniiqu3 [00:19:48]:
Like, I just love how easy it is, and it's got so much great quality. So yeah, they've never let me down.
Chris Barker [00:19:55]:
Is that what people hear when they hear your music?
Uniiqu3 [00:19:57]:
Yes, they do.
Chris Barker [00:19:58]:
That's the signal path?
Uniiqu3 [00:19:59]:
Yes, they hear, um, a Focusrite. They hear the Scarlett 2i2.
Chris Barker [00:20:05]:
Um, and a Rode, is it that you're using for your—
Uniiqu3 [00:20:07]:
Oh yes, I'm using a Rode mic at the mic before I had a Blue microphone. But yeah, I've switched to Rode. I really love how juicy it sounds on my voice. So yeah, I've been using this. I just got her this year too. And I'm— well, right now I still have my Focusrite headphones, but sometimes I'll switch out and use my AI, AI, AI headphones.
Will Betts [00:20:27]:
Ah, yes. Oh yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:20:28]:
'Cause it has the same quality as when I DJ. So I kind of like want to hear how I would sound in my DJ headphones compared to just like recording headphones. Because I DJ.
Chris Barker [00:20:38]:
So that's what makes it to record, or do you re-record in studios? The releases that people know, are those vocals from studios, or is it a mixture, or—
Uniiqu3 [00:20:45]:
It's a mixture. It's a mixture. I feel like sometimes I'll mostly record my demos here at home now because it's so loud, but— and then I'll go into the studio and record in the studio, um, and they have Shure microphones. Um, that's gonna be my next purchase just so that everything could sound a little bit more cohesive. But yeah, when I do my radio show on SiriusXM Or I do drops and vocals. They're all on the road.
Chris Barker [00:21:08]:
Okay, cool. Right, well, um, so audio interface, do you want to lock in a Focusrite?
Uniiqu3 [00:21:13]:
Focusrite Scarlett.
Will Betts [00:21:15]:
Just the one you have now, or like a bigger one?
Chris Barker [00:21:18]:
We can go as fancy as you want. We can upsell some dreams.
Uniiqu3 [00:21:21]:
Okay, yeah, we can upgrade. We can upgrade to the 4-prong.
Chris Barker [00:21:25]:
Yeah, to the—
Will Betts [00:21:26]:
to which one? Sorry, again, get to the 4. Okay, we're gonna— yeah, we've That's an upsell technically, isn't it?
Chris Barker [00:21:34]:
I think so. We could— Come on, let's go for the— what's the fanciest one in that range? What's the fanciest?
Will Betts [00:21:39]:
The fanciest Focusrite?
Uniiqu3 [00:21:40]:
I'm gonna have to look it up.
Will Betts [00:21:42]:
There is one—
Chris Barker [00:21:43]:
We'll do this. We'll find you the—
Will Betts [00:21:44]:
There's a very fancy Focusrite called the ISA C8X, which is—
Uniiqu3 [00:21:49]:
You guys need to put me on.
Chris Barker [00:21:51]:
Yes.
Will Betts [00:21:52]:
Yes.
Chris Barker [00:21:52]:
Okay.
Will Betts [00:21:53]:
Well, uh, I'll—
Uniiqu3 [00:21:54]:
I'm such a bedroom producer, guys. Sorry.
Chris Barker [00:21:58]:
No, don't apologize.
Will Betts [00:21:59]:
This is good.
Chris Barker [00:22:00]:
We're building your forever studio. We're just trying to upsell. Here we go. Oh, that looks fancy.
Uniiqu3 [00:22:04]:
Well, she's a beauty.
Chris Barker [00:22:08]:
8 preamps. Oh, it's blue, not red though.
Uniiqu3 [00:22:11]:
Okay, that's okay. I'm in a blue era right now.
Will Betts [00:22:14]:
Okay, perfect. So maybe this is it.
Chris Barker [00:22:16]:
We'll lock it in. I wanted to ask about whether stuff makes it to records because I think a lot of people, maybe even people listening who are on their producer journey, might think that the same interface you've got isn't good enough.
Uniiqu3 [00:22:31]:
Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:22:31]:
You know, or they need to go to a studio, but you're proof that that stuff makes it to record and it's great.
Uniiqu3 [00:22:36]:
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I recently just been able to go into high quality studios as well. You know, I could say in the past like 2 to 3 years, but everything prior to that, like microdosing, home, at home.
Chris Barker [00:22:50]:
Microdosing doesn't sound like a bedroom recording.
Uniiqu3 [00:22:53]:
At home, produced at home, recorded at home.
Will Betts [00:22:56]:
Incredible.
Chris Barker [00:22:57]:
There you go. Well, we've locked in those items, right? Oh no, we need your DAW. Well, I'm guessing that's going to be Ableton.
Uniiqu3 [00:23:03]:
Of course, of course. And right now I'm on Ableton 12, so yeah, she's upgraded. She's fully upgraded, no cracking, purchased.
Chris Barker [00:23:12]:
It's all legit.
Will Betts [00:23:14]:
It's great.
Chris Barker [00:23:15]:
This is the odd thing about the cracking conversation. Obviously we can't condone it, but yeah, it is the start of everybody's journey to purchasing real stuff, isn't it? Really.
Uniiqu3 [00:23:24]:
Definitely.
Chris Barker [00:23:25]:
It's hard. I mean, it's getting less and less— it's getting better now. That's one thing that subscription services do help with.
Uniiqu3 [00:23:30]:
Exactly.
Chris Barker [00:23:32]:
That you can start for a bit. But yeah, I think for my generation that started in the like '90s, that's how you got started.
Uniiqu3 [00:23:38]:
Yeah, definitely. You know, I'm not—
Chris Barker [00:23:40]:
Now I've spent more money than ever on it.
Uniiqu3 [00:23:42]:
Exactly, that's what I'm saying. You know, when we came up, I just feel like those things were not as accessible And they were also really expensive. So to make an investment like that off the bat, just off of curiosity, it was kind of a risk. So it was definitely a part of the process. I also feel like it made you, it made everybody kind of respect you a little bit more because it's like, damn, like I know what you had to do to get that. You know what I mean?
Chris Barker [00:24:06]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:06]:
You must really want to produce, you know?
Will Betts [00:24:09]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:09]:
Or like you hear your friend like, damn, my DAW crashed. Ah, like you already know what they've been going through. So.
Chris Barker [00:24:15]:
It's, um, it's interesting what you say about them being expensive because actually I just realised they haven't gone up in price really over the last 20 years. So they've actually got cheaper in terms of inflation. Most programmes have stayed the same price for about 25 years.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:28]:
Yes, they have.
Chris Barker [00:24:29]:
And nothing else has stayed the same price. So actually doors have become cheaper technically.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:33]:
Yeah, I agree. I agree. I totally agree.
Chris Barker [00:24:36]:
Will, do you agree? I could see Will doing the maths.
Will Betts [00:24:39]:
No, no, I was just thinking, I was thinking about, you know, there's the number of Big Macs it would cost and it's definitely fewer Big Macs now.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:44]:
Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:24:44]:
Yeah. Big Mac's gone up more than Ableton. Or FL Studio.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:49]:
Yeah, like $20.
Chris Barker [00:24:50]:
We need to do a weird chart, Big Mac versus different DAW.
Uniiqu3 [00:24:54]:
You can definitely subscribe to a DAW and a plugin for the same amount of a Big Mac, one Big Mac for the whole month.
Chris Barker [00:25:01]:
I would subscribe to McDonald's if I could.
Uniiqu3 [00:25:03]:
Same, but it does add up, it does add up.
Chris Barker [00:25:06]:
It does add up, yeah, yeah. The MusicTech My Forever Studio podcast is supported by Audient, makers of the Horizon series of professional rack mount audio interfaces.
Will Betts [00:25:17]:
Yes, the Thunderbolt 3 Horizon range is aimed at the professional studio market, comprising 3 interfaces: the Horizon 8P, Horizon 16, and Horizon 32.
Chris Barker [00:25:27]:
5 years in the making, the range delivers 32-bit mastering-grade conversion, sub-millisecond round-trip latency, and a scalable architecture. Add units together and create up to a 200 in-and-out stack, all on a single macOS driver.
Will Betts [00:25:41]:
Aimed at pro studios and audio professionals, that 0.99 millisecond round-trip latency at 192 kHz is fast enough to track through native plugins with no perceptible delay, no proprietary DSP chips, and no walled ecosystem to enable pro-level performance.
Chris Barker [00:25:58]:
Plus, they look pretty slick too. The Horizon 8P 16 and 32 will be available from September the 28th, priced from £2,199, €2,499, and $2,799. Visit audient.com for more information and to Now we can move on to filling the rest of your studio with your 6 Forever Studio items.
Will Betts [00:26:25]:
Here we are.
Chris Barker [00:26:26]:
So, okay, sky's the limit here, don't forget.
Uniiqu3 [00:26:28]:
Okay.
Chris Barker [00:26:29]:
What are you going for? Your first My Forever Studio item.
Uniiqu3 [00:26:33]:
Okay, so this is really random, right? I really want to have one of those talk machines.
Chris Barker [00:26:41]:
A talk box with tubes.
Uniiqu3 [00:26:42]:
A talk box. I want that so bad.
Will Betts [00:26:45]:
Okay, yes.
Uniiqu3 [00:26:46]:
I just feel like playing around with that in my music would be so cool.
Chris Barker [00:26:48]:
I can feel that for you. That would be so— that would be so cool for you and your music, actually. I imagine Roger Troutman and Zapp becoming Jersey Club.
Uniiqu3 [00:26:56]:
That's— Oh my God. I mean, we definitely have Jersey Club remixes of that, but—
Chris Barker [00:26:59]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:27:00]:
Oh, you know what I mean? You know what I'm saying? Imagine some like mix with that and a little bit of Chromeo, but like unique style. And I just also don't hear too many women use that effect as well.
Chris Barker [00:27:11]:
I feel like it's kind of a deep thing.
Uniiqu3 [00:27:13]:
So yeah, definitely need to talk box. I just think it's so cool. You put a straw in your mouth and you're like, wah wah wah.
Chris Barker [00:27:20]:
Okay, when you get this, uh, you gotta, you gotta put some videos out on social.
Uniiqu3 [00:27:26]:
Oh, definitely. Let's see if it sounds just like that too. Wah wah wah.
Chris Barker [00:27:30]:
Yeah, apparently it's quite hard. You have to like pronounce your letters really strangely for it to come out like your Ps and your Ds, you know, like it's like you have to speak quite strangely for it to sound really clear.
Uniiqu3 [00:27:43]:
Really clear, I bet. Yeah, no, I would love to play around with that. I feel like that's definitely on my bucket list of things I want to have for my forever studio.
Chris Barker [00:27:53]:
Okay.
Uniiqu3 [00:27:54]:
Um, yeah.
Chris Barker [00:27:55]:
So we're thinking what, the Rocktron Banshee, I think, is it?
Uniiqu3 [00:27:58]:
Rocktron Banshee?
Chris Barker [00:28:00]:
Rocktron Banshee, that's the, uh—
Uniiqu3 [00:28:02]:
I love that name.
Chris Barker [00:28:03]:
That's the one that most people use, I think, of the top line.
Uniiqu3 [00:28:05]:
Okay, yeah, then we're snagging that one. And since it's the sky's the limit, we're going to customize it. It's going to be pink.
Chris Barker [00:28:11]:
Pink Rocktron band.
Will Betts [00:28:12]:
Yes.
Uniiqu3 [00:28:12]:
Okay. Pink top box.
Will Betts [00:28:14]:
Done.
Chris Barker [00:28:15]:
Yeah, because I think they are just boring. They're just black and white, I think, with white lettering on. Yeah, they're not good looking devices. You could have some kind of interesting— if they had like some kind of interesting colors that went up the tube, that would be cool.
Uniiqu3 [00:28:30]:
That would be sick. Or maybe you can have like a little LED light on it that kind of like goes with your voice, you know, like, um, like changes as the sound changes, as like, you know, you do a different pitch. That would be sick.
Chris Barker [00:28:44]:
We do so much product development on this show. Like manufacturers really need to—
Uniiqu3 [00:28:48]:
I'm saying, yeah, they want that collab.
Chris Barker [00:28:50]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:28:51]:
Forever Unique Talkbox. Yes.
Chris Barker [00:28:55]:
Yes. Okay. So when did you get into talkbox? Have you loved it since the Troutman era, since Zapp and all of that?
Uniiqu3 [00:29:01]:
Yeah, I have as a vocalist. I've always been figuring out ways to just elevate how I sound, but also by still capturing my essence of unique. 'Cause I feel like at this point of my career, my voice is very recognizable to the point where, like, my fans are like, that's you? That sound like you? You sure? I'm just like, how y'all gonna tell me? Like, you know? So, yeah, definitely, I have always been a fan of that. It just— those songs have always stuck out to me when they came on the radio.
Chris Barker [00:29:32]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:29:32]:
And also recently just seeing acts like Chromeo, you know, use it live. I just think that's so cool and playful. It's so funky. And I'm pretty sure it's a skill that I definitely would have to master in terms of just using my breath and, like you said, pronouncing the words right. But I don't know, I just feel like it would be able to take my productions to a different place.
Chris Barker [00:29:52]:
Yeah, it's very cool.
Uniiqu3 [00:29:53]:
And having more control over it than like a plugin like Antares, which I use also. Like, of course I use Auto-Tune every now and then just to, you know, add some cool effects to your voice, like if I want to get real deep like that, you know, or if I want a cool like robot-y kind of sound voice for like a house track. But I feel like having that top box, I would just make my own unique kind of sound, and it wouldn't be something that's more so like a plugin default setting. I feel like it would be something that's specifically unique to me because nobody's ever going to sound the same using a top box.
Chris Barker [00:30:29]:
Well, you've got 2 ways to make it unique. You've obviously got your own voice and the way you pronounce the shapes But you've got the synthesizer that you put through it as well, so the sound that you put through it makes it unique. And, you know, yeah, so yeah, I mean, we had Chromeo on the show and, um, he actually has the DX-100, which is the little synthesizer he uses to feed into the talkbox.
Will Betts [00:30:50]:
Sick!
Chris Barker [00:30:50]:
That was— I think it belonged to Roger Troutman.
Uniiqu3 [00:30:53]:
Their house is like probably like a freaking, uh, museum of—
Chris Barker [00:30:57]:
Yeah, synth museum. Yeah, it is. Yeah. Pease was, I went there a long time ago, but, um, I think they've got many places now, uh, that, that are filled with really cool kit. We chatted about it on the podcast and yeah, lots of cool kit there.
Will Betts [00:31:09]:
He did also electrocute himself a bunch with that talk box, so.
Chris Barker [00:31:12]:
Oh yeah, you have to be careful not to, not to dribble. If you dribble down the pipe for too long, then it connects to the electronics in the bottom and then it, you get a little—
Will Betts [00:31:20]:
Oh my God.
Chris Barker [00:31:21]:
You have to be careful. Yeah. I'm scared now.
Uniiqu3 [00:31:23]:
I'm scared.
Chris Barker [00:31:24]:
That's why, if you see, that's why when they have the pipe, they always hang it down-facing off the microphone when they're not using it. Yes, you're right. So all of the stuff drips out so it doesn't— yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:31:36]:
I'm kind of— that's kind of gross.
Chris Barker [00:31:37]:
No drip.
Uniiqu3 [00:31:38]:
No.
Chris Barker [00:31:38]:
Yeah, it's gross. Yeah, but sort of putting it off.
Uniiqu3 [00:31:41]:
I mean, wait, it's okay. I, I was in band and like, it reminds me of the French horn, you know what I mean? Definitely had to drain that too. That's true.
Chris Barker [00:31:49]:
Yeah.
Will Betts [00:31:49]:
It was disgusting.
Chris Barker [00:31:50]:
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Uniiqu3 [00:31:51]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:31:51]:
And you know, nobody's gonna be using it, so apart from you, so it should be okay. But just, yeah, no No drooling in the talk box.
Uniiqu3 [00:31:58]:
No drooling and brush your teeth. Got it.
Chris Barker [00:32:01]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Okay, well, let's lock in that first item and then let's talk about, uh, item number 2 in the studio. What are you thinking?
Uniiqu3 [00:32:10]:
Item number 2.
Chris Barker [00:32:11]:
Software, hardware, it can be anything. What could you not produce without?
Uniiqu3 [00:32:17]:
Yo, to be honest, I don't use that many plugins.
Chris Barker [00:32:20]:
Like, that's cool though.
Uniiqu3 [00:32:21]:
People think I'm crazy. They're just like, you don't have that? And I'm like, no.
Chris Barker [00:32:24]:
I saw that on your livestream though. You were just like, I just use stock Ableton. Yeah, I pretty much do.
Uniiqu3 [00:32:29]:
Like, I don't know, less is always more to me. But, um, definitely want a Yamaha keyboard though, whatever the latest version is with all the bells and the whistles. And—
Chris Barker [00:32:43]:
Like a synth or a piano or—
Uniiqu3 [00:32:45]:
A piano.
Chris Barker [00:32:46]:
A piano.
Uniiqu3 [00:32:47]:
A piano? Yeah, piano, because I'm a pianist and that's what I started off with, a Yamaha with all the settings and stuff.
Chris Barker [00:32:54]:
All the fun settings. Okay, so you want, you want an electric piano, not a Um, not an acoustic?
Uniiqu3 [00:33:00]:
No, not an acoustic, unfortunately. I did have an acoustic piano though.
Chris Barker [00:33:04]:
Um, no, but you, you can have one for the Forever Studio.
Uniiqu3 [00:33:07]:
Okay.
Chris Barker [00:33:08]:
Don't forget, sky's the limit. What, what would you— what's your dream?
Uniiqu3 [00:33:11]:
Do they have an acoustic electric piano?
Chris Barker [00:33:14]:
Uh, yes, they see— there is one that can play itself and you can play, feed MIDI into it. Is that the Clavinova or something?
Will Betts [00:33:24]:
The Disklavier, it's called.
Chris Barker [00:33:25]:
Klavier.
Uniiqu3 [00:33:26]:
Disklavier.
Will Betts [00:33:26]:
Disklavier.
Uniiqu3 [00:33:27]:
Yeah, Disklavier. Okay.
Will Betts [00:33:29]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:33:30]:
We're gonna go with her, a disc clavier. Yeah, as a classical trained pianist, I need to have a piano, a keyboard, you know what I mean? I feel like that's how I best manipulate my music. Um, also just so I could get into writing sheet music again. I feel like that's such a lost art. I don't even know if it's like still— I mean, yes, it's still necessary for people who master in that field, but Yeah, I just feel like it's such a lost art in terms of musicians, like what we say, like the umbrella of musicians. I feel like it's kind of a lost art to be able to read sheet music and write sheet music, and I definitely want to incorporate that back into like my musical practices because I don't want to lose it. Like, I definitely remember a lot of things by heart, like I can remember how to play Beethoven and Chopin by heart and, you know, that stuff, but I, I wanna— remember how to write and read sheet music. It's important.
Will Betts [00:34:25]:
So you've got the Clavinova, the Yamaha digital. Do you want it to be a grand or an upright? Like, what vibe do you want in the studio?
Uniiqu3 [00:34:32]:
I want it to be grand. Mm. She might have to be upright.
Will Betts [00:34:37]:
Why?
Chris Barker [00:34:38]:
In the favela.
Uniiqu3 [00:34:39]:
In the favela.
Chris Barker [00:34:40]:
It might be a bit showy having a— I agree.
Uniiqu3 [00:34:42]:
I agree.
Chris Barker [00:34:42]:
Yamaha grand piano in a favela.
Uniiqu3 [00:34:45]:
I'm not trying to give off that vibe for this studio. She's got to be more comfortable, more cozy. You know what I mean?
Chris Barker [00:34:51]:
Yeah, that's true.
Uniiqu3 [00:34:52]:
And I feel like, you know, she would have her own little corner, you know?
Chris Barker [00:34:57]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:34:58]:
She would be— have her designated space. She wouldn't be roaming amongst the other things. I feel like she would have a space where I could kind of zone out a little bit, still be connected to everything so that everything's recorded through. But yeah, she would need to have like a little solitude or something.
Will Betts [00:35:15]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:35:16]:
You know, like, I want to zone out on that. I don't want her to be in the mix of all the things. Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:35:26]:
And do you think she's more of a daytime or a nighttime?
Uniiqu3 [00:35:29]:
Daytime, for sure.
Chris Barker [00:35:30]:
Daytime. I would say—
Uniiqu3 [00:35:31]:
She's like, she's helping me, you know, write melodies.
Chris Barker [00:35:35]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:35:35]:
Just pressing buttons, maybe, you know, reimagining some of my favorite songs on that thing.
Chris Barker [00:35:42]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:35:43]:
That would be really cool to do, you know, like a cover, but, you know, make it my own. Yeah, that's what I would use her for.
Chris Barker [00:35:49]:
But when you go hard after 5, she gets put away so that the G5 can talk about it.
Uniiqu3 [00:35:52]:
Yeah, and then I become a strict programmer.
Chris Barker [00:35:54]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:35:55]:
I'm a clicker. Not really big on the finger tapping, even though I do have a, uh, I do have a push, but I just like to click. I don't know why. I'm boring. I'm boring.
Chris Barker [00:36:06]:
It's not boring to just click. God, if it was Bullet Clicker.
Uniiqu3 [00:36:10]:
I could just chop better. You know, I could just chop up things better.
Chris Barker [00:36:14]:
Item number 3. Are we gonna— are we gonna get a microphone?
Uniiqu3 [00:36:18]:
Oh, duh!
Chris Barker [00:36:18]:
You gotta have a microphone.
Uniiqu3 [00:36:19]:
Oh my gosh, you're right. Duh. My bad. I thought that was included.
Will Betts [00:36:23]:
No.
Uniiqu3 [00:36:23]:
If we going hard, hold up. I had some of these written down, because there's like this— it's definitely a Newman, right?
Chris Barker [00:36:30]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:36:30]:
Mmhmm. I forgot which version. Damn! I asked my manager, I was like, what microphone does Beyoncé use? I was like, I want that one day. So—
Chris Barker [00:36:42]:
47 or 67, probably, Will. What do you reckon? U47? U67?
Will Betts [00:36:47]:
She has used a 47 and an 87.
Chris Barker [00:36:50]:
87?
Will Betts [00:36:51]:
Um, yeah, which is—
Chris Barker [00:36:54]:
47's more flashy, isn't it?
Will Betts [00:36:56]:
Yeah, that's the old tube one. It's really nice and sort of round.
Uniiqu3 [00:36:59]:
Okay.
Will Betts [00:37:00]:
And the 87 is a little bit more angular. and a slightly crisper sound. So yeah, what kind of sound do you want? What do you want for Unique?
Uniiqu3 [00:37:07]:
Definitely want something crisp, but nothing too flat.
Chris Barker [00:37:13]:
Yeah, I think you get that with that one because it's got the valves, right?
Will Betts [00:37:17]:
Yeah, you get a lot of character.
Uniiqu3 [00:37:19]:
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. They need to be able to hear how animated my voice is. So it needs to have a little bit of like juiciness to it. But yeah, that's definitely on my bucket list of mics. Like, after I opened up for Beyoncé at the Renaissance Tour, I was like, yo, Mike, I told my manager, Mike, yo, well, we call him Foz, 'cause he's Italian. We were like, yo, Foz, what mic does Beyoncé use? He was like, he's like, oh, this one. I was like, okay, I need to get her. She's a new me.
Will Betts [00:37:52]:
Yes.
Uniiqu3 [00:37:53]:
So yeah, now also, like, if I go to studios and like I see that they have that microphone listed I'm like, I wanna use that one!
Chris Barker [00:38:00]:
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah.
Will Betts [00:38:03]:
So, when you're recording vocals in the studio, do you have any preferences for how your voice is treated when you're tracking?
Uniiqu3 [00:38:10]:
I definitely have certain settings that I like for my voice. You know, a little bit of reverb, not too echoey so that you hear an echo, but something so that it just sounds like I'm not talking in a flat room. And Also, no Auto-Tune. I hate it when they just throw Auto-Tune on my voice off rip. I'm like, we gonna work up, we gonna work up our way there. But for right now, no effects, just a little reverb.
Chris Barker [00:38:37]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:38:37]:
You know what I mean? Maybe a little bit of compressor just to bring, bring out, you know, bring out the, the brightness in my voice, but that's it. I'm very simple.
Chris Barker [00:38:47]:
Um, you start singing weird if you sing into your Auto-Tune, which can be an effect if you're doing it on purpose, but you start sort of I told you, like this. Exactly. You sort of do what it's trying and you kind of fight it a little bit, don't you?
Uniiqu3 [00:39:01]:
I agree. I feel like that's something that needs to come after you got the melody down packed and then like you use the Auto-Tune to enhance that. But I don't think it's something that like, you know, unless you're in that phase of just like, yo, throw the track on, I'm just gonna experiment. Yeah, then that's cool. But yeah, you know, it definitely throws you off.
Chris Barker [00:39:18]:
Some rappers and vocalists do sing into it and they're really good at like manipulating it, like moving their voice to get the effect on purpose rather than it being a tune.
Uniiqu3 [00:39:27]:
Yeah.
Chris Barker [00:39:28]:
But it's actually quite a hard technique to get it to do the moments you want it to do and not— when you're not trying to make it invisible, when you're trying to do it on purpose as an effect.
Uniiqu3 [00:39:36]:
Definitely.
Will Betts [00:39:36]:
It's—
Chris Barker [00:39:37]:
yeah, that T-Pain sound, I guess. Like, yeah, it is a skill because he can sing like mad, sing, can't he? T-Pain in real life, like the autotune thing.
Uniiqu3 [00:39:47]:
Yeah, I really like all those effects to kind of come in afterwards. I kind of just like to record things It's pretty much dry, and like, just to hear how it sounds without— it's like tasting food. Like, if somebody makes me a dish at the restaurant, like, I'm not throwing hella ketchup and salt and pepper on it off rip. I'm gonna taste it first to see if what it needs, you know? Like, give the dish a chance. So that's how I approach laying down my vocals. Like, I like to do it dry first. and then I'll be like, ooh, actually, you know what, this part needs to have this crazy reverb, and this part needs to have a vocoder, and this part needs to be toned down, you know, -5, it needs to sound really deep, you know. I do all that later because then I kind of put my production engineer hat on and I'm like, yeah, yeah, let's enhance it.
Uniiqu3 [00:40:41]:
So yeah, vocals dry first, straight dry.
Chris Barker [00:40:43]:
Vocals dry, you 47 is locked in.
Uniiqu3 [00:40:47]:
Yes.
Chris Barker [00:40:47]:
That's in the studio. Item number 4, you're gonna need some speakers, surely.
Uniiqu3 [00:40:54]:
Oh my gosh.
Will Betts [00:40:56]:
Or headphones, your call.
Chris Barker [00:40:57]:
Or headphones. Oh, or both.
Uniiqu3 [00:41:01]:
Oh my gosh, that's tough, you guys. Well, at the moment in my home studio, I use KRK. I have the Rokit 5. They're pretty good. I definitely would love to upgrade my home studio speakers, um, but I've had the Rocket 5s for a while. I ain't gonna hold you, they do what needs to be done. I just— the, the reason why I even purchased KRKs is because they were just in a couple of studios I was renting at the time, and I was just like, okay, this must be like, you know, kind of like a home studio standard. So I was like, bet, let's get those, you know.
Uniiqu3 [00:41:33]:
But in this studio, I wouldn't even have any of those speakers, to be honest, you guys. I don't even know if this is something we could like really pin it on, put, put a pin to what it is, but, uh, whatever speaker system I have, it needs to be set up. Yeah, like, like, like the speakers at a, in a, at a favela party, you know?
Chris Barker [00:41:57]:
Um, like a ballet, like a sound system.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:01]:
Yeah, so the studio kind of has some crazy crazy sound system. I'm talking like speaker on speaker on speaker on.
Chris Barker [00:42:09]:
Yeah, yeah, big whoop.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:10]:
Yeah, build up to the top. I actually have like a tattoo of the sound system.
Chris Barker [00:42:15]:
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:17]:
Oh my God, I played on in Brazil, so it would have to mimic something of that, you know, like at least as far as it's set up. I know that isn't probably ideal for a studio, but we're talking about Forever Studio. I can do whatever I want.
Chris Barker [00:42:27]:
Yeah, you could do whatever you want.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:28]:
Yeah, yeah, one wall must be dedicated to that.
Chris Barker [00:42:32]:
You could get a speaker designer in to build you some amazing sound system monitoring.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:36]:
Oh yeah, like in the wall. So it would be in the wall, but it would look like it's set up like a sound system at a ballet. Yeah, that would be sick.
Will Betts [00:42:47]:
That would be such a great shout.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:48]:
Yeah, just built up on the wall, kind of like, like, doop, sub, sub, sub, sub, top, top, top, top, top, top.
Chris Barker [00:42:56]:
Yeah, and it'd just be like a club system as well.
Uniiqu3 [00:42:57]:
Yeah, like, um, What's that? Stonehenge, but speakers.
Will Betts [00:43:02]:
Tonehenge, surely.
Chris Barker [00:43:04]:
Tonehenge! Oh, that's nice. Tone.
Uniiqu3 [00:43:07]:
But shaped like— and the speaker on the studio on the wall, and then we have like the little window. Yeah, that we can see everybody in. And then in back of us is the window with the atmosphere.
Will Betts [00:43:16]:
I can see it.
Uniiqu3 [00:43:17]:
Something, or I don't know.
Will Betts [00:43:18]:
I can see it right now.
Chris Barker [00:43:23]:
Tonehenge. I like that, Will. That's good for all the right tones. Nice.
Will Betts [00:43:29]:
Um, such a bad pun. Sorry.
Chris Barker [00:43:30]:
No, it's a good pun. I like it. I like it. Tonehenge. Well, let's lock in a sound system speaker. I mean, we're not going to be able to get specifics on that because these things are kind of homemade, but you're going to get whoever the best sound system builder in the—
Uniiqu3 [00:43:41]:
the best of the best. I need subs. That's a fact. Gotta have some tops, but subs is really important for club music. Like, there's a certain frequency you gotta hit to kind of make people like lose themselves.
Chris Barker [00:43:54]:
Talk to us about that, because especially Jersey Club, it reminds me of Miami bass in that kind of way where it's like—
Uniiqu3 [00:44:00]:
We're actually like cousins. Yes.
Chris Barker [00:44:03]:
Yeah. I mean, is it just 808s? What do you do? Tell us about bass and tell us about how, how you managed to get that stuff.
Uniiqu3 [00:44:10]:
So, you know, Jersey Club is definitely, definitely takes a lot of elements from, you know, different forms of East Coast club music, you know, definitely New York and Chicago house, definitely Baltimore club, definitely Miami break— uh, bass when it comes to the breaks.
Will Betts [00:44:28]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:44:28]:
Um, and I could say that, you know, Jersey club is really just the second generation's take on all of that, um, especially with the way we manipulate the old and, you know, create our new, because I feel like a lot of those sounds, um, a lot of Jersey sound palette is a bunch of samples, like it's literally a sample kit, so we have all these different breaks from Baltimore, breaks from Miami, you know, drums from Chicago, and, you know, cymbals from New York City house music scene, so, uh, as well as vocals, so I just really think that like having a certain frequency is so important because we're also like, you know, we're taking samples, so the music is already kind of like— Has a grittiness to it, but the bass is like so important because we have this specific drum pattern that's, you know, its own, like this boom boom boom boom boom. And I feel like the second kick, like the second drop— like the first drop is gonna catch your attention, but the second drop in Jersey club is usually where like the sub comes in, and we need that. Like, the sub is what really kind of amplifies everything, and it sits in a place that's underneath the vocals though, you know?
Will Betts [00:45:52]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:45:52]:
So they're just kind of, you know, operating in unison, but I don't know, there's just a certain frequency that you hit where people actually go feral, and I feel it myself when I'm DJing. It's just like, oh my gosh, like, this sub underneath the kick, you know, this sub layered underneath the kick with this vocal chop that's telling me to do this is going— making me go nuts, you know. I just can't really describe it.
Chris Barker [00:46:18]:
Do you have a go-to sound for that? Is that a sample that, like, is a secret sample that you use for the sub bass, or do you use a certain synth, or—
Uniiqu3 [00:46:26]:
I make my own samples now, so I have a Jersey club sound kit. that I've released with Splice, and I hear that kick everywhere. I hear the kick everywhere, I hear the claps everywhere, I hear my vocals all the time because I have a few vocal, uh, you know, one-shots on there that they can use.
Will Betts [00:46:45]:
There's some great ones on there.
Uniiqu3 [00:46:46]:
Like, let's go, or hey, turn me up, now drop, to the left, to the right, you know, just dance commands. So I hear those all the time. It doesn't matter what genre now. Like, at first it was just Jersey club, And now it's every genre. I just hear like a let's go or bounce it. I'm like, what? This is crazy. So all those mixed together also with my own sounds, I feel like it really just, you know, it really just kind of captures people. I don't know how to describe it.
Uniiqu3 [00:47:16]:
I'm not them.
Will Betts [00:47:17]:
But—
Chris Barker [00:47:18]:
How did you make those samples then?
Uniiqu3 [00:47:20]:
You know, just at home. Just at home. Yeah. Recording myself into my mic. and chopping them up. It was definitely— had to make sure it was clean, clear, and cut precisely.
Chris Barker [00:47:36]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:47:36]:
You know, cut precisely. And I also went outside and did a couple of field recordings too, just to kind of personalize it to my environment of being Newark, New Jersey. So that was really cool too. But yeah, I feel like, you know, the way we produce club music, it's just so important to have a good system. We also pan a lot, like I like to pan my samples, so if I'm saying to the left, you're gonna hear it come out the left speaker. If you hear me say to the right, I want it to come out the right speaker, you know, and then you might hear drop it down come from the top, you know, into the middle.
Chris Barker [00:48:10]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:48:10]:
So I really like playing around with that as well, because I feel like, you know, it's kind of messing with the human brain. It's like, when somebody—
Chris Barker [00:48:17]:
Kind of goes back to your being on stage as well, that kind of like, yeah, that kind of performance.
Uniiqu3 [00:48:22]:
Exactly. Just to kind of give them like a surround sound experience of club music. And yeah, that's how I like to approach, you know, producing. And I keep the system in mind at all times, you know. I'm just like, what's going on with this speaker? What's going on with that speaker? And making sure that like everything is has a place and has space, you know, to be heard.
Chris Barker [00:48:49]:
So tell us about the first track that you produced and playing it out for the first time on a big system. Like, tell us about that moment, because that must have been scary, exciting, interesting. Like, what was that like when you started first playing out the stuff you'd made?
Uniiqu3 [00:49:05]:
I mean, it was definitely scary. It took me a long time to kind of like hype myself up to play my own music, especially original music. I feel like I was like, oh, a remix, spam, I don't care, you know? But when it came to my original music, I was definitely nervous, 'cause I knew people were gonna be like, this sounds like you. Or like, and they could easily just be like, this song is whack, and I'm like, mm, that's my voice, you know? So it was definitely nerve-wracking, but I feel like, you know, being the DJ that I am, it's also helped me kind of break out of that fear of playing my music first and how people receive it, because I could be my own cheerleader. I'm just like, singing along with the track, actually. So if the track is saying, you know, get down and put your hands up, I'm telling them, like, I'm on the mic, like, get down and put your hands up, you know. So it's like, okay, maybe the DJ's talking to us. And they're like, oh, this is the song? That's cool.
Uniiqu3 [00:49:53]:
Like, you made this? It sounds like you.
Chris Barker [00:49:55]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:49:56]:
Sick, you know. So it took a while. I was definitely nervous and scared, you know. I had this trick where I would, like, literally look at nothing. It was kind of like when you talk to somebody and you just look past them. That's how I was looking at the crowd. They would think I'm looking— I'm looking at the back of the club. I ain't looking at none of y'all, actually.
Uniiqu3 [00:50:13]:
Like, I'm so nervous.
Will Betts [00:50:16]:
So how did you get over that, over those nerves then? Because I mean, you're on the stage all the time now. You're all over the world playing so many shows.
Uniiqu3 [00:50:23]:
I mean, now I feel like it's definitely second nature for me to just go up there and do my thing. I still get nervous, but you know, once I touch the mic and I press play, I feel like all of those feelings kind of erase, especially if I look up into the crowd and I just see somebody smiling. I'm like, oh, aight. Like, I forgot what we're doing here, you know what I mean? Or then sometimes I'm just not nervous at all and I'm like overly excited. I'm just like, damn, I can't wait to go on, you know? So, Yeah. It's different now. It's definitely different now. I have a lot more confidence and I have a lot more stage presence.
Uniiqu3 [00:51:02]:
And, you know, as I've gotten more comfortable with my productions, I've learned how to embrace, you know, being a better performer. Um, they all go hand in hand in terms of like how I present my sets.
Will Betts [00:51:15]:
Just to go back a moment, you were talking about crowds going feral.
Uniiqu3 [00:51:18]:
Yes.
Will Betts [00:51:19]:
What I really want to know is like, what is the most feral crowd? And what was— was there a sound system behind the feralist crowd?
Uniiqu3 [00:51:26]:
Ooh, that's tough. Damn. Honestly, some of the most feral crowds are in clubs. They're not even at festivals.
Will Betts [00:51:34]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:51:34]:
I have to be able to feel it too. I would say Paragon. It's this amazing club in Brooklyn, one of my favorite places to play. I gotta ask Jon what system they got, but they definitely use a V-10 because he is like, it gotta sound right. Y'all can't keep using that M9, I'm sorry. So yeah, we use a V-10 mixer because he's really about the sound and it sounding crisp. And yeah, I know they definitely have that type of system in there, though it's not a Void, unfortunately. One of my other favorite clubs, Pisces, definitely has a Void system, and they go really feral there too.
Will Betts [00:52:12]:
Mm-hmm.
Uniiqu3 [00:52:13]:
But yeah, definitely, you know, I like to have the systems up to par. I've had to suck it up and learn how to use a V-10, even though we only ever have 4 CDJs, but we need 6. You know, whatever. But, um, yeah, definitely Void Speakers are my favorite at a club system, period. But the most feral crowds have been Paragon and Pisces. Um, you know, the crowd is very in your face as well, or just behind you, and then they still have a dance floor that's designated for the crowd. But I just feel like there's a certain level of intimacy that you experience, and then with that system, it's just so clean and so crisp spin, like, you can really just feel everything. You can hear everything.
Uniiqu3 [00:52:55]:
You can hear when the DJ is going to bring it in. Like, you know, it just sounds HD.
Chris Barker [00:52:59]:
Those, those V10s are great though, because you've got those 2 extra channels you can route. I know, route your microphone to the effects and then have the effects come just through on the mic on the other channel. Or you can have 2 effects sends. So good.
Uniiqu3 [00:53:14]:
The reason why I'll speak for all DJs worldwide, why we, why we, why we have issues with the V10 even though it's an amazing upgrade. Where are we going to practice on those things outside of the club? You know what I mean? Like, it's just, it's just hard to get your hands on one to learn about all those extra knobs.
Chris Barker [00:53:31]:
Yeah, yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:53:32]:
It's kind of overstimulating.
Will Betts [00:53:35]:
I cannot hold you.
Uniiqu3 [00:53:36]:
But we love, we love. Thank you, Alpha Theta.
Chris Barker [00:53:38]:
It's, uh, it is, it is an amazing mixer. And on that note, let's move on to item number 5.
Uniiqu3 [00:53:45]:
Hmm, I think I would want an Ableton Push. You know, I'm not the biggest finger tapper, but it needs to be there to get hands-on. Yeah, yeah, it has to be there to get hands-on. So yeah, we're gonna go with the good old Ableton Push. She never does us wrong.
Chris Barker [00:54:02]:
Is that Push 2 now?
Uniiqu3 [00:54:04]:
Push 3? Push 2, yes.
Chris Barker [00:54:05]:
Push 3?
Uniiqu3 [00:54:06]:
Push 3.
Chris Barker [00:54:07]:
Yeah, I don't know. Feels like me and you, Unique, are on the same page here. We have no idea what number the Push is on. Will will keep us going.
Uniiqu3 [00:54:15]:
I'm just like, they keep upgrading everything.
Will Betts [00:54:18]:
Well, the Push 3 allows you to sort of do slides from one note to the next. It has MPE.
Uniiqu3 [00:54:24]:
Oh yeah, then we're going with that. Gotta go with the most cutting-edge version. So we're going with the Ableton Push 3.
Will Betts [00:54:28]:
And do you want the standalone version, which also works as a controller so you can go and do Ableton on it?
Uniiqu3 [00:54:33]:
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Gotta be able to take my ideas on the go.
Will Betts [00:54:36]:
Mm-hmm. Okay, amazing. That's, that's a lot. So when did you, uh, when did you start using the Push?
Uniiqu3 [00:54:42]:
I started using the Push during lockdown. Okay. Um, they were just so gracious, you know, to lend me some, um, some hardware so I could experiment and get my hands, you know, try things out for them. So that's when I got my first introduction for that. I love it. I love that I could kind of not be on my laptop and still make music. Um, it's really refreshing. But yeah, I feel like it's definitely more of a, a loop idea tool for me.
Uniiqu3 [00:55:15]:
Um, definitely want to expand on that though. It's just so many things out here. My brain needs days to compartmentalize all of them.
Chris Barker [00:55:25]:
Well, don't worry, that's item number 5, so you've only got one more item left. Item number 6, what you're gonna get. What about plugins? You say you just use the Ableton ones, but do you need anything else? Is there anything that takes your fancy plugin-wise, or any other machines? What about synths? What do you use for your synth sounds then?
Uniiqu3 [00:55:43]:
I tend to use Omnisphere sometimes.
Chris Barker [00:55:46]:
Oh, okay, that's something.
Uniiqu3 [00:55:48]:
So we could definitely get Omnisphere, but I was gonna go with something cooler. I'm like, you know, just because I feel like, yes, this is my forever studio, but And since I could dream big, I would want to go like, you know, and get all the hardware stuff that I can't, you know, get my hands on per se. So sorry, you guys, I'm not going to name the obvious. I feel like I would need a record player just so that I can strip records. You know what I mean? Like, I want, like, a record sampler.
Chris Barker [00:56:21]:
A turntable?
Uniiqu3 [00:56:22]:
Yeah, like a turntable. But I need to be able to sample the records.
Chris Barker [00:56:25]:
Yes. Yeah, you could plug it into your—
Uniiqu3 [00:56:27]:
Yeah, plug it right into Ableton, right?
Chris Barker [00:56:29]:
Yep.
Uniiqu3 [00:56:30]:
Yeah. So I need a record player because we're definitely going to be bringing in some crates from all my worldly travels because I love to collect records when I'm on the road. And yeah, we definitely need to sample and flip some of those things so we could do it the cool way, you know, in real analog way. And we're going to try to do that as much as possible instead of just going on YouTube to MP3.com. Right? We're gonna like do it the way that musicians do it. So yeah, I definitely need a record player. If I could, of course, I would get a classic Technics 1200, right?
Chris Barker [00:57:05]:
Going for 1200s? Yeah, nice. Lovely.
Uniiqu3 [00:57:07]:
Classic. Um, yeah, I would just use that because it's, it's something that I looked up to, to having when I saw people using vinyl. I'm not a vinyl DJ at all. But Yeah, just because it's the classic, I would want that in my possession to be able to just feel how it feels, you know, to put a record on one and put the needle to the wax and get that experience, you know?
Chris Barker [00:57:37]:
There's only one problem though.
Uniiqu3 [00:57:39]:
What?
Chris Barker [00:57:41]:
The 1200s, you'd need a phono preamp.
Will Betts [00:57:45]:
Chris.
Chris Barker [00:57:46]:
Well, come on.
Will Betts [00:57:46]:
We're not doing that. Come on.
Chris Barker [00:57:47]:
The 1200s don't have a line level output, so—
Will Betts [00:57:51]:
They wouldn't, but I think we would allow—
Chris Barker [00:57:54]:
Will's including it. Okay, well, you've gone soft, Will, on the technical details.
Will Betts [00:58:00]:
I think you're being a bit too much of a stickler there.
Uniiqu3 [00:58:01]:
Okay, I respect it.
Chris Barker [00:58:03]:
Okay, so we're going for a Technics 1200, but it's either been modified to have a line level output or we're including a phono preamp. Okay, good, locked in.
Uniiqu3 [00:58:14]:
Yes, locked in. The 1200 with a A custom preamp built in.
Will Betts [00:58:21]:
Oh, hang on.
Uniiqu3 [00:58:22]:
Built in our studio, you guys.
Chris Barker [00:58:25]:
Will, I told you, your son Will has fallen on his own bundled sword.
Will Betts [00:58:29]:
Yeah, well, this is—
Chris Barker [00:58:30]:
Gonna have to allow it now, Will.
Uniiqu3 [00:58:32]:
I'm gonna allow it.
Chris Barker [00:58:32]:
And you know, when we allow this once, we have to allow this on the podcast forevermore now. So—
Uniiqu3 [00:58:36]:
No, I can't change the way you guys do that.
Chris Barker [00:58:39]:
I'm sorry. No, no, no, no, no. Listen, listen, it's all good. It's all good. So what we've got to do now—
Uniiqu3 [00:58:46]:
We're always innovating technology.
Chris Barker [00:58:48]:
We're doing R&D. Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [00:58:49]:
You guys better get commissioned.
Chris Barker [00:58:52]:
Exactly. So what we're going to do now is we're going to run down this studio. Will's going to talk you through what you've built. Will, talk us through it.
Will Betts [00:58:59]:
We're in Brazil, in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. We're there for the city energy. And inside your studio, you have a tropical vibe full of plants, low light, At night, natural light in the day, with a couple of big windows to see the rooftops and the beach in the distance. And outside those windows, you have a balcony. Inside, you have neon lights. Your 3 free items: for your computer, you've chosen to build your own Windows PC with all the RAM in the world.
Uniiqu3 [00:59:30]:
You—
Will Betts [00:59:30]:
for your interface, you have a Focusrite ISA C8X. For your DAW, you have Ableton Live 12 Suite. Now for your 6 items. Item number 1 is the forever unique talk box, a custom pink Rocktron Banshee II with a reactive LED voice pipe.
Uniiqu3 [00:59:48]:
I love it.
Will Betts [00:59:49]:
You have a Yamaha Disklavier upright digital piano in her own little corner in the studio. You have a Neumann U47 for your microphone. For speakers, you've chosen to have a custom Stonehenge-inspired wall-mounted favela sound system with huge subs. Item number 5 was an Ableton Push 3 standalone version. And your final item was for a record player, the Technics SL-1200 MK7 with a phono preamp. How does that work for you, Unique?
Uniiqu3 [01:00:22]:
That sounds amazing. That sounds like I want to go there tomorrow. I love it.
Will Betts [01:00:29]:
That's what we like.
Uniiqu3 [01:00:30]:
Oh my God.
Chris Barker [01:00:31]:
Okay. Well, that brings us on to the final item, the luxury item. This is so hard, you guys.
Uniiqu3 [01:00:41]:
Oh my gosh.
Chris Barker [01:00:41]:
Think big, think big.
Will Betts [01:00:48]:
Hmm.
Chris Barker [01:00:48]:
You just, you just thought of something then. I saw you.
Uniiqu3 [01:00:51]:
I did.
Chris Barker [01:00:51]:
And then you thought twice about whether you should say it out loud.
Uniiqu3 [01:00:54]:
Oh my God, that's ridiculous.
Chris Barker [01:00:56]:
Ridiculous.
Will Betts [01:00:57]:
Say it.
Uniiqu3 [01:00:59]:
But I've seen somebody with this. You know, I'm all for the environment, but I want like a full-on O2 fog machine, confetti machine in my studio.
Will Betts [01:01:17]:
So—
Uniiqu3 [01:01:17]:
So that when the song is done and we test that thing out with the low neon lights on, it really becomes a rave. And I've seen this before. I've been to a studio where you press a button and the dude had O2 oxygen spitting from the ceiling. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I was like, who's making music in here? Like, I mean, I know who was making music in there, but you know.
Chris Barker [01:01:45]:
Who was making—
Uniiqu3 [01:01:45]:
come on. It was absolutely insane. I was at this mansion in LA, and it was a crazy afterparty for a music festival called Hard Summer. And Skrillex was DJing the afterparty. Ty Dolla Sign was there. There was a couple of other infamous producers and friends there. And yeah, we all went down to the basement, and we were all, you know, just AirDropping our music to the PC, to the computer. And then Diplo came in, and, you know, he sent us some songs, and then they pressed the O2, And I'm like, whoa, it became Tomorrowland in this little studio that's no bigger than like a one-bedroom apartment.
Uniiqu3 [01:02:31]:
So the living room of a one-bedroom apartment. So yeah, definitely gotta have that. I didn't even know that was possible until I experienced that. So yeah, we gotta have that. It's a little obnoxious, but hey, it's a luxury item. That stuff costs hundreds of dollars per second. Okay?
Will Betts [01:02:48]:
Yes, yes.
Uniiqu3 [01:02:49]:
The crowd doesn't know the type of investment we make.
Chris Barker [01:02:52]:
Yes, yes. Well, you've got forever to enjoy it as well.
Uniiqu3 [01:02:56]:
Yes, I wouldn't use it, you know, irresponsibly. Only for the hits.
Chris Barker [01:03:02]:
Only after 5 PM.
Uniiqu3 [01:03:04]:
Only after 5 PM, yeah. And the hits. Okay? It sprays out O2 and confetti at the same time, like full-on FIFA confetti effect. That would be sick.
Will Betts [01:03:17]:
Yes. Would you maybe want a Roomba or something as well? If you've got a lot of confetti, I mean, it feels like you might need a little something to clean it up.
Chris Barker [01:03:23]:
A robot vacuum.
Uniiqu3 [01:03:25]:
Yeah.
Will Betts [01:03:26]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [01:03:27]:
Yeah.
Chris Barker [01:03:27]:
The after— another button for the robot vacuum.
Uniiqu3 [01:03:29]:
I might just leave it there like decoration.
Will Betts [01:03:31]:
Just leave it there.
Chris Barker [01:03:32]:
Okay.
Will Betts [01:03:33]:
For a couple of days.
Uniiqu3 [01:03:34]:
Not too much though. Yeah, that was what I was gonna say though.
Chris Barker [01:03:40]:
Okay. Well, Monique, thank you so much for coming on the My Forever Studio podcast and building your forever studio with us. It's been an absolute blast. Thank you so much. And Before you go, let's just talk about your album that's just dropped. What was it like making your debut album? And yeah, how did you finalize the tracklist and all of these other challenges with a debut album?
Uniiqu3 [01:04:01]:
Oh my gosh, releasing my first album. It was definitely something that I feel like is overdue. I have a number of EPs that kind of, you know, show the different sides of my production and artistry, but this one is all of that in one. So, That's what makes this album so special. I also decided to call it Mass Appeal because I feel like I am the mass appeal. I also feel like Jersey Club is a mass appeal because it's something that, you know, everyone all around the world is just really taking a liking to and also making it their own. So this project showcases that. It's definitely my diary of travels.
Uniiqu3 [01:04:42]:
Um, put together in a sonic presentation. You know, I'm giving you guys a sonic passport to everywhere I've taken Jersey Club. Brazil, South Korea, um, to Australia, to the UK, you know, because I definitely have like some drum and bass Jersey Club hybrid, you know, track on there that I'm really excited about with my boy Samurai Breakz.
Chris Barker [01:05:04]:
Yes.
Uniiqu3 [01:05:05]:
And yeah, it's just, it's just been really cool to just see other people kind of take my genre and make it their own. So this is my way of doing that, you know, in a Jersey way instead of like Jersey to the UK, Jersey to Brazil.
Chris Barker [01:05:20]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [01:05:21]:
And yeah, it has tons of features from my friends that I've also really made great connections with on these travels. And I'm dropping it with Local Action. So I love Local Action. They also released my Heartbeats EP that has microdosing on it. And they took such good care of me as an artist and, you know, gave me so much creative freedom, but also supported my vision. So it's been really cool to have them on board as my cabin crew to do such, because this project is, you know, not sonically just based on my travels, but the whole visual world that I'm not building, but I'm sharing with people is, you know, based on aviation and the wonders of where music can take you.
Will Betts [01:06:06]:
Mile High Club, for instance, being the first track off it.
Chris Barker [01:06:09]:
Yes.
Will Betts [01:06:09]:
It's great. Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [01:06:10]:
Thank you.
Chris Barker [01:06:10]:
Exactly.
Uniiqu3 [01:06:12]:
I was like, you know, I'm in the air all the time. You know, have yet to have a Mile High Club moment, but, you know, I'm definitely always in the sky. And, you know, I'm thinking about the clubs, about where I'm about to land next. And that's also why I made Calling My Name too. You know, I feel like no matter where I land, the dance floor floor is calling my name and I need to go there and exchange the energy, be a main character, and then, you know, on to the next city, go back to the Mile High Club, you know, eff up the airwaves.
Chris Barker [01:06:48]:
Yeah.
Uniiqu3 [01:06:50]:
That's my way of doing it. But it's, it's so cool. It's so cool to just like take something that may have not always been the best experience for me, but also have been some of the best experiences for me. We need to We all know how travel could be, but I'm trying to find ways to describe that sonically. So Mile High Club is definitely the smooth departure, you know, but yeah, lots of turbulence in this album too. Don't sleep on me.
Chris Barker [01:07:18]:
Absolutely amazing. Well, we usher everybody out to go and check out the album right now because it is out now.
Uniiqu3 [01:07:24]:
Come take that flight.
Chris Barker [01:07:26]:
Go take that flight. Um, well, all that's left to say is thank you so much, Unique, for coming and spending time with us on the podcast and building your forever studio. Thank you.
Uniiqu3 [01:07:35]:
Thank you, Unique.
Chris Barker [01:07:38]:
Well, that's it for this time. Thank you for tuning in, and we will catch you next time for more adventures into Studio Foreverdom. Goodbye.