When you write music, what is your primary style?

I write EDM, so anything electronic. I do future bass, trap, rap beats — anything from lo-fi hip hop to house music. I’ve experimented with every kind of electronic music.

What is your experience with lo-fi?

Not much, honestly. I have just recently been getting into the genre and I’ve been trying to emulate some of the things I hear in common songs and beats. It’s just for fun, but I really like to listen to it.  That’s actually how I get most of my inspiration. I’m not taking things directly from songs, but I learn from the things I hear and write my song. I probably listen to music three times more than I write.

Who are your most influential artists?

That’s changed a lot as I’ve progressed. My initial inspirations were big ones like Zedd and Skrillex when I was first getting into electronic music. As my style has developed I’ve started to find artists like Grant, Unlike Pluto, people like that who really inspire me. They have a really particular sound and I love the stuff they write. They are definitely unknown talents and the underground scene is definitely under-appreciated.

Do you publish your music anywhere?

I publish my music on Youtube and Soundcloud.

What name do you go by?

I go by the name Higher Level Sounds, and it’s a project I started with Zach Seiler. We started writing together two years ago when he still went to NA, but even when he started going to cyber school we continued to write and make music together.

I know Roz Monin hypes you guys up quite a bit. What is that relationship like?

She is one of the people I send my songs to before they are done — drafts and potential songs, mostly. She is kind of like a producer. When I started really getting into EDM and writing music sophomore year (before I started writing with Zach), I made my own little album in the music theory room and Roz helped me with it. She didn’t do any of the writing but she did the cover art and some of the merch with the album. I’m so thankful, and I still have a pin on my backpack from the album that I keep and I cherish it so much. I can’t thank her enough for helping me start out.

Do you have any plans for the future in terms of music writing?

Definitely. I’m going to college for special education at IUP, but writing is going to be part of my life forever and it’s not going anywhere. I’m planning on writing and producing for the rest of my life.

Do you ever see yourself being as big as Steve Aoki or Martin Garrix? Or at least as big as some of the big SoundCloud names like Chinsaku or Kai Wachi?

I think I could get that good, but of course for me to say I could get there is crazy because it relies on so many other variables. I’m just going to keep pushing and writing and trying to make it big. You’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t try.

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Hey NASH, keep your ears open for rumblings from the underground.  It just might be Trevor Fenk.