Intro: The BREED
To continue our lofi hip hop producers Interview series, I had the honour of interviewing The BREED, a german producer that’s been well-known for producing super polished and sound pleasing tracks that could be listened to on repeat for days without getting tired at all. The BREED has worked with well-known artists such as Anderson Paark and Kodak Black to say a few.
What did he share?
He’s been sharing with me some of his best tips and inspirations. I really hope that it will make you guys, lofi addicts, and lofi hip hop producers, enriched and inspired of all the good stuff that came out of this dope Interview. I’m not saying this because I wrote it entirely. The BREED hasn’t talked a lot to any media and you cannot see a lot of interviews or info about him.
A Mysterious dude
The BREED never shows his face, so I’ve gathered a bunch of cool pics I could find about him and a few that he gave me where you can see him in his studio. I would sincerely say that his name is definitely one to remember in the chill – jazzy lofi hip hop world. If you do not know who The BREED is, please check his amazing album: The Art of Chilling with one of my favorite tracks of all time called “August – Vacant” as well as his latest tracks: Flip Flop Vibe and Moony. If you wanna vibe make sure you have a listen to the track The BREED produced together with Timbaland and Shucati, “JEWELZ” of Anderson Paark
Interview
Hi mystic man! So, can you tell us more about you
Who is behind The BREED?
Well, I am based in the east part of Germany. Currently making music for a living and also produce rap and Soul/RnB music. The lofi artist The BREED has worked with a lot of successful national artists from Germany as well as with international artists such as Anderson Paak or Kodak Black. I have a great love for all music from the 70-90ies era and that’s my pool of inspiration.
“I have a great love for all music from the 70-90ies era and that’s my pool of inspiration.”
To the question what gear do you need to make music? THE Breed responded:
All you need is a good keyboard with a good Rhodes sound on it.
When did your music journey start?
I actually started playing piano when I was 6 years old. I also sang in a boys choir till 10th grade. At the age of 12/13, I started making my own music in various bands and projects.
Are you an Instrumentalist? And if so what’s your main Instrument?
I would never consider myself a full instrumentalist. My piano skills are very limited (due to my bad practice routines when I was a kid). But I can express my ideas mostly through the piano and with the help of VST-Plugins I can imitate tons of instruments such as Drums, Strings, Synths, and so on. I use to play a little bit of trumpet for a half year when I was a teenager, but then I moved into my own crib and it was simply too loud for my neighbors so I quit and gave the trumpet back.
What about now?
Today I have a lot of wonderful musicians I love to collaborate with. I mostly sing them my musical ideas or play them some layouts on the keyboard. But I would say that I have a good understanding of how musical instruments work and how they can sound or how I want them to sound. So that makes it easy for me to communicate with other musicians and get what I want from them.
The Art of Chilling by THE Breed
Out of all you produced, Which song are you the proudest of? Why? Which song is the most underrated track you’ve produced?
Thatās hard to say. But working on that Anderson Paak, “Jewelzā song is probably the craziest thing that happened to me in the last years. I am such a big fan of his work and would have never ever thought that I once would have a song with him. But when you ask what is underratedā¦I would say all of themā¦. haha! ^_^
When did you feel overwhelmed with one of your songs, like your first REAL Success? Do you remember it?
Oh, that was a process, it was not that one songā¦ it didnāt come overnight. Success is always relative. It never feels as good as you thought it might feel once you achieved it.
Itās because you do not get a call out of the blue: “hey you are number one in Germanyā there is always a lot of work on the track or the album first and then all of a sudden, you realise that some people are attracted to it and other industry people already clearly tell you that it will be a success so somehow you already expect it to work because everybody around you is expecting it too and then it just feels like getting a present you already knew you would get.
What is your focus now?
So I decided to not focus on success that much but rather make music I love. That what also got me into this instrumental thing (lofi hip hop). It wasnāt the most interesting thing from a business view, and some people did not understand why I took this road rather than go on working with german rappers as I did successfully before. But I simply felt it was the right thing for me at that time.
I saw you had a Sample Pack available for sale with “your sound” in it, can you tell us more?
I released a Drum-Kit. That contains all of the Drumsounds I used on my, “The Art of Chillingā Album. A super good tool for any lofi hip hop producer out there.
Out of curiosity, I was wondering is it Royalty-Free, I mean could I use that pack and release a song entirely with that pack?
And yes it is all royalty-free. You can use the loops in it or just the single Kicks, hats, or Snares and create whatever you want and go ahead and release it and make a million sales. Haha ^_^
I am also planning on releasing a Sample-Pack with original melody-Stems for producers to work with and use as a good base for their beats. But that will not be royalty-free. You would still have to put me in the credits when you do a song with it. But thatās pretty much common sense with those packs.
In terms of pieces of gear or units, what is the thing/sampler/drum machine or whatever it is that you just canāt imagine your life without?
A Keyboard with a good Rhode sound on it.
What do you think is your āsignatureā that makes you unique as a music producer and artist?
I donāt know, people tell me they can hear when I produced a track. I really take this as a compliment but I still havenāt found out what this ingredient isā¦
By the way, do you mix your own songs? Do you master them? If not do you recommend anyone? links if possible
I do my own mixes, but Lex Barkey is doing all of my masterings. He is a german legend when it comes to mix and Master and I learned a lot from him. Plus he is a very good friend of mine.
Lex Barkey has worked with a lot of famous artists such as pop singer Zara Larsson, Alle Farben, Universal Music, Sony Music
Do you have a label? Talk more about them if you do
Yes, I have. Itās called, “WE RUN THISā and I actually just started it to release my own stuff but after a while, I also started putting out stuff of befriended Artists and producers, and boomā¦ here we are releasing stuff on a weekly basis now. I really love this work since it gives me the freedom to release whatever I feel needs to see the light of day: But foremost it connects me with incredible artists and I always learn something from them or just get inspired by their energy. But honestly speaking it is also a lot of work sometimes. Especially all the billing and legal stuff. But I somehow have a thing for that.
Where to follow your label?
If you want to follow the journey of The BREED’s label, simply head to his Instagram account: werunthisrec
Are you down for collabs? Would you like to have remixes, like someone remixing your song? Are there any remixes?
I saw a couple of people playing on top of my stuff or lately, I do post some random sounds or melodies I record into my Instastories. And then producers start sampling this and making beats out of my short story clips. Thatās fun. If people want to remix stuff why not.
About collaborative work
Concerning collabs, I am always open to collabs but I canāt do them all as I end up being overwhelmed with work. So what I do is that I just pick those I really feel and always try to work with artists that I admire and that I can learn from.
Whatās your favorite lofi/bedroom pop community website? Why? Drop the link let us know
To be honest, I actually have no clue. I barely go on community sites but I like gearstluts (now called Gearspace) and Widen Island now hehe ^_^
Do you have any tips or recommendations for any upcoming artists on what to do to promote their work? Any personal tips?
I know everyone wants to know how to get attention and how to get on this or that playlist. The truth is work, work, work, and being unique. And do not expect anybody else to like your stuff if you do not like it 100% yourself. Make your music so good that you really feel moved by it. Then other people will do too. And to move people with your music is the key to success period. All the marketing and stuff around it is good and useful, and you also should really put the effort into this (and making it unique and creative) as well but this will not work if the music is not moving people. And yes, this can be a very long journey. But itās fun, believe me!
Check The BREED SAMPLE PACK
What do you get with this pack?
You get top-quality premium samples selected by The BREED. Those samples have been used in the amazing album The Art of Chilling by The BREED and yeah, He is back with another exclusive drum kit! This time, the mysterious beat virtuoso The BREED opens up his vault for the very first time. This pack contains over 100 unique drum sounds ready for your DAW or sampler!
- 7 Hi-Hats
- 13 Kicks
- 18 Snares & Rims
- 6 Claps
- 32 Loops
- 6 Percussions
- 2 808s
- 4 Cymbals
- 2 Breaks
- 19 Extra Sounds
Conclusion
As the second interview of Widen Island lofi Blog, I am so excited and thrilled to have an artist such as The BREED. Between you and me I couldn’t believe it when The BREED himself responded positively to my interview request. I was like, wait so this guy is for REAL, like he is really going to open up and let me learn more about him just like that? Wow, that’s something, I mean the first time I listened to his “The Art of Chilling” and the track called “August – Vacant” I literally fell in love with his sound and textures in the mix.
All the samples and choice of sounds are so well put together. It’s peaceful, it’s chill, it’s lofi yet quite polished lofi, sophisticated in a way and unique. This is why I wanted to know more about him. There is something so well done in The BREED’s tracks it’s that flowless easy listening feel, I mean seriously I’ve listened to the track around 1000 times, and yet I’m not tired of it at all.
If you do not know The BREED yet, make sure you check his work out, not only he has more than half a million listeners per month according to Spotify, he would deserve 10 times more. He has magic in his hands, so make sure you give it a listen.
My own interpretation of the Interview
As far as I’m concerned as the main content creator here @Widen_Island, this is my impression about this Interview and what I personally learned and enjoyed discovering while making it.
- Don’t underestimate the power of collaboration, throughout the interview I realized that The BREED is often using collaborators in his work, which on top of his amazing production skill is only adding up to the quality of his production.
- Do not get focus on getting to playlist and all the marketing stuff, of course it’s there you have to do it, but the main thing is the WORK! Put in the hours, the work, the passion and it will all works out.
- Try out The BREED awesome pack, sounds are straight from “The Art of Chilling” Album (I’d like to point out that I am not making any money out of this, I’m just genuinely interested in getting it from my personnal perspective as a lofi hip hop producer artist).
- Last but not least, I really love the final advice given by The BREED to any music producer or lofi hip hop producers out there: “The truth is work, work, work, and being unique. And do not expect anybody else to like your stuff if you do not like it 100% yourself. Make your music so good that you really feel moved by it”. This is such a key and very important piece of advice right there in front of you.
THE HUGE TIP OF THE INTERVIEW
- When you are making you piece of music, when you are producing you own mix and maybe even mastering them by yourself, make sure you like what you do a 100% maybe even 200%! Because the music you are making has to move you first in order to move others, that’s really a key lesson in my opinion.
- At least it’s good to work towards it when you produce your tracks. It turns out that if you have good taste in your art, your music, you will know when it sounds good, and you will know when it’s a true Banger! Don’t you think?
- Also, if you read through the whole article, and made it that far, THANK YOU so much for being part of my lofi hip hop community and bedroom pop producers, Widen Island. It means a lot to me, and don’t hesitate to say hi on IG or via the contact form, @Widen_Island, your support means SO MUCH!
What I am about to do now as a lofi hip hop artist
Now, I’m wondering if you are also going to try that sample pack and make something crazy good out of it? Well, I’m going to do that, right now, drop comments below if you’re enjoying the content here.
if you do have any suggestions feel free to drop them in the comments part below, once again if you enjoy this and if you want to support what I do, make sure to check out my Ko-Fi page here š
Peace and <3
/Edwin