Introducing Son-J, and his menacing new single You feat. Mothica

Perth has become a hotbed of sorts for hard-hitting electronic music, with names including Slumberjack and HWLS tackling the grips of Perth's "culture problem" to become international heavyweights over the past few years. More recently, there's also been a done of newcomers doing some inspiring things - Oriental Cravings, AXEN and the likes. Son-J is another of these names, emerging from Perth with a more cinematic sound, comparable to Slumberjack, which particularly shines on his new single You. Featuring the vocals of New York vocalist and go-to electronic music collaborator Mothica, You perfectly executes this cinematic trap sound, combining Mothica's softly-sung vocals with charging, gritty synth leads and ferocious bass work, blending the sounds of artists like Slumberjack, RL Grime, What So Not and maybe even Mr. Carmack, but with his own touches thrown in to bump up that uniqueness. 

Released via Soundcloud collective Sola, You is a great entry point to Son-J's music if you're yet to be acquainted, so much so that we sent him over a couple of questions so you can get to know the young, bubbling Perth producer, who we're tipping to do some very, very great things across the rest of the year and beyond:

Tell us about yourself?

Sup - I’m Son-J, 18 years of age and I’m an Australian-based music producer from Perth. For as long as I can remember I was passionate about music. The exact moment I started writing must have been within the first year of high school, that's when I bought my first DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). I was completely oblivious to electronic dance music at the time. I was writing these interesting ethnic style compositions, they were embarrassing but I had so much joy from making them. It was only a year and a bit later I started getting into electronic music.

During year 10 and 11 of high school, I used to secretly study music theory inside my core subject classes instead of doing the work provided. I was so certain what I wanted to do career wise I made the decision to leave school during year 11 to put all my energy towards production and doing a diploma in business on the side. It wasn't the smartest decision I’ve ever made, but I learnt a lot from it such as self-discipline and scheduling every single day effectively. I’m metaphorically hanging off a cliff and failing in music is no option.

What kinda music are we talking?

Modern electronic vibes, bass heavy and cinematic with a trap backbone. I had to call a friend to help me with that one, I find it difficult to categorise what my music is. I feel like my sound is always naturally evolving. I draw inspiration from a lot of music outside the electronic dance scene. I feel like that's what keep you interesting and fresh and not like every other. A few artist I always find inspiration from is The Weeknd, Baauer, Timbaland, What So Not, The Neptunes and Hans Zimmer. You’ll catch me listening to a lot of Justin Timberlake too, he’s amazing! 

Production/writing processes?

My writing process is always different every single time, that's what keeps things interesting and exciting every time I write a song. But one thing I love to do when I’m trying to spark my creativity is to create a bed of ambient sounds and tones. I’ll layer all sorts into this bed of sounds like texture, atmosphere, people talking and ambient synths and drones etc. This creates a world sonically, I naturally start thinking of melodies and the direction of the song. I don't like to think about what genre I’m gonna write but rather what mood.

Can you tell us about your new single, You? 

You was a beat forever stuck inside my head. I would be endlessly beatboxing this rhythm and melody where ever I go. One day I decided to turn this rhythm and melody stuck inside my head into a song for everyone to listen to. It was one of the quickest songs I’ve ever written, I hit no dead ends and everything flowed.

How did the collaboration with Mothica come about?

After laying down the textures and chords for the intro/verse all I could think was how great would it be if Mothica was on this song. I’ve always been a huge fan of Mothica, her voice is something special. One night I decided why not and sent her a simple email about the song seeing if she would be keen to jump on it, I honestly didn't think she would respond. A few days roll by and she replies! with the first line of the email saying “whoa, this is next level!!!!”, a few hours later a follow-up email with the vocal idea and everything went on from there. It was the best week!!

What does the rest of the year have in store?

I’m working with a lot of amazing people this year, so expect some really rad collaborations. There is an EP in the works on the down low, but my main focus is pushing myself musically and sonically. I can’t wait for everyone to hear what I have in store.

Where can we hear more of your music?

Soundcloud is where I do a lot of my operating but you can check out my new single You on Soundcloud, Spotify and Apple Music!

Follow Son-J: FACEBOOK