Kevin is head of product design at NYC startup Vroom, and teaches design at Parsons.
What’s your relationship to music?
I am obsessed with music and collect records in all genres. While I am working on design, I mostly listen to electronic music. Before I had kids, I would DJ at bars and did some parties and events using a mix of Serato and my record collection. Recently I have been interested in making my own sounds, maybe even a couple tracks.
Who/what’s your creative inspiration?
I am a huge fan of artists like DJ Shadow who uses a wide selection of samples from different kinds of records to create a new sound. I get excited about the idea of using my record collection as jumping off point to make music. I often think that music production is a lot like design, taking elements from different places and mixing them together to create something new. Another inspiration is Underworld who combines progressive house with spoken word and found sounds. Along with their music, they founded a design studio called Tomato and worked with big clients like Nike etc.
What brought you here? How was it?
I took Beatmaking to dive deeper into Ableton and to learn how to use the Push which is an incredible piece of hardware. Besides being a great teacher, Adam is a talented producer himself. We learned a lot quickly, but I never felt overwhelmed.
What’s the next step?
I feel like we are at this historical moment in time where anyone with a bit of software, some knowledge, and a bit of inexpensive kit can make truly professional and beautiful sounding music in their homes. Now my biggest obstacle is finding the time to practice my new skills and begin to make music that I actually like.
What else do you love?
Photography, hiking and making art with my kids.
One unknown fact about you.
I designed the branding, website and latest album for a band called the Mclovins. http://mclovins.band/
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Whether you are a music pro or just a beginner, get a taste of making sounds with our beatmaking classes.
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This gem is brought to you by The Hunt, The Foxgrove's blog that looks into the electronic music and DJ world in the lenses of fashion, lifestyle, art and culture. If you'd like to contribute, find us at info@thefoxgrove.com.