Velcro City Records

Joman

Artist Name? Joman (Joseph Mancuso)

Where are you from? Littleton, CO

What upcoming projects are in the works?
I am currently working with Adam K on releasing a remix of his newest track, “My Love.” I also recently did a remix of Oh Shit! and Night Drugs’ “Everybody Needs,” and a full-on collaboration on a track with Oh Shit! and DJ Hero called, “Drop Down,” in which I did some vocals.

Any production tips for new producers?
If you’re just starting out, get a copy of Reason and an Axiom 25 MIDI controller. They’re both relatively inexpensive and will teach you a lot of valuable fundamentals. Also, don’t focus on writing music that will “sell” or that “other people will like.” That will come much later. Focus on creating sounds that you enjoy hearing, learning how to read a db meter and comparing your exported files to other producers’ to make sure all your dynamics are in check. Oh, and grab some sample CD’s. All the samples that are included with programs are very basic and you’ll have a lot more fun pulling from a bigger palette.

What’s one of your favorite plug ins or pieces of hardware to use in your production?
This is going to sound a bit cliché but I really like the Vanguard synth. It’s incredibly easy to re-program it and make big-room leads. The melody in “Another Late Night” that comes in during the drop was done with Vanguard. I’ve also been having a lot of fun with Cakewalk’s, “Rapture” for doing the same kind of sounds as well as funky bass lines and what-not. All of the built-in synths in Logic are amazing, and the “Thor” synth in Reason is really cool too.

What’s your favorite track at the moment?
My favorite track right now is Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me (Gigamesh Remix). It’s written in a sexy 6/8 swing tempo and I can relate to the vocals.

What’s your favorite artist at the moment?
It’s always been a close tie between BT and Fatboy Slim. I’ve been listening to BT’s, “These Hopeful Machines” pretty much religiously but Fatboy Slim’s “You’ve Come a Long Way Baby” will always hold a very special place in my heart.

What / when is your next release?
My next big release as of right now is “Another Late Night,” which will be releasing on Beatport on July 7th [on Velcro City Records]. It’s a summer track so I can’t wait to see how it does in the middle of the summer. I’m also crossing my fingers on the release date for “Adam K – My Love (Joman Remix).”

What’s your take on the music industry at the moment?
It comes as no surprise to anybody but there is a lot of unnecessary ego in the electronic music industry. The reality that everybody needs to accept is that even if you build a great career for yourself in EDM, the chances of ever being as big as people in the mainstream entertainment industry are slim to nil. It’s amazing to me that there are some headliners parading around, looking down upon everybody else because they’re first tier on a flier and they are still supporting themselves off some mundane day job just like everybody else. If we’re not in this for the money, what else do we have but to be respectful to one-another? We all share a universal love for electronic music and that should bring us together as opposed to segregating us between who thinks they’re the shit and who just wants to make a contribution to a noble cause. The elitism has got to die down a little bit.

Any Upcoming Gigs to be on the look out for?
I am on the line-up for Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Colorado, which I am extremely excited for.

What are your thoughts on the future of EDM?
I’d like to see EDM return to its emotional roots a little bit. People have developed such a negatively biased opinion toward trance but the reality is that just about everybody listened to trance before anything else and a lot of people simply refuse to admit it. I like that a lot of producers are incorporating deep, progressive beats into trance-style anthems to make them a little bit more widely acceptable but I’m not as much of a fan of the whole “hip-hop electronica” thing that is happening. That has resulted in an over-use of pitch-correction and an acceptance of loud, repetitive, obnoxious sounds that are obviously geared toward people under the influence of something. When you listen to some of the tracks from the early millennium, every single sound is finely crafted and you can tell it is exactly what the artist wanted. Now, a lot of people are just dropping default samples in with a basic saw LFO and calling it good. I guess what I’d like to see is a lot more people trying very, very hard and their efforts being noticed instead of people just flocking to the first simplistic nonsense they hear and praising it.

How did you get into producing?
I first started producing when I was about 13 years old using MTV Music Generator but didn’t get really serious until a little bit later. My cousin (Jim the Elektronaut… at the time, “DJ Kreammy”) introduced me to BT’s, “Movement in Still Life” and gave me a copy of FL Studio and the rest is history.

If you could work with any one artist, who would it be?
BT. Hands down. If I ever remix one of his tracks and he likes it, or if I ever collaborate with him, that is when my dreams will pretty much be fully realized.

Here is a free Original from Joman

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Joman – A Little Bit of Funk For You.mp3

and you can find his music at Beatport by going here