Tastemaker Spotlight - Fermi!
Our spotlights series keep surprising us, it's such a blast getting to know our tastemakers better, hear their take and learn from their experiences when it comes to getting music out there.
This time we put the spotlight on a multidisciplinary artist, podcaster, businessman and dad(!) - Fermi, with whom we got to talk music, podcasts, and money. check it out!
Tell us a bit about yourself: How did you start making music, your blog and your podcast? I’ve always been in love with the process of making music, writing songs, and producing tracks. I started producing music at age 15 after studying a bit of piano and then being exposed to a lot of the hip-hop of those days. In my neighbourhood I was known as the kid who could make your songs come to life and a bunch of guys would be over at my mom’s house recording album upon album (back then we still burnt CDs) and it’s kept evolving from there.
I look at music as both therapy for me as well as a way to connect people across many boundaries, borders, and backgrounds. Music can inspire and elicit deep feelings like nothing else. Music can bring unusual people together all in an effort to craft a beautiful piece of artwork.
My podcast launched earlier this year all in celebration of that. I want to highlight my love of music and how many great artists are out there who deserve a little more shine in this content heavy day and age!
What kind of music do you listen to and where do you discover music?
I listen to all kinds of music. A lot of people say that, but I really mean it.
I have these odd routines: car rides with my kids means classical music from the radio, workouts mean time exploring old and new hip-hop and EDM, and bike rides commuting to work are my time to consume podcasts. I primarily listen to music with Spotify but it’s not unusual to see me browsing Youtube, Instagram, Beatport, and Bandcamp all to see what artists are popping up.
Name 3 music platforms you can’t live without.
Three platforms I can’t live without… definitely Spotify, IG, and I have found some dope artists as a playlist creator through your service MySphera. Since I’m also a podcaster and I am regularly interviewing upcoming artists and beat makers I depend on services like MySphera to push me top talent. I also find so much music on Instagram Stories, believe it or not!
The music industry is constantly changing. What do you think is the role of social media today in music exposure?
Social media has levelled the playing field for artists, influencers, and business people. The barrier for entry is so low right now if you want to launch ANYTHING. Not just about music. The trick is having an identity, purpose, and strategy to cut through the noise and be heard. But just the fact that I’m learning about underground artists and getting them features on my podcast through IG - which I listed earlier as one of my most critical music discovery platforms - shows you how much impact social media is having. By the way, a lot of people hate on social media but I think it’s really like anything else. It’s all about how you use it. You can dig a hole and plant a beautiful tree with a shovel or you can wack somebody. It’s up to the user. At it’s best social media just connects people even more and brings more opportunity. It also faces a lot of us to face reality. Right now we’re experiencing a massive shift in human consciousness and with this much power at our fingertips a lot of us have to face the real barrier to entry: Ourselves. Our self discipline. Our work ethic. Our creativity and self-motivation.