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The MIDI Association Artist Interview
I grew up listening to all different forms of music. Everything from folk, blues, and jazz, up to hip-hop, R&B, and electronic dance. I played some alto saxophone in middle school, then gradually inched towards a passion for electronic music. I picked up my first set of Technics 1200’s when I was 15 years old and began playing parties all over the west coast (and continue this today). In 2011 I returned from being injured in Iraq and began playing around with different DAW software programs (mainly Ableton).
In 2012 I started to gather some different MIDI gear, and started learning the basics; quantization, mapping, etc. This is around the time I began getting some work signed by different labels around the globe (USA, Canada, Switzerland, France, and Germany). In the autumn of 2015, I began classes at Full Sail University, to receive my bachelor’s in music production, and one of the opening classes was on MIDI and the basics of working with MIDI, and different DAW’s.
These days when I’m making music for personal betterment, and fun, I’ve been using the new, Ableton “Push 2”, and absolutely loving its features. I also use Native Instruments’ Maschine along with the Traktor Scratch A10 setup. This allows me to use both Technics 1200’s, both Pioneer CDJ’s as well as add some personal flavor to each mix with the Maschine. When I’m doing school work, I’m mostly using my AKAI MPK 49, and the Novation 25 key, keyboards. Much of what we’ve been working on thus far is scales, chords, progressions, and other basic “musicianship” techniques.
Using MIDI has definitely broadened my technique when using different DAW’s. In school we use it daily in both Logic Pro X, and in Pro Tools. It has made time management when working on tracks a breeze; something that would otherwise make piecing together a rhythm, or melody/harmony, hours to come up with. MIDI has made sitting down in the studio each day, and coming up with something “fresh and new” each time, much easier.
Bio:
Doc Manny (AKA Steve Fields), hails from Oregon and has represented the Northwest house music scene since 1995. Doc has spent much of his DJ career living and playing in such cities as Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, Boise and San Francisco. Over the last couple of years Doc has headlined with such artists as DJ Mes (OAK), Johnny Fiasco (SEA), CZBoogie (CHI), Choco (1200 Warriors) (NYC), Mikey Valesquez (LA), Lurob (SF) and JT Donaldson (NYC), just to name a few. Doc resided in Honolulu, Hawaii from August of 2009 until April 2013 where he played such clubs as “Asylum Afterhours” which is regularly noted as one of the top 10 nightclubs in the world in DJ Magazine.These days Doc Manny has built up his label affiliation by producing tracks and working with such chart topping labels as, Jack Locker, Midwest Hustle, Wetsuit Records, Home Again Recordings Digital (HARD), Caboose Records, O.X.O Recordings, Spins & Needles as well as Sutra Sounds. In the summer of 2012 Doc started the record label that has blown up on Beatport, Traxsource, Juno, iTunes and many other digital download sites all over the Globe. This label is known as “House Call Records” and has already built up a list of affiliations by signing such names as Corduroy Mavericks, Tim Rella, Trevor Vichas, Forrest Avery, Louie Gomez, HapKido, Nic-E, the 1200 Warriors, CEV’s, 4 Peace, J. Caprice, Nick Jagger, Lipp Trixx, Marc Fairfield, Jason Wolfe, UC Beatz and the list keeps growing and growing. Pushing the envelope even further with his passion for, “tech-house”, and “downbeats”, Doc started a sister label to House Call in the winter of 2014 known as, “Double Wide Recordings”, which is already lining up the heat from some of the heaviest hitters in the electronic music industry.Wanting to further his career in the audio industry, Doc began his journey to receive his bachelor’s degree in Full Sail University’s, online Music Production Program where the curriculum covers everything from A&R to mastering/engineering a production. After completion of the program in 2018 you should start looking for “Steve Fields” compositions and “Doc Manny” production works to be showing up everywhere from TV commercials to your favorite music streaming service… Stay tuned!