The small city of Asheville, North Carolina is known for it’s eclectic artist community and never-ending nightlife but with the introduction of Arque to the mix, “The Land of The Sky” has a new virtuoso to tout. The young producer and DJ has been making tidal waves in the South East with his mammoth sound that ranges from trance, electro, big room and even some trap. We caught up with Arque to discuss his journey and he was kind enough to hand us a free download of his latest tune “Final Boss.” Check out the interview below and make sure to grab the track.
soundcloud.com/arquemusic | facebook.com/arqueofficial | twitter.com/arquemusic
Cover Art By: Chris Cold
Tell me about the moment you first heard EDM and knew that it was more than just music to you.
Actually its kind of a funny story. Back in 2007 I used to play World of Warcraft religiously. I would always watch videos of these extremely good players completing content within the game on youtube and they seemed to all use the same style of music. I saw this one video in particular that had this record that I couldn’t get out of my head. It was a trance record by Super8 & Tab called “Helsinki Scorchin.” I was turned onto electronic music immediately. I spent the next couple weeks or so searching for more and more trance music and eventually fell on Armin Van Buuren’s live recorded album of “Imagine” from his Armin Only tour. That’s how it all began, and that’s when I decided I wanted to make electronic music. I started in trance and eventually made my way to Electro House.
As dance music splits off into more and more genres and even top 40 has a bad rep at this point, what is the future sound that you’d like to create?
Thats a really tough question. Electronic music is constantly changing. Honestly I really love the fun jumper tracks that everyone can get crazy to, but theres no telling where thats going to go in the future. I’m sure I don’t speak for just myself when I say, as a producer, any production is searching constantly for that new niche. Finding something that works that hasnt been done yet. Its a process for sure. I’d like to build on my sound and incorporate other genres while staying true to “Arque.” Just constantly find new ways to set my productions apart.
What is your least favorite part of the edm industry and why?
Honestly, probably the ongoing genre conflict. For the most part, I keep my head down when it comes to drama within the industry. Theres no sense in fueling the fire of debates and such but my least favorite part is the fact that so many people look and talk down on different genres simply because other people do or because they just don’t like the genre. Absolutely everyone has their own opinions and thats fine but there is no reason to discredit other genres because its not what you prefer. Its still music. People still work hard to make it. I can’t tell you how many times i’ve experienced someone who likes a genre and constantly discredits other genres that aren’t their preferred, but then as soon as someone else says something to them that looks down on the genre that they love, its like the world is about to end. Its all hypocritical and I just really don’t care for it. You can like and dislike whatever music you want, thats fine but don’t look down on people for doing what they love.
What is your greatest strength as a producer?
The ability to produce and produce well. There are so many people that are getting into this business that solely spin records and thats fine. However, as an artist there really is no greater reward than dropping one of your own tracks and seeing the crowd go crazy. I was a producer before I was a DJ and obviously I had to learn to DJ to be able to perform live but I think learning the production side and having that become what it was before I learned to DJ helps me in every aspect possible. It allows me to learn records better and find new ways to do fun things live. Outside of that, I think my greatest strength is simply just knowing what I want to create before I create it. I make this immaculate representation of what I’d like a song to be, then try and produce it the best I can.
And greatest weakness?
Probably the fact that i’m a little bit TOO much of a perfectionist. Creating huge ideas of what you want songs to be is both a blessing and a curse. I can think of what I want it to sound like all I want, But if I can’t meet that goal with sound design it’s tremendously frustrating. I have to find the balance. There have been times where I’ve written something, gone to bed and rearranged and restructured the entire thing because I thought it wasn’t good enough. It has to be able to move people. They’ve got to be able to feel it.
What, outside of music, is your greatest inspiration and why?
I get so inspired by the people that I love every day. Whether it be my mother, my father, my sister, my significant other, what have you. Not just limited to my family of course. There’s nothing that makes me happier than seeing other people happy and any time I have an opportunity to do that, you best believe I’m going to. I’ve had conversations with fans who spill their entire life story and end with how I inspired them or made them happy or for just one night at my show, made them forget about all the hardships and nonsense that they’re going through to help get them through the day. That is my greatest inspiration. My drive is to get better and bigger at what I do. Anyone who has ever supported me means the world to me and as long as I can inspire them and make them happy, I’m inspired and that’s all the more reason to do what I love.
