My name is Menic, I am 23 year old progressive producer and DJ.
What is the reason you picked the name Menic?
Well, I originally picked it because it was the last few letters of my real name. It kind of has this mysterious feeling to it, but it also is an awesome sounding stage name.
What sparked DJing for you and did you ever want to do any other type of music?
I originally started out listening to old school Benny Benassi and Louie Devito house tunes in 2006. I was so intrigued by it that I started going onto a private forum called clubbers.pl and searching for different electro songs. Eventually, I gained an ear for progressive house music and started listening to Tiesto's Club Life Podcast every week. I started studying all the transitions between each song and loved every minute of it. I noticed the structure of the music and where to drop certain things before I even set foot into the DJ realm. I picked up some speakers and a cheap Numark controller and started mixing up songs from there -- I was pretty natural at DJing progressive music.
Who are your favorite DJ's/producers?
As of now there are so many talented artists out there, but artists like Armin Van Buuren, Steve Angello, Axwell, Sebastion Ingrosso, Dada Life, Tiesto, Alesso, etc, are all in my list of top DJs.
Which DJ would you aspire to be like?
In the industry you really have to do something different to break out, so I am mostly working on my own sound and mixes, but one of my biggest inspirations is the trio, Swedish House Mafia. Many people think they are mainstream now, but they've been doing this for years and still put on one of the craziest performances I have ever seen live.
What is some of the gear that you use?
For live performances I use Pioneer CDJ 1000's and 2000's and the Pioneer DJM 800 mixer. In my studio I'm using Ableton Live and Logic Pro with Focal speakers and an Apogee sound card.
What goes into the process of creating a song?
Each song is different for me, usually when I go through the day I have blips of ideas that come into my head so I record them and jot them down into Ableton Live. Otherwise, I'll start usually with my drums, then build a bassline, melodies, bridges and transitions last.
I usually get some of the latest music and incorporate it into my sets, but I love throwing in classics to spice it up a little bit. Also, a bunch of edits and mashups that I made are in all of my sets. Obviously when you're live you have to adjust to the crowd so I tailor my set to how the crowd is reacting.
What is the best and worst feedback you've ever gotten?
The best feedback is when people are dancing and the worst is when they're not, but you just have to learn to adjust when you are out there.
What are your realistic goals in music?
Well, I have always set huge goals for myself and with hard work they will come. I am working on perfecting my image as an artist because that's important. Once I gain an image as a producer I plan on sending demos to a bunch of contacts I have made in the industry. I want to take over the scene by storm.
Anything else to add?
Look out for Menic in 2012!
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