Tony H, a Seattle-based DJ, and producer, makes waves in house music with his unique beats and rhythms. He recently performed at Miami Music Week and Coachella and is releasing his innovative EP, ‘Pulse It,’ on May 26 under the esteemed label of Gene Farris – Farris Wheel Recordings. Tony H is not only a talented music producer but has also proven himself as a versatile industry stalwart, managing labels such as Space Yacht and founding his own Late Night Munchies label. His enthralling music and upcoming releases on prestigious labels earned him a place in the spotlight in 2023.
In an exclusive interview, Tony H reveals the creative process behind ‘Pulse It,’ which was crafted on his Twitch stream with the help of viewer suggestions. He talks about the impact of interaction with his fans and the Twitch community on his music production and his experiences on tour and at major music festivals like Coachella and Miami Music Week. As a label owner and with a robust lineup of releases and performances on the horizon, Tony H is an artist to watch in 2023 and beyond.
Follow Tony H: Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | Twitch
Your latest single is signed to Gene Farris’ iconic Farris Wheel Recordings. Could you provide some insights into the creative process behind this track?
“Pulse It” came straight from my Twitch stream that I’ve been doing since the pandemic started. I usually would stream DJ sets on Wednesdays and Sundays but randomly decided to do some production streams.
This stream specifically ended up being about 8 hours long, where I basically would start and idea and then trash it lol. Eventually as viewers watched my process, they started throwing ideas out there and one of them was to look up hospital sounds and samples and build and track around it anddd that we did haha. The twitch community has always been so amazing, so I really have a lot of them to thank for a lot of the tracks I was working on that I would test on the stream and then get their feedback on.
As an artist who actively engages with your fans on social media and Twitch, how has their feedback and interaction impacted your creative process and the direction of your music?
It had a HUGE impact on my music production for sure. I would finish tracks and then test them on the stream and ask them to give me any feedback, whether it was good or bad. I always enjoyed having them involved in the process. So many of my tracks that were signed during the pandemic and after things were slowly opening back up, were
tracks I was workshopping on my stream and going back to edit and tweak as they gave me feedback. It truly made the process so much fun.
As a DJ who has toured extensively, what memorable moments or experiences on the road have had a lasting impact on your artistic journey?
Sooooo many! A lot of the ones that honestly stand out were meeting people that watched my stream on Twitch in person. There were so many stories from people really going through during that time (including me) that said the stream really helped through some dark times. My response was always as much as you felt I was helping you, you were helping me too.
How have your experiences performing at major music festivals like Coachella and Miami Music Week influenced your career trajectory as an artist?
I would say its only up from here! I think even to this day, I’m still processing the fact that I was a part of both of those events and festivals.
In your experience as a label owner, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in running a successful record label, and how have you overcome them?
At first one of the biggest challenges was 1. Getting people to send demos over, so that I would have records to sign and 2. Outsourcing everything and then waiting for things to get sent back. These days I’m fortunate to say that the labels have come a long way and now I get so many demos that we are already done with the schedule for 2023 for Late Night Munchies and now I don’t really outsource as much. I handle the a&r’ing, artwork designs, mastering and social media posts.
Do you have a go-to VST? If so, which is it and what do you love most about it?
I’ll keep this one short, Arturia is my go to and all that comes with it. Granted I used other plug-ins sometimes but I love all what Arturia has.
What’s next for you that you can share with our readers?
Lots of music coming out soon including the one I have on Farris Wheel Recordings this Friday. On top of that I have releases coming out soon on Country Club Disco, Aliens on Mushrooms, Bread-N-Butter, Bump N Grind, Flashmob Records, Blackboard Records and a lot more. You can also find me playing at the Sundown Solstice Festival in Alaska, Beyond Wonderland at The Gorge, Day Trip Festival Seattle and Fourth at the Mural. Ofcourse, you can find me at a bunch of club gigs in Seattle and roaming around the city supporting many of my peers.
Aside from that I’m am working on a really big non-profit that you can find more information about in my Linktr.ee
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
