Tuning Into Authenticity: Hyperbits Talks Production, Teaching, and ‘Another Life'”

Music producer and educator Hyperbits has carved out a significant niche in the world of melodic house music. With roots in San Diego and a blossoming career in New York City, he has collaborated with industry heavyweights like Beyonce, Nick Jonas, and Tove Lo, while gaining the support of renowned artists such as Above & Beyond, The Chainsmokers, and Tiesto. With his tracks streamed over 55 million times, Hyperbits’ influence in the music world is undeniable. But his accolades don’t stop there. He’s also a prominent figure in music education, helping to shape the future of the industry through his popular music production school.

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His latest track, ‘Another Life’, is a collaboration with former student, Sam Welch. It stands as a testament to the power of music in navigating personal hardship and loss, marking a significant point in Hyperbits’ personal and professional journey. The song itself and the story behind its creation offer insight into Hyperbits’ approach to music and his commitment to authenticity in his work. As we delve into his process, his views on success and struggle, and his plans for the future, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of the artist at the heart of the Hyperbits phenomenon.

While You’re At It, Check Out His Masterclass Here 

1. How do you ensure that your content and music are useful and meaningful to your fans and followers?

At the end of the day, the only thing that I can do as a music producer is create music from a genuine place. Meaning, if what I create evokes emotion or meaning for me, I hope it will resonate with other humans as well. Ultimately, whether someone finds what I create meaningful or not is out of my control. I believe that the second an artist starts making songwriting decisions based on what he or she thinks people want to hear, it loses its authenticity.

2. How did the collaboration with Sam Welch for “Another Life” come about?

During the height of COVID, I lost someone very close to me. To be honest, the subsequent grief and trauma that followed was the hardest thing I’d ever gone through. But interestingly enough, creating music turned out to be the thing that fueled me and helped me carry on with life.

I started producing music again after a few years off and found solace and comfort in the creation process. As fate would have it, one of my former students, Sam Welch (who quietly was racking up millions of streams on Spotify) reached out to me. Sam told me that he just quit his job and was doing music full-time now, very much because of the Hyperbits Masterclass and the production techniques he learned in the school.

When he asked if I wanted to do a song together, I didn’t even hesitate. One afternoon, I made a quick idea and sent it to him. A few short days later he sent over one of the most beautiful vocals I’d ever heard. Though we never discussed a direction, I believe both the instrumental and the vocals were inspired by loss. Once he sent over the vocal, I spent a few hours finishing it off, and just like that, the track was done. It was potentially the smoothest/easiest musical experience of my artistic life! It almost never goes that smoothly lol.

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3. That’s interesting. A lot of producers seem to equate success with necessary struggle or effort. Any other thoughts on that idea?

The process of creating music doesn’t have to be difficult or laborious. I think there’s a misconception that great art must come from struggle or hardship, but this isn’t necessarily true. While it’s accurate that many artists channel their personal experiences and challenges into their work, others may find their inspiration in moments of joy, peace, curiosity, or even everyday observations.

Sometimes, the best songs can come to you effortlessly, almost as if they were waiting to be discovered. These are the moments of creation that I live for. It can feel like you’re a conduit, allowing the music to flow through you rather than forcibly creating it. Of course, don’t get me wrong, sometimes it is a struggle – but it’s certainly not a necessary prerequisite to creating a good piece of music, or at the very least, something you are proud of.

4. Does “Another Life” differ from your previous works? If so, how?

The distinction between my current music and my previous work lies in a different mental headspace. These days, I have no expectations or goals — I just want to create music because I love it. As a result, this perspective might allow me to take more risks and create music that is more authentic to me. As a less philosophic answer, this approach seems to translate into less high-energy bangers and exploring more emotional and melodic themes.

5. Where is your sound and direction headed in the coming years and what in your life has the biggest influence over this direction?

Running a music production school and helping our students find success in music has allowed for so much more creative freedom. This means that I can create music for the fun of it, to explore new techniques, to challenge myself. I think in the past I was fixated on achieving success. Whether that meant working with big artists, managers, booking agents, money, etc. — now the goal is very much to make music because it’s fun to do so. Dream life for me is doing cool shit with cool people, and making music is very much at the top of that list.

To be more specific, I look forward to incorporating more custom visuals into my live shows and truly creating a memorable and unique live experience. I also want to bring on live vocalists and other DJs to jam with — again, I just want to have fun; that’s at the centerpiece of every decision I’m making these days.

6. What’s it like to reconnect with your past students and release music again after your hiatus?

Releasing music again after my hiatus has been nothing short of inspiring. I’ve been getting messages every few days from people me telling me the song made them cry or helped them through a difficult time, or simply that they played it in their live sets. It just feels so good to hear that it is resonating with connecting with people.

It’s also an incredible feeling to see how far my students, like Sam Welch, have come. It’s pretty insane that our students have over one billion streams on Spotify alone — that’s a mass number to wrap my head around lol. This whole journey has been a humbling reminder of why I fell in love with music in the first place.

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7. Lastly, what advice would you give to upcoming producers who look up to you?

Since I run an entire school to talk about these things, I’m going to try to keep this simple because there are legit thousands of directions I could take this in.

Make music that gets you excited. Take risks. Invest in yourself. Keep it genuine and real. Show up. And most importantly, have fun.