Mix Mag Article

Today I had an interview with an up n coming producer by the name of Divided By Zero. He released his ‘You Can’t Be Serious’ EP late last year and is on the verge of releasing his new EP. I sat down and had a chat with the lad about his music, what/who inspires him and of course Dubstep.

Welcome to the studio, do you want to start off by telling us your name, age etc…

Well, my name is Chris Gray, I go by the name Divided By Zero for my production though. I’m 17 years old and I make all kinds of heavy electronic music!.

Hahaha… How did you come about this name ‘Divided By Zero’?

Funny story, I was in maths and my teacher was ranting on about how he hates it when people ask him to divide something by zero, at the time I was looking for a name and it was 3 syllables so I thought, why not!? Worked out in the end though!

3 Syllables? What does that have to do with this?

Well if you look at most producers they all have 3 syllables in their name, not to sure why but they just do, look at ‘Zangola’ ‘Knife Party’ ‘Kill The Noise’ KOAN Sound’ They all have 3 syllables, it’s an un written rule!

I see! So will you be releasing any new EP’s soon? It’s been a good 2 months since we’ve last heard from you!

Yeah, I’m working on a brand new EP with vocals from the band ‘No More Adventures’ as well as collaborations with ‘Zangola’ and other artists, it’s exciting stuff.

When did you first hear Dubstep?

It must have been about 2/3 years ago now, with classics from Cookie Monsta and Borgore, Excision, all the old school producers that built the foundations for how we know it today!

When did you start producing and what inspired you?

I actually only started producing around last April(ish) when me and my friend decided we'd invest in FL Studio, so we were making beats and throwing in a bass, eventually he stopped, and I basically carried on in secret, later installing Ableton, downloading VSTs, and as summer came by I came out of the 'Production Closet' as ‘Divided By Zero’ and here I am now.

Which artists have influenced you?

Everybody will hate me for saying this but I would say Skrillex has influenced my music the most I just think he is an all-round talented individual, but I can't forget artists like Boy Kid Cloud, Knife Party, High Rankin, Rednek, KOAN Sound. The list could go on for days! But you can certainly hear their influences in my work.

What does your studio setup consist of?

Haha studio!? I have a tiny room in my house, dedicated to the producing… I'm running on an iMac and a MacBook Pro for when I’m out and about, with an Akai LPD8 MIDI Controller, through Ableton and I use a fair amount of VSTs but mainly NI Massive and FM8.

What’s your opinion on dubstep becoming mainstream?

Mixed reviews from me sir. On one hand we've got loads of little poser kids coming and swarming the genre, in a sense ruining the community of it. You can go on Youtube and see on a random video a comment saying 'Sometimes I like to sit in the corner and pretend to be a carrot' and 80% of the time they're Dubstep listeners, 20% of the time they're part-time carrots. However from a producing point of view this can mean big things, with a genre becoming mainstream it opens lots of doors for the already famous, and the up and coming.

How would you describe your music to someone that hasn’t heard it before?

Haha! Well I really don't know how to answer this. A friend of mine says it makes him want to kill people! Not sure if that's a compliment or not. On a serious note I'd say its heavy electro, Dubstep, house elements, brostep if you want to be picky about it.

Your first EP ‘For God Sakes’ was quite heavy, what vibe are you going for on your new EP?

Haha it was very heavy. On my new EP I'm going for more of a chilled out approach to it. With elements from all over the scene. From Glitch to filth to electro house. I believe there is something for everyone on this EP, there are soft songs, and there are some that are anything but soft!

Magazine Mock Up

 

Audience Questionaire

Do you prefer a weekly or monthly magazine?
Person 1: I would rather buy a monthly magazine because of the extra infomation that it contains compared to a weekly
Person 2: I prefere weekly magazines as they are cheaper and I can't afford £6 a month
Person 3: I prefer a weekly magazines because I don't have to wait as long to get the next one.

How much are you willing to pay for a monthly magazine?
Person 1: I usually pay around £3-£4 and wouldn't want to spend anymore than that.
Person 2: I would pay no more than £3 for a monthly magazine.
Person 3: I would pay around £1.50 a week

What are the magazines you currently buy priced at?
Person 1: I usually pay around £3.50
Person 2: I pay £2
Person 3: I always pay £1.50.

Do you prefer a a busy cover or a minimal cover?
Person 1:I prefer a minimalistic style as long as it informative because it looks neater
Person 2:I prefere a busy cover as it gives you all the infomation you need.
Person 3: I prefer a minimal cover as it is nicer to look at.

What features would you want from a magazine?
Person 1: My favourite feature in a magazines are reviews of albums and artists.
Person 2: I always look for magazine that have interviews with my favourite artists.
Person 3: I like reviews and interviews with new artists.

What style colour scheme do you prefer in a magazine?
Person 1: I prefer abstract colours which aren't used much, for instance yellow black and white.
Person 2: I prefer simple colours such as red, white and black.
Person 3: I prefer a range of colours that work well and complement eachother.

Do you usually buy the same magazine or different ones?
Person 1: I would usually buy them same magazine every month as it is consistant so I know what I'm getting.
Person 2: I often buy different magazines because I like variety.
Person 3: I always buy them same magazine because I enjoy reading it every week.

Pitch Evaluation

I feel as though my pitch was successful with everyone that saw it getting to know exactly what genre my magazine is going to be. The only issue is with a Dubstep magazine, there are not many covers to take inspiration from so I have to use judgement that a more minimalistic style of magazine is going to work, or would it be better to use a rock magazine style for inspiration? Despite this I am confident the pitch went well.

Colour Palette

Colour Palette