#153: RAC on Honing in on Simplicity and Finding Sustained Success

The EDM Prodcast

Show Notes: edmprod.com/153 This week, RAC sat down to chat on the EDMProdcast. RAC is a Grammy Award winning musician and producer currently based in Portland, OR. He’s fresh off releasing his third full album BOY, an 18-track journey featuring collaborators like Louis The Child and Jamie Lidell. He’s also well known for his remix work, gaining a Grammy nomination for his remix of ODESZA’s Say My Name, and winning a Grammy Award for his remix of Bob Moses’ Tearing Me Up. We start off with RAC’s background, discussing his upbringing in Portugal and his early experiences with piano and guitar. We discuss his first DAW that he found in a cereal box, and the albums worth of music he created before graduating high school. We talk about his initial idea for the RAC project, which began as a collective of remix artists. He discusses his unique vision for the project, and how he made the pivot into releasing original music. RAC explains the driving forces for each of his albums, distilling what he feels has helped him sustain his success in the music industry. On the production side, RAC dives deep into his songwriting and technical workflows. He explains his refined production process that allows him to write polished demos in under two hours, the key components of his impressive home studio, and why he boiled his SM57 microphone. He also breaks down his guitar rig and recording setup, his favorite plugins for mixing, and his detailed approach to find simplicity in his writing. Later on, RAC explains his process for remote collaboration, which has become increasingly useful during the Covid-19 pandemic. On that, he explains how he and his team have adapted during the pandemic, questioning the norms within the music industry and pushing his project further. RAC also explains his more recent projects, including a creative approach for Twitch streaming, as well as his foray into cryptocurrency. Connect with RAC: Facebook: facebook.com/remixartistcollective Twitter: https://twitter.com/rac Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rac/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4AGwPDdh1y8hochNzHy5HC Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rac